Author: Pamela Swift

Categories
How-To Guides

How To Boost Your Home Inspection Business In 2020

The home inspection industry is one that can be profitable and rewarding, but it is also an area that many people struggle with, and many home inspections businesses fail within the first few years. This can be for many reasons, but often it comes down to a lack of reputation, economic changes, or not having a sustainable business model. Therefore, it is helpful to know a few ways in which you can boost your home inspection business for 2020, which should help you to attract more customers and create a stronger name for your business. Here are a few ways to boost your business this year.

• Further Your Expertise

The best home inspectors are the ones that are always furthering their expertise and knowledge of the industry, as this helps to improve the service that you provide while also enhancing your reputation. There are many ways to further your expertise, such as:

– Training courses
– Attending industry events
– Learning more about real estate
– Stay current with the local market
– Joining online communities
• Upgrade Your Software

It is important that you have high-quality software in place which can help with all aspects of home inspection, including scheduling, billing, report writing, and marketing. Top-of-the-range inspection software like ISN can help with all of this and automate many time-consuming business tasks, which will help to streamline your operation and help you to improve the level of service that you provide to customers.

• Improve Your Communication Skills

It is hard to succeed as a home inspector if you are not a good communicator. You will be communicating with potential buyers, real estate agents, and other people from the industry on a daily basis, and you need to be able to explain your findings clearly. Therefore, taking steps to improve your communication skills could help to improve the service that you provide while also helping you to forge stronger connections to build your network.

• Increase Networking

Following this, the home inspection industry is one that is all about marketing. You are much more likely to secure more work when you have an extensive network, and you are familiar with realtors, construction companies, and others in the real estate industry. You should be networking online and offline and always trying to find ways to increase awareness about your brand.

• Increase Social Media Usage

Leading on from this, it is also intelligent to increase your social media usage as a way of raising brand awareness and showing your expertise. You can communicate with your target audience and share helpful content that will show your expertise, such as tips for finding the perfect home and a step-by-step guide to buying property.

• Improve Writing Skills

While communication skills are essential, you must also possess great writing skills if you are to succeed as a home inspector. You need to be able to write high-quality, clear, and engaging reports which outline your findings. You can improve your writing abilities through training, reading around the subject, practice, and online tools.

• Take Better Photos

A good inspection report will also have high-quality photographs to back up your findings. This means that you need to know how to take good photographs as well as have a camera that allows you to take professional-standard photos.

• Use SEO Services

It is hard to get new business when you are not highly visible online. Using SEO services from an established internet marketing agency will help to increase your ranking on search engine results lists, which will direct more traffic to your website while also improving your brand reputation.

• Seek Feedback

As with any type of business, it is always a smart idea to ask for feedback from your existing clients. This will help you to identify any areas where you could be making improvements so that you can provide a better service to future clients, plus you can also use any positive reviews to attract new customers to your business and develop your reputation.

• Invest In New Technology

There are always new tools and gadgets using the latest technology that can improve your home inspection service and give you an edge over the competitors. Tools like infrared cameras can make it much quicker and easier to identify moisture, which will help to streamline your inspections.

Try a few of these strategies to boost your home inspection business in 2020. This is an industry that can be hard to excel in, particularly early on, which is why it is helpful to know the best ways to make improvements to your company.

Categories
Technology

Why You Should Look for Speed and Reliability From Your Internet Service Provider?

Many people searching for an ISP get hung up on whether they should opt for higher speeds or reliability from the service. The fact is, both are important to the overall value of the service, but if you’ve got specific internet needs, you may want to focus more on one over the other. Whether you’re a small business looking for an ISP to meet your business needs, or you simply need service for your home, here are some tips on choosing a service while considering speed and reliability. Here’s why you should look for both speed and reliability.

Speed

How fast is your internet service currently? Do you spend hours waiting on large files to download, or is your streaming service constantly buffering? The speed of your internet refers to how quickly data is transferred in your connection, and the higher your speed, the easier it is to download large files quickly or to stream HD video or audio. Many people get hung up on speed as the primary concern when it comes to internet service, and it’s easy to see why.

The first thing you’ll probably notice in an ISP advertisement is its speeds. ISPs advertise speeds as the differentiating factor between them and the competition. Cable internet boasts the “highest speeds”, but satellite internet isn’t far behind. You should definitely consider the internet speed when you’re looking for a new ISP, but don’t get hung up on only this part of the service.

Reliability

A reliable connection is perhaps more important than the speed of the connection because even if you have the fastest internet available, you will not find it useful if the connection constantly fades in and out. We’ve all been victim to such a connection at one point or another, and frustration is hardly the word for it. You can’t exactly be productive with a connection that never stays connected!

Reliability depends largely on the equipment you’re using, and if you’re using satellite, it will depend on the quality of the signal and anything that is between your dish and the satellite itself. A good way to gauge the reliability of an internet service is to check out the customer reviews.

You can be certain that any customers who have suffered from an unreliable connection will be quick to leave a review about it. You can learn quite a bit from these reviews, not only about the reliability of the service but also about the company itself and its policies.

Why Both?

Besides the fact that slow internet makes productivity screech to a halt, and an unreliable connection can cause more than its share of frustration, you need both also because you’re paying for a service, and you shouldn’t be subjected to poor service for your efforts. When it comes to internet, some packages can cost well over $100 per month, and if they’re not working correctly, what are you paying for?

Unfortunately, not every ISP cares much for its reputation or the quality of its services. Large ISPs like Spectrum have been sued by previous customers for lying about speeds or providing services that were unlike what was advertised. A good web connection is pretty much an essential tool for modern life, so you would think ISPs would take their customer service and products seriously.

Luckily, you don’t have to stick with the large ISPs for your internet service. There are thousands of ISPs throughout the country, so you can find a locally-based smaller ISP with a better focus on its customer service and products. If you’re in the market, you can find the best ISP in your area on sites like Internet Advisor.

Consider Price

Don’t pay extra for higher speeds alone, but rather for better customer service, speed, and reliability together. The price of your internet service should reflect its quality. You don’t want to overpay for slow service, which is an all too common occurrence in the ISP industry. Be sure to read your terms of service carefully to be aware of any hidden fees or charges.

The Bottom Line

Choosing an ISP is no easy task, especially with so many options available and the largest IPSs seemingly drowning out the smaller local competitors. It can be easy to get lost in the endless marketing from large ISPs, and while they certainly control a large portion of the market, they’re not the only options available. Don’t forget that you don’t have to settle (unless that’s all there is available in your area).

Speed and reliability are both as important as the other. Without a reliable connection, your speed won’t matter much, and without decent internet speeds, you’ll become frustrated when you’re trying to stream or download large files.

Categories
Finance & Capital

What Is the IRS Debt Forgiveness Program?

Have you faced financial hardship or do you know someone who has? Hardships come in many forms, from unexpected health problems to a lost source of income. Whenever someone faces a sudden hardship, they may be unable to fully pay their taxes.

Despite any financial troubles you might currently have, you need to file your taxes to avoid penalties from the IRS. However, that doesn’t mean the agency isn’t willing to work out a reasonable solution for those facing dire money problems. Find out how the IRS debt forgiveness program works and if it is right for your current situation.

What Is the IRS Debt Forgiveness Program?

Image via Flickr by free pictures of money.

It might surprise you that the IRS would be willing to let any debt go uncollected, but the agency would rather collect some of what taxpayers owe than nothing. As part of the agency’s debt forgiveness program, the IRS Fresh Start Initiative began in 2008. The initiative provides opportunities for taxpayers to avoid bankruptcy, tax levies, wage garnishments, or other undesirable collections.

The Fresh Start Initiative program offers several alternatives. You could make a lump-sum payment before the IRS takes further actions and avoid additional fees and interest. Long-term (120-plus days) and short-term installment plans are available for taxpayers who can afford to pay the full amount due over time.

Unlike lump-sum and installment payments, the Offer in Compromise is a debt forgiveness program for those who can’t pay their full tax liability to the IRS within a reasonable period of time. An Offer in Compromise is a negotiation with the IRS for a percentage of debt forgiveness, rather than a plan for paying the full amount back over time.

How Do You Qualify for The Debt Forgiveness Program?

If you apply for an Offer in Compromise, the IRS will look at your personal circumstances when considering if you qualify, including your ability to pay, income, expenses, and asset equity. Of course, the agency will only approve your application if you have filed all your previous tax returns, you have not missed any required estimated payments, and you aren’t going through personal bankruptcy.

The IRS considers the Offer in Compromise to be a last resort, so it will only approve plans where it will receive what it considers to be reasonable within the time it’s allowed to collect overdue taxes.

How to Apply for Debt Forgiveness From the IRS

If you’ve determined that your best solution is to apply for an Offer in Compromise, you will need to fill out all the required paperwork as instructed by the IRS’s official Offer in Compromise Booklet, Form 656-B. This booklet details all that you will need to submit with your application, including Form 433-A, Form 656(s), and all related fees and initial payments.

Along with your submitted offer, you will need to make regular payments according to the plan you have detailed while awaiting word on whether the IRS has approved your offer.

If you are overdue on your taxes and need debt forgiveness, remember the IRS Fresh Start Initiative’s payment and debt forgiveness options to relieve the pressure without ignoring it. Based on your situation, you may be able to pay a percentage of your debt or make smaller payments over time.

Categories
Entrepreneurs

5 Things Successful Entrepreneurs Do

How different are entrepreneurs? Can anyone be like them? This trend is becoming more and more popular today. Less than ten percent of people create ninety percent of the world’s wealth. Sixty-five percent of them are self-made.

However, successful entrepreneurs are a minority. Twenty-five percent of businesses fail within the first year. After half a decade, ninety percent of them close. Of course, nobody starts a project expecting it to fail. That’s why it’s vital to learn how to make it the right way.

5 Things Only Real Entrepreneurs Do

Although the journey can be hard, starting a business is simple. Most of their actions fall into one of these five principles.

They Invest Their Money, They Don’t Save It

Many people get into this game because of financial freedom. However, what’s the point of making more money when you cannot keep it? Prices are higher than before. Every year, the value of our money reduces. That’s why over eighty million Americans invest instead of saving it in the bank.

If you invest in real estate, the risk is much lower because it’s a physical property. When entrepreneurs invest in REIT stocks, they get a return. Although sometimes it may not be much, it scales with your income level. It definitely counters inflation and increases your savings.

A Different Approach to Work Ethics

Everybody knows success requires hard work. The difference is the way people look at work. Employees use to look at it as a price to get something they want. The entrepreneurs, however, think of work as a way to challenge themselves. Would you keep working hard, even if you get paid nothing for years? Most businesses require work upfront before making any profit.

Although money is vital, work serves as a challenge to be a better person. That’s why most successful entrepreneurs keep working after winning in business.

They Know How To Make Decisions

Success is the product of our choices. From product creation to research, entrepreneurs take calculated risks to grow. It requires perspective and analysis skills to ask the right questions.

What is the upside and downside of my decision?

If it’s wrong, how easy is it to undo my mistakes?

Who has the information or skills we need?

How can we scale our business model?

What will competition not do?

Are we solving a market need?

If our product becomes unavailable, how disappointed would people feel? How much do they care?

Here are the habits that help them make good decisions. They take fewer of them to reduce decision fatigue. Remove everything that’s not unessential so that you save mental energy. Also, some decisions are made daily. You can solve that problem by removing or delegating them.

Regardless of popular trends, they do their research to think independently. Entrepreneurs don’t limit themselves to one answer for a problem. They are open-minded and use the right thinking patterns. Some of them require to think long term, set goals, or study the consequences of their actions.

They Read To Reach New Heights

Visionaries know how to change the world with new ideas. But entrepreneurs aren’t innate forward-thinkers. They learn from other people’s mistakes so that they can save time. Once you start reading the right books, you gain perspective. You start finding new paths to reach your goals. Also, you will be more aware of your actions.

How much reading is enough? What should you read? The average executive reads 60 books a year, but employees read less than one. Look at reading as a habit with indirect benefits in your life.

Now, each book is different. When it comes to your niche, you should learn as much as possible to keep everything updated.

For books in general, look for timeless topics such as learning skills, studying biographies, or changing your mindset.

Bounce Back From Failure Quickly

In business, there’s always something that will go wrong. If you stay for the long term, these events will happen. Then, what does makes them different? After bad events, it can take months for average workers to recover. The best ones can get back up within weeks. Entrepreneurs bounce back within days, if not immediately.

How is that possible?

Entrepreneurs expect failure. They have the right expectations, so they can recover and barely be affected.

Categories
Human Resource

Wrongfully Dismissed? These 3 Common Signs Could Signal an Illegal Termination

Few experiences can bring about the instant dread and confusion of a sudden job loss. Even if the ultimate conclusion has been in the making for a while, not many employees relish being dismissed and possibly dressed down by a supervisor. This one incident can lead to feelings of regret along with the likely prospect of finding a new position somewhere else. In addition to everything else, it can be devastating for individuals who feel they were fired without cause. As it turns out, such wrongful terminations are relatively common. The following list outlines several of the common ways employers can violate existing law in dismissing employees.

Violation

In many positions, an employee and employer relationship is protected by points outlined in a contract. Nevertheless, some employers have attempted to violate those very terms in dismissing an employee. Many agreements stipulate that a contracted individual is entitled to a stated cause. If a person feels that guarantee has not been honored, there is a process he or she can take in attempting to prove the termination was without cause and possibly illegal. In this and other such situations, it is important to find a trusted and expert team of wrongful dismissal lawyers in Toronto who will be able to handle the cause with poise and professionalism.

Discrimination

While it might be easier to initially prove an employer violated explicit terms laid out in a contract, that does not make other forms of wrongful termination any more appropriate. Among those potentially more subjective terms is discrimination, which includes firing an individual for his or her attributes across a wide spectrum of socioeconomic factors. From race and gender to immigration status, current laws help protect employees from possible discrimination. Again, any people who believe they fall into this category should seek professional counsel and advice.

Retaliation

Another possible form of wrongful dismissal includes an employer fires someone in retaliation for legitimate behavior, such as reporting mistreatment or workplace violations. Whether it comes in an official report or is merely the perception of an employer, it can be illegal for any business to dismiss an employee without just cause after he or she has attempted to voice a concern.

For all of those people facing life after what they believe was an improper dismissal, there are plenty of questions. In addition to documenting everything possible and aligning with experts in the field, keeping a hopeful outlook might help seal success.