I write this post as I return from a week of vacation with my family. As my daughter is in her early teen years, we enjoyed a few days at one of the well-known, large amusement parks in Orlando, Florida. Ironically enough, they were preparing a new ride that will be opening later this year. It looks like that the …
How To Avoid Disappointing Our Clients
Everyone wants to be successful in every aspect of their lives: friendships, love life and business. Unfortunately, we are notorious for not doing all the little things that can help us to achieve that much sought-after success. Arguably the most important, and often the most overlooked, aspect of success is setting proper expectations with the other people in your life. As …
Ride the Wave. Sailing to a successful business
I hope that today’s post finds everyone doing well. While I am writing this post, I am sitting in my local tire store, waiting for some new tires to be put on my home inspection vehicle. The previous set of tires helped me to develop a profitable business, so I hope that this next set will prove to be …
Smile. A simple action with amazing results.
I hope that today’s post finds everyone happy, healthy and wearing a smile. As a matter of fact, smiling will be the topic of today’s conversation. I recently listened to a TED Talk podcast given by Ron Gutman. Ron is a speaker, writer, advisor, entrepreneur, angel investor and CEO and Founder of Health Tap, an interactive health company. In …
Earning The Dividends. How not to get hit in the face with a 2×4.
I hope that everyone is doing well today. I am writing today’s post while sitting in my local coffee shop, trying to wake up with some strong coffee, watching the rush hour traffic flow by, and ruminating on a recent blog post from Seth Godin. The blog was titled “Duck!”, and was written about making hard decisions before you get …
On the spot. How to use uncomfortable situations to your advantage.
I recently received a question from an inspector that got me thinking about the different ways that we can handle an uncomfortable situation. The inspector was marketing in a real estate office, and one of the agents cornered him with a question about another inspector’s report. The question was whether he would have noted a problem with an attic conversion …
Its as easy as 1-2-3. Managing our focus.
One problem facing start-ups is how to become proficient in your chosen industry. This is certainly a problem for new home inspectors. In business, as with many things in our lives, we typically strive to create a perfect product before we put it out for public consumption. Unfortunately, the reality is that nothing in this world is ever perfect. So, if we are …
No One Cares About You. Why What You Know Is Less Important Than How You Are.
I know that this may seem to be an unusual title for today’s post, but don’t bail on me just yet! Obviously, I am going somewhere with this idea. We have all heard the old axiom that people do business with people that they like. This is an obvious fact, and should always remain in the back of our minds as we are …
Facts About Aluminum Wiring
One item that is sure to cause concern during an inspection is the presence of aluminum wiring in the home. This paper will attempt to provide some additional information on the subject of aluminum wiring. HISTORY Since the advent of powering our homes with electricity, wiring has traditionally been copper. In the mid 1960’s, as the price of copper rose, …
Electrical Inspection: Proper Wire Sizing
Most home inspection standards require inspectors to inspect branch circuit conductors (wires) and overcurrent devices (fuses and breakers) and to determine that they are compatible (wires are sized correctly for their respective fuses/breakers). This paper is intended to be a basic explanation of how home inspectors can make this determination during their (visual) inspection. Most residential houses in the US …