As I write this, I am wearing the hat of the President for 2009-2010 of the International Association of Home Staging Professionals (IAHSP) that for over 10 years has been serving the Home Staging industry with integrity. We have members in every state in the country as well as in Canada and Europe. I have been a proud member of IAHSP since 2003. We were the first association to provide educational forums, conventions, and local chapters to support our members. Our "model" of success has been emulated by other groups that have popped up recently. They say "imitation is the greatest form of flattery." IAHSP should be really flattered.
That said, I am amazed at the continuing misinformation being spewed by associations intent on recruiting membership. Two in particular have coupled up on the "supposed" legislation that they say will harm Home Stagers. They have stated in writing that our IAHSP association has put its head in the sand because we do not agree with their fear mongering and claims that legislation that targets interior designers will harm Home Stagers. They scoff at the notion that we actually went and asked the ASID organization about the legislation. And because the information we found does not agree with their fear-based claims, now everyone is a "liar" - except them.
When will this posturing end?
If you are reading this - the only thing you need to know is that there is always a motivation behind people asking for "support" for an issue. In this case, they want your dollars. They want to legitimize their reason for existence and they do this by deliberately striking fear in to the minds of business owners everywhere. Imagine how excited this interior design advocate group must have been when they realized there was a whole new profit center they could tap into with Home Stagers? And they gained access to this group through an association that is supposed to be serving Home Stagers. How is dragging Home Stagers into this issue serving them?
I am sure these groups provide value to their members in other ways, but wtih regard to the issue of legislation and how it will harm Home Stagers, they are way off base. The facts speak for themselves.
We are not disputing that this is a real issue of concern for interior designers everywhere.
The issue is of great concern for INTERIOR DESIGNERS. They do have reason for concern as if they do not want to fall under the auspices of what constitutes an interior designer as defined by this legislation, it could cause them to lose their business. By all means - fight the good fight. We wish you luck and we support you in your endeavors. But dragging Home Stagers along into the trenches will not help your cause at all. It only muddies it up.
Anyone with a semblance of intelligence can read the legislation and see that it does not target anyone in the Home Staging industry.
Our position paper on this issue tells the reader to investigate for themselves. Do NOT rely on aritcles written by those with a clear bias, or those that take the issue to the extreme. Unless you are not solely a Home Stager. If you are someone that does Home Staging AND Decorating AND Interior Design - the legislation could apply to you only in your Interior Designer capacity. But we shared all that in our thoughtful position paper we send out and posted recently.
The bottom line for IAHSP is that Home Staging is NOT decorating or interior design.
This person actually admits that in her blog post. They are NOT the same - and yet she and another association are trying diligently to meld all forms of decorating-design-Staging into one amorphous blob. WHY? They are all stand-alone business entities. Their goals are not the same. Therefore, any legislation targeting one group - i.e., interior designers, does not automatically target the other two. However, in their world, all 3 are at risk. How can this be? On one hand they acknowledge that they are all different and then in the next breath are telling readers that legislation applies to all? Huh?
I took the time to contact the President of this design advocacy group, and did not receive a reply back. She completely ignored my attempts to reach out and better understand why she felt that Home Stagers should be part of this "battle." Never heard back. I have emails to prove I did reach out and my intent was to cooperatively understand the issue and how it pertained to Home Stagers. The interior design advocacy group is right to be concerned about this issue for their Interior Designer members. But jumping into bed with a fledgling Home Staging association and then directing the fear towards Home Stagers, to me, is not a responsible action.
I also do not appreicate the repeated attempts discredit IAHSP - the top Home Staging association that has set the standard for excellence for over a decade. IAHSP is the only association that is based in EDUCATION first, as well as Ethics and Excellence. We actually have standards for membership - starting with being educated by a reputable company in Home Staging.
People that have hands in both interior design and Home Staging - it is hard to find an association that truly serves your interests. My advice is to belong to a Home Staging association, and then belong to an Interior Design association. Two separate memberships to serve two separate business facets. That way when and if you do have issues with legislation, you will have proper represenatation with a group that truly has your interests at heart.
What is important to know for all our wonderful IAHSP Members is that we will continue to print the truth - and we do not have a hidden agenda. Our sharing the facts responsibly with our members and the Home Staging community at large is not about increasing membership or having people give money to "fight" an issue that is not really about us at all.
This is NOT about "us versus them" - it is NOT about which Home Staging association is better, etc. It IS about not putting Home Stagers into a place of fear over an issue that is not about Staging. It IS about ensuring that we keep the lines of our industries clearly defined. IAHSP understands this. We hope that others see the light as well.
The members of our IAHSP International Board are ALL VOLUNTARY! No one is paid to serve. In that way, we are not tempted to latch on to an issue that could bring profit to our association. The "rebuttal" from this advocacy group insinuated incorrectly that IAHSP was for profit. That is not true. And as we shared in our position paper - think carefully about who you want to associate with - when deciding membership in an association that is there to truly serve you as a Home Stager.
Ask the Presidents of these other "associations" if they get paid to do what they do - I bet the answer will confirm what I and many others believe. It takes money to pay for salaries - that money comes from memberships. IAHSP dues pay for websites that give our members added exposure, as well as for our IAHSP Chapters and the coordination it takes to help support over 100 chapters in North America. That is it. No salaries are paid to IAHSP Board members or chapter leaders.
I serve IAHSP because I value my association and believe in what we stand for and how we serve our members.
I hope that these other groups can agree to disagree - and show some mutual respect for what we each strive for in serving our members. Only time will tell the truth. Until then, Home Stagers should not live in fear of being "shut down" by legislation that is clearly not about what we do in our Home Staging businesses nor be told by associations that are supposedly serving Home Stagers that they should be concerned. To me that is irresponsible.
For more information please go to http://www.iahsp.com and link to the following information: "Myths and Facts about Proposed Legislation"
http://www.stagedhomes.com/training/A%20Official%20Answer%20from%20American%20Society%20of%20Interior%20Designers%20%20%20July%202009.pdf
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