Well Dressed Home
About the company
Well Dressed Home is a home staging and interior decorating company that is used by realtors, home owners and builders.
Location: Mississauga, Ontario Industry: Real Estate
Entrepreneur challenge
Well Dressed Home experienced a free fall in revenues during the early months of the pandemic that threatened its survival.
Spring is usually their busy season, but in March revenues slid 30% and in April they dropped 97% as the lockdown prevented them from staging homes and condos for sale. They also couldn’t go into homes to offer their decorating services. The month of May saw revenues fall by almost 70%.
Sheldon Pereira, whose wife Susi owns the company, knew they had to find ways to boost their revenues and control their cash flow.
“When we saw the cash flow diminishing, we were trying to figure out what to do to save the business,” Sheldon said. “We had to find other sources of income.”
The company cut expenses by 70% and is selling its inventory for staging homes instead of paying monthly rent on it. A couple who bought a luxury home decided to buy it staged, which also added to their revenues in May.
They’ve also adapted to social distancing rules by providing virtual consultations with home owners that walk the clients through every room of their home. The owners pay for the furniture to be delivered to their driveways and they put it in place according to the design plan conceived by Well Dressed Home.
Well Dressed Home can now stage vacant homes if they stay within the Ontario government guidelines of five people and practice proper hygiene in the homes. In addition, they’re adding ecommerce to their website to be able to sell pre-staged and new furniture.
Sheldon’s advice as the economy reopens: “Never stop looking for different sources of income. It’s important to understand the cash flow side of the business.”