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Libertyinspectiongroup.com 610.717.3082 APRIL 2018
A PATH OF SELF- DISCOVERY
WHAT I’VE LEARNED SINCE STARTING LIBERTY INSPECTION
For more than five years, Liberty Inspection was just me, my pickup truck, a ladder, and my keen eye for detail. I started out as a franchisee of a national company, just cruising around and taking pleasure in the crazy hours I was working, doing everything I possibly could to provide the highest standards of service for my clients. At the time, I wasn’t exactly the entrepreneurial expert, so the training the franchise provided was vital to my initial success.
Eventually, I made it past that first hurdle, and I was ready to expand the business. I hired my first employee just as my wife transitioned to being a stay-at-home mom. In the end, I felt I could reward her for all the work she did in the early years of the business, a positive back-and-forth that allowed us to build the life we share today. From there, I threw myself into growing the business and expanding our services, putting together a real crack team of home inspection experts, support staff, and just all-around fantastic people. It’s incredible to look back and realize just how much the entrepreneurial journey has taught me about myself.” Somebody recently asked me the single most important lesson I’ve learned from building my business from the ground up, but honestly, it’s impossible to boil it down to any one principle. It’s incredible to look back and realize just how much the entrepreneurial journey has taught me about myself. It’s become clear to me over the years that in order to run a top-performing business that truly is dedicated to creating an exemplary experience for your clients, you have to be able to look inward and understand what makes you tick on a deep level. Today, I’m thrilled about the company I’ve created and grateful for everyone who has helped me along the way, from my wife to my team to the incredible clients who have entrusted me with their inspections throughout the years. Still, though I’m happy with our current position, I know better than anyone that there’s always room to improve and to push our services and standards further than ever. I relish the opportunity.
I have to admit, I enjoyed the simplicity of those days. Despite basically working myself to the bone, everything was hunky-dory. I had no managers to answer to and no employees to lead, so I could devote myself entirely to the nitty-gritty of the inspection process. Over years and across hundreds of inspections, that laserlike focus helped me develop a knack for picking out those nasty little surprises that inexperienced inspectors often miss.
Still, as a one-man operation, income was more than a little sporadic. The rhythm between feast and famine is a classic dilemma of any new business owner, and it often takes years to overcome. I’ll be the first to admit that my wife — who worked as a pension actuary at the time — footed more than her share of our expenses.
–Chris Earley
The Liberty Inspection Group team
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5 SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS VIDEOS
Engaging videos are the darling of modern marketing, and when companies do videos right, they can be hugely successful. But when they miss the mark, they might go viral for all the wrong reasons. Here are five lessons you can learn from the best business videos. Use a script. Even if the person in your video is the leading expert on the topic, you still need a plan for what they’re going to say. Lay out the facts, incorporate an interesting story, and keep it conversational. Scripts help you control the tone so the video isn’t one big information dump. Invest in quality equipment. Popular viral videos are often shot on a cellphone, but shaky footage and poor sound quality won’t help your company. You need to hire a professional to film your video, or at least use professional equipment. Bad lighting, background noise, and other amateur mistakes will dilute your message and guarantee audiences won’t respond to your video the way you want them to. Include the right music. Music is tricky. When it’s not there, the video feels uncomfortable. But choose the wrong music, and your video becomes unintentionally hilarious. As strange as it sounds, the best music is the kind your audience never notices. Fortunately, there's As I wrote about in this month’s cover story, I’ve had my share of both successes and learning experiences since starting Liberty Inspection more than 11 years ago. But though I’ve loved building my company from the ground up, I’d be lying if I said the entire process was sunshine and rainbows. As with most things, there were moments when I was struck with uncertainty, especially as expenses mounted and business waned. Luckily, I’m the kind of guy who never stops moving. With every obstacle, I trusted my instincts, learned from my mistakes, and pushed through even the toughest times to be where I am today. I knew that in order to be truly successful, I needed to keep my eye on the prize and maintain consistent drive and intensity — no matter what. No one knows this better than Tim Grover, the legendary trainer of athletes like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade. In his awesome book, “Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable,” he outlines exactly what it takes to be a top competitor in your life and your career.
plenty of royalty-free music that can fit with any budget and video atmosphere. Pick the right clothes. The clothing you wear in your video has more of an effect than
you may realize. Sure, you get compliments on your striped blue shirt all the time, but that shirt will ruin your video. Stripes and patterns tend to move when they appear on camera, which can be distracting. Solid colors are the best option. Don’t drag on. If someone sends you an eight-minute video, how likely are you to watch it? Eric Guerin, executive producer at Adelie Studios, reports that 53 percent of people who watch business videos leave after one minute. Your videos should be under five minutes, with an ideal time frame of 2 1/2 minutes.
Most companies make videos these days, so the competition is fierce. Remember these tips to give your next business video a boost so it stands out above the rest.
BE ‘RELENTLESS’WITH YOUR GOALS C E O C H R I S E A R L E Y ’ S B O O K O F T H E M O N T H
The key, Grover argues, is to become absolutely relentless in the pursuit of your goals. You make an action plan that will get you where you want to go, and you follow it with the utmost focus. You take responsibility for doing everything you need to do to realize your dreams, and you eliminate every distraction, excuse, or shortcut along that long and difficult road.
As Grover states bluntly and repeatedly, there’s no magic pill or secret strategy that
will suddenly turn you into the person you want to be. It’s a matter of how much work you’re ready to put in. “It’s simple,” Grover writes. “Ask yourself where you are now, and where you want to be instead. Ask yourself what you’re willing to do to get there. Then make a plan to get there. Act on it.” In his book, Grover is a stern coach who pulls no punches, but I’ve found him to be an invaluable resource for finding the motivation to continue driving my company, my personal development, and my mental fortitude forward.
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3 RED FLAGS WE’LL WATCH OUT FOR DURING YOUR INSPECTION
Even the most beautiful homes often harbor nasty surprises for would-be buyers or sellers. The problem is that it’s almost impossible to spot many of the most serious issues without a professionally trained inspector by your side. Still, forewarned is forearmed. Here are five red flags that may be hiding behind those picture-perfect walls.
were installed in millions of U.S. homes from the late ‘70s to the mid-’90s. These pipes are cheap and work great, until they suddenly don’t. Over time, they’ve been found to
degrade due to chlorine in the municipal water supply, causing sudden leaks and potentially serious flooding. If any of the pipes in the home have the code “PB2110” on them, you’re playing with a ticking time bomb, counting down the days until they burst and flood.
ALUMINUM WIRING
MOLD
Most of the time, buyers and sellers assume that if the electrical seems to be working fine, there’s nothing wrong. But a thorough look into the wiring often tells a different story — one filled with fire hazards and potential costly repairs. Old aluminum wiring installed during the copper shortages of the Vietnam War is a serious concern. Aluminum reacts to heat differently than copper, causing it to expand and contract, which can lead to dangerous loose connections. And unfortunately, the only option in some cases is to replace the entire system with copper in an expensive and involved process.
Sure, janky wiring and subpar pipes can be expensive, but at least they don’t invisibly ruin your health day after day. Mold can cause all kinds of insidious symptoms like headaches, fatigue, or shortness of breath. While it usually thrives in damp, warm locales within the home, mold can be difficult to identify unless you’ve been trained to notice it. These may be three of the biggest offenders in the home inspection game, but they’re certainly not the only ones. Before you make one of the biggest investments of your life, it’s best to bring a professional on board to avoid a money pit. Call the Liberty Inspection experts at 610.756.1002 and let us detect any problems before they cost you money.
POLYBUTYLENE PIPES
But it’s not just the electrical. Builders have been trying to find a cheap alternative to copper for decades. Take polybutylene pipes, for example, which
HAVE A LAUGH ON US!
ROASTED ASPARAGUS WITH LEMON BREADCRUMBS
Recipe inspired by Food and Wine Magazine
INGREDIENTS
• •
2 pounds asparagus
• •
1 cup panko breadcrumbs 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra- virgin olive oil
Ingredients:
• • •
Kosher salt
• •
2 teaspoons lemon zest
Freshly ground pepper 2 garlic cloves, minced
Juice of one lemon (not packaged lemon juice)
DIRECTIONS
minute. Add breadcrumbs and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and fold in parsley and lemon zest. 3. Transfer asparagus to serving platter, drizzle with lemon juice, and top with breadcrumb mixture.
1. Heat oven to 425 F. Toss
asparagus with 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and
pepper. Place on baking sheet and bake for 20–26 minutes, turning asparagus halfway through. 2. When asparagus is nearly done, heat remaining olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1
Directions:
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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: PAGE 1 Lessons From the Entrepreneurial Path
PAGE 2 Make Your Next Video Go Viral
Chris Earley’s Book of the Month: ‘Relentless’
PAGE 3 3 Red Flags Most Buyers and Sellers Miss
Roasted Asparagus With Lemon Breadcrumbs PAGE 4 April Fools’ Pranks From the Pre- Internet Age
3 APRIL FOOLS’ PRANKS FROM EARLIER, MORE TRUSTING TIMES
SWISS SPAGHETTI GROWERS ENJOY RECORD HARVEST Ah, to be as naive as we were during the early days of television.
April Fools’ Day isn’t what it used to be. Sure, it’s still a fun distraction, with Google announcing “scratch and sniff” digital technology and Amazon declaring new features enabling Alexa to understand your pets. But it’s pretty hard for anyone to genuinely pull your leg in the Internet age. Back when you couldn’t debunk a hoax with a simple Snopes search, things were a little more interesting. Here are a few of the most hilarious — yet somehow convincing — April Fools’ pranks in history. NIXON FOR PRESIDENT, 1992 When NPR’s popular “Talk of the Nation” program announced in 1992 that former President Richard Nixon had announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, listeners were shocked. Never mind that he’d been the center of the largest presidential scam in history, but his campaign slogan, “I never did anything wrong, and I won’t do it again,” left something to be desired. NPR even brought political experts on the show to discuss the ramifications of such a move, and listeners flooded the station with outraged calls — until host John Hockenberry revealed that the on-air Nixon was actually comedian Rich Little.
In 1957, a BBC show called "Panorama" conducted a special report on a massive spaghetti harvest in Ticino, Switzerland, following a remarkably mild winter. The black and white images showed farmers pulling huge strands of noodles off tall trees and prompted hundreds of viewers to call into the station and ask how they might procure their own spaghetti tree. THOMAS EDISON’S AMAZING FOOD MACHINE When Edison was in his prime, Americans truly believed he could accomplish anything — even a machine that transformed air, water, and dirt into biscuits, vegetables, meat, and wine, as reported by the New York Daily Graphic in 1878. The article was reprinted in newspapers across the country. Thousands of people bought the trick. When Buffalo’s Commercial Advertiser ran an editorial on Edison’s genius in the endeavor, the Graphic reprinted it in full, along with the headline, “They Bite!”
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