HOME INSPECTION SERVICES

HOME INSPECTION SERVICES

If you are interested in building or remodelling your home, then you may want to consider starting your own home inspection company. Home inspection services is one business that you can quickly begin as long as you meet a few requirements. one needs to get certified before you can start your job as a home inspector. Certification is a procedure that varies from different geographical areas, but it requires rigorous training and analysis in almost every situation. Although various methods of getting certified exist, awareness is at the heart of the process.

Steps to start a home inspection business

No one can start an overnight home inspection business. Aspiring home inspectors ought to do quite a bit  between learning about the business, getting certified, and forming business relationships. Here are the simple steps to get up and running:

• Figure criteria for a home inspector’s license in your country/state. These criteria differ by state or country, but the necessary steps you will need to take to get certified can be provided by a fast Google search. For example, In New York, it takes 140 hours of classroom time to become an accredited home inspector.
• Train for the exam. Carrying out a full home inspection requires knowledge of the construction, foundations, and engineering fundamentals. In other words, certain classes you would need to take, either online or in person.
• Create a business network. The best way to get business is by having a good network. In the home inspection business, this network should be dense with realtors. If you have a robust network of Realtors who know you and the expertise you bring to the table, will you be in a position to get business as a home inspector. Going to networking activities is an excellent way to meet people.

• Sit for the licensing exam. This one is direct. You will be able to ace that after extensively covering your coursework. Once you have your license, you will be able to practice as a home inspector.

There are many ways to get formal training and certification

When a client brings you to their home for an inspection, they trust you to determine the protection and security of their life’s most significant house. You must, of course, prove yourself before you can assume such an essential task. But to get started, you need to take part in formal training and certification.

Here are some of the ways to get a home inspector certified:

• Classroom training.
• Field training.
• Online home inspection classes.
• Continuing education by keeping up with trends.

Types of Inspections to be carried out at home

• Disaster inspection
• Chimney inspection
• Foundation inspection
• Asbestos inspection
• Wood eating insects inspection
• Pool inspection
• Mold inspection
• Electrical inspection

COURIER SERVICE

Many people spend a lot of time every week, running errands. They are often in their cars, driving around town, stopping here and there to complete errands. Some use public transport, and they have to keep up with the hassle of catching buses or trains just to get their errands complete. But wouldn’t it be a fantastic idea for someone who runs errands to run errands for other people too? Starting a courier service business would be an excellent way to earn money, as many people are willing to get the burden of running errands carried off their shoulders. Starting a courier business does not take long as long as you meet a couple of requirements; do you own a van/truck or a way to transport goods? Are you willing to spend an entire day just running errands? Do you have excellent interpersonal skills? Are you a patient person? Do you have the ability to navigate the map easily? If your answers to these questions are yes, then you are ready to begin your courier business.

As with all other businesses, you will need to figure out the legal structure of your business and then register it with the relevant authorities.

Another thing you will need to figure out is insurance, both for your vehicle and for liability of the goods you will be carrying.

Below are different types of courier business that can be set up depending on the niche of courier services that you prefer;

• Bicycle courier
• Van courier
• Motorcycle courier
• Drone delivery service
• International courier services

Here are a few things you could need to ensure for your courier business to be successful:

• Right vehicle/motorcycle/bicycle- Whichever mode you decide to go with, you will need to make sure that whatever method of transport you pick for your couriers’ service is in excellent condition because clients will not take delays lightly. Reliability is a great attribute for courier businesses, and you do not want to slack when it comes to this. You will also want to make sure the vehicle you choose has enough space to carry goods
• Get insurance for your business- many things can go wrong in the courier business. Your vehicle could fail or get into an accident, the goods you are transporting could get lost or spoilt, and you and your employees could get hurt. You want to make sure that if any of these happen, you won’t have to incur these costs directly from your pocket. Investing in a good insurance policy should be in your best interests.
• Marketing your courier services- First, you should connect with your friends and family and start using your social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin. On each of those social media assets, you can build a business page. Most courier companies would need to sell to other businesses that need a courier, and this can be achieved by listing companies that may require a courier service, then cold calling and emailing prospects, or dropping the business cards off. Besides, web marketing and advertisement can be a low cost and efficient way of targeting business owners. Google Adwords and Facebook also have self-service apps that are easy to use. You may target clients based on the keywords they are searching for or their interests/demographics/location.
• Keep track of your expenses and receipts – This is very straightforward and applies in all businesses. Many apps can help with this.
• Picking the right equipment- For the right tools, the courier delivery company will become more productive and will save the back from the pain of carrying boxes. The type of equipment you need depends on thein part on the types of things you will be picking up and distributing to your clients.

PARTY PLANNER

If you have a laptop, internet, and cell phone, an event planner will work from just about anywhere. It’s your personality and event management skills that are most important. Starting from home keeps costs lower because renting office space can be an immense outgoing for a young company, and you do not want to be locked into a long-term leasing deal from the beginning.

Individuals each find themselves lacking the skills and resources to organize events. Professional planners should step in and pay the attention they deserve to such special events.

A few things you will want to make sure are in order when starting your party planning business;

• Established expertise – If you want people to have confidence in you with their events, you need to show that you know what you are doing. You can participate in various certification programs outside of an undergraduate degree in hospitality that will help improve your skills and let your clients know they are in the hands of an experienced person. Of course, there are plenty of other certifications you can get, and courses you can take that are far more unique to the type of case. You can also see if there are any courses or qualifications provided by your local college or university that could help you start.
• Software– There are an enormous amount of types of software that you could use for your company. You’ll find some of them help right away, and you’ll find some of them helpful much further down the road. Here is a list of critical types of apps, and why you might want to invest in them:
• To help manage projects, tasks, and workflow: event management or project management software.
• CRM tools- To help you interact with present and future customers
• ERP tools to help smooth running of office operations like invoicing

• Insurance- Event planning undertakings should secure general liability and other forms of insurance to protect the interests of the business owner. There are many types of insurance, so it’s best to talk to an insurance agent and know all the criteria.
• Target Market – With your business model in place, understanding your services, a sense of how you will be charging for your services, now is the time to start developing valuable business and marketing materials.

Consider whether you are looking to deliver a large, full-service event management company or simply concentrate on providing a particular form of event or target market. While it is tempting to try to sell something to all to secure the maximum amount of business, this can potentially reduce the amount of business that you acquire by acting as a “jack of all trades, master of none.” If you can, concentrate on your strengths so you can customize your marketing and make every effort from the start to attract the right type of company.

FILLER CONTENT

Creating a marketing budget and Investing in a PR company where possible

Your marketing budget can be 30% or more of your business expenses when starting up a company. Does that sound like much? Think of everything you’ll need:

• A website for your business
• Business cards
• Flyers and other printed info
• Digital marketing and online ads
• Expenses to travel to events for networking

You will want to ensure you have not left anything out. Ultimately you’ll need to invest money to make profits. In the early months, the goal is to protect your customer base as quickly as possible. If you deliver on the promise of producing unforgettable experiences, your customers can hang around, and this will allow your marketing costs to start falling. Investing in PR will help you create a brand name, message, and voice more significant than you thought, PR will also help strengthen the credibility and reputation of your business.

Creating and carrying out a SWOT analysis for your business

SWOT is simply an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It is an analysis that each business carries out to help in strategizing. A SWOT analysis can reveal a wealth of information when done correctly and can be useful in a variety of circumstances. Below, you will get a guide on how to perform a SWOT analysis and provide Some tips to help you make effective use of the the tool.

A SWOT analysis gives you a detailed, objective overview of your entire market, or a particular product or campaign. A SWOT analysis can also help train your brain to consider any factor that could impact on your project or company. When you’re up against a difficult problem or are just unsure of your current approach, a SWOT review illuminates specifics so that you can formulate actionable plans based on each of the four quadrants.

To perform a SWOT analysis, you need to use the SWOT analysis matrix, which is a square divided into four quadrants where each quadrant represents an element of the SWOT. Below is an example of a SWOT matrix

Strengths – Main benefits relative to competition and target markets.

Weaknesses-main disadvantages relative to competition and target markets

Opportunities-Marketplace opportunities brought up by proposed businesses.

Threats- possible hindrances to achieving business objectives

Strengths & Weaknesses tend to be internal factors for a business, while Opportunities and threats tend to be external factors.

An easy way to carry out a SWOT analysis would be through asking yourself questions regarding each quadrant for the SWOT matrix. Below are examples of questions for each quadrant of the matrix;

Strengths

• Who are our loyal customers?
• What are our unique selling points?
• Where do you earn the most?

Weaknesses

• Where do you lack skills?
• Where do you make losses?
• What is costing you a lot of money?
• What resources are you lacking?

Opportunities

• How can you use technology to enhance your business?
• What clients have a higher purchasing power?
• Can you add value to your products or services?

Threats

• What are the obstacles you are facing?
• Who is your competitor and what is it that they do that you are not doing?
• How is the economy and purchasing power in your target market?

After filling up your respective quadrants with their answers, You will ensure that you keep up or improve your strengths, you will also need to work on your weaknesses. You will also need to be very assertive about the opportunities and then work on your threats.SWOT analyses don’t give you answers, but instead, they help you strategize on how you will carry out your business going forward.

BREAK-EVEN POINT & ANALYSIS

What is a break-even point, you may ask? In simple terms, the break-even point is defined as a point where total costs (expenses spent on the business) and total sales (income generated from the business) are equal.  Knowledge of Break-even analysis is vital for business people to have as an understanding of this will help them not assume all the revenue generated from the business is profit. To calculate the break-even point, one needs to calculate the price at which to price their services/products.

Let’s say, for example, in a courier services business. One will incur costs to buy the vehicle, equipment, license, insurance, fuel, and other logistical expenses to do their business. At the same time, they need to price their services/products appropriately to cover business expenses and create profits.

Break-even analysis helps a business in these ways;

• Setting budgets
• Motivating and setting targets for sales
• Monitoring and controlling of costs
• Setting the selling price of products and services
• Managing the margin of safety for the business