She went from nearly 20 years at Hot Dog on a Stick to building a multi-seven-figure home staging and interior design firm. In this episode of the Risky Assets Podcast, Charlie Deaver and Daniel Clarke sit down with Melissa Diaz, founder of Stunningly Staged Homes, to talk about building a real business out of a creative skill.

Melissa breaks down the numbers most people never hear: staging can return 300- 500%, homes that are staged tend to sell roughly 80% faster and draw offers around 20% higher, and her listings have moved in about 29 days against a Los Angeles average closer to 55. Beyond the staging stats, this is a candid founder conversation about the slow climb, hiring your weaknesses, building a business that can run without you, pricing your worth, and the unglamorous, inventory-heavy reality behind a business that looks effortless from the outside.

Chapters
00:00 The numbers behind home staging
00:22 A female founder breaking the mold
01:16 What Stunningly Staged Homes actually does
03:46 From Hot Dog on a Stick to her own firm
05:16 Three years before her first hire
06:13 Staging vs. interior design, and why they balance
08:01 Knowing when to let go and delegate
11:16 Can your business run without you for six months?
15:34 $250K to almost $5M: the slow climb
16:04 Why staging is so inventory-heavy
19:42 Why interior design is regulated in California
20:45 “I'll just ask ChatGPT”: why DIY usually fails
23:21 Being a female founder, and pricing your worth
28:13 The staging ROI: 300 to 500%
30:07 “Staging costs less than your first price reduction”
33:47 What staging a 2,000 sq ft home actually costs
37:13 Her biggest challenge, and Covid hitting
50:06 Team, ownership, and hiring for behavior
57:25 Grass isn't greener: the real cost of working for yourself

ABOUT THE GUEST
Melissa Diaz is the founder of Stunningly Staged Homes, a Santa Clarita based home staging and interior design firm serving Santa Clarita, Los Angeles, and the Valley. A former director of operations turned entrepreneur, she has grown the company to a team of 12, a 7,000 square foot warehouse, and hundreds of homes staged each year.

ABOUT RISKY ASSETS
The Risky Assets Podcast is produced by Greyhawk Premier Insurance Solutions. Every episode is an honest conversation with entrepreneurs about building businesses, taking smart risks, and protecting what you create.

CONNECT:
Stunningly Staged Homes: https://stunninglystagedhomes.com/

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