It’s not too difficult to start a business. Most people are able to get a basic business off the ground in short order. Growing that “basic” business into something that makes us happy, well, that’s a whole different story. In most states, in order to call ourselves a home inspector, we need to do some basic schooling and pass a …
Remarkably Average
We all want to be as successful as we can be. We don’t have to be too smart to figure that out. We do, however, need to have some common sense to be able to realize that level of success: the most successful that we can be. It takes a certain level of commitment on our part, an ability and …
Crazy People
Working in an industry like real estate, it’s inevitable that we are going to run across problem clients. There’s no way around it; it’s just part of the deal. But it doesn’t need to be. We’re going to run across all kinds of different personalities while we’re working, and it’s imperative that we learn that some clients’ money is worth …
Similarities
It never ceases to amaze me, how many of life’s experiences seem to overlap with our job as a home inspector. Just recently, I was speaking with someone about the way that I try to operate when training new inspectors, and once I had a chance to reflect our conversation, I was struck by the similarity between my approaches to …
Practice vs Perfect
As a home inspector, it seems like we’re wired differently than other people. We can’t help it, we were born that way. For as far back as we can remember, we’ve always been inquisitive. We’ve always asked questions. We’ve always wanted to be given a reason why. And if you’re anything like me, your mother probably told you “Because, I …
A Dream Job…
To many people, being able to do home inspections seems like a dream job (at least, that’s what I keep telling myself..) The reality of working as an inspector is that we’re faced with an almost impossible task. We’re not like an HVAC technician, that’s simply looking at the AC to see what needs to be repaired. We’re not like …
All the World’s a Stage!
I hope that this post finds everyone happy and healthy. I would like to open today with a well-known saying: “All the world’s a stage.” Depending on how old you are (and your musical interests), you may believe that this saying originated in a song by the rock band Rush. It’s actually a phrase that begins a monologue from William Shakespeare’s play …
Unrealistic Expectations
I hope that this post finds everyone doing well, being happy, and making money! Great way to start, right? While it would be great if just wishing for things could make them happen, it would be quite unrealistic to expect that mere wishes were truths. We are all imperfect creatures, living in an imperfect world; nothing will ever be perfect. We will …
Hurt Yourself. The Pain of Becoming Experienced.
As business people, we are subject to scrutiny by our potential clients. They’re often probing and prodding, looking for insight into whether we’re an inspector they can rely on. Much of the time, the first thing they look for is experience. When did you start doing your job? Clients want to know how long we’ve been practicing our craft. When …
We’re All Doing the Same Thing
Most of us feel like we’re swamped, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things on our plate: work, family, commuting, finances, personal and professional commitments. The list goes on. It seems like we’re all scheduled out and there’s no spare time left in our calendar. If we’re being real honest with ourselves, we already know, deep down inside, that it’s …