Following her passion for interior design and home staging, Jackie Plant co- founded Designed to Sell in 2018. Jackie has always had a great interest in art and design, and she studied art in high school before pursuing a degree in Design Studies. Jackie began her career as a graphic designer in London, where she worked on event branding, marketing materials, and publications for financial houses, design studios, and publishing houses. She worked as a graphic designer (mostly freelance) for numerous companies for over 20 years.
Jackie studied Interior Design locally in her early 40s, earning a Distinction in City and Guilds Level 3 Interior Design. During this time, she also took a brief home staging course. Initially for personal pleasure, she discovered she enjoyed it so much that she left her job in the City of London to pursue a career in home staging, teaming up with her interior design teacher.
Jackie quit her job in the City of London in 2015 to work part-time from home for a friend’s design firm before launching Designed to Sell in 2018. She received her training from the International Association of Home Staging Professionals (IAHSP) and was one of the organization’s first accredited staging professionals in Europe. She has also studied with The Property Stagers’ Liv Conlon and completed the Staging Business Accelerator course.
A Self Motivator
Jackie and her partner live in Upminster, Essex, UK. She has always been self-motivated and chose to work as a freelancer rather than take a more secure permanent position. In fact, she got her first and only permanent job with BlackRock when she was in her late forties. She says, “I have also always been interested in property, having been thrown into being an ‘accidental landlord’ in my mid-twenties due to the recession, which put me into negative equity with my first property (I think you call this upside down in the US). Over the years, I have acquired a few properties that I have rented out, and now my partner and I are taking property investing seriously, with a view to increasing our pension in the coming years. We have a number of properties throughout the UK, and when my partner retires in a few years, we plan to start flipping properties, buying at auction, etc.“
Jackie is really interested in self-care, wellness, personal growth, and meditation. She has participated in various juice and health programs in Europe and has spent years studying personal development. Jackie believes that “Personal development is an ongoing life journey and the more we can discover about our core values and what makes us tick, the more we can lead happier, healthier, and productive lives.”
Designed to Sell
In 2018, Jackie founded Designed to Sell. Jackie’s goal is to assist home sellers, landlords, developers, and others in obtaining the best price for their property and selling it promptly. As previously stated, she completed different home staging training in 2018 and became a professional member of the Home Staging Association UK & Ireland (HSA). Her business partner has received training from The House Doctor and has taught interior design for many years.
“We help people who are looking to sell or rent their properties and offer a range of services which include de-cluttering, styling, and staging,” says Jackie. The team also offers interior styling advice, as well as Feng Shui and energy clearing. Jackie asserts, “We can help as much or as little as the client requires—anything from a short design consultation online, to a full report with styling advice, and through to hands-on staging, where we bring in all furniture and decorative items to style and stage a property, which the client rents from us.”
Love for Work
Because home staging is still in its infancy in the UK, there is a great deal of collaboration and camaraderie among the limited number of stagers, which is fantastic, and Jackie believes she learns something new every day. She says, “I love seeing the end results of our projects and talking to and helping the clients.”
Jackie states, “We are a very small business and have no staff; it is just the two of us.” The duo loves the projects and enjoys the process, and seeing people get a sale or rental when they have had their houses on the market for months is a lovely feeling and gives them a buzz.
Focus on What You Believe
While sharing her message for aspiring female leaders, Jackie recalls, “I have always had an interest in art and design, and love property and Interiors”. She enjoys seeing a project from start to finish and how different a room or house can appear and how different a space can be to live in. She also enjoys learning, being current with technology and trends, and keeping her finger on the pulse of the art and design industry.
Her message for all aspiring female leaders is to “Don’t be afraid to ask for help and advice. Focus on your plan and goals and write them down. Get a coach to help you succeed, and don’t be afraid to change and adapt your path if the situation dictates.“
Visions of the Future
Jackie was concerned about starting the firm in 2018 and experienced a confidence crisis early on about the value she supplied and whether she could accomplish the results that the clients demanded. However, with time, experience, and positive outcomes, this has changed.
She says, “Adapting more if we must during this year, which will be the first normal year of business here in the UK since 2019, and more learning of new technologies. Staying up to date on design, fashion and interior trends and promoting all our services.“
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