No one likes to change. It’s difficult. It’s time-consuming. It makes us step outside our comfort zone, forces us to learn something new, to do something different, to take a chance that this might not turn out exactly like we want it to. But isn’t that the whole point of changing? In our state (Louisiana), we’ve been having a “lively” …
Three Stress Points for Home Inspectors
Everyone wants be be faster at their job. Even professional home inspectors, who are typically very detail oriented and spend time looking in every crack and crevice of a home, would like to work more efficiently. We’re under a lot of stress during the on-site inspection process, with everyone involved wondering when we’re going to be done looking around (and …
Processing Feedback
Running a small business can be hard. Most of us were not very good at it when we started, but (hopefully) we kept going anyway. We tried to do our best with the skills we had. We worked hard, made mistakes, and (hopefully) learned from those mistakes. Lather, rinse, repeat. It’s really amazing that we made it this far, isn’t …
Step Out on That Ledge
All of us suffer from the same malady: we’re human. As humans, we’re extremely comfortable with our routines. We’re reassured by the fact that we know what happens next; that we have a good idea of how things are going to work. We like it when things go according to plan; we’re happy when our lives play out exactly like …
No One Can Do It for Us
I know, I know; it’s hard. When you run your own business, finding time to do all the things you’d like to do seems impossible. I was in the same place as everyone else, thinking “I’d love to find the time to upgrade my inspection report.” But, the simple task of running my own business was overwhelming. With scheduling, marketing, …
Can We Live With Constant Change?
The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day. Steven Pressfield Unless you’re brand new at this small business thing (and if you are, good luck to you), we’ve all made it through the dreaded start-up phase. We’ve soldiered on, taken our lumps, run the gauntlet, …
Investing in Your Business
It’s not our fault. Really, it’s not. We were all trained the same way; all indoctrinated into the same mindset by the same school system. As author Seth Godin is fond of saying, we were all raised to be cogs in the wheel of industry. Put the peg in the hole; eight hours a day; five (or six or seven) …
I’m doing fine. Why should I worry about changing?
Most of us have a good thing going. Whether it’s our job, our daily routine or our relationships, we’ve all been doing the same thing for quite a while. It’s all a well-worn routine; muscle-memory at its finest. I’ve been doing home inspections since 2001 and have it down to a science. I know my job, my software and my …
24/7 Marketing. How to Sell Yourself in the Modern Age
We live in a world where our senses are constantly bombarded by someone or some company’s attempt at marketing. We cannot walk down the street without seeing storefronts screaming at us; we cannot drive across town without being accosted by billboards; we cannot watch our favorite show without seeing “product placement”; we cannot even check our social media accounts without …