Do You Need a Business Plan?

Often touted as the number one key to a company’s success, business plans can help woo banks, secure start-up capital and break into certain home inspection franchises, but do inspectors who run one or two-person companies need them? That depends say veteran inspectors. Here are two seasoned inspectors’ take on writing a business plan.

The Pro

Rennard Clayton says that his business plan is the reason his company got off the ground. Before starting A+ Inspection Services in Allentown, Pennsylvania nine years ago, Clayton spent four months part-time creating an approximately 15-page plan that outlined estimated salary, expenses and a solid strategy for gaining new business.

 

“Since I was starting a new venture, I definitely needed something to guide me,” says Clayton. “…Researching the industry was important to me because it helped me set realistic expectations for a salary, decide how much I should spend on marketing, research and talk to other inspectors about their businesses.”

 

For new inspectors, crunching numbers on how much inspection business exists in your area, what other inspectors are charging, what auxiliary services they’re providing and how you can connect with new clients is invaluable, especially in a housing market that’s still bouncing back. Clayton adds that writing a business plan is especially important in the home inspection industry because work is seasonal.

 

“A lot of [home inspectors] don’t write a plan because the start-up costs for this industry are minimal,” Clayton explains. “What they [frequently] don’t understand is that there’s a lot of down time during the slower markets. You have to plan for that.”

 

Clayton says that even nine years after launching the business, he still revisits his original business plan every year to tweak his marketing budgets, analyze his goals and make sure he’s set to tackle the upcoming year.

 

“It’s easy to get complacent with the home inspection industry because you’re frequently using the same real estate agents and folks over the years. If you don’t continue to go out and meet new people, you can find that your business is [stagnant],” he says. “A plan keeps you on track. It keeps you moving in the right direction.”

 

The Con

For Peter Calabrese, owner of Metroplex Home Inspections, LLC. in Plano, Texas, didn’t feel that it made sense to write a business plan ten years ago when he started his home inspection company.

 

“The [cost of] education to be a home inspector is through the roof so the last thing on my plate was a business plan. There was no money to do it,” he says. “…It’s nice to have [a business plan], but I’ve operated for along time without it. If you do good, quality work, you really don’t need one.”

 

While Calabrese didn’t write a formal business plan, he did conduct significant research on what the competitors were charging, what services they were offering and how to conduct a quality inspection before opening his company. His business took off and within two years, he was taking more inspection requests than he could handle.

 

“Maybe around year three to year five, I should have put a plan in place but I was so busy inspecting that it fell to the back burner,” he says. “…If you’re thinking about adding someone [to the payroll] or asking a bank for funding for additional equipment or vehicles, that’s when a plan would be nice…If you’re going to add people or go after the big companies, you’d better have a plan in place.”

 

Calabrese says that he doesn’t regret skipping out on a business plan because his company has stayed small. He says that for one-person operations, plans have their limitations. Time could be better spent actually digging up clients.

 

“There’s nothing out there, business plan wise, that’s going to get you in front of a realtor,” he adds. “If you don’t go out and meet realtors, if you don’t go network, no business plan under the sun is going to be able to do that for you.”

Our New Comment Library Is Coming!

And just to whet your appetite, here’s a sneak peek:

 

What do you think?

Our Next Big Move

We don’t just run a home inspection software company. We’re working home inspectors who use our app in the field every single day. From doing our own inspections and listening to you, we know that our current comment library isn’t perfect. That’s why we’re dramatically revamping it.

Tap Inspect already provides multiple customizable checklists. No matter what you are inspecting, these checklists rarely provide a complete picture of what you want to communicate. There are always things that need more clarification in a specific report. That’s where comments and photos come in.

This simple task of recording comments can get complicated because every person has their take on what needs to be commented on and what the comment should say. Despite the individuality that complicates the design and coding of Tap Inspect, we believe in a few fundamental truths:

We all report in our own language and that language can change over time

Your choice of words, the way you explain things, your level of detail—these are the reasons clients choose you to do their inspections. As inspectors learn and do more inspections, word choice can and does change. As professionals we are constantly learning and our comments reflect that.

Canned, default comments frequently cannot provide the personal touch that’s needed. They can provide a starting point, but they must adapt and change as we do.

Our new library notices when you change a word or add an entirely new comment and asks if you want to save it. It grows and changes as you use it.

We tend to report the same things over and over in the same places

As a general rule, we inspectors tend to make the same handful of comments on almost every report we do and put them in the same sections. It’s just the nature of inspecting similar things over and over. These frequently used comments should be only a tap away since they are used so often.

Our new library remembers what comments you use in which section. Your most frequently used comments will always be at the top of the list in the section you use it.

It’s a hassle to find that one comment you only use once a year

We all run into some issue that is very unusual, but we know we have commented on it before. Where is it?

Keywords, comment codes and drop down lists typically don’t help because you have to remember where in you library it is saved and then scroll through long lists to find it. This usually takes longer than it does to type it again.

Just like with Google, Yahoo or Bing, our new library allows you to type in a word or phrase and search the entire database of comments. Is the list too long? Type in more words and the list gets shorter and shorter with the best matches nearest the top.

Stay tuned because we think what is coming soon from Tap Inspect will change your expectation of how comment libraries should work. We can’t wait.

 

 

 

How Do You Make Contact?

We wanted to know how real home inspectors personalize their businesses, so we made it our question of the month. Here’s what’s working for you:

“I try to maintain periodic contact with all of my previous clients, via email. Several times a year, I’ll pass on maintenance tips, mold and radon (indoor air quality) information or information about recalled products from the Consumer Product Safety Council…I receive a lot of positive response from this. In staying on the front page with my clients, they are quick to refer me to friends and family. In slow times (which we have all seen too much of), I send out emails to my previous clients offering annual maintenance evaluations of their homes, with energy conservation tips provided.”

~ Mark Cordle, CEO of Echota Home Inspections in Atlanta, Georgia

“I invite all of my clients to take a survey on the quality of the inspection report. Once they do, they’re entered into a drawing to win a $25 gift certificate to Home Depot. I also follow up after a while to let them know that they can contact me an ask questions even after they’ve moved in.”

~ Michael Wirth, home inspector and co-founder of Tap Inspect in Louisville, Kentucky

“I simply give them the best inspection and report there is. I spend all the time that’s necessary explaining items and concerns during the inspection. I am not afraid to recommend the tradesmen I have used for years in my building business. I treat every client like family. No gimmicks or tricks, just the best experience possible!”

~ Jim Dietrich, AAA Home Inspections in Flushing, Michigan

News You Can Use: March Edition

* Canadians! The Canadian Home Builders’ annual conference takes place March 14 through 16 in Mont Tremblant, Quebec.

* Don’t think we left NAHI out. The NAHI Colorado spring conference will happen on March 24.

* InterNACHI is hosting a series of free webinars in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy on home performance, energy efficiency and sustainability. Webinars run on March 14 and May 16 at noon Pacific time, 3:00pm EST.

* We love home inspection marketing guru Ken Compton. If you’re looking for a bit more reading on how to boost your home inspection biz, check out this piece on increasing your SEO love or this one on establishing yourself as the expert.

* And if you haven’t seen enough weird stuff for today, we bring you nests made for people. Inspect that.

The Personal Touch

In the world of home inspecting, relationships are frequently the thing that separates you from the competition. A personal touch, whether it be a hand-written thank-you note, coupon offer or follow-up phone call, can be the difference between landing repeat business and losing your client to someone cheaper. Here’s how small business owners, experts and start-up consultants recommend that home inspectors get up close and personal with their business contacts.

Get Involved
“Be part of your community,” says Mara Dresner, vice president of communications for Strategies business coaching and author of “Super-Charge Your Staff Meetings.” “Devote part of your advertising budget to local events, such as school sports and theater programs…The payback isn’t usually immediate. You are building name recognition and showing care for the community.”

Dresner adds that inspectors can also increase their community presence by holding local seminars and adult education programs in their area of expertise. Since nearly every community has clueless first-time home buyers, a free seminar could be a great way to both provide some much-needed education and rope in a few new clients.

Be More Than an Expert
Social media provides an invaluable way to tell customers about your business, but it also provides an outlet to show them other sides of you too says Dr. Tom Anastasi, author of “The Successful Entrepreneur: American Dream Done Right.“

“Of course adding up-to-date information on home repairs, preventative maintenance and such is important, but also interesting and entertaining videos and links and tidbits of information that they think are fun,” he says. “That way when their service is ‘liked’ customers will maintain contact long after the initial sale.”

Showing your human side can land you business, but it can also turn clients off if your posts are distasteful or offensive. Before hitting “post,” think carefully about who might read your content and what they may think.

Feature Your Client
Marisa Brayman, director of web and marketing for Stadri Emblems, a company that produces embroidered patches for scout troops, sports teams and other groups, says that her company has found success by featuring clients through their blog and social media channels. After sending out a shipment, Brayman invites clients to share the stories behind how they’re using her product along with pictures. Stories and photos are then put up on the company’s blog.

“This fosters great customer relationships. If we take the time to write about someone and promote him or her on our website, whom do you think that person is going to return to in the future when the need for the same type of service arises? There’s little question,” Brayman says.

The tactic also pays off for Stadri as well. Once customers see their names in print, the article gets passed to their friends and family through social media networks. Since there’s often a hefty emotional component to buying and renovating homes and since every house has its own story, home inspectors have a natural tale to tell when they inspect a property.

Reach Out
Whether it’s by offering refer-a-friend coupons, sending a New Year’s or Valentine’s Day card or e-mailing clients on their birthdays, making the effort to connect with clients individually, however you do it, can solidify a business relationship. According to Barry Maher, a customer service expert who includes ABC, Merck, Verizon and Wells Fargo on his client list, making personal connections boils down to one mantra.

“Make people feel important,” he says. “With all the talk about customer service, with all the blather about customer centric companies, making people feel important is still the easiest and the cheapest way to differentiate your business from the competition.”

Tap Inspect Testimonial – February Edition

 Hearing from our clients always brightens our day. Here’s some feedback we’ve received this month:

“Since its inception in 2005, [our company] has always delivered electronic reports to our customers.  In late 2010 we switched platforms to Tap Inspect from a competitor and have never looked back.  All of our inspectors agree that this has been the single largest improvement to our business and none of them would ever go back to the ‘old’ way of generating our reports…Tap Inspect makes inspection reporting easy.  The system is intuitive and customizable.  Inserting pictures and comments for areas of concern couldn’t be easier.  Our customers and realtors really love the reports generated using Tap Inspect.”

~ Michael P. Zadeh, President of Inspection Tech in Cleveland, Ohio.