Customer acquisition. It’s a phrase that most of us had never even heard of, much less thought of, before we became business owners. Now, whether we call it that or not, it’s something that we can’t get out of our mind. Trying to figure out how to get more people to hire us ranks right up there with food and …
I Know Nothing
I am often amazed at the link between our real lives and our jobs as home inspectors. All too often, I will learn a lesson in some area of my life that helps me gain a bit more insight into the world of inspections. This happened recently when I was pondering another milestone in my life and I wanted to …
Why We Should Keep Asking
Starting up any new small business is a difficult task, and running a home inspection company is no exception. Far too often, people trying to get a new business off the ground end up going under. They eventually close their business, the very thing they believed was going to rescue them from a life of mediocrity. They tried their hardest, …
What Was I Thinking?
We’ve already gotten through (what we thought was) the hard part: we’ve made the leap into the home inspection business. Whether we’re in a state that has certain requirements for licensing, or we’ve simply struck out on our own and learned what we think we need to know, we are sure we’re past the really rough part. We’re firmly in …
Every Inspection Is an Audition
Think about it: Every home inspection we do is much more than one single job. Every inspection is an opportunity to earn our next one. Every interaction shapes how our clients see us and influences how they will remember us long after we’ve left the property. The people watching us today may become tomorrow’s customers, referral sources, or business partners. …
Unrealistic Expectations
Why Hard Work Now Equals Less Stress Later I hope that this post finds everyone doing well, being happy, healthy, and exceedingly wealthy! Great way to start a new post, right? While my wish for everyone is wonderful, and it would be great if just wishing these things could make them happen, it would be quite unrealistic of me to expect …
Investing in Your Business
It’s not our fault. Really, it’s not. We were all trained the same way; all indoctrinated into the same mindset by the same school system. As author Seth Godin is fond of saying, we were all raised to be cogs in the wheel of industry. Put the peg in the hole; eight hours a day; five (or six or seven) …
Your Permanent Record
If you’re of a certain age (in other words, old like me), you probably remember being a kid and getting “corrected” for doing something wrong. Back in those days, correction probably involved some hard object finding its way onto your backside, often in a swift and repeated manner! But regardless of whether or not your correction involved borderline child abuse, …
Three Stress Points
Everyone wants be be faster at their job. Even professional home inspectors, who are typically very detail oriented and spend time looking in every crack and crevice of a home, would like to work more efficiently. We’re under a lot of stress during the on-site inspection process, with everyone involved wondering when we’re going to be done looking around (and …
Stress, Anyone?
Stress. Just reading the word can cause us to tense up. Stress is something that we all must deal with, and most of us would agree that it seems like modern life is getting more stressful every day. Whoever you talk to, it seems as though they would love to return to “days gone by,” as most people believe that …