Tracy Molendi founded Simply Organized & Staged in 2004. She owns the business with her husband, Steve, and together they work alongside their daughter, Samantha who keeps everyone on track as operations manager. As a small, family-owned, and operated company, they are able to create custom solutions for all our client’s needs and have helped thousands of homeowners, real estate agents, investors, and builders get their properties prepared, staged, and sold.
“Staging chose me! It is all the things I love, organization, design, and helping people. I did not even know it was called staging when I started my business, I just thought I was helping people get organized and ready to sell. Once I found out it was a whole industry I was excited to meet other stagers and get involved. I immediately joined the Real Estate Staging Association and became involved in leadership and the community of stagers.”
Tracy believes strongly in the staging industry as a whole and loves to give back and help her fellow stagers through mentoring and creating new training courses to share her experience and knowledge. Throughout her 14 years as a RESA member, she helped start the Chicago chapter, served as Illinois State President for several years, and became an Approved CE instructor for Agents.
“I am a strong believer in being a part of my industry trade association and love the ethics and standards presented and established to help build credibility and legitimacy within our industry.”
Learn more about Tracy:
What is your favorite RESA memory.
My favorite memory from RESA is the 1st convention when I walked in and found all my people! Being a stager in the midwest 17 years ago felt a little like being on an island. Then RESA came along and I found other stagers to share ideas and struggles with. Everyone was so nice and willing to give information and that is still true today. Love my RESA family.
What is the biggest lesson you have learned since starting your home staging career?
The biggest lesson I have learned is that you have to run your business as a business! If you do not treat it as a business, you will not stay in business. You have to know and understand the law when it comes to taxes and employees. You have to keep amazing records, work even when you don’t have a job, and always be marketing and building your pipeline to keep your schedule full. The actual staging part is fun and of course, we all want to focus there, however, if we don’t focus on the business side we won’t get to have fun staging!
My motto is…
We take the stress out of selling and take care of all the details for you!
Have you been to any RESA events in the past that made an impact on you or your business?
Every RESA event has made an impact on my business. I attend every year (missing only 2 due to family issues since RESA’s first convention) and go with the spirit of learning and sharing. I take avid notes and mark in the margins what I plan to do right away. I don’t always take what I hear and implement it exactly, sometimes what I hear sparks a new idea that I would not have thought about without being there. But every year I come home and make some change or adjustment to my business and it always creates growth.
What has been your most memorable staging project over the last 14 years?
A home that sat on the market for 4 years prior to my company getting called in. It was an amazing historic home that was completely furnished and decorated in period pieces. It was beautiful but felt like walking through a museum. We created a plan and talked the homeowner through it. They were on board, we spent a few weeks doing some updates, keeping the charm and beauty in place, staged with current furniture, and put it back on the market…4 years no offers, 4 days multiple offers. I loved that we were able to transform this amazing house into someone’s beautiful home.
My personal aesthetic is…
My own style is Rustic/Modern
When I am not working I enjoy…
I love to spend time with family but especially my grandson! I even have a playroom for him in my warehouse so he can come to work with me!
Before I was staging…
I was in retail management right after college then after starting my family I opened a daycare center and ran that for about 13 years. I wrote the business plan for my staging business while sitting on the floor surrounded by children and transitioned over a 2 year period of time where I ran both businesses.
My morning ritual is…
I get up around 5:00, I like to read something business-oriented while I drink my coffee in the morning then I get ready for work, head into my office/warehouse around 7:00, and start the day. I am either at my first appointment at 8:00 or at my desk working on paperwork by then.
My number one goal this year is…
My number one goal this year is to kick off our retail store and have it match or exceed our staging company revenue on its own.
My favorite meal after a long day of staging is…
A Salad with seasoned chicken on it, simple and easy no cooking involved.
When faced with a struggle…
I will analyze the situation and think about how I can overcome whatever the obstacle is that is creating the struggle for me. Sometimes (most of the time) I will wake up in the middle of the night with the solution as my first thought and then up I get and go work on the details. I tend not to get a lot of sleep as this happens a lot! But I am so invigorated by the idea and can’t wait to get started working on it.
My go-to staging accessory is…
Old books and plants…I can do just about anything if I have some old books and plants to work with.
Who is your role model and why?
My role model is Bobby McGrath as she makes life and business seem so easy and fun. She brings such amazing energy to everything she does and makes me feel like I am the most important person in the room when I am with her. This is an amazing skill that I try (and probably don’t succeed at) to emulate. She has a gift with people!
If you could only keep five possessions, what would they be?
My grandmother’s teapot, my photo album with my kids and grandson’s pictures, my wedding ring, my dad’s cowboy hat, my mother’s recipe book. I don’t care about possessions but I do care about people and the people in my life especially.
Would you rather stage an occupied listing or vacant?
Vacant all day every day if I could!
Check out Tracy’s RESACON Virtual 2020 session here: How to Create a Salesforce Through Educating Your Clients
You can find out more about Tracy and her company by visiting her website https://www.simplyorganizedandstaged.com/
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