New Showhomes Franchisee Uchenna Okwodu Ready to Serve West Hills, California Market

Showhomes, America’s largest home staging franchise, is about to get a higher profile in a very lucrative market. Thanks to new franchisee Uchenna Okwodu, Showhomes will now have a presence in West Hills, California, located in Los Angeles’ western San Fernando Valley region. This will be the brand’s fourth franchise in the Golden State.

Showhomes was founded in 1986 and has since helped realtors and homeowners sell more than 30,000 residential properties worth more than $10 billion. The brand offers franchisees four different revenue streams: vacant home staging, home restyles, home updating and executive home staging.

Today, Showhomes has nearly 60 offices in 18 states with plenty of hot markets available for franchising. The brand’s target growth markets include Arizona, Florida, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington. Showhomes is specifically looking to open franchises in cities with growing job markets that are also seeing an influx of white collar workers. The brand mainly targets estates in the top 20% of home values in a given market.

Okwodu, who has an extensive banking background, decided to look into franchising for a career pivot and specifically explored retail franchise opportunities. She worked with a franchise consultant, who evaluated Okwodu’s interests, ultimately suggesting Showhomes as an option.

“When the consultant suggested Showhomes, I was immediately interested,” Okwodu said. “I’ve always had an inclination to organize and friends have always asked me to help them stage their homes.”

Okwodu officially opened for business on March 1. She is thrilled with her new venture and believes it will fill a much-needed gap in the West Hills market. In addition to West Hills, her franchise will serve the nearby cities and neighborhoods of Thousand Oaks, Calabasas, Woodland Hills, Canoga Park, Tarzana, Reseda, Northridge, Mission Hills, Encino and Van Nuys. She plans to purchase more territories as business develops. 

“West Hills has a lot of upscale housing,” she said. “I’ve spoken with a lot of realtors in the area and home staging is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’. It’s a necessity. Homeowners who want to sell their houses need to stage them if they want to make a good impression and stand out from other homes on the market.”

Okwodu feels confident to get her business started after receiving comprehensive training from the Showhomes corporate team.

“Showhomes has a really good support structure,” she said. “As a new franchisee, you spend a week at corporate headquarters in Nashville for training and you also do some training online. My background is in banking, and it was really helpful to get trained in areas of the business that I wasn’t familiar with.”

The Showhomes leadership team is thrilled to have Okwodu join its ranks and add a fourth location in California.

“Uchenna brings amazing business acumen to the table thanks to her banking experience,” Showhomes COO Matt Kelton said. “Southern California is a market ripe with opportunities for the Showhomes brand, and we’re confident Uchenna will act as an excellent representative in West Hills.”

Thanks to strong corporate support, a need for Showhomes’ services in the region and a true passion for home staging, Okwodu will no doubt take the West Hills market by storm.

The startup costs for a Showhomes franchise range from $60,500 to $100,300. The franchise fee is $39,900. To learn more about franchising with Showhomes, visit https://showhomesfranchise.com/.