Part 1: Starting a Home Inspection Business With Absolutely No Experience
Now is the perfect time to start a business. There are plenty of opportunities out there, which is contrary to popular belief. Starting a business may seem a little intimidating but it depends on the way you go about it.
Many people have dreams of having their own business for many reasons. They want to make money and make something of themselves. Others want something to supplement their income. Whatever the reason you want to start a home inspection business, always begin doing it the right way, and keep running it with good intentions.
One popular belief is that you need tons of experience, expertise, and knowledge to start a home inspection business. The opposite is true. While it helps to go to school and learn the tricks of the trade, it does not necessarily mean that you should not start a business because you do not currently have experience. The important things to remember are, you need to research, ask the right questions, get the best advice you can, and get the right training.
What are the right questions to ask?
Below are ten questions to ask to get you started. Of course there will be many more as you go, but at least you have something to start with.
How do you start a business without experience?
What are some things to do to get started?
What are the legal matters you must know in order to get started?
What do you need to know about your target audience?
How do you commit yourself to a market solution not just a small idea?
How do you build street credibility?
What free resources can you rely on?
When will you know you need to see outside help?
How do you put your strengths to work?
What are you willing to invest in your new business?
1. How do you start a business without experience?
Think about what you already know about business. Use your work experience as a guide. Maybe there are things you have witnessed or realized that was not part of your daily tasks which you can use for your business.
Whether you listen to coworkers or supervisors talking at work, family members or friends there is most likely some bits about doing business that you have picked up on. You may not even be aware of some things you learned about doing
business.
2. What are some things you need to do to get started?
Research is the most important thing to do. First, ask the right questions. This is all part of the research process. You may research questions you need to have answers for if you do not know what questions to ask. It is okay to search on Google or Bing and quickly search for important questions to ask when starting a home inspection business. For example, what certification or training do I need? What tools do I need to start a home inspection business?
When reading any article, however, make a note of the different points it makes. Whatever is clear and understandable is fine, but whatever you do not understand, take that point and do more research on it. See if what was written was also said by somewhere else. Sometimes having a few people say the same or similar things can give you an indication the information may be something worth keeping in mind.
Another thing you will need to get started is legal advice. Never assume that what you learned where you work or what you think is okay is legal. Start off on the right foot and do business according to the law. You want to avoid being that person who did something illegal and now has a reputation as such plastered all over the World Wide Web.
3. What are the legal matters you must know in order to get started?
It is impossible to know everything about the law. Speak to a lawyer if they give free consultations and ask them what you should know.
4. What do you need to know about your target audience?
Do some research and find out what appeals to them. What areas are they complaining about that you can improve on.
You can do some research on social media. Facebook has groups and so does twitter. Find a group related to your real estate agents or home buyers and observe it to see what people are talking about. Use this as advice on what types of services to market as well.
The best advice for using social media groups to learn more about your target audience is not to join any group and self promote. Be genuine in making connections, providing feedback, and learning. Get to know people first, and then ask them questions here and there. It is all about patience.
In part 2, we are going to dig deeper into the remaining questions.
R. Joyce is the Owner of InspectorsUniversity.com
