Growing Your Own Home Inspection Business vs. Working for a Company

By Kevin Wagstaff • June 29, 2020 • 2 min read

Growing your own home inspection business is hard. Really hard.

Not to mention the whole COVID thing – which made it extremely hard on new home inspection companies.

Some new home inspectors are opting for joining a multi-inspector company that can weather the storm.

Some see this as an opportunity, as many great businesses are born in a recession.

No matter which direction you go here are some pros and cons of going at it solo vs. joining a larger home inspection company.

Growing Your Own Business

Pros

You are building personal relationships based on your personality
Your outputs (financial, pride of ownership, freedom) are a direct reflection of your inputs (time, energy, effort)
You can choose when to work more/less
You can make changes quickly
You are building business value that could be sold someday

Cons

You wear all hats – marketing, customer service, sales, technology, home inspector
Slow times can put your business at risk
Everyone wants to talk to you
You might have to outsource areas of your business
No time for marketing to agents

Joining a Multi-inspector Company

Pros

You get to only inspect homes – no marketing, scheduling, email follow ups, etc.
Resources – you have mentorship and a team to work with
Job security in all economic times
Existing and long-lasting relationships with brokerage offices
Ability to grow into leadership roles (inspector manager, operations)

Cons

Upside is capped – you get paid hourly or a flat fee per inspection
No direct control over how many jobs you get
You won’t make business-level decisions (could be a pro if you don’t want that responsibility)

If you’re a new home inspector struggling to get to cruising altitude – check out Spectora Jobs marketplace. Joining a larger team can be a great way to stay in the industry and learn the ropes in a stable environment.