I hope that today’s post finds everyone happy, healthy and wearing a smile. As a matter of fact, smiling will be the topic of today’s conversation. I recently listened to a TED Talk podcast given by Ron Gutman. Ron is a speaker, writer, advisor, entrepreneur, angel investor and CEO and Founder of Health Tap, an interactive health company. In …
Earning The Dividends. How not to get hit in the face with a 2×4.
I hope that everyone is doing well today. I am writing today’s post while sitting in my local coffee shop, trying to wake up with some strong coffee, watching the rush hour traffic flow by, and ruminating on a recent blog post from Seth Godin. The blog was titled “Duck!”, and was written about making hard decisions before you get …
On the spot. How to use uncomfortable situations to your advantage.
I recently received a question from an inspector that got me thinking about the different ways that we can handle an uncomfortable situation. The inspector was marketing in a real estate office, and one of the agents cornered him with a question about another inspector’s report. The question was whether he would have noted a problem with an attic conversion …
Its as easy as 1-2-3. Managing our focus.
One problem facing start-ups is how to become proficient in your chosen industry. This is certainly a problem for new home inspectors. In business, as with many things in our lives, we typically strive to create a perfect product before we put it out for public consumption. Unfortunately, the reality is that nothing in this world is ever perfect. So, if we are …
No One Cares About You. Why What You Know Is Less Important Than How You Are.
I know that this may seem to be an unusual title for today’s post, but don’t bail on me just yet! Obviously, I am going somewhere with this idea. We have all heard the old axiom that people do business with people that they like. This is an obvious fact, and should always remain in the back of our minds as we are …
Facts About Aluminum Wiring
One item that is sure to cause concern during an inspection is the presence of aluminum wiring in the home. This paper will attempt to provide some additional information on the subject of aluminum wiring. HISTORY Since the advent of powering our homes with electricity, wiring has traditionally been copper. In the mid 1960’s, as the price of copper rose, …
Electrical Inspection: Proper Wire Sizing
Most home inspection standards require inspectors to inspect branch circuit conductors (wires) and overcurrent devices (fuses and breakers) and to determine that they are compatible (wires are sized correctly for their respective fuses/breakers). This paper is intended to be a basic explanation of how home inspectors can make this determination during their (visual) inspection. Most residential houses in the US …
Building a Better Mouse Trap
We will start today’s post with an old phrase that has been attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, 19th century essayist, lecturer and poet. It says that if you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door. This is taken to mean that if we do something better than all our competitors, then we can’t help …
Electrical Inspection: Voltage and Amperage
Most home inspection standards require inspectors to determine and report on the voltage and amperage supplied to the home. This is intended to be a basic explanation of how home inspectors can make this determination during their (visual) inspection. Most residential houses in the US are 120V/240V single phase systems. While you may see it written as 110/115/120/125V …
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 that mere wishes were truths. We are …