PRES Staging Resource Centre

Over ten years ago Dana J. Smithers left a successful 20 year corporate sales career in a service industry to pursue her dream of becoming an interior decorator. She didn't just 'jump ship' and naively think she could start earning the same salary she had in corporate. She decided it was time in her life to follow her passion and have some fun doing something that she loved to do. So, she set goals and made plans about how she could move into the interior decorating world on a part time basis.
Dana fast tracked an Interior Decorating Diploma program, took a professional Redesign course and started to look for part time jobs in industry related areas while still working part time in corporate. She eventually ended up teaching courses in the Interior Decorating Diploma program that she had graduated from and worked part time in a retail fabric store, a boutique furniture store and a custom design store. She learned the 'ins-and-outs' of the interior decorating world while running her start-up business Sun On My Back Redesigns.
As her business grew she eventually could take that 'leap of faith' and by 2004 her full time business was providing services to her clients for decorating and redesign. She continued to teach at night school and in a custom design store where she could meet new clients. Before 'staging' became a well-known term Dana's clients starting asking her if she could help them make their house look great for selling.
And, as the saying goes, the rest is history In 2002 she became a founding member of the CRDA *Canadian Redesigners Association) and taught a professional course in redesign and eventually home staging with the organization. Being an entrepreneur with some successes in her new career, Dana decided to create and launch her next business, the PRES (Professional Real Estate Stagers) Staging Resource Centre.
The focus of the PRES Staging Resource Centre was initially on offering a 5 day professional home staging and redesign course. While she did not hire employees she had as many as 7 contractors working with her at one time. She still operates out of her 'home office' and is expanding into her next business line of a professional PRES On-Line Staging course to be launched in the fall of 2010.
In 2009 Dana released 3 eBooks. Her first eBook titled, "Do-It-Yourself Home Staging, Getting Ready For an Open House in 10 Easy Steps " reveals her trade secrets and a no-fail room-by-room formula to create an "open house ready" look. She draws on her years of experience working with countless home owners, realtors and home staging students. She wrote her companion ebook "Creating Curb Appeal that Sells " so home sellers don't forget how important that first impression is. Her third eBook teaches anyone how to hang art properly. She has hung over 1000 pieces of art in the last 6 years and shares her tips with you to get the right look every time.
Her latest book Start & Run a Home Staging Business is available mid-February 2011. It is jam packed with useful tips and tricks of the trade. She details how you can jump start your business and become well known in a very short time as the home staging expert
Dana is a sought after keynote speaker and has presented at countless staging and redesign seminars, talks and workshops at schools, libraries, private businesses, and trade shows before thousands of people. She has also been a guest on numerous national radio and TV programs and has been published and interviewed prolifically in magazines, newspapers and online articles.
Her personal Mission Statement is 'to educate, inspire and empower female entrepreneurs to create successful businesses for themselves - through training, mentoring, writing and speaking engagements.' Her true passion is to see women find their 'authentic self' and move forward in life with confidence and purpose.