Donna Muelver, Showhomes Milaukee

Donna Muelver, her husband Rick and their son Wayne run Showhomes Southeast Wisconsin, a Milwaukee home staging franchise. Donna is a prolific franchisee and often makes  the top 10 Performers list:
Showhomes: How long have you been a Showhomes franchisee?
Donna Muelver:  I purchased our franchise in 2003, so a little over seven years.

SH: Why Showhomes?
DM: Purchasing a Showhomes franchise was pretty much a ‘no brainer‘ once we took a serious look at it.  We were already in a real estate related business and had 100’s of contacts in the market. Vacant homes are a big problem in the real estate market. We wanted to be a part of the solution.

SH: How did you hear about us?
DM: I was introduced to Showhomes by Thomas Scott, the current Vp of Marketing, who was a franchisee at the time and a colleague we’d known for several years.  Thomas discovered Showhomes at the National Association of Realtors Convention and thought we’d be interested.  I kept putting him off, but he was persistent.  Once we took the time to examine the specifics of Showhomes, we were sold.  About a month later, I flew to Georgia to sign our papers to purchase southeast Wisconsin, a territory that covers seven counties.

Before Staging by Donna Muelver

After Staging by Donna Muelver

SH: What’s your background?
DM:  I was a wife and mom for our three children and also a foster mom for over 17 years. We adopted one of the children who came to us through foster care. We had 97 infants go through our home during that time in our lives. I home schooled our children and volunteered at the foster care agency and at church.

Before Showhomes, my husband and had our own sign installation company, Second Day Services. I was also published a real estate trade publication, Broker Agent Magazine and ran a virtual tour business that catered to Realtors.

SH: What do you like best about the Showhomes franchise opportunity?
DM: It’s the opportunity to take a home that is just sitting and languishing on the market and create a warm and inviting space that totally changes the way buyers view the house. Watching the transformation is fantastic, and then to see it sell quickly is thrilling! What we do is really amazing and its very fulfilling to have a business that helps so many people.

SH: What keeps you active in your free time?
DM:  I am the children’s ministry director at our church here in the Milwaukee area. I also mentor moms with infants and young children and do some counseling.  I spend time with my 12 grandchildren and hang out with Rick, my awesome husband and supporter. I also mentor other Showhomes franchisees as they grow their business.  I truly love helping other people get to where they want to be and Showhomes has a really active franchisee community where everyone helps each other.

SH: Why would you recommend Showhomes to someone interested in owning a business?
DM:  The Showhomes concept has potential that has barely been tapped.  With Showhomes’ current growth rate and the improvements we’re always making to the system, the sky is the limit.

I have been with the company for seven years. I’ve come through both a fantastic market and low market. Showhomes is a company that does very well in both markets; but it’s phenomenal in a down market.  It truly seems to be a recession proof business.  How can you beat that?

SH: Can you share one of your secrets? What really works for you in your market?
Long-term networking and relationship building has been huge for us.  Getting the client to come to us is the easiest way to make sure we are able to sign contracts without having to do much work once we are in the discussion process.    A ‘secret’, if that is what you want to call it, is to join the local real estate board right off the bat and become an active member.

SH: What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned?
DM:  How dramatically a home can change when beautifully staged and how it changes the impression so dramatically to a prospective buyer.

Want to learn more about Showhomes Home Staging? Fill out the request information form above.