Being a home inspector is usually pretty straightforward. Someone calls us, we do their home inspection, and get paid. One, two, three; nothing much unusual in that process. But, sometimes, we’re asked to do things that are outside our normal routine. It’s in situations like these, when we’re asked to step outside our comfort zone, where we’ve got to be …
The Cost of (Not) Changing
If we stop to think about it, the home inspection business has both changed dramatically over the past 20 years, and it hasn’t really changed that much at all. Yes, I know that I’m saying two opposite things in the same sentence, and no, Hurricane Ida burnout hasn’t totally fried my brain (well, maybe a little), but hear me out. …
Everything I Learned
There’s nothing like a relaxing vacation to get you back in the mood for returning to the daily grind. Unfortunately, my recent vacation was anything but relaxing, as my family talked me into traveling to the theme parks in Orlando Florida. After spending a “relaxing” week waiting in lines and paying exorbitant prices for mediocre food, I was more than …
Action, Not Just (Paying For) Words
One of the biggest hurdles a small business owner faces is figuring out how to get clients through the door. Whether your company has an actual front door in a building, or you operate a service-based business without a physical location for customers to visit, the goal is still the same: to get customers to call on you so that …
Am I Doing My Job or Am I Working?
It can be said that what we do for a living can be described in two different ways: what our job is and the work that we do. While those two words can, and often are, used interchangeably, that doesn’t mean they represent the exact same thing. Being a home inspector may be our job, we identify deficiencies and potential …
Your Permanent Record
If you’re of a certain age (i.e.: old like me), you probably remember being a kid and getting “corrected” for doing something wrong. Back in those days, correction probably involved some hard object finding its way onto your backside, often in a swift and repeated manner! But regardless of whether or not your correction involved borderline child abuse, you were …
The Tip of the Iceberg
No matter who you are, no matter where you live, no matter how successful your business is, there’s one thing that we all have in common: we all feel a bit of stress when it comes time to tip at a restaurant. Tipping is such an arbitrary thing; it often ends up being a nerve-wracking experience. Why does it have …
The Secret to Long-Lasting Success
Running a small business is hard. There are many obstacles that must be overcome. One of the most difficult challenges to figure out, especially for the novice entrepreneur, is how to get clients. Without a doubt, it’s one my students most often asked questions. Every potential business owner realizes the importance of acquiring clientele, but most of us are dumbfounded …
One (Double) Report to Rule them All
Real estate agents. Certified Public Accountants. Attorneys. Personal Trainers. What do all these professions have in common, you might ask? Each one of them is in a service-based business, just like a professional home inspector. None of these people are selling you a physical product; they’re selling you their services. Most of us have probably not even stopped to think …
Story Time
If we take a moment and think back on our childhood, it’s quite likely that some of our most vivid memories take us back to story time. We often recall, in vivid detail, the tales told to us by people we admired: friends, family and mentors. These stories not only helped to educate us, but they also served to cement …
- Page 1 of 2
- 1
- 2