Home Staging Pennsylvania- Hart & Associates Servicing the Main Line, Philadelphia, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties.

Some of the benefits of owning a staging business  are that you are your own boss, make your own schedule and have no cubical to report to day after day. The hidden realities are that you ARE the boss, your schedule dictates YOU, and to quote one of my favorite songs "life is a highway" I spend my life in my car.  Below is the recap of my day as a home stager, mom and of course small business owner:

 9:03 Somehow I left the house on time today. I have a dentist appointment (now I can cross off my resolution to do something for myself this week) and I am actually looking forward to the 30 minutes of having my teeth scraped to relax and not have to answer my phone.

10:11 I leave the dentist office. My teeth are sparkly clean which I quickly destory by downing the iced venti coffee I picked up on the way to the appointment. I drive over to the model home I am assisting a local developer with to find that the project is not completed and I cannot install the accessories I brought with me. I will have to squeeze this in tomorrow between appointments....quick schedule adjustment.

11:30 I am on time to pick up Nick from school which is the most important appointment I have to keep today. He hops into "Mommy's truck" and I make room for his booster seat next to the sisal rug, shower curtains and bedding I have to deliver to a client later in the day. We hit the McDonald's drive thru and he announces that I am "the best Mommy in the World." I am so thankful that chicken nuggets and french fries make up for working nights and weekends in the heart of a five year old.

11:42 I pull into the driveway of a client to pick up some items that I rented her. I leave Nick in the car and grab the artwork, mirror and "faux greenery". Against his protests I pack the car around him making sure he can reach his lunch.

12:02 We arrive at Nick's occupational therapist appointment just in time. I try to attend each week but have missed the last few due to stagings. I am relieved that I can be there today since it is the end of school year and he is amped up thinking about Summer. Luckily I can be there to speak with the therapist.

12:14 My phone rings. Discreetly I put it on vibrate. It rings again. I excuse myself and it is one of my clients asking me if I can come over earlier than we had planned. I mentally rearrange my schedule and affirm that I can make it (if I drive home 90 miles per hour). Schedule tweaking again.

12:22 My phone rings again and I let it go to voicemail. It rings again, voicemail and again. I pick it up and it is my friend asking if I can watch her girls for her today. She knows it is an inconvenience but since I "work at home" she thought it would be "easy" for me to take them. I beg off telling her I have a client to visit and she tells me she is so jealous of me because I have a nanny to watch my kids. "Yes I am very lucky to have such a great nanny" I tell her wanting to add "And she is so lucky to have me paying her $700.00 per week!"

12:59 Nicholas is done with his appointment. I try to apologize for being on the phone 1/2 the time but realize that the therapist probably thinks I am a crazed lunatic shop-a-olic as she looks in the back of my car and sees the rug, bathroom items, artwork, ficus tree and the scattered remnants of Nick's Happy Meal and my collection of used Starbucks cups- at least one of us gets to go to a therapist!

1:13 I drop Nick off at home and head to my next appointment 42 miles away. On the way I return the voicemails from the morning. I set up 2 consults for the coming week and 2 vacant proposals. I thank God we do not have a hands free law in PA as I scramble to make notes as I maneuver the turnpike.

2:06 I arrive at my appointment to tour a new construction home that a property investor is building. His son found me on the Internet and after interviewing me over the phone they selected me to come out and give them an estimate to stage their property. They have done a great job selecting materials and finishes. It is an easy home to stage with neutral, clean, sunny rooms. I explain the staging process to them and promise to have a proposal to them the next day.

2:41 I leave the property and make my way to meet a client whose home I staged last week. His bathrooms are now completed. On the way I make more calls, schedule movers to move a model and check in on the kids.

3:13 I meet my client at the home and it looks terrific. I am so proud of him- he has done such as great job getting the home ready to start showing tomorrow. The landscapers are busy with the finishing touches and I am here to accessorize the bathrooms. I take a walk through and I am quite pleased with the results. The furniture we selected is clean and sophisticated and looks like it belongs here and doesn't look "too stagey".

4:45 I am done putting the finishing touches on the property. I arrive home and get to work answering emails before my nanny leaves at 5:30.

6:32 Dinner is served. We have a special celebration because it was Ben's last day of school today. Secretly I wonder what the heck we are going to do until September.

7:43 Daddy puts the boys to bed while I finish proposals- one to a builder for a model, the other to the property investor I met today. 2 clients emailed me that they have decided not to stage their homes and want to wait and see what will happen over the next month or so (code word for we cannot afford it) I cheerfully reply that I wish them the best of luck (I do) and hope that they will contact me if they need me in the future (they will).

Today was great. Somehow I managed to tick off all my to do's- meeting clients, shuffling kids to appointments and even taking care of myself. Being my own boss does have its perks... there are no set hours (as long as they meet your client's needs) tons of travel (112 miles today and a $75.00 tank of gas) expensive childcare  ( I only need it until September), and I get to have lunch with the coolest kid I know (priceless).