Category: Franchise

5 Common Interview Answers That Are Red Flags For Hiring Managers

July 25, 2023

By Kimberly Stevens, NPI, Inc.’s Marketing & Business Coach One skill that can be difficult to develop for small business owners is how to recognize red flags when they show up. Red flag interview answers aren’t just bad answers, they are the types of responses that should alert hiring managers that it might be time to move on to the next candidate altogether. All hires are important for small businesses, but nailing those early hires is pivotal when it comes to long-term success. This is why good business owners place so much focus on their early interviews. Entrepreneurs likely don’t have extensive experience with interviewing prior to starting their own businesses, so they often can’t reflect on the early warning signs of lousy employee behavior. While candidates who have a talent for answering interview questions aren’t necessarily always the best people for the job, there are some seemingly innocuous interview answers that should actually be major red flags for hiring managers. But First, A Few Thoughts On Delivery (A Message to Job Seekers)Interviews can, admittedly, feel intense, nerve-wracking, and anxiety-inducing. Although this might add even more pressure onto job seekers, there are a few behaviors related to anxiety that can

Conducting Great Interviews as a Small Business Owner

June 27, 2023

By Kimberly Stevens, NPI, Inc.’s Marketing & Business Coach Starting a business is a remarkable accomplishment in itself, but making that first hire might be the most important part of a small business’s track for growth. The amount of time and effort that goes into a brand new hire is considerable, and costs incurred when it goes wrong can feel like a gut punch. But these mistakes can be avoided! Business owners who invest into their interviewing skills can discover potential issues far in advance, and determine which candidates have the perfect complementary skill set they’re looking for. The right candidate will feel like the missing puzzle piece for your business. To identify these partnerships with expertise, there are three important questions to answer during an interview. Does the Candidate Fit the Position?The first determination that a good interviewer needs to uncover is, of course, whether the candidate would have the ability to do the job for which they are applying. Candidates usually come to the table with varied experiences, and often their work history won’t include the exact position that they are applying for. This is where strong preparation from the interviewer comes in. Drilling the position down to

Surefire Strategies To Increase Your Market Share

June 13, 2023

By David Stamper, NPI, Inc.’s President & CFO Running a small business is a lot of responsibility to take on. Owners need to not only become experts in their field and in their industry, but they also need to stay up to date on key market research if they want their business to succeed. When it comes to building your small business and tracking market research, there are few concerns that outrank your business’ market share. Market share is, simply put, a percentage of your business’ earnings compared to the total business done within your market over a particular period of time. While a business owner’s goal should always be to build their business’ percentage of market share, there are many benefits to tracking direct competitors’ market share as well. To learn more about how to build your market share, let’s review some strategies on how to get started. Perform a Competitive AnalysisThe first step to increase your market share should be to gain an awareness of your business’ position in your market compared to your competitors. Although it may be difficult to find hard numbers that break down your competitors’ exact market share, you should be able to check

Essential Steps For Setting Your Home Inspection Business Up For Success

June 6, 2023

By Celeste Black-Harr, NPI, Inc.’s Recruitment Coordinator Becoming a home inspector is a great profession that allows for incredible flexibility and the potential for impressive profits, but many enter into the industry unprepared and uninformed. Starting a home inspection business requires an investment of both time and money, and too many start up while missing key details that cause their businesses to stagnate or even fold prematurely. Don’t let a lack of research end your entrepreneurship dreams before you’ve started! Avoid these pitfalls, and your home inspection business has the opportunity to meet its potential. Understand the ProfessionAlthough this may sound surprising, one of the most common mistakes that new home inspection business owners make when setting up their business is that they do not fully understand what the job entails. Business owners who start out inspecting homes themselves need to be aware of the physical nature of home inspections, for example. To examine roofs, home inspectors should expect to carry and maneuver ladders, as well as climb up and down them on a regular basis. Additionally, inspectors should feel comfortable with navigating attics and crawl spaces. Some newer technologies such as drones and crawl bots enable those who might

From Rookie to Asset: Tips for Training New Employees

May 16, 2023

By Stepha Vesper, NPI, Inc.’s Senior Communications Strategist In the home inspection industry, it should be every business owner’s goal to expand their team. New employees can expand marketing efforts, allow for more property inspections to be completed in a shorter amount of time, and improve on client satisfaction due to increased efficiency. Both in the case of adding a very first employee and when adding to an already large team, owners cannot overlook their training processes. To build your home inspection team the right way, let’s discuss the importance of training, and review a few tips on how to help transition your new employee into an invaluable contributor to your team. Highlighting the Importance of TrainingAll business owners understand to a certain extent the value of a solid training process. New employees are an investment, and the quicker that these team members can get up to speed with the rest of the business the better. Business owners are incentivized to make their training processes as quick and efficient as possible in order to get their new partners contributing. Though these goals are understandable, business owners who are only focused on the speed of their training schedules are missing out

How Keeping Your Website Fresh Will Boost Your Small Business

March 28, 2023

By Sydney Bailey, NPI, Inc.’s Marketing Director A website is absolutely crucial to a small business’s long-term success. Especially in saturated industries and competitive markets, business owners should take advantage of every opportunity they have to get noticed. While setting up a modern, engaging website is a great start towards online relevance, it’s only step one when it comes to making a lasting impression on the web. To get the most out of your small business website, business owners should regularly check in and update their site to keep it relevant. For the best strategies to achieve a consistently fresh and impactful website, here are a few website strategies every small business owner should pursue. Keep Your “About Us” Up To DateWhen setting up your “About Us” page, it’s always best to collaborate with an experienced copywriter to ensure that you’re properly highlighted as an expert in your field. Specific details about your professional background and certifications can inspire trust and credibility. With your background and related achievements correctly detailed, your About Us page is also your opportunity to humanize your team and establish a rapport with your client base on a more personal level. Share a bit about your

Design Features that Will Catch Your Client’s Eye

March 21, 2023

By Melisa Rana, NPI, Inc.’s Graphic Designer When developing an overall brand for your business, there are many aspects that need to be considered in order to establish an image that is cohesive, strong, and recognizable. Your brand is displayed through every facet of your business: through the products or services that you deliver, through your customer service, and through your unique attention to detail. But when talking about how you plan on displaying your brand visually, this is where the fundamentals of graphic design come in. Through strong graphic design techniques, you can develop a brand that is recognizable while also conveying what makes your business unique in an efficient and effective manner. To get a better idea of how you can capitalize on your brand, let’s review some of the features of graphic design that help define your business. Typography Reinforces Your ToneAlthough typography is crucial to your business, this fundamental building block of graphic design is often woefully overlooked. Typography refers to the specific design, font pairings, and representation of the words on any marketing materials, websites, and other works either online or printed. While this aspect tends to be one that is rarely on the forefront

When Is The Right Time To Hire?

February 21, 2023

Every small business owner or entrepreneur needs to develop a system for conducting business that works for them. For some, this comes naturally! They know the right things to say, they’ve connected with the right people, and they know how to develop relationships. For others, their business has to be built up through plenty of trial and error. Running a small business solo can be incredibly rewarding—at the same time, incredibly demanding. The best way to handle these mounting demands (and to manage your sanity) is to finally expand your team. With a co-pilot at your side, your small business can reach new heights and expand beyond what you ever imagined! But when do you know the time is right to hire? Here are a few signs that say you should hire sooner rather than later. 1. Your Are Turning Down New BusinessThis one may seem obvious, but if you’re reaching the point where you can’t keep up with the demands of your business, you need to make a hire asap. Successful entrepreneurs should be able to anticipate this situation and be able to make their hires before they reach their breaking point. However, sometimes business can accelerate beyond expectations

The Secret To Employee Retention

February 7, 2023

By Kimberly Stevens, NPI, Inc.’s Marketing & Business Coach Any good business manager will be able to tell you that the key to real success is a strong team. It is difficult to find a good support system, so when you’ve finally secured reliable partners that perform their jobs well, there is a new challenge to overcome. Employee retention has become more difficult than ever in recent years. In 2021, the “Great Resignation” sent companies scrambling as they attempted to recover from record-high “quit” rates. Standards of workers have raised since then, and PEW researchers cite a laundry list of reasons that employees have decided to leave in a recent study. The secret to keeping your best employees on your team is simple: give them a reason to stay. Understand what your workers want, and show them that working for you is a great way to achieve those goals. Pay Your Employees More The most straight-forward technique to retain employees is to simply pay your workers more to reliably show that their value is recognized and their time is appreciated. This tip likely isn’t a surprise, but business owners should give this option serious consideration when it’s available. According to

Why Veterans Make Amazing Entrepreneurs

January 24, 2023

By Sammi Marcellus, NPI, Inc.’s Recruitment Coordinator Veterans returning home from duty have a lot of opportunities open for them, but it can understandably be difficult to find one’s place after such a big change. As entrepreneurs and business owners, veterans have a long history of success. From Phil Knight at Nike to Gordon Logan at Sport Clips, veterans clearly have the capability to reach remarkable heights in their own business ventures, but it can be difficult to figure out how to start. At National Property Inspections, we have seen first-hand how veterans excel in the field of home inspections. Many of our top producers are veterans, and we love working with new franchisees who have gained the fundamental skills that military training instills. Here are a few reasons why veterans make amazing entrepreneurs and home inspectors. Veterans Are Versatile Whether through serving in a unit or through the foundational training that all military professionals receive, we have seen that veterans possess an amazing level of versatility. As an inspector and a small business owner, our franchisees learn not only the technical skills to inspect a property, but how to market themselves, manage their finances, and even lead a team

Family-Owned Business: How to Work With and Manage Family Employees

April 23, 2024

When entrepreneurs start a new business, they’re looking for ways to really hit the ground running and hasten their growth. In the inspection industry, that early grind can be difficult to navigate alone, which is why we constantly see family members step up to offer a helping hand. Whether it’s as a marketer, a bookkeeper, or another pair of hands on an inspection, it can be a great benefit to partner with a spouse, sibling, in-law, or child early on who can offer a bit more flexibility than a typical employee. Family members can be an asset to businesses after seeing some growth as well, once extra help is needed to handle increased demand. Whatever the situation, the opportunity to hire family will likely come up at some point as a business owner, but some might not be prepared for the complex factors that go into this unique dynamic. From the vantage point of home inspection franchisors, we’ve seen family members work extremely well as employees, and we’ve also seen situations where it hasn’t gone so well. If you’re thinking about starting or expanding your business with a family member, here are some things to consider so that you can

Do Women Make Good Home Inspectors? Insights From Females in the Industry

April 9, 2024

March is International Women’s Month, and we’re taking a moment to celebrate a few of our amazing female inspectors who are helping transform the industry. We had a chance to ask them all about their experience, from what it’s like to work in a male-dominated field to what they love most about completing inspections and helping clients. Get to know Savannah Guenther, Ashley Brown, and Susan D’Andrea, and be sure to give them a shoutout if you see them around. Thank you for sharing, ladies – keep up the brilliant work! Q: As a female inspector, what are some unique benefits or challenges that you face in our industry? How do you overcome them?Savannah: I would say that one unique benefit is being able to help female REALTORs who may be working an open house or event by themselves feel more comfortable. Women feel a bit more at ease with another woman one-on-one than they might with a man they may not know very well. I’ve found that we can have an easy conversation; they’re inclined to share more about their work and background, and they’re more open to listening to what I have to say. The challenges of working

How to Overcome Being Told “No” as an Entrepreneur

March 12, 2024

By Kimberly Stevens, NPI, Inc.’s Marketing & Business Coach The most successful entrepreneurs are self-motivated, innovative, and ambitious. Their minds are focused on expanding their services, broadening their territories, and putting a stamp on their industry that will effect positive change. New business owners rarely imagine hearing the word, “No.” But the hard truth is, rejection in any sales endeavor is inevitable, and it will happen more often than many expect. Every small business owner needs to develop sales skills if they want to achieve their aspirations, and the first (and maybe most important) sales skill to learn is how to handle the word, “No.” To get started on becoming a salesperson extraordinaire, here are a few truths to keep in mind! Understand What “No” Really Means in SalesOften, when people face rejection after giving a “sales pitch,” it can be natural to take that rejection personally. But in reality, rejection is almost never personal. In sales, a “no” can mean many different things, and this is only rarely related to your delivery. Here are a few common translations for the word, “no,” in sales: “I don’t understand.”The first common translation for an unsuccessful pitch is that the concept of

Print Marketing 101: 6 Types of Marketing Collateral and When to Use Them

March 5, 2024

By Melisa Rana, NPI, Inc.’s Graphic Designer Across industries, experienced marketers know how important it is to practice omni-channel marketing to find success and grow consistently. This means finding your audience wherever they are and delivering your message to them in many different ways. Businesses that rely only on digital marketing will begin to feel impersonal and distant, while marketers who focus solely on in-person interactions spread themselves too thin and miss out on opportunities to stay top of mind. The most effective marketing plans employ multiple campaigns and various diverse strategies to foster business, ongoing referrals, and loyalty with their key customers. Because of this, no business should expect to reach their long-term goals consistently without a selection of well-designed, attention-grabbing marketing collateral. From posters to brochures, flyers, and door hangers, it can sometimes feel like there is an endless list of potential physical marketing materials to invest in. But to achieve the best possible return on investment, it’s important to understand how each material differs and in which situations they excel. With all that said, let’s discuss some of the most popular and effective print marketing materials, and when to use them! Brochures Pack a Big Punch in

From Startups to Industry Veterans: Why You Should Write A Business Plan

February 27, 2024

By Sammi Marcellus, NPI, Inc.’s Recruitment Coordinator When launching a new business, entrepreneurs embark on a demanding journey, defining goals, charting growth plans, and strategizing execution. A business plan condenses these key elements into a streamlined document for investors to assess. While securing funding often necessitates a business plan, even established businesses benefit from revisiting and updating theirs. Let’s delve into what a business plan is, how to write one, and how each section empowers seasoned entrepreneurs to achieve their ambitions. Understanding the Business PlanThe format of a business plan varies depending on its purpose. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), a valuable resource for new business owners seeking funding, outlines two main types: Lean Startup Plan: This concise, one- or two-page document provides a bird’s eye view of a business’s purpose and goals. It might not suffice for securing funding, but serves as a vital tool for entrepreneurs to revisit their goals and adapt their strategies as needed. Traditional Business Plan: This comprehensive document dives deep into each facet of the proposed business. While requiring more effort, the detailed information and commitment to crafting it instill confidence in investors and provides clear direction for the entrepreneur. Notably, the information

National Property Inspections, Inc. is Now Part of the Co-operators Family

February 20, 2024

We at National Property Inspections, Inc. are proud to announce our organization, along with Carson Dunlop, have been acquired by Co-operators Group Limited. With aligned goals of serving homeowners and communities, NPI is excited for this expanded reach throughout North America and the opportunity to further innovate the property inspection industry. “In Co-operators, we have found an ideal partner that brings a wealth of experience, relationships, and resources to drive growth and long-term value for our stakeholders. Our core values are in sync, and Co-operators’ long-term vision uniquely positions us to effectively scale our network and help us live our purpose: to better the lives of homeowners.” – Craig Rowsell, CEO of Carson Dunlop and National Property Inspections, Inc. Co-operators was originally founded to provide coverage for farmers who couldn’t find protection elsewhere. Today, the organization has grown to become one of Canada’s leading financial services cooperatives, with a focus on multi-line insurance, wealth management, and brokerage operations. With Co-operators, National Property Inspections, Inc. and Carson Dunlop are looking forward to continuing our mission in serving homeowners and investors throughout their post-purchase story, with Honesty, Integrity, and Professionalism. Combining our commitment to keeping homeowners informed with Co-operators’ assistance to families

Boosting Conversions and Improving ROI with Call Tracking

February 13, 2024

By Sydney Bailey, NPI, Inc.’s Marketing Director As small businesses grow, marketing often becomes a more complex endeavor with leads flowing in from many different campaigns and platforms. To find out whether a marketing campaign is cost effective, it’s crucial to track the cost for each lead and each conversion—but how is this tracking accomplished? For digital marketing, tracking a lead is fairly straightforward. Thanks to cookies and analytics, businesses can know which marketing campaign a lead interacted with to land on their website. But other lead generation avenues aren’t so simple. Many customers still prefer to call service-based businesses to gather more information before making their final decision. Learning how to convert a lead over the phone is an art in itself, but it can be difficult to quantify a lead’s analytics from a phone call. For entrepreneurs that receive a lot of their business through inbound phone calls, capturing valuable information about which marketing campaigns are pulling their weight—and which ones aren’t—can be tough, but it’s essential when it comes to optimizing an advertising budget. Today, let’s discuss the best solution to this issue: call tracking. What is Call Tracking, and How Does It Work?Call tracking helps determine

Franchise Financing: Starting a Small Business with an SBA Loan

February 6, 2024

By Sammi Marcellus, NPI, Inc.’s Recruitment Coordinator Every great journey starts with the right tools, and for most entrepreneurs, that key tool is financing. While self-starting hustle and innovation are essential, even the best business plan can stall without capital. This is where SBA loans come in. Acquiring a loan through the SBA can be a great option for small business owners looking for that initial capital needed to franchise or otherwise start their business venture. To better understand if an SBA loan is right for you, let’s discuss some of the essentials. What is an SBA loan?An SBA loan is a specialized loan provided by partners of the US Small Business Administration. For entrepreneurs that have exhausted other options, an SBA loan can be the answer they’ve been looking for to cover the early costs needed to start a new business or expand their business. SBA loans are a great option for many because of their lower rates and the option of long repayment periods, but not all SBA loans are the same. It’s also not a guarantee that everyone gets approved for their desired loan. SBA loans vary from person to person in part because the SBA doesn’t