We will start out today with a quote from author Shawn L. Anderson’s book “A Better Life.” He says that “Preparation is what allows the teacher to truly inspire. Preparation is knowing exactly how the lesson plan will flow. It’s in knowing what questions to ask and what answers to give.” The author is speaking about teachers, but this sentiment …
This Post is Open to Interpretation. An Ounce of Prevention is the Cure
Interpret. The word is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary (https://dictionary.cambridge.org) as “(deciding) what the intended meaning of something is.” And interpreting what you mean by the language in your business materials and inspection reports is what opposing attorneys do for a living. So, what’s a small business owner to do? Can you match wits with an experienced plaintiff’s attorney, in their natural …
You Want Me to Do More? Fitting More Into Your Overbooked Schedule
This morning I listened to an episode of one of my favorite podcasts, Smart Passive Income (http://smartpassiveincome.com/session317). (By the way, if you are not already listening to podcasts to increase your business knowledge, you should.) The episode focused on ways that busy individuals could work new things into their already over-filled schedule. This really resonated with me, as I’m sure …
Becoming a Business Ninja
We will start today with a slight distortion of a quote from author Nick Hornby’s 2005 Novel A Long Way Down: ‘A business is hard to build yourself, piece by piece, with no instruction book and no clue as to where all the important bits are supposed to go.’ Hornby’s original line was about the difficulty of rebuilding yourself, but …
Experience. It’s as Easy as 1-2-3.
Experience. It’s one of the most important words a small business owner will ever hear. Without it, it’s harder to market your business. Given a choice between two service providers, most people would prefer to hire the person with the most experience. If they won’t hire me because I don’t have experience, how the hell am I supposed to get experience …
6 Steps to Growth in Your Business
Starting and running a small business can be both extremely rewarding and maddeningly frustrating. While success can be achieved in your business venture, the stark reality is that almost 75% of new small business ventures won’t survive past the 2-year mark. In today’s post, we will discuss 6 of the most important points to remember to help keep your business …
The One Rule for New Businesses that Nobody Wants to Know
I hope that today’s post finds everyone doing well. Today, I wanted to touch on one item that typically eludes us when we start planning our businesses. Whether we are home inspectors, Realtors, plumbers or CPA’s, this rule holds true for everyone starting a small business. What is this all-encompassing rule? It’s really simple but understanding it can mean the …
Empathy vs. Sympathy. How Compassion Helps Everyone Involved
I hope that today’s post finds everyone in good spirits. I would like to touch on a topic that on the surface may not seem to have a lot to do with the home inspection business. Its importance will (hopefully) become clear by the end of the post. We often hear the words empathy and sympathy, and most people are …
The Dreaded Question
I am a Professional Home Inspector, which is a pretty cool job. I get to help people for a living. So, I do my best to make sure that my clients’ needs are met. This typically involves answering questions about the house they’re considering buying, as well as the occasional question about the home-buying process. While inspectors typically answer the same …
Learning, Applying and Paying for Knowledge. What’s Your Responsibility?
Those of you who read my blog on a regular basis will already know that I am a big advocate for increasing your knowledge in your chosen industry. I cannot overstate the importance of belonging to different groups, organizations and message boards, so that you are able to keep up with the happenings in your field. Generally, the more knowledge …