2005
IAHSP ANNUAL CONVENTION
REVIEW
The total amount raised for
the IAHSP Foundation at this year's
convention
was $23,730.50!!!!
Thanks to everyone for their wonderful support!
 Wow!
What a wonderful convention we experienced together! It is
one of those things that you ‘had' to be there to know how
powerful, exciting, and educational our ASP/ASPM IAHSP Convention
May 18 – 22nd was! Lights, music, action really set the Stage
for all of our events together. From the educational speakers/sessions
to the new products and Staging Ideas released, the event
is one that will go down in Home Staging History! Those of
you who were there know exactly what I am talking about and
those of you who were unable to attend will learn what this
is all about when you attend next year's Educational Symposium
Convention May 17th – 21st. Each year the latest in Home Staging
information, new products, forms, ideas, and marketing plans
will be released at each ASP Symposium. (I am changing the
name of our event to our ‘ASP/ASPM Educational IAHSP Symposium'
from this date forward.)
I truly thank all who worked on the convention this year!
It did take a village for sure to put it together and to make
it happen in such a successful way. Thank you to all of you
who took the leadership role in leading a committee and to
all of you who served on any and all committees. I thank all
of our speakers! Such wonderful information and caring sharing
was appreciated by all in attendance as you shared from your
hearts and experiences so that all of us could grown and learn
more! I thank our Staff at Stagedhomes.com as they really
came through for us all and worked so hard in every way possible!
Our volunteers also are to be acknowledged and thanked by
us all as you were wonderful and served long and hard as well!
Our fabulous IAHSP Chapter Presidents helped by spreading
the word throughout the US and Canada and I thank you so very
much for all that you are doing each and every month as well!
And I thank our wonderful ASP Trainers who along with me spread
the word throughout courses near and far. Each of you as a
trainer made a big, big difference, I know, in who attended
and thank you so much for doing all possible to encourage
everyone to come!
Mary DeBella you were fabulous and so dedicated to us all
in the Staging/Decorating of our convention! Thank you so
much. Thank you Karen for leading our entertainment committee.
We all had a ball and requests are again coming in to repeat
many of the evening activities. Shell you and your committee
were so organized and on top of registration… Mona thank you
too!
Jennie Norris and Terrylynn Fisher I especially want to thank
for being my co-chairwomen this year. Your stellar job of
service went beyond the call of duty and I shall be grateful
to you for years to come. How blessed and happy I am to have
you in my life and to care as you do for the good of all.
This year we released in person the new legal home Staging
forms to those present at the convention. They will be soon
available in the Stagedhomes.com University for everyone as
an ASP/ASPM! Those in attendance though have a head start
on using these forms. We introduced the new Home Staging Caddy,
which is totally amazing and has been designed just for you/us
to use in Staging! There is a place for every tool you use
in it and it is on wheels and beautifully made for all of
your Home Staging needs. You can see the flyer in the June
Newsletter
about how to order it now! We have new sun visors for your
car to advertise that you are an ASP wherever you park your
car this summer and beyond and these 2 tools are just a few
of the latest and greatest that we introduced at the convention.
There were gifts, treats, and many surprise galore! Oh, we
also have new signs for you to post in the yard that say,
‘This Home is being Staged by an ASP!' and they work as the
neighbors come running to see what is going on. There were
and are many other new tools for you to use in your business,
that you will see and learn more about in the near future
on our Staging shopping center www.stagingshoppingcenter.com.
Thank you to all of you who attended as without you we could
not have our ASP Convention. It simply wouldn't happen. You
are making the most difference of all by walking the talk
and making the time and dollar investment commitment in yourself
and your business which will pay off for you for years to
come. The best place always to invest your dollars is in yourself!
You see it isn't how much it costs to come and attend, it
is what you give up if you do not! As a true ASP/ASPM Home
Stager or Realtor this IS the Educational Event of the year
for you. There is nothing in the world like it! Who would
want to miss out on all the latest in the world of Home Staging
by not being at this fabulous event in the future. Mark
your calendars now and did you know that the investment of
attending, including everything to get there, is less than
the average person spends on Starbucks a day? And,
this is an investment! So, start saving those pennies NOW
and mark your calendar as the best is yet to come! Mary 17th
– 21st, 2006 in The Bay area of CA and I will see you there!
Our goal this next year, 2006, is 450+ in attendance and our
motto is ‘Each one bring one!” More means
more in information to learn, more expert knowledge shared,
more ASPs to network and build referrals with, more Vendors
and National companies to support us in our goal of reaching
the public to spread our ASP Message and ASP Designation Recognition,
and more Home Staging Ideas and Marketing ideas to use in
your market to build your business to lead the way!
Happy Staging Everyday!
Barb Schwarz, ASPM, CSP, ABR, AB, RLS
President and CEO Stagedhomes.com
President and Founder IAHSP International
 WOW – What A Convention!!
WOW! That sums up our 2005 IAHSP Convention for me
and I hope for all of you too! Words Of Wisdom – Every speaker
that we heard had something that you and I can use in our
Staging work! I enjoyed meeting so many of you that I've corresponded
with via email and phone over the past year – and I just love
the enthusiasm and camaraderie that we all share as ASPs.
Now, where do you grow from here? So many ideas were shared
and to try and implement them all at once may prove overwhelming
so here are my tips for making the most out of your 2005 IAHSP
Convention experience.
- Do review your entire Convention Binder – lots of information
inside including your notes you took at each session. Take
the time to review and let things strike you in a different
way now that you are at home and focused on your business.
- Don't put your binder on a shelf or by your desk and not
look at it again!
- Do select 5 things you can implement now, and 5 more you
will implement 30 days from now. Growth is a process and
we need to finish one step before we move on to the next.
- Do stay in contact with other ASPs you met at the Convention.
The roster at the back of the binder has email addresses,
or you can find them online at the SHC site.
- Do get your Feature Page done – it's a valuable tool for
your business!
- Do purchase the CDs and or DVDs when they come out from
SHC. Each speaker was taped and/or filmed and for those
who missed the Convention, the information was invaluable
to our success!
- Don't forget to start making plans to come next year –
start saving your money to make the investment in our annual
Convention. If you take it a little bit at a time, it will
be an easy goal to reach.
- Do work on your business plan to help map out your success.
- Do keep spreading the word in your communities – our goal
is to keep educating the Realtor and the Public – and remember:
Your ability to effectively convey what you do to your target
audience will determine your success!
- Do remember this: Keep a balance of productive activity
and busy-work – so that you see results and earn income,
while you are developing your support materials.
WOW!! Words Of Wisdom! Wonderful – Outstanding –
What a Group!
Jennie Norris, ASPM
 Where can you go to be among a group of
passionate women and men who are all strong leaders and have
so much fun? I implore you all who read this to once again
count yourselves lucky to continue spreading the designation
and mission of Stagedhomes.com as we grow! The friendships,
the food, the fun!!! Not to mention the sharing of all kinds
of fabulous ideas and information! If you were not able to
go this year, it would be in your best interest to start saving
the date and the dollars now for next year, as there are already
plans in the works for bigger and better things to come!
The final evening was absolutely magical as we dined in sparkling
stars and candlelight, raised $23,000+ for the new IAHSP Foundation
and said our fond farewells until next year! I am excited
to see the photos up on the website! I look forward to meeting
all of you next year! Until next time, enjoy the sunshine
wherever you are and tell everyone you know about ‘STAGING'!!!!!!!!
Shelley
Wagner, ASPM, CASPT
 Hello fellow Stagers and Friends,
What a fun privilege to able to participate and personally
surrounded oneself in a true advantageous learning-networking
environment for the sole benefit of gleaming Staging.
The Vendor's fair grouped some strong supporters of Stagers
and it is nice to meet face-to-face people we have and will
be doing business with, buying product and learning what they
have to offer. Hands down to the Speakers, it is truly appreciated
the plethora of experience and knowledge offered coupled with
the commitment to present a program worthy to be on stage.
The experienced Stagers shared unconditionally throughout
the convention their first-hand knowledge and growing success
of working ideas topped by guest speakers flown in for our
first-hand experience! Mike the Glue-Guy giving out huge samples
of different formulas of glue for fabric to glass (curtain
hem made easy and my broken shoe) to innovative paints from
DecoArt to Stage® our bids and consultations, plus ribbons
to dress accents and bids created a gala performance. The
convention climaxed with the raising of so much giving funds
for the foundation and a banquet set to honor so many of us.
Reflecting on the impact and knowledge, thanks to Barb, Kirk
and the Staged Homes.com staff for the beautiful binders of
everything the convention contained in one portable binder.
The wonderful forms developed by Barb and approved by the
Staging attorney Kelly are monumental now and in the future.
As a Certified ASP Trainer, the binder is something that can
be referred to immediately and used to show new Stagers in
the future one great reason to be psyched for next year…Thank
you to all whom participated, what a joyful experience.
Kelly McFrederick, ASPM, CASPT
 Realtors Tell All---
Well --- We had our wonderful IAHSP convention on May 19.20.21
and it was AWESOME – as Barb and I would say
As one of the events, we had a Realtor Forum, which
appeared to be a huge hit… We had some exceptional Realtors
who told how and why they used Staging in their real estate
practices. The stories were varied and ranged from a brand
new Realtor, Gaby Diskin of Danville, California, who met
a brand new ASP Stager, Kym Hough, in a class last year. Since
both were just starting on their new ventures they started
going on listing presentations together. Gaby stressed that
they are a really good compliment to each other personality-wise.
They use each other to bounce things off of and perfect their
“Barb scripts” and the client's perception is seamless continuity.
Her Real Estate practice and Kym Hough's “Stage to Sell” business
are booming…
Then we had the very interesting Virginia and District of
Columbia Realtor, Deb Gorham, who was formerly with the DEA
and President Clinton's Office of the Council to President.
Deb shared what brought her to this place in life, and how
she has taken the real estate and Staging pieces and put them
together nicely in a very organizational manner, which hugely
benefits her clients.
Sandy Humphrey and her Canoga Park, California Team begin
their Staging services to their clients at the pre-construction
Stages if needed and take it all the way through the contractors
and sub-contractors with Sandy overseeing the whole process.
Sandy says they are the only Realtors in their area providing
this service. Wow! Sandy and I both took Barb's classes in
the 1980's, along with thousands of other Realtors from our
respective areas and were sharing how amazed we are that there
are so few who have really taken “Staging” to their clients.
The materials and ideas were there for all and not everyone
embraced it (until now of course - it is the “new” thing).
Sherri Sahlstrom of Bellevue, Washington gave us insights
into the daily life and times of a Realtor… the hours, the
dedication and the added service required and given for the
love of the client and the work… and then the wonderful audience
asked questions of us all. Questions about what Realtors want,
fees, services expected, enhanced services. Before you knew
it the time was up and we all were left wanting more time
together. So I've requested more time at next year's convention.
Maybe we'll have a lunch with a Realtor at every table for
ASP Stagers and Realtors to ask the questions on their mind.
Oh, so much more I could tell… more in future columns. Please,
please email me
with the things you would like discussed and/or questions
for future columns related to the Real Estate end of your
staging business. I am here to help and want to make the columns
beneficial to your work and goals. Thanks for reading! See
you out there Staging.
Terrylynn Fisher, ASPM Realtor
 Barb,
The convention was wonderful! I was very impressed by all
the information that I gained throughout the days I spent
there. Not only did I get many more ideas, but I also got
to meet many wonderful Stagers from all over the nation! There
was a unique bond between all of us as you can tell by the
“Stagers gone wild” photos below!!!!
Again, Thank You for making it worth while for myself and
for the rest of us!!!
Melanie Terry, ASP
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Some Thoughts About a Little Soiree I Recently Attended 
