Cathy Hobbs is the founder of Cathy Hobbs Design Recipes, a premier interior design and luxury home staging firm based in New York City. Since launching the company in 2004, she has grown the business from two storage lockers and a single assistant into a multi-employee operation serving luxury real estate clients throughout New York City and The Hudson Valley.
Cathy is an HGTV Design Star Season 6 finalist and a five-time Emmy Award-winning television personality. Her work has appeared on programs including Good Morning America, World News Tonight, and George to the Rescue. She is also the author of the best-selling book Home Design Recipes.
In addition to operating her staging and design firm, Cathy founded Highland Passive House, a net-zero, carbon-neutral facility and the first multi-use passive warehouse in North America. Known for her leadership and entrepreneurial insight, Cathy frequently speaks on building systems, leadership frameworks, and sustainable growth strategies for creative businesses.
Follow CATHY HOBBS DESIGN RECIPES On InstagramSystems That Help a Staging Business Run Without the Owner
Many staging businesses grow through talent, hustle, and long hours. Over time, however, growth can stall because the business still depends on the owner to make every decision, solve every problem, and manage every project.
In this session, Cathy Hobbs shares the operational systems and leadership strategies required to grow a staging business beyond the owner-operator model. Drawing from more than two decades of experience building a staging company from two storage lockers and a single assistant into a multi-employee operation with trucks, systems, and a 20,000-square-foot facility, Cathy breaks down the practical infrastructure that supports scalable growth.
Attendees will learn how to shift from working inside the day-to-day staging work to building a business designed to run efficiently and sustainably. The session explores the mindset shift required to scale, the operational systems that increase capacity, and the leadership structures that allow a staging company to grow without relying on the owner for every decision.
Participants will walk away with practical strategies for building repeatable workflows, developing a high-performance team, and creating a clear roadmap for scaling their staging business while protecting time, profitability, and long-term sustainability.
You Will Leave This Session With
A clear understanding of the systems required to scale a staging business beyond the owner-operator model
Tools to identify bottlenecks that prevent growth, including operational, leadership, and decision-making constraints
Strategies for building and managing a team with defined roles, accountability, and training systems
A roadmap for developing repeatable workflows that allow the business to grow while reducing owner dependency
This Session is Best Suited For:
Advanced or scaling staging companies (8+ years)
This Session May Not Be the Best Fit For:
Brand new stagers looking for introductory fundamentals.
Content Focus:
Scaling and Growth Strategies