The home inspection industry is built on sole proprietors, but that’s not the dream for every certified home inspector. If you want to build a larger company with several employees, you need a different trajectory. You need to do what other home inspectors in your market aren’t.
It takes time and a phenomenal amount of vision, dedication and hard work. But if you’re willing to make the effort, you could transform your home inspection business into a thriving company.
Create a New Business Plan with Goals
Maybe you started your home inspection with a business plan. Or maybe you just went to work. A lot of home inspectors take the latter route and do just fine. But whether or not you have a plan, the new direction that you’re dreaming about needs an entirely new plan. Growing a one-person home inspection business into one with employees is different.
There are plenty of step-by-step templates available on line that practically breeze you through the initial stages of the process. But just because it’s easy to begin doesn’t mean it’s easy to get right.
According to Entrepreneur, the basic plan outline consists of at least seven essential sections.
- Executive summary
- Business description
- Market strategies
- Competitive analysis
- Design and development plan
- Operations and management plan
- Financial factors
You don’t have to know all of the answers when you begin. The important part is to fill in what you know. You’ll naturally expand and revise as you go along. But you can’t get there if you don’t get started.
The Small Business Association (SBA) defines a small business as a manufacturing or mining industry with no more than 500 employees or a non-manufacturing or mining business with “no more than $7.5 million in annual receipts.” It was made for people like you. They offer numerous resources and one-on-one help for entrepreneurs.
Spending time with agents and offering them something of value can give you great returns on your investment.
Connect with Real Estate Agents in a Meaningful Way
Nearly every home inspector has heard the same advice: make friends with real estate agents because that’s where you’ll get more referrals. For a home inspection entrepreneur, it’s time to take it up a notch.
Stopping in and dropping off business cards isn’t enough. You need to develop a beneficial business relationship with agents in your area. That’s what inspector Jerry Linkhorn did to help transform his sole proprietorship into a company with employees that perform over 3,000 inspections each year.
Working RE magazine says Linkhorn joined a marketing group and then got to work refining his strategy with agents. Now, he offers lunch & learns as well as continuing education courses, which every real estate agent needs for licensure. The key is offering something that agents value, offering it consistently and without crossing the line into “gift” territory, which risks a RESPA violation.
Focus on Building Business Skills
If you’re going to run a larger business, you need serious business skills. One of the first things to consider is working with an accountant. Your accounting program has probably sufficed until now. But if you intend to grow, your accounting will soon need a dedicated accounting professional or an in-house bookkeeper.
According to Inc. magazine, every entrepreneur, no matter the industry, needs these five business skills. If you don’t have them, there’s probably a community college nearby where you can pick up courses. You can also find them online.
- Marketing: to drive in more leads, you need up-to-the-minute marketing chops
- Sales: leads aren’t any good if you aren’t sure how to convert them into customers
- Planning: without planning, your business has a mind of its own and it can’t go where you want it to
- Communication: it’s the driving force behind most successful entrepreneurs. Your communication skills help define your company culture, build relationships with agents and peers, support your business brand and can even help you land investors if that’s a route that you’re interested in.
- Customer focus: with so much competition, a customer-centric business can set you apart. The customer experience can move you to the front of the herd, especially if most other inspectors in your area are more focused on getting to the next inspection than creating an experience that’s so good, customers want to share with their friends.
- Curiosity: Inc. says “the best business skill has always been a healthy curiosity.” Curiosity keeps you informed about the market around you, it helps you stay on top of new trends and can put you in a trendsetter position.
Not everyone is cut out for operating a business with employees, and that’s fine. It also doesn’t have to be your story. If you aspire to own a small business with an office humming with activity and several certified home inspectors in the field, it’s time to take the next step.
Your home inspection reporting software can make a tremendous difference in efficiency and the level of professionalism that customers come to expect. If you’re not satisfied with your current software, maybe it’s time to upgrade to something sleeker. Report Form Pro is a home inspection reporting app and all that you need is a smartphone or tablet. Get your download for Android today or head over to the App Store for your Apple device.