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 as capable as the last!
Thinking about the journey from start up to a successful business, and wearing down a set of tires in the process, got me thinking about the advice that I normally give to (potential) new home inspection students. Whenever I interview new (potential) students for acceptance into our home inspection training program, I always offer up the same advice to everyone: home inspection is a difficult industry to break into. New inspectors typically come into the industry expecting to immediately start making money, and the vast majority of them fall to the wayside within the first two years.
They are mistakenly sold on the idea that becoming an entrepreneur is an easy road, and that immediate success is the result of simply “throwing your hat into the ring.” I am convinced that these unrealistic expectations are the result of the relentless barrage of ads and products touting the ease and simplicity of working for yourself.
It is certainly understandable that people would fall for this idea, as most of us were drawn to this business by the allure of being self-employed. Unfortunately, it never works out to be that easy in real life. Lauren Conrad, fashion designer, author and television personality, says “There is never just one thing that leads to success for anyone. I feel it’s always a combination of passion, dedication, hard work, and being in the right place at the right time.”
There are a multitude of axioms about the hard work and patience required to be successful in business and in life: Success is a marathon, not a sprint; Good things come to those who wait; Waiting is the hardest part. We all see the newest crop of instant billionaires flash before our eyes on an almost daily basis. We wish that we would be part of this group; having instant success without apparently having to work for it. What we never see is the years of toil behind the scenes; all of the hard work performed in relative obscurity, that was necessary to get these people to this point in their lives.
When starting a new business, especially a home inspection business, we must be willing to toil in obscurity, to lay the groundwork for our future rewards. Success doesn’t come overnight; it is the result of all of the small things that we do to get to that point. We will make incremental gains, and we will have setbacks. The most important thing is the realization that we are not riding a tidal wave, we are sailing on the everyday tidal flow, slowly moving closer and closer to our ultimate goal: a successful business.
I welcome all feedback (positive and negative) about my take on this subject. Please leave your comments below. Thank you!
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Thanks, Joe