In this episode of Home Stagers and Designers on Fire I interview Marissa Cortese. Marissa is the founder of Vienna Lane Interiors, a New Jersey–based staging and design firm known for its elevated, design-forward approach to preparing homes for market.
A former tech leader turned creative director for high-end listings, she sees staging as a puzzle to solve—crafting curated spaces that resonate with today’s buyers and help listings truly stand out.
Marissa is passionate about building strong business relationships – partnering with agents, artists, and local businesses to create one-of-a-kind spaces that connect and convert.
Listen to the podcast below or subscribe on Apple, Spotify and most major podcast platforms.
In this episode you will learn:
How Marissa left a career in tech to start a staging business and all that she has accomplished in a short period of time
How Marissa faced her biggest fears and how she got past them
Why Marissa decided to coach with me after getting a Certification in Home Staging
How Marissa stopped hiding behind the “safe” tasks that hold so many stagers back from gaining any traction
What Marissa did consistently to win the business of Real Estate Agents
What Marissa sees for the future of her business and how she plans on setting her business apart
Xo Marianne
Want More Referrals from Real Estate Agents?
Real Estate Agents are the #1 source of repeat, reliable business for Home Stagers — yet most Stagers struggle to get their attention, let alone earn their trust.
Here’s the truth:
You don’t need to “convince” the right Agents to work with you. You just need to know what matters to them — and how to position yourself as the solution they’ve been looking for.
In this high-impact, live/virtual program, I’ll teach you exactly how top Stagers consistently attract and keep agent partnerships that bring in steady staging work month after month.
This is NOT a generic marketing course. This is the insider strategy playbook for Stagers ready to grow fast and build referral-rich businesses.
🚨 Spots are limited so I can give personalized attention to each participant.
I’m looking for serious, action-oriented Stagers ready to show up, level up, and stand out.
Be the first to know when enrollment opens — and get a special bonus:
A LIVE Q&A coaching session where I’ll answer your questions and show you how to make Agents want to work with you.
I would love your review! If you enjoy what I share in this episode, please leave a review and comment on iTunes. I would really appreciate it. Thanks!
Connect with Marissa:
Website – https://www.viennalaneinteriors.com/
Instagram- @viennalane.interiors
Connect with Marianne:
Set up a coaching discovery session to see if coaching is right for you.
Website: https://coachingbymarianne.com
Instagram: @homestagercoachmarianne
Join my FB Group: Fire Up Your Home Staging Business: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fireupyourhomestagingbusiness/
FB Group: Design for Today Collaborative- https://www.facebook.com/groups/DesignForTodayCollaborative
Visit my FB Coaching Page: https://www.facebook.com/CoachingByMarianneCherico/
Join my LinkedIn Group: Interior Redesign, Decorating and Real Estate Staging Professionals here.
Episode 53: Creating an Interior Design Business with Grit and Resolve
In this episode I talk with Beverly Ferguson of The Reflective Designer. Beverly began her Interior Design career in her 50’s. After graduating Cum Laude in The Applied Science of Interior Design in her 20’s, she put her career on hold in order to raise her daughters.
Episode 52: Playing the Business Game to Win
In this session I talk about why it is so important to pay attention to what you are thinking and doing in order to take effective action in your business.
Episode 51: From Early Childhood Specialist to Thriving Home Stager
In this episode I talk with one of my fabulous coaching clients, Nancy Safran. Nancy came to me 5 years ago after being laid off from her position as an early childhood specialist. She was at a turning point and wanted to reinvent her previous career in interior design, but she was unsure where to begin.
Episode 50: Truth Bombs from One of my Clients
In this episode I talk with one of my fabulous coaching clients, Donel Beals. Donel is a designer and home stager on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Join us as we discuss how coaching has impacted Donel’s business and life in very specific ways. Donel hired me 3 years ago when she was re building her design and staging career after devoting the past 14 years to her family.
Episode 49: The Same Circle Method
In this episode I talk with Bobby Tsui. Bobby is an author, speaker, coach, and entrepreneur from Los Angeles, CA. He’s the founder of The Same Circle Method, where he coaches interior designers by helping them make breakthroughs in social media. He also helps them develop influential positioning in their markets so they can grow their businesses profitably while staying in their genius zones.
Episode 48: Organically Growing a Staging Business
In this episode I talk with Helen Bartlett of Refined Interior Staging Solutions. A multi award winning stager, Helen has been featured in the local Newspaper, magazines and even HGTV’s show “Bargain Mansions”. In this episode, Helen takes us on a journey of how she singlehandedly built her thriving business from scratch.
Episode 47: Growing and Scaling a Multi State Staging Business
In this episode I talk with Ryan Marsh of Onstage. As one of three partners in this multi state staging company, Ryan has been instrumental in the financial growth and digitized systems and processes that help this successful company run like a well oiled machine. If you are thinking of expanding your staging business this episode is pure gold!
Episode 46: Strengthen Your Belief Muscle
In this new podcast episode I share why actionable steps are not enough and how your beliefs either empower you to create the results that you want or they sabotage your efforts.
Episode 45: Selling – The Customer Centric Way
In this episode I talk with Nikki Rausch, CEO of Sales Maven, an organization dedicated to authentic selling, Nikki Rausch has the unique ability to transform the misunderstood process of “selling”.
Episode 44: A Multi Faceted Business
In this episode I talk with Pam Tiberia, owner of Spruce Interiors. A seasoned designer and award-winning home stager based in the Seacoast area of New Hampshire, Pam has helped hundreds of homeowners successfully style and stage their homes.
Episode 43: The Client Experience
In this episode I talk with my colleagues from the Design for Today Collaborative. Join Debbe Daley, Wendy Woloshchuk and I as we discuss how to optimize the experience for your clients from beginning to end and how to create clients for life!
Episode 42: The Art of Divine Selfishness
In this episode I talk with Brigitte Van Tuijl. Brigitte is a writer and master coach for women entrepreneurs. In the past two decades she’s helped thousands of women get clear on their true dream and make it real. Her clients have launched businesses globally, published their first books, doubled their incomes, and realized their most important goals and desires.
Episode 41: Your Brand by Design
In this episode I talk with Amber Griffiths. Amber is a Maker of Legends, and Brand Strategist of Your Brand by Design. She is a bestselling author, international speaker and sought-after Strategist to A-List and soon-to-be A-List players.
Episode 40: Racism Through Our Staging Sisters’ Eyes
In this newly released podcast episode I discuss racism with Deborah Plowden and Tamara Grant and how it effects our staging sisters in life and in business. It is so important that women support women and right now, our black sisters need us. In fact, they always have.
Episode 39: Profit First for Your Business
In this episode Michele Williams will share her insights into a Profit First business methodology to leverage your money. Join us as we discuss strategies that you might implement in your business in order to be more profitable.
Episode 38: Your Ideal Real Estate Agent Client Avatar
In this episode I am going to do a deep dive into why creating an IREACA (Ideal Real Estate Agent Client Avatar) is an effective tool to help you create more compelling emails, blogs and Newsletters in order to attract those agents who you would really like to work with.
Episode 37: A Real Estate Agent’s Perspective
In this episode Tony McDonnell and I will talk about how Home Stagers might approach Real Estate Agents, which agents to target, how to stand apart, the #1 misconception agents have about staging and what to do if agents don’t get back to you.
Episode 36: Pricing Strategies for Home Stagers
In this episode Catherine Lewis Brown and I will be talking about pricing strategies for Home Stagers. Pricing can be challenging for both new and seasoned stagers. Many stagers feel lost when it comes to setting prices that result in profitability. And let’s face it- profitability is Queen, right??? Join us as we discuss strategies that you might implement when setting and raising your prices.
Episode 35: Mental Toughness Through Change
In this episode I would like to talk with you about how to be mentally tough in times of change. As entrepreneurs we often have to navigate change in order to continue to grow.
Episode 34: Building a Home Staging Biz
In this episode Jennie Norris and I will be talking about how she rebuilt her Home Staging Business when she moved from California to Colorado and her best tips on building a staging biz.
