How do you go from designing clothing to designing homes. Lisa Hynes says it’s quite easy, “You’re basically putting together an outfit for a room.” Lisa has always been an entrepreneur and in her past life she developed a line of kids clothing. She even started a fashion camp for young designers. “The kids would create a portfolio of drawings and work on one piece by choosing fabric and having that item sewn.” With four boys of her own, three of whom were in diapers at this point, Lisa needed a break.
And then by chance she ran into someone that would change the course of her life. “I met Gabby Shannon through our twins and she asked me to work for her company Stage to Show.” Turns out Gabby was ready to sell and told Lisa that she was the person to buy her business. Gabby even said, “I have a great guy who helps me.” The guy was someone Lisa had loved to work with at previous job, “When I realized who was helping Gabby with Stage to Show, I knew it was kismet.”
{Before and After Living Room}What does Stage to Show do? “Our largest client base is those who want to sell their homes. We’ll come in and tweak a home or do a complete over-haul. It depends on what is needed.” Lisa also says, “A lot of what we do is about un-decorating so the home appeals to a larger audience. We work to make our staged homes feel young and fresh. So we do a lot of sorting what is to be stored and what is to be used in each room.” Lisa says she puts in long days and with the manual labor of it, she doesn’t always have to go to the gym.
When asked about the value of staging, Lisa can point to countless sales where her staging has brought the seller much more in profits than they spent on the staging. “Some brokers will not take a listing unless the seller will let me stage it for them. That’s a real complement.”
{Before and After Bedroom} In 2006, Lisa bought the inventory and client base of Stage to Show and set out to grow her company. Within a short time, Lisa had quadrupled the firm’s business. She now has 4 designers and 4 movers helping her. And she has a larger warehouse to house all the beautiful things she uses to stage homes. Always sourcing items online, at tag sales, and at the local antique centers, Lisa’s has a great eye for what makes a house look it’s best.
Stage to Show works with brokers, homeowners, and builders. “Many times the new owner will ask to buy everything we’ve put in the house and that works for us too.” The best thing about the job, “I love the instant gratification of putting a room or house together.” And Lisa is the creative type, if she needs a painting for a specific job, she’ll paint one, “It’s a great venue to showcase my work.”
VentureMom Tip
When the right opportunity comes your way, seize it.
