6: Honestly, Maggie! The Origin Story of Her Staging Business

Intro:
Hey, you’re drinking house coffee – unfiltered conversations brewed at the intersection of real estate life and coffee shop service. We’re Maggie and Rich – local business owners and friends sharing stories and welcoming you to pull up a chair with us. The door’s always open. Let us pour you a cup.

Rich:
What’s going on, Maggie?

Maggie:
Hey red

Rich:
Welcome to our podcast.

Maggie:
Welcome back again. I know hey, this is been really consistent and I’m loving it.

Rich:
I’m so proud of us

Maggie:
Me too

Rich:
Episode 6, I’m sorry that it’s not the topic. You thought it was gonna be but something to wet your whistle out there. We’re gonna talk in the future about five star experiences and You know what goes into them. What makes them? tick what do we think a five-star experience requires and You know what goes wrong to make them miss the mark So if you’re thinking about five star experiences that you’ve had. I don’t know right in tell us and we have we’re not recording that today. So maybe Well, I guess. the trouble of the way we record is that We we always want to talk about something but then we end up talking about it before we want people’s ideas. Yeah, but we talk about it before we get those ideas. Maybe we can put it out there online.

Maggie:
Yeah, we definitely can put it out there online.

Rich:
All right. Well, if you’ve already talked about you still tell us about five star experience, and I don’t know maybe leave a five star review on our podcast.

Maggie:
Yeah. Hey

Rich:
Not ashamedless plug. No instead today. And we could have gone on that direction except that we told them last time that we were going to talk about you we were gonna hear from you Maggie.

Maggie:
All right,

Rich:
Because I feel like I’ve done a lot of time

Maggie:
Wildly unprepared but I will do my well,

Rich:
You know what that is what’s gonna make this the best because we’re just freeballing.

Maggie:
Yeah.

Rich:
We’re just making it, you know. Or make it out what it is. So what

Maggie:
Do you want to know?

Rich:
Well, we did already talk about how you got into real estate how you got into? Well other things that you’ve been into and how a lot of those things come together in your life. Why don’t you tell us a little bit more about your staging business because I don’t think we’ve talked much about that part of your journey or that part of your like current career.

Maggie:
Yeah, so

Rich:
Whatever comes to mind about

Maggie:
Staging. Okay,

Rich:
The people

Maggie:
More like that’s a great question actually, and I would love to answer that. So staging I have a staging business called Welcome Home Co and um I love everything about houses if you couldn’t tell by now

Rich:
Way

Maggie:
And staging is something that I started doing basically when I when I told last time I worked at Pottery Barn I was helping people with their design needs and I worked for a builder and I helped people with their interior selections. So when somebody built a new house, they would meet with me after they went to contract and select their kitchen counters. They’re cabinets their flooring. They’re faucets. They’re toilets. They’re all the things that go into a new house.

Rich:
Okay. Sorry, not a party.

Maggie:
No, not a Pottery Barn. This

Rich:
Is when you were working for the Builder because I was gonna say Pottery Barn does not know

Maggie:
No, no, I

Rich:
Worked for toilets and it was at Lowe’s no this was through the Builder I worked for

Maggie:
They had everything was in-house some Builders. They will send you to all those individual vendors and you have to go and make those appointments and run around town and do them. Where’s the Builder that I worked for? had an employee like me called a selections coordinator and there was a Design Center where they would come in and they were samples of everything and they would meet with me to pick all those things and I love that job. It was tons of fun and it really opened my eyes and opened my world into the new construction realm.

Rich:
Yeah, would you say that that’s to have all that stuff in house. Is that common?

Maggie:
I would say 50/50 a lot of the bigger Builders have that.

Rich:
Yeah,

Maggie:
It’s like an expectation if you’re gonna work with a bigger Builder, but if you are if you’re only building like a handful of houses a year most Builders don’t have the overhead or want to pay somebody to do that. So having a design center and a selections coordinator is is a real bonus for a builder to have especially if they do a lot of volume of houses. So

Rich:
Make sense. It’s probably more it just good business. Yeah,

Maggie:
Totally else. So

Rich:
No pun intention.

Maggie:
Totally. I got my real estate license while I was working for this Builder and my real estate business started to grow and so there came a time where I had to choose between continuing to work for an hourly rate for the Builder or really grow my own personal business and I touched on that. Couple episodes ago how I got my real estate license and I was like, I’m gonna do this thing. and so the state how staging comes into it is. When I would list a property for sale. Because of my background in with Pottery Barn and with the designs a center. I it just natural part of the process for me as I was listing houses, I would meet with a seller and I would say an appointment they’d be like, oh, what do you think I should do to make the house look ready for for the market and I would give them my suggestions and then it started off it started off very slowly started off with Me bringing over some like decorative things. And I would fill my car with like pillows curtains. I like a blankets things like that. And I would I would

Rich:
Your own

Maggie:
My own from here from my collection of my own personal belongings.

Rich:
Wow,

Maggie:
And

Rich:
Were you like pulling stuff off of your couch or like Because you didn’t have a collection of I mean maybe you did

Maggie:
Because I wouldn’t have a trailer or no. I didn’t have my trailer. No heck. No I had a garage and I worked at Pottery Barn and so as as some of you know, like Pottery Barn as beautiful collection of like decorative things and I acquired a lot of Pottery Barn things as I worked there because the discount was amazing

Rich:
Got it.

Maggie:
And so I would just go through my own personal stash of pillows and blankets and duvets and curtains and lamps. and just fill my car and bring them over and then it slowly evolved from that it what really happened was. I I remember like I like filled my car with like then I started to feel totes with stuff and I would bring totes over to my clients’ houses and one one particular client of mine that I had. Hired a professional interior designer had a consultation and she asked me to be there for the design consultation and what ended up happening long story short after I she got the suggestions from like the interior designer

Rich:
And

Maggie:
Then I came in and staged it. My client was like you did a way better job than a designer and you’re really good at this and I was like And like meanwhile now I’ve got my own personal art not my photos of me, but like art that I own is hanging on their walls and like tablecloths and linens and I’m styling more than just a living room. I’m styling the whole house. And I tried like these are people I trusted with my own stuff. I knew like things wouldn’t get damaged. So there came a time where I listed a vacant house and it was a property that wasn’t an estate and it was empty and the sellers so I brought some of our items some of my items to the house and at this point I started I had like a good collection of stuff that it would keep in my garage and I would just fill Brandon’s truck with my stuff bring it over to the house and it would be staged and it was New Year’s Eve and we were having friends over for New Year’s Eve and we were getting ready and Brandon. My husband was like where did our chairs go and then he was like We’re all waited. Also. We’re missing our where did our coffee table. Did you move our coffee table? And he was like and I just looked at him with these like big wide eyes and I just started like smiling and he’s like Where are they like? Um, they’re at so-and-so’s house. I used them for staging and he was like Maggie stop taking our furniture and putting them in your client’s house. It’s like enough is enough like you need to you need some separation and I was like, Homie, okay. So that’s that was the point where I realized. Okay. I’m actually I really need to take this seriously because I can’t keep taking my chairs and coffee table and lamps and and artwork and stuff into my clients’ houses because number one I’m gonna not gonna have any more furniture and number two. Brandon’s going to get super upset that like he has nowhere to sit. So

Rich:
It’s like a picture off the wall No One’s Gonna Miss that but it’s like all right. I’m trying to do my lunch.

Maggie:
Yeah, right. No literally our dining chairs. No, I’m not even kidding our actual dining chairs. So I yes so I I decided you know what I’m we were like, how do we do so I got a storage unit. Do I do this? And I just decided that a trailer would be the best use of space for me personally because it’s mobile and Brandon has a truck and he can drop it off and so I bought a trailer at the end of 2020 or 22 foot trailer and we outfitted it with shelves and a little A raised almost looks like a stage where my sofa sits on top of it. And then there’s rugs that store underneath it and there’s like storage bit like tote bins and plastic bins for like plastic storage bags for like bedding pillows. And then I have a whole back wall full of like artwork and like smaller pieces of furniture and then Brandon put a bunch of hardware on the wall, so I could strap things down so when it’s moving stuff isn’t flying out everywhere and It took me a couple maybe like a year or two to curate and collect the furniture that I have and I have enough Furniture now where I could stage two houses pretty comfortably and I’m able to do that because I am very selective about what I take and if I don’t use it, I I sell it on Marketplace. and the furniture that I do keep Is the three factors that I consider when accepting a new piece of furniture into my collection? Those three factors are does it fold does it stack or does it inflate? So all of my beds are inflatable beds and all of the bed frames can fold and be stored against the wall. A lot of my furniture is foldable or disassembles easily. Or Stacks easily so I can stack it up in the corner and it doesn’t take up a ton of space.

Rich:
Yeah. You really thought this out. Oh,

Maggie:
Yeah

Rich:
You had to

Maggie:
Yeah, I had to and I actually learned about that as I was loading up my Mini Cooper with Furniture because I I had to pick and choose the things that would. Easily be stuffed into a car. So

Rich:
Right,

Maggie:
You know, I kind of I I car and not a huge car. So I was able to really pair down my furniture based upon like what would fit in my car because I was making I was making runs like several trips back and forth from my garage to my clients’ houses with my car feel to the top with furniture and you’d be surprised what you can what I could fit inside my car.

Rich:
Yeah, I mean I can imagine.

Maggie:
Yeah

Rich:
Knowing what I have done. I mean, I have a minivan but knowing like what I have. Accomplished. Yeah, I can when there’s a will. Oh. You make away.

Maggie:
Oh a hundred percent. I believe that a hundred percent. So yeah now my trailer is a mobile staging unit. Brandon will drop it off to the property the week or so before it’s going in the market and I can just open the back door. And because everything is light, I can move most everything myself. There are two items I need to assistance with and that’s my sofa and there’s this big giant rug that’s super heavy and super large and I need I need help carrying that into. And those the only two things I really need help carrying everything else. I can do by myself.

Rich:
Cool.

Maggie:
Yep,

Rich:
I didn’t expect a rug to be the answer to

Maggie:
Oh really?

Rich:
What do you need help with?

Maggie:
Yeah,

Rich:
That makes sense. If it’s

Maggie:
It’s a massive. Yeah.

Rich:
That’s so interesting. I’ve seen pictures I think online.

Maggie:
Yep.

Rich:
Because you’re good just showing your process and what you’re doing and stuff. And I’ve seen pictures of your Mini Cooper fell to the brim for sure for sure. That’s a man. That’s that’s pretty cool. So, okay, it’s been When did when did Welcome Home Co become official? As like your your brand or the umbrella under which you would do.

Maggie:
I suppose I suppose welcome home Kobe came official. In 2022.

Rich:
Wow, okay, so

Maggie:
It’s fairly recent in terms of last year. My I mean I’ve bought the domain a while ago. But I just sat on it for like a year. Once I like I knew the name I had my logo. So, I guess maybe it started in 21 2021. but I didn’t do anything with it because I was so busy with my real estate business. I had a ton of clients that I was working with by myself. And I don’t know if people remember the craziness of the real estate market in 2020 and 2021 and even 2022 it started to get a little bit less crazy, but like 2020 and 2021 were. Crazy crazy for real estate agents, and so I’d really didn’t have the time to focus on. Setting up, you know an official business. I just sort of did it and I I had the trailer but it just looked like a sketchy white trailer that was like parked in front of people’s houses and I would talk about what I did with staging but I didn’t really make it official until until like the end like middle of 2022 because just the sheer time it took to establish it and I I didn’t want people to think that I was getting out of the real estate game and just doing staging a couple people thought that when I announced that I had this welcome home Co and so I just wanted to clear that up like I’m I’m Very much still actively. working as a real estate agent staging is just like an arm of my business kind of like the podcast as an art of this business, you know, like I think it’s important as a professional to not put all your eggs in one basket and that is what staging is for me. It’s it’s something I love doing. Actually, I think I love staging more than I love selling. Yeah,

Rich:
But

Maggie:
Staging allows me. that creative way of of blank canvas actually do I know who my favorite clients are? obviously my favorite clients are single Bachelors.

Rich:
Wow,

Maggie:
Because they will just be like do whatever you want. I don’t care. Nice like make it look good.

Rich:
Yeah,

Maggie:
And When it’s an empty house. You can make this house look like anybody lives there. You would never know from the photos who the owner is or what they’re like. And my favorite Compliments are from other agents. Who when we’re discussing the property will be like to someone live here and I’d be like no, they don’t

Rich:
Nice.

Maggie:
It’s an empty. It’s a bank account and that’s such a compliment when when people can’t tell

Rich:
If

Maggie:
Somebody lives there or not. just by, you know walking through it and I try I take a lot of pride in that because I think sometimes I mean every staging business is different and I think some staging companies will just like make make enough it just depends on the person but like I like to Stage a home. so that it looks like fully furnished and beautiful and photos and it’s it’s really great when the when the clients are like I don’t care what you do just make it look good and I just go in there Joe and I my friend Joe who helps me out Joe who I met we were at Pottery Barn and We we go in there and we just we just do our thing and it’s it’s a lot of fun. It doesn’t feel like work when I’m working with Joe.

Rich:
That’s cool. Yeah, I was thinking that the It sounds like a creative outlet for you. Yeah, good to have you know in life obviously always but when and we touched on this before As an idea but to have a creative outlet that you can also draw income from

Maggie:
This.

Rich:
I mean, I guess that’s the dream right? Yeah,

Maggie:
It is a dream and I think that there’s a difference between like I have a lot of creative Outlets. people probably don’t know about but I’m not gonna make a living out of them like I like just so I have a sewing machine and I I like to so things but I’m like I do that for fun because I enjoy it. Like I’m not gonna I’m not gonna sell. Yeah things I sell

Rich:
And I mean

Maggie:
And I don’t post about them either. I just do it because it’s for me.

Rich:
Yeah. I actually didn’t know that about you.

Maggie:
Yeah,

Rich:
That’s cool. But that’s the idea for some things you have to The scale on which you have to do some things to make a living or make an in, you know or draw an income from at all. It’s such a large scale that it it would lose something of its

Maggie:
Enjoyment.

Rich:
Yeah, just it’s charm and and maybe the creative aspect of it would kind of be sucked out of it, which I can imagine hand sewing and and making clothing for someone. I’m sure that is a passion and that’s something they love to do and are happy to do a lot of it. And you know, that’s a whole Rabbit Trail. That’s just all those kinds of things that we we can pursue creatively but Well, that’s cool. I’m glad you have that in your life and you know having something to break things up as is important. There’s knowing, you know from my point of view like how long I’ve been grinding no pun intended. Yeah, just grinding it out like trying to make this coffee shop work.

Maggie:
You know, it’s getting there and like

Rich:
Yeah, well, I don’t yes things are things are getting somewhere things are getting somewhere, but I’m just thinking like man. It’s been so long since I’ve had the freedom to go skate or play music or hang out with my wife and just enjoy some time together. And now we have a kid and so You know.

Maggie:
Yeah,

Rich:
Who knows how how soon that will be in my life, but those little moments that I get of of enjoyment of the outside of work are are important, but there’s nothing else really in my life that I could do at this point to. Like add to the business or or turn it into

Maggie:
What would you be doing? If you didn’t own a class

Rich:
This episode is not about me actually, so I was just gonna not keep talking about myself, but I honestly don’t even know because I have no career process. I left a career in Ministry. Like I maybe I mentioned before that and and that was like kind of an open door to what’s next and

Maggie:
Church ministry.

Rich:
Can’t College

Maggie:
College campus ministry

Rich:
And like I didn’t even graduate college. I graduated Community College, but I’m six credits short of a bachelor’s degree. So. You know, I didn’t have a lot now I could have sure I could have gone to finish that and who knows that was a philosophy. I mean, yeah lots of dead endurance in my life. I really don’t know what I’d be doing. But I almost not I’d almost rather

Maggie:
Funny right before we started recording you were you said something about reticent?

Rich:
Yes.

Maggie:
What did you say? I

Rich:
Said, I’m reticent about permanence.

Maggie:
Yes.

Rich:
Yeah, and so maybe I would have been an English.

Maggie:
Your permanent

Rich:
I am yeah, exactly exactly. You’re you’re and thanks for connecting those dots for me Maggie. I appreciate that. All right. Yeah enough about me. Okay, I’m talking about me for five episodes.

Maggie:
You want to know

Rich:
You know? you what else do you want to tell us? I don’t know like I mean specific questions come up as we’re talking, but that’s those and I can follow anyone else questions, and I’m trying to like think about what would people want to know? You know, I don’t you’re the only person I know I mean, I know real estate people. I have another friends old friend who he’s getting into real estate and and it looks kind of cut and dry but the staging element I think really makes it. for you a whole well-rounded thing. It’s just like a it’s like a part of the industry. I mean, what was the benefit of staging like? I know it’s the benefits to you creatively but like why would someone want to hire? You for that service. What’s that going to do if they’re selling a house?

Maggie:
Well Two things I the benefit for me. Other than the fact that I get enjoyment out of it,

Rich:
Right

Maggie:
Is it sets me apart?

Rich:
From

Maggie:
Other real estate agents and in a business of real estate, it can be really competitive. And one thing that makes me differentiate myself from competition. Not that it’s like, oh, I’m I’m in competition with so many people it’s just sometimes when somebody is about to sell a house, they’ll interview multiple agents and see like who would be the best fit for them and a one-way that I can differentiate myself is offering staging as a part of my service because it’s it’s just something that I love to do. So that’s that’s the benefit for. Me, is that it? Sets myself apart. and the benefit for my clients and for in general is that it turns a plane ordinary house into a beautiful house. In my job as a Stager. is to Help buyers, imagine themselves living there and let the buyers imagine that to be as their home. So one of the things that when Joe and I are staging together. Joe’s very creative and he’s so good at styling things to make it look really beautiful and oftentimes I’ll I’ll have to like dial it back a little bit because I’m like We’re not we’re not staging a house for the experience necessarily of like being in the house. I stage a house so that it looks good in photographs because no buyer is going to want to walk through the front door. If they don’t like how the house looks in photographs. So my job as the listing agent and Stager is to make a house look beautiful on a little screen that we hold in our hands 24/7 called our phone. and if I’ll house doesn’t look good. on our phone on a screen no one’s going to want to see it in person. So that’s a huge benefit. For for a clients of mine is when I stage something. I know how to make it look good in the photos, and I I know how to make a room be. It’s so it sounds kind of silly to say this. But like I know how to create an emotion out of a room.

Rich:
Yeah.

Maggie:
You know what? I mean? Like

Rich:
That’s a that’s genius.

Maggie:
I know how to do it. I know how to like I don’t know. It’s just something it’s a talent of mine, I think because It you want to depersonalize it. Yes, you don’t want to have photos of like your kids and like their names and stuff like one. I remember one time. I was listing a house and like they had a baby room and you know how it I don’t know. I don’t think you did this with your son, but like You over the crib, they’ll have like individual letters of the of the baby’s name.

Rich:
We didn’t do that. But I know exactly what she

Maggie:
You know, and it’s like over the crib and it looks really cute. But what people don’t realize is these photos last forever on the internet. It doesn’t matter if the listings taken down or whatever like those photos people take screenshots and those live on the internet forever. So just a tip for people out there. you know who don’t live in this area and you are going to be selling your house like I recommend taking down those letters and like names of your kids and photos of your children because if you don’t want something to be lived on the internet forever, take it down. Yeah. If you don’t care. Then leave it doesn’t matter to me. If you have like a big giant canvas photo of your wedding day. More power to you if you don’t mind if that’s lives on the internet forever.

Rich:
Yeah solid advice. So do you like Envision rooms through you know, do you walk around like holding up your fingers like you’re looking through

Maggie:
I do yeah. I literally do I do that and I will take pictures of the process throughout the way like I staged a house. Single guy

Rich:
Not to give away all your trade secrets. I’m probably people out there looking to like You know jump in on your territory.

Maggie:
No, I’m not concerned about that because I think everybody brings their own talent to the table and different.

Rich:
I already hear first.

Maggie:
I’m really not concerned. I really I’m really not somebody doesn’t want to work with me. I’m not I’m not offended like we can we don’t have to work together. I’m not gonna be the I’m not gonna be the right fit for everybody. but what I was saying about this client of mine. I staged. The bedroom and I took a photo of it. It looked great in person. I was like wow, this looks so great and then I took a photo of it. And I looked at the photo and something stuck out to me in the photo. That didn’t look right that you couldn’t really see. As I was standing there and I ended up rearranging the whole thing to make it look better for the photo

Rich:
Professionalism at it’s fun.

Maggie:
I did. Yep, and that’s just

Rich:
That’s the job you’re gonna do. Yeah, people

Maggie:
Don’t realize that that’s part of staging that’s

Rich:
Good. Yeah a little behind the scenes for you. Okay. Well everyone wants to know. Financial what’s what’s obviously? Excuse me? So we thought there’s there’s the benefit of like so what’s the effect of selling when you sell a house that’s been staged. Are we talking selling it for more or we’re talking

Maggie:
Good question

Rich:
Selling it faster. Like what’s I’ll give you an example right off. Yeah, please

Maggie:
So there was a property that was for sale by owner. And I had some buyer clients. And by the way, like if a house is a for sale by owner and somebody still wants to see it. I’ll show my my buyer clients a for sale by owner just because it’s a for sale by owner doesn’t mean they can’t You know, we can’t work together. So that’s what I did. I called the owner directly because that was the number listed on Zillow. We walked through the house and my my clients agreed that that wasn’t the right home for them. They didn’t really like it. Afterward I sent a text to the owner. Thank you so much for your time. You know, it’s not really the right house for them. That’s it. Didn’t really say much after that. And then the next day the owner called me and he started asking me specific questions. and I went when we were having this conversation. It sounded like he was interviewing me like he was asking me like and I’m like so like and it got to the point in the conversation was like are you do you want to list the house? He’s like, yeah, I I think I think we need a realtor and we really liked you or I really like to and it was an estate.

Rich:
Yeah,

Maggie:
He talked to his siblings about it. And I was like, okay. Well, I’ll come back and

Rich:
I have been vacant. It’s like empty. Yes.

Maggie:
It was

Rich:
Empty. Your people were walking through. Yeah.

Maggie:
It was totally empty. That’s not why they didn’t like it. It was it was other factors. They couldn’t see themselves living. Right right. There are other factors

Rich:
Totally.

Maggie:
So I go back we make an appointment I go back maybe like day or two later and I sit with him and I was like, here’s what I think your house needs. I think you need me to Stage it because it’s really hard for people to Envision. What this house can look like because it’s it’s kind of like. Random

Rich:
Yes, so

Maggie:
And most of the rooms most of the rooms are empty. So I staged the house. We listed it. for I don’t even remember the exact details, but basically with the house stage. and like The you know, real estate commissions and all of that he made more money than he did when he was listed at for sale by owner. So that is the power of staging. in my opinion because it got a lot of attention and a lot of showings and a lot of interest and people were willing to pay above the asking price for it because of All those things I just mentioned. Yeah,

Rich:
Great and that’s pretty typical.

Maggie:
For me. Yes, I

Rich:
Mean, okay good

Maggie:
Not always I mean there’s no I mean Right now in 2023. We are in a very unique. Market we just are like if you were to ask me this question in like 2017-2018. It would be I would have a completely different. Answer for you because the market was different then. but the market is different now and sellers are on strike. Nobody wants to sell a house right now because there’s they don’t know where they’re going to move and I think eventually things will equalize a little bit but right now yeah, that’s that’s kind of what the Market’s like right now.

Rich:
Is that like, you know people talk about inventory is that because there’s less it’s probably Gotta be a cycle, right? Yes people selling those places to move and then people don’t want to sell because yeah, they got more to move exactly and then also people are Are people still offering? You know, there was all this talk about Like Houses would be sold for like cash. So I don’t see in. Is that still

Maggie:
That’s that’s not necessarily the there’s not

Rich:
That was the code.

Maggie:
Yeah. That was the covid game. Yes, but what what really happened is several years ago. The interest rates were record low. to point five percent three percent and people bought their house at a very record low interest rate. And now interest rates as of today. I would say the average interest rate for our area is probably. 6.75 percent or six and a half percent depending on the lender that varies. so why would somebody move out of a house that’s paying two and a half or three percent? Into a house where they’re going to basically be doubling their interest rate. I mean when you think about it the interest that’s like an average interest rate for like, you know, our parents paid more than that when they bought their houses, but I think it’s just hard for people to conceptualize like moving from A different like increasing their monthly payment by that much so they don’t want to move so houses are just sort of at a place right now. Where People are just making do with where they live.

Rich:
I know so little about really

Maggie:
I’m not an expert

Rich:
Funny enough that we’re doing a podcast about real estate and coffee. I have so much to learn. How common is for sale by owner? That’s not something you see that often? I don’t know that process at all like. It’s pretty common straightforward. Is it like kind of what it sounds like?

Maggie:
Yep,

Rich:
You just work out to deal with the person that owns the house and

Maggie:
Yeah well in New York state you work with a real estate attorney for the closing. So that’s very common here in New York state. We’re one of the two states maybe three that requires a real estate attorney for closing.

Rich:
Interesting.

Maggie:
Yep. so in here in New York state if you’re doing a for sale by owner the attorney, you know, they would have to have an attorney to do the closing. but people think that it’s easy to do for sale by owner because and the most common reason somebody wants to do a for sale by owner is because they think they could do a better job than a real estate agent and maybe they could but they want to avoid paying commissions. That’s the biggest thing. but the reality is selling a house is a big headache. And it’s confusing and there’s a big process along the way and if if you’re not experienced with selling a house. There’s a lot of factors that come into play that you just don’t have at your fingertips as a typical homeowner. And a real estate agent if they’re doing their job, right? They are negotiating on your behalf and explaining the multiple offers to you and giving you options and educating you throughout the process as well as being a go between for all the people that want to see the house. so just showings alone is such a pain to coordinate especially if you have a full-time job and a realtor’s full-time job is to show houses and negotiate and make sure that your educated on the process from start to finish. It’s a pain like you want to know what I tell people when I when I’m going to sell their house.

Rich:
What is it?

Maggie:
I’m like, I just want you to know. If anybody tells you that they are going to make this easy for you. They’re lying. It is incredibly inconvenient to sell your house incredibly inconvenient. You have to make sure your house is in perfect condition. You have strangers walking through your home. If you have pets you have to find a new location for your pets. If you have kids you have to make sure your kids are you know, you know, sometimes showings can go like it into dinner time and bedtime and you have to make arrangements to be out of your house while people are Walking through and and looking through your cabinets and closets and all these things you just it’s very invasive. It’s a very invasive thing to sell your house and people are really stressed out if they if they can’t control. All of that. So what I tell people when I sell their houses, I’m I say to them like selling your house is inconvenient, but I’m gonna try to make it as stress-free as possible. by making sure we’re having the same expectations. I think it’s all about managing expectations.

Rich:
I like that. I like that phraseology. I use that a lot.

Maggie:
Excuseology.

Rich:
No, I manage the expectations. That’s how I describe. My job actually, yeah. I think being a business owner. So maybe that’s why yeah, that’s why that makes sense being a business owner basically equates to managing expectations.

Maggie:
Yep

Rich:
Your own Your clients or customers? staff if you have them, you know team members whatever and that’s that’s something that’s just an ongoing work. So

Maggie:
Yeah,

Rich:
I resonate with that.

Maggie:
Yep.

Rich:
Well, I’ve never bought or sold a house so that probably explains why I lack this education. Man, shout out to you if you have. Bought or sold the house.

Maggie:
Yeah. It’s fun times.

Rich:
Yeah. Yeah, well. I mean, that’s a pretty good look into your your work. I think yeah, let me just do a little time check. Check us out average time. I don’t have any more specific questions. do you have anything to add or subscribe?

Maggie:
No.

Rich:
Any cool staging opportunities on the horizon. Or I mean they’re maybe they’re all cool in different ways. But like yeah particularly looking forward to if if they’re lined up already.

Maggie:
You know. I’m gonna be honest. I don’t. It’s like I said, sorry

Rich:
Is ready to work for you. All right, so just give a shout out to welcome.

Maggie:
But here’s great thing. I am working with so many fire clients right now a lot of buyers buyers. Yeah, so I’m

Rich:
New both so you’re not short of something. Yeah.

Maggie:
It’s just like I said sellers are on strike right now. So and I I want to be transparent about that. I’m not trying to sit here and be like Oh, I’m so busy. I’ve got too much work because that’s just not the reality of Every real estate agent right now

Rich:
Sure,

Maggie:
But I it’s yeah,

Rich:
Like any business. I’m sure it Ebbs and flows. And yes, it’s Market driven and you know, there’s a lot that influences that so

Maggie:
I’ve got a lot of really cool buyers right now, and I’m looking at a lot of really cool houses right now. So there’s that I love I love taking videos and photos of all the houses. I see.

Rich:
Yeah working people. And there are those things you share.

Maggie:
Yes.

Rich:
Yeah, so where can people find you maybe we’ve said it before just

Maggie:
On my Instagram another Maggie from At Maggie from that’s my Instagram. I’m Maggie from

Rich:
Cool. Yeah.

Maggie:
Any anything you want to add about anything new at story?

Rich:
I knew it stored. There’s a lot going on in the background guys. I don’t know you

Maggie:
Don’t have to share necessarily.

Rich:
There’s not a lot that I can share. All right. All I can say is well, this is cool. So I’m I’m excited about this happy to share this. We just got ourselves into a Consulting. Course, it’s going to be it’s like a small group based. Consulting it’s like a small group. Based curriculum there’s these modules. Each one is related to things like but just things for running a business and in particular running a coffee shop. This is a this is a Consulting. Company guy. It’s a guy Consulting guy who works with largely. He’s from the coffee industry works with coffee people and Cafe owners so he knows the deal, but at the same time it’s like it’s a business. It’s like any other business and so cash flow and revenue and percentages. And cost of goods those are all things that are they pertain to you know. Any kind of business? but he because of experience in coffee shops has a lot to say about that and I’m not saying that story is roasting coffee anytime soon, but spoiler alert, we’ve been talking about roasting coffee and what that could look like for us that is typically something that with bigger companies that do major Or even smaller companies. There’s a lot that goes into coffee roasting that you wouldn’t even have a clue about if you’re only experience with coffee was well, I mean not even to mention if you’re only experience with coffee was a was a shop like a chain store, but even coming into a shop like story. It’s just a calf. It’s just a cafe and there’s an espresso machine and like our process is extensive, but we already are we’re working with coffee that’s already been roasted. There’s a whole other business to set up a coffee roast three and so there’s different ways to do that and one is to like get a coffee roasting machine and get the space and buy a bunch of green, you know, raw coffee that you’re gonna roast and you know, all that stuff and kind of build out the infrastructure for that.

Maggie:
Why do you want to do that? Is it like is it profitable?

Rich:
Oh for sure. Yeah. So I mean I’m paying someone else. For the coffee that they’ve roasted so for I’m paying like nine dollars a pound for instance or just throw number out there. I do kind of pay around that price nine dollars a pound and Specialty coffee like we talked about. Yeah quality, I think last time and how what differentiates specialty coffee is like nine dollars maybe is on the low end of our mid-range specialty, you know coffee like you could pay 10 11 dollars a pound. The wholesale prices before you’re going to then have to go install that coffee as a finished product. But when you buy the green roasted, I’m sorry unroasted coffee. The price point is a lot lower to start. And so if you’re roasting it yourself, well, you’re cutting a cutting out a middleman. Excuse me, and you can just retain more profit and Slash. Get your own wholesale clients which you know, we have a lot of Dreams. within our industry I was thinking about this earlier today. I got into coffee as someone who isn’t interested in simple. Like I got into it because of coffee the whole thing. I like the whole thing the way I was thinking about it was people A lot some people just want to have a coffee shop, you know because it’s like a romantic idea. They just want a little cafe. They want to serve people, but they don’t care. That much about the coffee that’s being served. It’s not their focus for me. I got into it because I wanted to learn about coffee. I wanted to be hands on I want to know the process and so in other words you can work with a company that’s gonna provide a machine and coffee and they’re gonna be able to tell you how to program that thing and they’re gonna kind of say set it and forget it. You know if they come and do it for you, then it’s gonna get done. But if you don’t know how to do it. Well one you can’t make any changes and two you don’t know how to do it. You don’t know anything about it.

Maggie:
And

Rich:
If you don’t care, well, that’s fine. But I was always the kind of guy getting into this where I was like I want to know. How to change things if I need to I want to understand the process I want to understand what’s happening with this coffee that makes it one way or another and if I want to explore it. Well, I’ve got the tools to do that and I’m realizing just how Much I have to learn I have so much to learn actually know very little almost nothing about coffee roasting interestingly enough and then I’m realizing how little anyone else knows who isn’t on that other end. And so there’s almost two ways you can go in this world and I find myself on this path. That’s leading more toward. I think we got to go the whole way. I think we might want to go the whole way toward. Roasting coffee providing it to other people providing them the service and the machines and the repair and like we’re kind of like starting to think really big picture. I’m not saying we have the skills or know-how or resources to you know build that business but I am saying watch out that’s where it’s coming for you. All right,

Maggie:
Nice

Rich:
2023 exciting. yeah, thanks, and there’s some other cool things that That are happening like other opportunities were sort of poking at places that you might potentially find some storied influence in the future and and then what else and so yeah, the Consulting deal that whole thing. I think that’s like perfect timing for where we’re at and I’ll be happy to talk about this process as we go things. We’re learning as a little bit behind the scenes of story because we were already thinking about a lot of this stuff cash flow and projections and profitability and how to pay your staff and pay your owners and you know sustain the long term. Yeah, we were thinking about a lot of that stuff and then I had been following this guy online which you know, I’ll shot him out because go follow him. He’s he’s I think like I said, he’s deep in in the coffee industry has been in for a long time, but I think that the and he’s done a Consulting and stuff but it seems like this effort is Sort of new and growing and so it’s called thread Bear Coffee. Consulting I think threadbare You could find it that way coffee. And he’s always posting his news Michael. He’s always posting like just good little thoughts on Instagram and trying to be helpful giving people especially Cafe owners and Roastery owners. Just thoughts about good things. One of the things he said that kind of like. Hit me. He’s like don’t open a second location before your first location is profitable.

Maggie:
Like where was that advice?

Rich:
And I was like, I mean sure that’s obvious enough maybe but obviously we had or maybe not obviously if you don’t know we had a second location. And it was a look. I’m not we learned a lot from it everybody learned. a lot and and I think the principal does apply but like it could have been different. It should have been different for sure than what it was what so

Maggie:
We learn

Rich:
It’s gonna be a whole episode

Maggie:
Too live and learn

Rich:
Opening and closing your second location. So, okay. We’ve been through a lot we talked you know, and so we’re already thinking about all that stuff and and then Michael I’ve been following him and then this opportunity popped up and I was like, all right. I think this is time to pull the trigger. The price was really nice for some kind of like promotional reasons and I’m just looking forward to that. So 12 mileage, I’m not gonna tell you all about it, but it’s 12 modules that are dedicated to Cafe ownership and then it’s bonus round 12 modules dedicated to Roastery. Oh, so it’s like it’s like looking ahead. Well already have worked through those ideas around that. You know before getting into it and then also we’re thinking about the cafe side. I think that the long-term viability of storied just includes. I think it probably has to include for as long as we’re in Scotia. As long as we’re in small town New York, like it might have to include And for as long as I don’t want to be like a full service restaurant or brunch join or whatever, which I love some good brunch, so nothing against that but I think that’s a different. It’s just a different model. So if we want to be a little coffee shop, we’re gonna have to probably Provide some coffee, you know to ourselves and we’re gonna need some sponsorships for this podcast. Oh, no, okay. Do you know what’s really funny? I want to name my Roastery not story. I want to name it. And not reticent Roasters, although now, I’m actually thinking I think maybe reticent Roasters is a cool name, but I’ve actually thought about reluctant Roasters. I thought that’s cool alliteration and also because I’ve actually been very reluctant

Maggie:
Reticent is

Rich:
Frozen Roasters to get into I’ve been relaxing to get into coffee Rose.

Maggie:
I

Rich:
Mean hesitant Yeah, it’s like stand off fish or just like you’re holding back from something. Okay reticent. Oh, yeah. I’m not willing to I’m hesitant to go there. That’s right. I think those are synonyms for sure. I don’t know why I choose reticent overhead

Maggie:
You’re reticent for a lot of people from what I’ve learned.

Rich:
Yeah. Well, feel free to encourage me and all the irrelevant directions that you know,

Maggie:
Hey, we’re here now recording. So like I call that a win.

Rich:
Yeah. So wait, are you saying that I was resident about starting this podcast? Yes. Wow Undercover.

Maggie:
I mean, I don’t think you were reticent about the idea you were I think you were reticent to hit record.

Rich:
Yeah. Wow,

Maggie:
Register

Rich:
Right. You got me on that Resident it all it all makes sense. Wow.

Maggie:
Well, you can thank me. Later.

Rich:
All right on that note. Yeah, I think we’re gonna draw Too Close. Thanks for tuning in

Maggie:
Next time. We’ll talk about five star experience. I

Rich:
Think next time. Yeah. Yeah, nothing else on the

Maggie:
Door. That’s what I was prepared for today. So I’ll be ultra prepared for next time

Rich:
Perfect. All right. Well,

Maggie:
Don’t forget to follow us. How’s coffee podcast? On Instagram.

Rich:
Yeah

Maggie:
And submit your questions,

Rich:
Please.

Maggie:
How’s coffee podcast.com or House Coffee podcast at gmail.

Rich:
You know what I would really love. It’s a little uh, if you head to our website the story no, if you head to our website at House Coffee podcast.com and you scroll all the way to the bottom and you find that little link leave us a voice message. Yeah

Maggie:
And

Rich:
Hit us up on that speak pipe. We’d love to hear from you can just yeah leave a little shout out down there tell us. You know, how would you think how we’re doing? Any thoughts questions comments concerns queries quantities inquiries.

Maggie:
Yeah, all those all the above

Rich:
Here. Actual beautiful Angelic horses. Yes. All right.

Maggie:
Okay next time. We’ll catch you later.

Rich:
He stops.