Some of the highlights include:

· List in early January to take advantage of post-holiday home shoppers

“If you hit the ground running and you’re a fresh listing that has done everything right, you’ve got the best shot.” – Louis Cammarosano, general manager of HomeGain.com

· Price it right from the start

“The longer something sits on the market, the more price reductions you might have to make and the more potential buyers will assume that there’s something wrong with the home. So more often than not, it’s best not to try testing the waters with a higher price.” - Louis Cammarosano, general manager of HomeGain.com

· Get the house ready
There are two factors that predict how quickly a home will sell and for what price: PRICE and CONDITION.

In our market, homes in the $1MM and under range are often selling within the first month if they are staged and priced to sell. There is a lot of competition out there, so if your seller is serious about selling quickly, she must make sure that her home stands out from the competition (in a good way).

A well-staged home will feel spacious and inviting. It will appeal to your target buyer (whether it is a family, a young couple or retirees). It will be neutral enough to allow any buyer to envision him or herself living in the home, but will never feel bland and forgettable.

Gone are the days when sellers on the west side of Los Angeles could just put up a sign in the yard and have their property sold within days. In this buyer’s market, it takes a lot more to get a home sold. You as the Realtor know what the best price is for your listing. Let a professional Home Stager help you determine the best way to show the home off in its best light and attract your target buyer. Working as a team, we can get it sold!

This contest really struck a chord with me because when I became a working mom five years ago, I was amazed at how difficult it was to run both a family and a business. It is often a thankless job and the hours are quite long! Of course as any mom knows, we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Being a mom-preneur has given me a newfound respect for my own mother who worked from the time I was a baby, but always made sure I felt 100% loved, taken care of and special. Many moms don’t have the option to stay at home full time for financial reasons, and many choose not to for their own sanity (and that of their kids!). But regardless of their reasons, ALL working moms deserve recognition and respect for having two full-time jobs. That’s why I entered this competition and that is why I am so humbled and honored to have been chosen as one of the winners!

Thousands of moms entered and, like me, found that reaching out for votes to customers, vendors, friends, family and social networks was not only kind of fun, but it also gave us a new and unexpected way to generate positive buzz around our business. So many of you took time out of your busy days to vote for me once, twice, and in some cases every single day. Some of my followers on Twitter even re-Tweeted my requests for votes so that people I didn’t even know were out there voting for me! It was an amazing experience and one that I won’t soon forget.

I encourage any mom who owns her own business to enter this competition next year. As I have proven to myself, you never know what can happen!

Click here to read the full press release, and thank you again for making this dream a reality!

A couple of months ago, I posted a blog asking for your support as I entered the competition.

Most of you know me as a professional Home Stager in Los Angeles, but you may not know that I am also a mom of two wonderful kids ages 3 & 6. I started my Home Staging business in 2004, when my eldest was just a toddler, as a way to be home with him while also doing something I loved. Though having a home-based business does allow for some flexibility with my schedule, as any working mom knows, it is also a tough road to haul. Now that my Staging business has grown, I often find myself working much longer hours than I did when I worked for someone else. And I struggle with balancing work and family life just like all the other working parents in this country. So I was very excited to learn that now there’s a way for entrepreneurial moms to be recognized for their hard work!

StartupNation, in partnership with Ladies Who Launch, has created a Leading Moms in Business competition, and I would love your vote.

Please click on the StartUp Nation logo below and it will bring you to my profile page. Below the photo, click “Vote for Me.” You can vote every day if you are so inclined, but even just a single vote would be much appreciated!

The contest ends on March 30th so we’re in the home stretch now and every vote counts!