Is a Home Inspection Franchise Right For You?

Starting a business and being an entrepreneur can be a scary proposition for anyone.  Deciding whether or not to enter the market by purchasing a franchise can be daunting.  For many, owning your own business is part of the American Dream.  The idea of calling your own shots, building your legacy has a familiar sound many have experienced and succeeded with.

There are three logical methods of entering the business and career of home inspections.  These are: as an employee of another firm, as an independent and new firm, and buying into a Franchise operation.  For the purposes of this article I will focus on the last two.

The professional of home inspections, for most, is a second or third career.  The demographics are dominated by an age group over 45 and many come from the trades or have an engineering background.  Most home inspectors have a thirst for information and are full of opinions and technical information.   But, they might lack the knowledge of how to enter the marketplace.

If an inspector or entrepreneur decided to enter as a self-designed and independent company they will be solely responsible for one-hundred percent of everything created, designed, and maintained by this new endeavor.   They will absolutely have the ability to seek out and rely upon any experts they can find the guide them along the way.  But, imagine, any marketing or sales collateral has to be designed by them.  The website has to be designed by them.  The reporting system has be determined and maintained by them.

If an inspector was to enter the marketplace by purchasing a franchise from a reputable and accepted national franchise company much of the heavy lifting is done.  The new operation will have the reporting system already designed and maintained.  The sales and marketing collateral will have been designed and possibly purchased through a national program.  The website will be designed and maintained by others and there will be a resource and play book established to help with success model.

Now if an inspector enters the marketplace as an independent company they will have the ability to be very unique and build a reputation on their own backs and merit.  They can go into the marketplace using technical resources and trade groups like InterNACHI (Inter National Association of Certified Home Inspectors).  But they are still alone.  As a franchise you will have a very unique and qualified resource there to help sort through aspects of the business you have difficulties with.  Everything the franchise does is franchise specific and not generic.

Owning a franchise does come with certain responsibilities and costs.  There will be an initial cost to purchase the franchise.  There will also be a royalty cost paid typically monthly and based upon a specific measurable, typically revenue.  As an independent inspector you will not have these costs.

Every business goes through a natural cycle and at some point your business will retire, close or sell.  The best scenario is to sell your business.  If a service business was built as an independent and a single inspector operation, when the operator leaves so does the business.  The referral sources become very attached to the inspector and when the inspector is not there the referral source might go elsewhere.  As an independent inspector  you will have to not only find a buyer for your business but transition all of your referral sources, who or confident with your work, to a new inspector and new business they have yet to be confident with.

If you own a franchised business there is a larger name and reputation presumably attached to it.  There is a certain cache and cash value associated with the name.  This goes beyond the single independent inspector.  Selling you franchise business then transfers all of the support mechanisms to this new operator and might allow you to vacate quicker and cleaner.

Regardless of whether you enter the world of home inspections as an independent inspector or as a franchise operation do so with the knowledge necessary to be responsible and trustworthy.  Your client’s deserve your very best.

For more information about home inspection franchises go to: www.brickkicker.com