We will start out today with a quote from author Shawn L. Anderson’s book “A Better Life.” He says that “Preparation is what allows the teacher to truly inspire. Preparation is knowing exactly how the lesson plan will flow. It’s in knowing what questions to ask and what answers to give.” The author is speaking about teachers, but this sentiment …
Developing Trust (Part 2)
Note: This post is the second of a two-part article. Click here to read part one. It is impossible to go down to your local bank, open a savings account with $100 and then turn around and attempt to withdraw $500. The teller would look at us like we were crazy! This is exactly what inspectors do when their only marketing …
Developing Trust (Part 1)
Trust. It is one of those words that evokes a certain, unique mental imagery for most people. Some people will immediately think about a parent or favorite family member, some will think of lifelong friends and others may think of a pet or a favorite place. Trust can be hard to define and even harder to explain. One of the …
6 Steps to Growth
Starting and running a small business can be both extremely rewarding and extremely frustrating. While we can find business success, the stark reality is that almost 75% of new small business ventures won’t survive past the 2-year mark. Today we will discuss six of the most important things to remember to give us the best chance of getting into that …
7 Things That Influence Success
In my position as an educator, I often find myself speaking with people about the home inspection business. Whether its inspectors who are brand new to the industry or individuals interested in becoming an inspector, the questions they ask are usually quite similar. Surprisingly enough, everyone is trying to figure out whether or not they’ll make it as a professional …
The Dreaded Question
I am a Professional Home Inspector, which is a pretty cool job, as I get to help people for a living. I obviously do my best to make sure that my clients’ needs are met. This usually involves answering questions about the house they’re considering purchasing, as well as the occasional question about the home-buying process. While inspectors typically answer the …
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 …
Our Own Worst Critic
One of the key ingredients to running a successful business is having a marketable product, something ready for public consumption. It’s impossible to have business success without one. To have the best shot at running a productive business, our product must meet a few basic requirements: it must be something that is not only profitable enough for the business to …
Being Respected or Being Profitable
As business owners, we often find ourselves faced with important decisions that are going to affect the future success of our business. And all too often, those decisions involve choosing between something that we know is right or something that we know will be profitable. We’re either going to gain someone’s respect, or we’re going to make a bunch of …