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Home Inspection Business Plan & How To Become a Home InspectorThe first thing to do is create a home inspection business plan. It has been said if you fail to plan you plan to fail. The home inspection business is not at all exempt from that rule, in fact I know for a fact it is subject to it. The first exercise I suggest to anyone who wants to start any home inspection business is to get a copy of a five year old yellow page book (yes, a five year old one not a new one) and start calling the businesses listed. I expect out of the first ten calls you make to home inspection businesses five will be out of business, three will be answering machines and two will have a person answering the phone. I further predict only one out of the three messages you leave for a home inspection business will EVERY be returned after all people who are no longer in business can not return phone calls. Why is it that out of ten companies only three are in business after five years? Because only 1/3 of home inspection companies had a business plan! Would you dream of driving from New York to California without a map? If you did odds are you would get lost a few time along the way (unless you brought your GPS). First one would take a large scale map and plot a rough course. Then one would take smaller scale maps and plan stops along the way or bench marks if you will. As one travels the route adjustments will be made. Odds are when the rough home inspection business plan is drawn it will be too ambitious and you will not meet all of your goals. Adjustments to the plan will have to be made along the way or you will drift off course and never make it to your goals. No one in their right mind would think they can sit down and write a home inspection business plan they will stick to 100%. The idea is to write a plan so you have a concept of what to do. As you implement the ideas in the plan you will refine it. After a few years of looking at your business plan it is likely you will see your initial plan was not quite as good as you thought it was. Experience (making money) is a great teacher. Experience (loosing money) is an even better teacher. Why? When you make $200 you can take your spouse out to dinner, enjoy a great meal and feel happy. When you LOOSE $100 you realize not only can't you take your spouse out to dinner you may have day old bread and grilled cheese for dinner the next few nights! Yes, that is a drastic example but it got your attention. I started my home inspection business in September or so of 1993. For the last four months of 1993 I worked day and night (literally). When I had no work I went to real estate office after real estate office begging for work. When the real estate offices were closed I called every realtor whose number I could find (not legal any more) and left messages begging for work. I worked 90 hours a week and ONLY LOST $3,654.33. The first MONTH I had one inspection, yes that is correct ONE inspection. The second month I had 12 inspections. By month three I was up to 19 inspections. During month four I performed 18 home inspections. Funny as it sounds now, I thought that was a good year for a starting a home inspection business. My accountant was shocked to see how quickly my business was growing. All the while I was loosing money. Home Inspection Business Part I Home Inspection Business Part II Home Inspection Business Part III Home Inspection Business Part IV Home Inspection Business Part V
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