Today we’d like to introduce you to Paige Earles.
Paige, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Passion and my love of life and people have influenced my personal and business path dramatically. They are the foundation and reason for where I am today; having the biggest impact by far on my personal and professional success. I love people. I love meeting new people and learning about their lives. I love having fun and I love to laugh in my personal and professional life (when appropriate of course). I love creating, designing, staging and I love making a difference and being instrumental in the growth or expansion of something good. Those are definitely the biggies. My professional career and extensive experience have certainly been influential too, but to a lesser degree than who I am, what I love and what I am passionate about.
Although my success and professional career goes further back, I think the most relevant in terms of what influenced where I am today began about 23 years ago when I first entered into the real estate industry. I became a licensed Realtor in the early part of 1994, I placed my license with a local Prudential Real Estate Franchisee and dived into real estate and building a successful real estate business immediately. My success and performance quickly put me in the top 6% nationally among all the real estate associates within the Prudential Real Estate network. In 1997, I became the Managing Broker and Training Director for the same Prudential Franchisee; responsible for all operational and management functions for a 75+ agent franchise. I developed and implemented an extensive training program which resulted in a 200% increase in per-agent productivity and a 50% decrease in the amount of time it took for a rookie agent to close their first deal. I was recognized for my achievements with numerous training and management awards including the elite Education Award for major contributions to training and education.
In 2003, I moved over to the corporate side of real estate when I accepted a position with Realogy Corporation as a Franchise Sales Director for Century 21 Real Estate, LLC where my responsibilities and areas of expertise included mergers & acquisitions, strategic market planning, solution selling strategies, market penetration & growth and achieving annual sales quotas of $7 Million to $11 Million. During my 5 year tenure with Realogy, I consistently ranked in the top 5 nationally and earned numerous quarterly and yearly awards, including 2 national awards for “Franchise Sales Director of the Year”.
In 2006, I began seriously pursuing my long-term goal of owning a design and staging business. While still maintaining award-winning sales results with Realogy, I devoted nights and weekends to enhancing my knowledge and skills in the areas of interior design, home staging, and business operations and ownership.
Building upon 20+ years of successful business experience as well as my deep passion for design and a deep, unwavering commitment to providing unparalleled service and expertise, I carefully structured and methodically implemented my business plan and launched Pearle Staging & Design in 2008. 15 months later my accomplishments and success were further evidenced when I received national recognition from the Real Estate Staging Association and awarded the National Rookie Stager of the Year award. In 2011, I was the regional finalist for the Professional Stager of the Year Award and in 2012 I became a Professionally Certified Mentor to staging and design professionals.
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I’m a licensed Real Estate Broker (currently in “retirement” status). I’ve earned the GRI, CRS and ABR real estate designations as well as prestigious training certifications. I’m an HSR Certified Professional Home Stager and Designer and RESAPro, which puts me among the staging elite. I was the Founder and served 2 consecutive terms as the President of the Real Estate Staging Association’s Atlanta Chapter and subsequently received RESA’s Chapter President of the Year award.
Interior Design became a natural extension of my business almost immediately after launching Pearle Staging & Design. Our extremely satisfied Staging clients would often want us to continue providing services for them and their newly purchased home, so after their house sold, or even while it was still on the market, they would transition from a staging client to an interior design client. That in addition to being deeply passionate about design for as long as I can remember and possessing what seemed to be a natural gift for design. I provided DIY design for numerous personal residences as well as design services for many friends and family members long before diving into the business as a professional Designer.
My charitable contributions include long-term affiliations with The Make-A-Wish Foundation, Susan G Komen’s fight to prevent and cure breast cancer and The Ronald McDonald House.
That’s my “story” in a nutshell. Actually, that’s really just an overview of my professional experience and although definitely an influential part of where I am today, I firmly believe that things beyond my work experience have been just as influential, if not more so. The awards and recognition have certainly been appreciated tremendously, but the biggest reward for me (and it’s a huge reward) is being a part of something that transforms people’s life in a positive, enduring way. Designing for me is about enhancing the home ownership experience by creating spaces people love and transforming a house into a warm and inviting home with a personalized and distinctly Designer look and feel. Creating a touchable, livable “Wow” through designs which are both beautiful & approachable, elegant & enjoyable, custom-designed & comfortable.
Although people often refer to “Passion” as a cliché, I truly believe my passion for making a difference in people’s lives and my passion for the real estate industry and interior design have been instrumental in every aspect of my achievements and the foundation for every success personally and professionally. The building blocks have been an unwavering commitment to providing extraordinary designs and unequaled services. It’s not just about going “above and beyond”. I go above and beyond for every one of our clients. It’s about making a difference, delivering far more than expected and having a positive, enduring impact on our clients by enhancing their life and their experience as a homeowner.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Like any small business owner, I’ve had my share of struggles and challenges along the way. A couple of the most prominent, and ones I continue to struggle with from time to time, are #1. putting together the right team of people, whose skill sets include competencies in both a creative and sales oriented environment. It’s a fairly unique combination and therefore not easy to find people ideally suited to join our team. #2 is the challenges directly related to “growing pains”, which is closely tied to #1. Without the right team of people to take care of significant and rapid growth, the growing pains can be significant and the loss of business a very real consequence. #3 which is related to both #1 and #2 is working “in” my business and not being able to work “on” my business. Pulling away from the day-to-day, hands-on activities is challenging when the right people aren’t in place to effectively take care of the business in my absence. Working “in” my business is often all consuming and therefore doesn’t allow time to work “on” my business or the key components necessary to continue growing the business.
Pearle Staging & Design – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Pearle Staging & Design is a full-service Staging and Interior Design company providing all services related to residential single-family homes, high-rise condominiums, townhouses and mixed-use developments. Our projects and services include model home showcasing, home renovations, project management, blank slate to whole house interior design and implementation, home staging, special event and VIP staging, home improvements, custom furnishings and textiles. Our team of professionals include designers, real estate experts, stagers, contractors for all residential needs, painters, color consultants and experts in all things residential.
I’m actively involved in all aspects of the business. Initially, I also did a good portion of the smaller improvement projects such as installing lighting, dimmer switches, windows, painting, removing popcorn ceilings, smoothing or floating walls, plumbing installations and many other projects. I loved being involved with that side of the business but due to rapid growth, I had to pull away from that completely to devote my time elsewhere.
We specialize in whole house interior design from concept to implementation and all phases in between. Our target market is typically in the $750K and above price point and our focus areas are Downtown, Midtown, Buckhead, Brookhaven and various North Atlanta Metro markets.
I’m most proud of the level of service we provide, the reputation we’ve earned over the past 9+ years, the relationships we’ve built with our clients and the difference we’ve made by enhancing and transforming their lives, their homes and their experience as a homeowner. A thrilled client can make any stress or worries just fade away. The greatest reward of all! There is little that is better than seeing them enjoying their newly transformed spaces. Their tears, their smiles, their hugs, their joy and appreciation…. absolutely priceless and make it all worthwhile and then some!!
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Personal success for me is most closely tied to being a mother and my awesome son. I’m so very proud of him and the young man he has become. Nothing in this world is more important or has more meaning than being the best mom I can be. I feel like the luckiest mom on the face of the planet! So, he is and has been for 22 years a marker of success in my personal life.
Professionally I’ve had many successes and achievements along my career path which were recognized or evidenced by many honors and awards. All of which were very significant and very important to me then and for a long time thereafter. Those were definitely markers of my success at the time; motivating me to reach higher and achieve more. Now, though, I no longer view the awards as being the evidence of a successful career. In fact, every one of the awards I’ve received over the years, are now wrapped up in a box in one of my storage facilities; their significance obviously not what it used to be. Don’t get me wrong, I still, and always will, cherish and be extremely honored by any and all awards and recognition received. Now, though, it’s more about what makes me feel great or what is the most rewarding. For those, the markers are my clients. When there is deep respect, admiration and appreciation for the services we provide and when they are thrilled with the results and when we’ve transformed their house into a home they are proud to call their own……. that’s the definition of our success.
Contact Info:
- Website: pearlestaginganddesign.com
- Phone: 404-219-1393
- Email: paige@pearlestaginganddesign.com
Image Credit:
Josh Hobgood
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