When we finally get the call, from that heavy hitter agent we’ve been hoping to get, things start to get a little bit crazy. We pay more attention to the details, making sure that we’ve got all the information we need to get the inspection scheduled. We double-check things the night before, verifying that we’re primed and ready to go. …
Buffet, Munger, and Home Inspections
It is intriguing, the various places we can find inspiration, even when we’re not searching for it. I was recently reading a book detailing the lessons put forth by Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger at 30 years of the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meetings and discovered that their wealth of advice is applicable not only to investors but inspectors as …
I Want It Now
In today’s digital, interconnected, always on, instant gratification society, we are all pushed to look for immediate results. We’re wired for short-term benefits. We want it all and we want it now. This can pose a significant problem when we’re striving to achieve something that’s more akin to a long-term goal. Becoming a successful home inspector is not something that …
That Is Something
Even though other people may try and convince us otherwise, we are all very good at something. It may not be exactly what we think we need most to succeed in our business, but it’s something. With enough imagination, its quite possible that we can use that something to our advantage. It only takes one thing for us to stand …
Changing Fear
Change. It’s all around us. Permeating everything in our modern world. Fate favors those who are able to keep up with the changing times. Yet, change is uncomfortable. Wouldn’t it be so much easier if we just kept doing things the same way? We wouldn’t have to learn new things. We wouldn’t have to modify our behavior. We wouldn’t have …
Calling Us Bad Names
As professional home inspectors, our job is to let buyers know what’s wrong with the home they’re considering buying, as well as what might go wrong in the not-too-distant future. The very nature of our job, to be the bearer of bad news, puts us in a precarious position. If a purchase agreement falls apart after the buyers hear the …
A Bird in the Hand
We spend a lot of time marketing our business. AdWords, social posts, videos, cards, brochures, promotional events, sponsorships; you name it, we’re trying it. We spend every bit of our time and resources trying to get another client through the door. Top of the funnel, they call it. If we look at our business prospects in terms of a funnel, …
Self-Inflicted Wounds
Self-inflicted wounds. I recently wrote a post about this very topic. But the more I’ve thought about it, the more I realized that there was still much to be said about a problem that many of us, no matter our industry, suffer from. Regardless of where we inspect or how long we’ve been at it, the more we think about …
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 …
Layered Defense
I was listening to the Tim Ferris Show podcast this morning and his guest was Matt Pottinger, a military expert and previous U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor. They were discussing the potential threat that China may pose to the U.S. and the world. In part of the interview, he was speaking about China’s aggression toward Taiwan and its desire to annex …