New Certified Inspector with questions

Hey all- I recently got my certification and now I am ready to start my own inspection business. I am curious about how new inspectors gain clients and if I can get busy enough to quit my everyday job to do inspections full time?? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Ryan @ Ultra Spec Home Inspections

Call me and I will help you out the best I can. Too much to tell you in just a post.

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Seems to me these are questions you should have asked prior to ‘diving in’!

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^ This.

That said,

There is an entire forum section on marketing for a reason.

My advice is to read every thread in the marketing forum twice. All the answers are there, just waiting for you to read them.

And whatever budget you have for marketing, increase it x 4.

Most people take 2-3 years to get any decent client stream going. Hence why the failure rate for inspectors is so high.

Unless you’re in my area, in which case, I’m hiring, which would save you the headaches of marketing and avoid going bankrupt while waiting for the clients to come rolling in.

Trey harsh! ?
I’m just starting out as well and there are more questions than answers at first. I’ve enlisted the help of some local agents who know how to gain access to those who can offer you as a trusted inspector. I’m still waiting for the stream of incoming clients, but patience is needed in any new business offering. Keep the day job if you can, at least for now… but market yourself, and make damn sure you have a good website that is searchable on the main search sites!

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www.BizVelop.com and actually do what the recommended reading sections suggest.

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My experience has been that success begets more success. I am one of the fortunate few (if you are to judge from posts at this forum) who has successfully used HomeAdvisor to launch my career. Now, at just under 2 years from the day I got my license, I find that referral business through past clients and Realtors is providing a steady stream of clients (averaging about 20 inspections a month so far this year), and I have turned off the HA leads. I treated every inspection as though it was the most important inspection of my career, and offered various perks as part of my inspections to differentiate myself from the competition.

Now that I have some “street cred”, I am doing presentations at agent orientation, sponsoring CE classes with local title companies, and seeking other opportunities to get my name and face in front of local agents and starting to see some results from that.

Specialty advertising, SEO, and other forms of promotion play a part as well.

Bottom line, it takes money to make money, and as Ian alluded to, it takes time as well.

You must ask yourself why anyone would use you as opposed to the more experienced competition in your area, and be prepared to use your imagination and creativity to come up with a value proposition that will cause people to see your services as the best value. Resist the temptation to compete solely on price. It’s hard to get up off the floor when that’s where you start.

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