Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Kapellusch.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Kim. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
This business was literally born out of my own journey to becoming a designer, I was so inspired by what WAS MISSING from my training, it drove me to develop something more creative and transforming for others,
I remember sitting in my seat thinking, why are there no hands-on exercises for a dry run before I find myself in front of a client having to act like I’ve done this before? And why is there no time for me to ask questions or get any real feedback from the instructor? And why does this instructor seem to not have any real experience in the field themselves?
During my training, I may have taken just as many notes on how it could be done better than I did on the training! The idea of taking on the reinventing of traditional design training seemed unfathomable at the time but the concept never left my mind. Ideas for the exercises kept flooding my brain and I kept developing them out on paper. Once I reached a level of success in my own business and had all the concepts outlined, I was driven to begin the year long journey of putting the rest of the content for the program together.
Today, The Academy of Home Staging and Design has trained graduates from around the globe who have become successful entrepreneurs of their own Home Staging and Interior Decorating businesses. Started in 2007, our system is a process of hands-on exercises coupled with coaching and mentoring every step of the way – even beyond the training. This is bundled into a week-long progressive format with each module building upon the last, taking students from novice to expert in a business startup format. Our approach allows students grasp concepts quickly and start taking on clients immediately. We pride ourselves in the full-filling, ever-emerging journey we travel with our students that they affectionately refer to as a “life changing experience”.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Wanda’s journey with breast cancer has definitely put things in perspective. We are always grateful for the support of our student community.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are known for all things design. We work and teach it every day. It’s one of the things that sets us apart but beyond that, we are invested in the success of our students. Having built a thriving staging and design company, we chose to implement mentoring and hands-on experiences into our training programs. It is the very thing that students are searching for yet it is so rare to find. It was the single driving factor that inspired me to build the training and what we are the most proud of.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Wanda Colon, an accomplished designer with years of appearances on HGTV and TLC, joined forces with me in 2012 to completely develop out the interior design team for my existing home staging company Style My Space which now offers full interior and commercial design services and vacant home staging. She also took over teaching the well-established Los Angeles based home staging courses. After seeing how successful the courses were, it was her idea (and insistence!) that we build a design course with a similar format – concise, no fluff, hands-on exercises with mentoring during and after the course. The 2 of us invested another year combining her unique formulas for success into an amazing copulation that is easy to follow and understand. Her gut instinct was that it would be a hit and it has been! – attracting students from around the globe.
Pamela Harper was my life coach when I went through my home staging training and was building the business. I was a photo stylist (set designer for print) at the time and in need of some coaching to get me to that next level in my career. She was instrumental in serving as the example and collaborator to my ideas about how learning design could be done more effectively if people could actually experience design and receive personal mentoring at every stage. She encouraged me to build The Academy of Home Staging and Design. Without her, I don’t know if I would have had the courage to dedicate countless hours to a concept that seemed larger than life with no guarantees. But she believed in me and told me if I built it, they would come. Her mentoring is what compelled me to provide the type of supportive program we have today.
My Mom, Linda who shared with me the information my cousin learned when selling her house. The stager my cousin hired had intimated details about the industry that got me excited! I had no idea one could take a course and begin a career in home staging. I got on the internet that day and signed up for a course and that is the day my life changed forever.
Pricing:
- 5- day Los Angeles Home Staging Certificate and Business Start-up $2950
- 5- day Los Angeles Interior Design Certificate and Business Start-up $3950
- 6- day New York Home Home Staging Certificate and Business Start-up with bonus segments $3250
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theacademyofhomestaginganddesign.com
- Phone: 800.574.5576
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: AcademyofHomeStagingAndDesign
- Facebook: TheAcademyofHomeStaging
- Yelp: The Academy of Interior Design
- Other: www.theacademyofinteriordesign.com
Image Credit:
Steve Clemons
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