We’ve expended a lot of energy to get to where we are. It’s likely that we’ve sat through lots of hours of education. It’s likely that we’ve spent a lot of time and money perfecting our product. It’s likely that we’ve suffered through many negative experiences to gain our skills. It’s likely that we’ve been hurt physically, emotionally, and financially …
Get to It
The whole of our business is based on one simply principle: giving our clients something that they want but don’t currently have. We have it (whatever that “it” is) and they want it. Seems simple enough. But it isn’t, is it? The hard part (why is there always a hard part?) is figuring out how to let them know that …
Our Own Philosophy
Philosophy is divided into knowledge and state of mind. Seneca I’ve been reading Letters From a Stoic and came across this quote. While philosophy may not strike most people as interesting, the quote got me thinking about my job as a professional home inspector, and how such a quote could easily be applied to what we do for a living. …
Are You Suffering?
Why do we always do it? Why do we make things harder than they have to be? Do we subconsciously enjoy the stress and strain? Deep down, are we really secret masochists, just waiting for things to get rough? No, the truth is that we’re probably just suffering. Suffering from overwhelm. Suffering from imposter syndrome. Suffering from fear. Using perfectionism …
Business Model of the Best
Home inspectors know what things to look for, where to find them, and how to describe them in their inspection report. But the really successful home inspectors, the ones who care more about their clients’ wellbeing than they do about the fee they’re charging them, know a lot more than this. They know who their clients are. They know what …
It’s All Gray
People love simple. Good or bad. Up or down. New or old. Yes or no. Give it to me straight (which translated means “don’t tell me anything I don’t want to hear.”) Most of us don’t want gray, we only want black or white. But there is no black or white; it’s all gray. Nothing is ever 100% one way …
We’re Always Right
We like to think that we’re always right. If we didn’t we wouldn’t be putting our stuff out there. But nobody’s perfect (including us), which means that sometimes we’re wrong (even though we think we’re right.) So, what do we do about it? Often, being wrong about something has very minor consequences. We made a mistake, we did our best …
Just Wanting It
Starting out in business (or keeping a current business running) can be frustrating. It seems that no matter how hard we try, we’re just not getting traction. The wheels are spinning round and round but we don’t seem to be going anywhere. And we can’t figure out why. Maybe our goals are just too lofty and we need to readjust …
Putting the Wrong Foot in Your Mouth
Many small business owners start out on the wrong foot. They begin with the erroneous assumption that they will be able to sell to everyone and they market their business accordingly, trying to reach every single person they can. Even the largest retailer in the world, Walmart, cannot reach everyone. There are many people out there who have never even …
Language Barrier
When you work in a technical industry, like home inspection, there is a certain language, a certain vocabulary, that is used between practitioners, allowing them to be able to adequately explain things within that realm. So, if we’re conversing with someone else who also speaks the language (another home inspector, for example), things will easily proceed in a normal manner, …