Exploring Life & Business with Dr. Sylvia Gholston of Showhomes of Cobb

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Sylvia Gholston.

Hi Dr. Gholston, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a college professor but always wanted to own my own business and thought that going into a Franchise would be the best way to do so. I reviewed many options and decided to take my love of design and my husband’s artistic background to go into Home Staging. So we bought into the Showhomes Franchise. Now it did not happen overnight and we went through a lot of training but we took our years of experience doing things in our home and in friends and the rest is home staging history.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been a long road attempting to grow our business. We see value in staging and sometimes it is just not that simple. So just like any other business, you need customers to stay in business. Things are moving better with logistics but getting items on time was a struggle during 2021.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Showhomes of Cobb?
We are the first Showhomes Staging Franchise owners in Georgia (Metro Atlanta). Showhomes is the largest home staging franchise in the U.S. and we were voted the Number 1 Home Staging Company by Bob Villa. We specialize in vacant home staging occupied home staging, we do updates such as flooring, paint, and cabinets to prep homes to go on the market or for new home buyers or the family that needs a refresh. We do interior design and our signature staging is Home Manager Staging. For no upfront staging costs or monthly furniture fee, we place a professional in a home that is on the market keep that home Show ready and staged so the home is not vacant. This helps with insurance costs and issues that can arise when a home is vacant. The home manager keeps the home clean, available for showings, and covers the utilities within the home. The Home Manager Staging and our insurance, certifications, and knowledge set us apart from other staging companies. I mean our customer service is top-notch but providing no upfront cost staging such as the Home Manager Staging is our brand. I am proud to be a part of the number staging company and to work in my community. Readers should know that we offer quality stagings and service to our clients. The value that we bring to a home that we stage is bar none. In this hot market, staging helps and we help with that great staging. We are heavily insured and are just great at what we do.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
My husband is my business partner. He is taking this journey with me and is very supportive. Reginald (Reggie) Gholston, Sr.