Setting The Stage for Business Success

When Caroline and Liz Lusk decided to build something together, they didn’t just start a business — they started a legacy.

Set The Stage Southwest Missouri is a full-service home staging and furnishings company based in Ozark, Missouri. From furniture curation to delivery and installation — “soup to nuts,” as Caroline puts it — the mother-daughter team has built a brand grounded in quality, authenticity, and no small amount of heavy lifting.

What made it possible? The right support at exactly the right moment.

Through Show-Me Network and the Early-Stage Business Boot Camp offered by efactory’s Missouri SBDC at Missouri State University, Caroline and Liz didn’t just learn how to run a business — they learned how to own it, together.

Caroline came in with the determination of someone who doesn’t entertain doubt.

“Failure is not an option,” she said. “You prepare, you train, you do the things to set yourself up for success — and then you just get after it.”

Liz, now the studio and brand manager, had stability in a full-time job. But joining her mom never felt like a risk.

“I was so excited to be doing it with my family that none of it felt scary,” she said.

The Boot Camp gave them both a foundation — business structure, financial management, operations — but also something less tangible and equally valuable: community.

“We’ve stayed in touch with speakers and others we met through the program,” Caroline said. “It feels like we’re all in this together.”

That sense of connection is exactly what Show-Me Network is built on. It’s not just programming — it’s a network of founders, mentors, and resources that keeps growing long after the curriculum ends.

For the Lusks, the proof showed up in real moments. Liz started hearing her business name recognized in the community. Caroline looked across a room full of applause at a client event and caught Liz’s eye.

“This is happening,” she thought. “We’re building something real.”