How Much Does A Property Styling Service Owner Make At 72% Margin?
You’re trying to see what the owner can actually take home, not just what the staging company bills This five-year estimate uses $1413 million Year 1 revenue, 72% gross margin after direct staging costs, payroll, warehouse overhead, marketing, inventory investment, and cash reserves
Owner income$631kNet margin38%-60%Revenue for target pay$1.4MBusiness difficultyHard
Want to test your owner pay target?
Owner income calculator
Estimate owner take-home and the target-pay gap from monthly revenue, gross margin, labor, overhead, reserves, and owner pay.
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Planning note: This is a researched planning estimate, not guaranteed salary, tax advice, or owner distribution advice. Actual owner income depends on revenue, margins, payroll, taxes, debt, reserves, and legal structure.
Want to check owner income in the Property Styling Service model?
Is a property styling business profitable after furniture costs?
Yes — in the researched model, a Property Styling Service can be profitable after furniture costs, but only if furniture use stays tight; see How Much To Start Property Styling Service? for the startup side. In Year 1, direct staging costs are 28% of revenue, so gross margin is 72%. The main costs are 12% logistics and moving subcontractors, 5% inventory maintenance and consumables, 6% photography, and 5% referral commissions. Upfront capital is $260,000, including $125,000 furniture inventory and $35,000 art and decor, so keep inventory investment separate from project-level rental, repair, moving, and de-stage costs.
Direct cost view
28% of revenue goes to staging costs
72% stays as gross margin
12% is logistics and moving
5% covers referral commissions
Capital view
$260,000 total upfront capital
$125,000 initial furniture inventory
$35,000 art and decor inventory
Separate inventory from project costs
How many staging projects per month to pay the owner?
The Property Styling Service needs about 22 staging projects per month to pay the owner anything, because Year 1 contribution is about $1,696 per project and fixed monthly cost is $36,950. Here’s the quick math: $36,950 ÷ $1,696 = 21.8, so round to 22. The model implied by revenue is about 50 projects per month, but if onboarding, installs, or inventory lag, owner pay becomes the pressure valve.
Break-even math
$2,355 average fee
72% gross margin
$1,696 contribution per project
22 projects cover monthly fixed cost
Owner pay pressure
$36,950 fixed monthly cost
50 projects implied by revenue
Use owner pay as the buffer
Lag in ops cuts cash fast
Can a property stylist scale owner income?
Yes—Property Styling Service can lift owner income when the owner moves from installer to sales leader, project manager, inventory planner, and quality controller. In the model, revenue rises from $1,413 million to $5,896 million as the full-service staging mix moves from 45% to 55%, but payroll also grows as lead designers rise from 10 FTE to 40 FTE and logistics coordinators from 10 FTE to 20 FTE. More volume only helps if utilization and margin hold, because idle inventory, warehouse capacity, install quality, damaged furniture, weak referrals, and cash reserves can cap the upside.
What drives scale
Owner shifts out of installs
Sales leadership lifts bookings
Project control protects timelines
More full-service mix grows revenue
What can break it
Idle inventory ties up cash
Warehouse space can bottleneck
Install defects hurt referrals
Damage and weak reserves raise risk
Want the six income drivers?
1
Project Volume
50/mo
Fifty modeled projects a month in Year 1 is the main revenue engine, because more staged jobs create more billable hours.
2
Project Price
$2.4K
At about $2,355 per project in Year 1, even a small price lift flows straight to owner take-home.
3
Furniture Economics
72%
Smart furniture use, rental turnover, and damage control protect the Year 1 gross margin.
4
Labor Efficiency
$37K/mo
With $36,950 a month in payroll, overhead, and marketing, waste hits profit fast.
5
Referral Flow
$450
A $450 CAC only works when referrals stay strong and booked work keeps coming.
6
Cash Reserves
$726K
The $726,000 minimum cash need sets the pace, since weak reserves can slow growth even when sales rise.
Property Styling Service Core Six Income Drivers
Monthly staged properties
Booked Projects Drive Revenue
Monthly staged properties is the count of projects you both book and finish. At 50 projects per month with a $2,355 weighted fee, revenue is about $117,750 a month; at 152 projects and $3,228, it reaches about $490,656. Income starts when the job is completed and billed, not when a lead comes in.
Utilization means how fully your furniture, movers, designers, and de-stage slots are used. If schedules slip, you pay for idle labor and storage but do not get the cash. One delayed move can squeeze the owner’s take-home pay fast.
Fill the Calendar Without Slippage
Track booked vs. completed projects, average fee, and the days from install to de-stage. Here’s the quick math: completed projects × weighted fee drives monthly revenue, so even small misses in closeout hit cash flow and profit.
Protect margin by lining up furniture, movers, designers, and de-stage slots before you accept the job. Price rush labor and overflow inventory separately, because rushed fixes and rented stock cut gross margin and leave less money for owner pay.
1
Average project fee
Average Project Fee
Average project fee is the fastest pricing lever here because scope is clear. The Year 1 weighted project fee is about $2,355, built from full-service staging at $4,070, accessory-only at $1,120, and consultations at $750. Weighted fee means the mix-adjusted average across all jobs. Raise the fee mix, and revenue per booked project climbs before headcount has to.
By Year 5, the weighted fee rises to about $3,228. That is roughly 37% more per project than Year 1, so 50 projects a month would generate about $43,650 more monthly revenue at the same volume. The catch is underpricing delivery, de-stage, and replacement costs, which cuts gross margin, the money left after direct job costs, and leaves less cash for owner pay.
Price by Scope and Value
Set price from property size, rooms staged, rental duration, listing type, and sale or rental value risk. These inputs should sit in every quote so you can see why a job lands at $750, $1,120, or $4,070. One clean rule: if scope changes, the fee changes.
Track fee by package.
Log room count and duration.
Price de-stage and replacements.
Watch for rush installs, de-stage work, and replacement items that were not priced up front. If those costs keep showing up, the fee is too low even when sales look strong. Better pricing raises cash flow, not just revenue.
2
Furniture inventory and rental economics
Reusable room kits
Owner income rises when furniture is reused across projects instead of bought for one-off style. The cash load is real: $125,000 for furniture, $35,000 for art and decor, and $15,000 for warehouse racking. Every kit has to earn back that cash through repeat rentals, so idle stock and slow turnover cut take-home pay.
The key drag is upkeep. Inventory maintenance and consumables run 5% of revenue in Year 1 and ease to 3% by Year 5, so damage, repairs, and replacements have to stay below that line. Buying for taste instead of repeatable packages leaves inventory idle and traps cash that could fund profit draws.
Track kit use and loss
Measure each room kit, meaning one prebuilt furniture set, by booked days, damage rate, repair cost, and replacement reserve. That shows which pieces earn back storage and which ones just sit there. Price the rental so each project covers wear, cleaning, and move-out handling, not just the look on install day.
Track utilization by room kit.
Log damage and repair cost.
Reserve cash for replacements.
Flag idle stock fast.
Here’s the quick math: if maintenance and consumables are already 5% of revenue in Year 1, any extra breakage comes straight out of owner income. Keep a repeatable package mix, and review underused inventory monthly so cash stays available for payroll, new jobs, and profit draws.
3
Labor and logistics efficiency
Labor and Logistics Efficiency
For a property styling service, delivery, install, de-stage, and warehouse flow decide how much of each project becomes profit. In Year 1, logistics and moving subcontractors run at 12% of revenue, then improve to 10% by Year 5. That means every $100,000 of revenue carries about $12,000 to $10,000 in this line alone.
The margin risk is simple: direct project labor should flex with booked jobs, but fixed staff hits overhead every month. Missed elevator access, parking, or de-stage timing can force premium labor and erode owner pay. This driver includes booked jobs, crew hours, route density, and warehouse handoff speed, so it directly affects gross margin and monthly cash available for the owner.
Control the Job Flow
Track labor cost per project, missed-access delays, and de-stage overruns by job type. Here’s the quick math: if logistics holds at 12% and improves to 10%, the owner keeps an extra 2 cents of every revenue dollar before overhead. That only sticks if scopes are clear and crews are scheduled against real access details.
Use repeatable room kits.
Confirm elevator and parking access.
Plan routes before dispatch.
Set de-stage dates in writing.
Keep fixed staff lean.
What this estimate hides: one rush move or replacement run can wipe out several clean jobs. So the owner should price for access risk, document site rules, and keep reliable crews on call only when booked work supports them.
4
Referral pipeline quality
Referral Pipeline Quality
When referrals are strong, booked jobs stay steadier and paid ads matter less. In this model, marketing spend rises from $45,000 in Year 1 to $85,000 in Year 5, while customer acquisition cost improves from $450 to $350. Referral commissions stay at 5% of revenue, so better referrals can lift margin and cash flow without adding much fixed cost.
What this driver includes: agent relationships, listing-team repeat rate, reviews, close rate, and cost per booked project. The quick math is simple: more qualified referrals mean a higher booking rate and fewer wasted sales calls, so the owner keeps more gross profit for wages, inventory, and draw.
Improve Referral Mix
Track repeat rate, review count, close rate, and cost per booked project. If inquiries are cheap but low intent, they can fill the calendar and still miss delivery and inventory costs. That hurts take-home income because the job looks busy but does not leave enough contribution after staging labor, rental wear, and de-stage work.
Track agent source revenue
Review close rate monthly
Price low-intent leads higher
Reward repeat listing teams
5
Owner capacity with reserves
Owner Capacity and Cash Reserve
Owner take-home depends on which jobs the owner still does and which jobs must be hired. In Year 1, the model carries a $95,000 Creative Director salary, $246,000 total wages, and about $36,950 in monthly fixed payroll, overhead, and marketing. The cash need reaches $726,000 by Month 6, so profit only turns into owner pay after slow months, repairs, replacement inventory, and growth cash are covered.
Protect Take-Home with Reserves
Track the owner’s hours, hired roles, and monthly cash burn before setting any draw. The key question is simple: what can the owner stop doing without hurting sales or project delivery? Also watch reserve runway, because EBITDA is not free cash until inventory, taxes, debt, and working capital are funded.
Use the reserve as a pay gate. If the company is still funding the $95,000 creative role and holding inventory, owner pay should wait until cash stays ahead of the $726,000 Month 6 need and the $36,950 monthly burn stays covered.
6
Compare low, base, and high owner-income scenarios
Owner income scenarios
Owner income here moves with project count, fee per project, gross margin, and how fast payroll, warehouse, and reserves grow. Revenue can rise faster than take-home pay if costs scale too quickly.
Low, base, and high cases show how project mix and cost growth change owner income.
Scenario
Low CaseLow case
Base CaseBase case
High CaseHigh case
Launch model
A lower earnings path that mirrors the first operating year.
A modeled middle path that mirrors the third operating year.
A stronger earnings path that mirrors the fifth operating year.
Typical setup
About 50 projects a month at a $2,355 average fee and 72% gross margin, with $36,950 monthly fixed payroll and overhead and tight cash after startup capex.
About 107 projects a month at a $2,778 average fee and 75% gross margin, with about $53,283 monthly fixed payroll and overhead.
About 152 projects a month at a $3,228 average fee and 78% gross margin, with about $72,033 monthly fixed payroll and overhead.
Cost drivers
Project volume
average fee
gross margin
fixed payroll and overhead
startup cash strain
Project volume
average fee
gross margin
staffing scale
marketing and overhead
Project volume
average fee
gross margin
labor scale
warehouse and reserve needs
Owner income rangeBefore owner reserves
$95,000 salary lineIncome floor
$1,949,000 EBITDAModeled path
$3,546,000 EBITDAUpside path
Best fit
Use this to stress-test early sales ramp and cash pressure.
Use this as the planning case for steady growth and normal execution.
Use this to test upside if growth stays strong and costs stay controlled.
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Planning note: Scenario ranges are researched planning assumptions, not guaranteed earnings, salary promises, tax advice, or distributions.
