I consider myself to be extremely fortunate. I (somehow) ended up in a career that I really enjoy, that allows me to help others and that helps me to provide for my family. I started doing home inspections professionally in 2001, and soon thereafter started teaching other home inspectors (and Realtors) about the industry. In addition to being certified to …
Power On
We all fall into the same trap. We start something new: a new diet, a new relationship, a new job, or a new business venture, thinking that it’s going to be easy. Yes, we know that everyone else struggles with these same challenges; we hear about the failures from our friends, coworkers, and random associates on our social media channels. …
Setting yourself up for success, and Avoiding Client Zero
I am going to start today’s post talking about the one subject that you don’t want to hear about: problem clients. Yes, I know: you already deal with problem clients enough in your business; you don’t want to read about them too! Let’s just pretend they don’t exist, and maybe they’ll magically go away… The reality is that we all deal …
Answer Before They Ask the Question
We will start out today with a quote from author Shawn L. Anderson’s book “A Better Life.” He says that “Preparation is what allows the teacher to truly inspire. Preparation is knowing exactly how the lesson plan will flow. It’s in knowing what questions to ask and what answers to give.” The author is speaking about teachers, but this sentiment …
Becoming a Business Ninja
We will start today with a slight distortion of a quote from author Nick Hornby’s 2005 Novel A Long Way Down: ‘A business is hard to build yourself, piece by piece, with no instruction book and no clue as to where all the important bits are supposed to go.’ Hornby’s original line was about the difficulty of rebuilding yourself, but …
The One Rule for New Businesses that Nobody Wants to Know
I hope that today’s post finds everyone doing well. Today, I wanted to touch on one item that typically eludes us when we start planning our businesses. Whether we are home inspectors, Realtors, plumbers or CPA’s, this rule holds true for everyone starting a small business. What is this all-encompassing rule? It’s really simple but understanding it can mean the …
You Like Me, You Really Like Me!
I hope that today’s post finds everyone happy and healthy. Today’s title is a misquote of a line from Sally Field’s Oscar acceptance speech for Best Actress in her role in the 1985 movie “Places in the Heart.” Obviously this reference is way too old for the majority of readers to be familiar with, but the phrase touches on …
Becoming a Master. Can Other People Help Get You There?
One of the benefits of living in the digital age is relatively easy access to any audience in the world. We can contact almost anyone, any place in the developed world, easily accessing them through our smartphones. This can be beneficial in our business, as it allows up to easily acquire knowledge through the mistakes and successes of other people. …
Can I Do This for Another Year? How To Keep a New Business Going
I hope that everyone is doing well and having more fun than I am at this moment. I am currently at the computer, working on bookkeeping late at night. While QuickBooks is far from my favorite pastime, it is a necessary evil of life as a small business owner. And while I may rather jab myself in the eye with …
Planning to Fail
At every level of engagement in your life, from business and personal relationships to the cellphone that is in your pocket, you will experience an event that can be termed a failure. Your business will encounter hardship, someone that you care for will be hurt and your cellphone will die an untimely death (maybe in a toilet, Eddie). But, we live …