I consider myself to be extremely fortunate. I (somehow) ended up in a career that I really enjoy, that allows me to help others and that helps me provide for my family. I started doing home inspections in 2000, and soon thereafter started teaching other home inspectors (and Realtors) about our industry. I’ve helped inspectors in many different states start, …
Right Place, Wrong Customers
Customers. They’re the lifeblood of any successful business. Without them, we’re just standing around, thinking about how great our business ideas are. Without them, we’re soon on the way to the unemployment line. No business can survive without cash flow, and that means customers. Unfortunately, customers can also be the worst part of our business, often causing untold grief and pain. I’m …
Guaranteed Success
At a recent continuing education class, I was speaking with some other home inspectors, and one of them asked the group what was the one trait that made them successful. Most of the group gave predictable answers, touting their experience or explaining how thankful they were for their good fortune. I didn’t provide an answer at that moment, as I couldn’t …
Become the Authority
I am fascinated by the possibilities of digital marketing. It enables us, as small business owners, to vastly extend our marketing reach without breaking the bank. However, the sheer number of options available to us can seem overwhelming: Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, the list goes on and on. I’ve spent a good bit of time researching the various marketing methods …
Growing Pains
It’s a good problem to have, but it’s still a problem: deciding when (and if) we should grow our business. Hopefully it’s an issue that each of us will have to confront sometime in our future. Having to face this question means that we’ve been successful in our industry, but that doesn’t make the choice any easier. It’s still something …
Fishing for Success
Good news! We’re currently in a booming real estate market! While this information will come as no surprise to those of us that have been working as a home inspector for more than a minute, and the bottom is certain to eventually drop out (so be prepared), being in the middle of a boom time does make for some increasingly …
Now and Then
There are many things to deal with when starting and running a small business. While it’s certainly important to keep our attention on the daily processes involved in running our business, it’s also vitally important that we spend some time and energy planning for the future. And while planning ahead is key in running a successful company, it’s also crucial …
Riding Out the Storm
Eternal optimism. It’s one of the most important traits that a small businessperson can have: the belief that, against all odds, we’re going to be successful. We know that most small businesses fail within the first two years. But we’re going to buck the trend; we’re going to be the one that makes it! It’s good that we’ve got a …
What Do You Want?
It’s a fact of life: we’ve all got to work for a living. One way or another, we’ve got to do something to make money. It’s hard to live in today’s world without an income. If we like food, shelter, and the creature comforts available in our modern world, we’ve got to figure out a way to earn money to …
Marketing Like a Kid
We were all young once (and if you ask my wife, I still haven’t grown up yet.) We can all remember the times when we were small and purposefully did things to test our boundaries, to see exactly how much we could get away with before we got into trouble. And if you were anything like my brother and me, …