Most things in our lives are pretty simple. There’s usually an easy explanation for why things happen.
We’re late for our appointment because we hit the snooze button three times this morning.
That customer is upset because we didn’t make sure that he understood what was happening before we left the jobsite.
We’re stressed out doing our taxes because we waited until the last possible moment to begin.
But, when more variables come into play, things tend to get complicated.
Take the current state of the home inspection/real estate industry, for example. Business is pretty slow for most inspectors, and we’ve all got someone to blame: the President, the Realtors, our competitors, the market…
When, in reality, it’s complicated. The economy’s in the tank because of inflation, political policies (or lack thereof), high interest rates, and the hangover from 2+ years of COVID disruptions. The housing stock numbers are way down (for a variety of reasons) while the prices are still way up. People are uncertain about the future and hesitant to make a move, and if they could move it’s likely they’d have a hard time finding affordable insurance for their new homes. Throw in the glut of new inspectors in the market (because of the crazy number of houses that sold over the past 2 years) and we’ve got a recipe for disaster!
While it’s never enjoyable to be caught in the midst of a downturn, it’s important to remember that our business, just like everything else in life, is cyclical: sometimes up, sometimes down, but never remaining the same. In order to enjoy the high points we’ve got to be able to weather the low ones.
Good times or bad, always remember the quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln: “This too shall pass.”
Share this Post