Thread: I was a professional pilot

Hello folks.

I am one of the many who have lost their careers due to the current economy. I was a pilot for Continental Airlines until almost a year ago... After many months of depression, anger, and introspection I have decided to return to my roots. I was in the construction indrustry 20 years ago, as an electrician. This time however I have decided to take a different approach and start a company that provides home energy audits, seems to be a new industry with plenty of potential. What'da think...

Am I crazy?

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Originally Posted by Mike Pulka

Am I crazy?

Mike,

Depends on how much retirement $$$$ you are getting when leaving.

Welcome to the house of crazies.

Do you ask a crazy person if it is crazy to be like them, when they think they are normal?
(Of course, we KNOW we are NOT "normal", so I guess we are not crazy - because a crazy person would not recognize that, right?)

Originally Posted by Mike Pulka

Hello folks.

I am one of the many who have lost their careers due to the current economy. I was a pilot for Continental Airlines until almost a year ago... After many months of depression, anger, and introspection I have decided to return to my roots. I was in the construction indrustry 20 years ago, as an electrician. This time however I have decided to take a different approach and start a company that provides home energy audits, seems to be a new industry with plenty of potential. What'da think...

Am I crazy?

MP: Go back to your original post and hit the "edit" button. Then change the word "electrician" to something more exotic like "professor of bozoology", "Sherpa", or "roady for the Stones". Electricians and plumbers, though abundant on this forum, are treated rather shabbily due to the amount of distress they cause the civilized world.

"Professional pilot" is OK though. We will forgive you for those tiny-ass seats we get to sit in while riding behind you . . .

Jerry -

Now that's just plain crazy! I guss I'm at home with this group too!

p.s. yup I must be crazy...

Originally Posted by Mike Pulka

Jerry -

Now that's just plain crazy! I guss I'm at home with this group too!

p.s. yup I must be crazy...

I'm sure you already know this but PA is kind of a licensed state. I say "Kind of" because their law is in flux or being rewritten or something of that nature.

Originally Posted by Mike Pulka

Hello folks.

I am one of the many who have lost their careers due to the current economy. I was a pilot for Continental Airlines until almost a year ago... After many months of depression, anger, and introspection I have decided to return to my roots. I was in the construction indrustry 20 years ago, as an electrician. This time however I have decided to take a different approach and start a company that provides home energy audits, seems to be a new industry with plenty of potential. What'da think...

Am I crazy?

Hi Mike... What kind of market analysis, including market size, growth rate, profitability, cost structure, opprating cost have you look at for your area. This would be the first place to start... Without this information to start up a company would be crazy...

Brian has a great program you should look at first

( http://www.costofbusiness.com/ )

In my just north of San Francisco Im not getting any wind for this kind of work I do Infrared Thermal Imaging And in the past 3 years I've had 0 call for information on home energy information...

Do your home work first before you spend a lot of money for not...

Best

Ron

This being a pilot looks like a cakewalk compared to inspecting a 25+ year old home for a first time homebuyer with their dad present.

Where's the ignition?

rick

One advantage I would think you bring to the business is the habit of doing things in a very structured, "checklist" oriented way.

This is a huge advantage in the first dozen or so inspections, when you will find yourself confronted with a seemingly overwhelming number of issues to address, and the only way that you're going to be able to do a competent job of addressing them is to start breaking the house down in the systems, and the systems down into components, and the components into a series of acceptable/unacceptable conditions.

Especially if you're having to put together your own system from scratch instead of having watched others inspect, developing your mental checklist as a set of good rather than bad habits is one of the chief determinants of the quality of your later inspections.

A few other observations:


1) In most markets this is a really rough time to be trying to break into the business, even if it has what it takes to succeed in a better market, it could be two years at least before you're making a living, and 3 to 5 before you're making a good one.

2) You have to be both willing and able to aggressively market yourself, you can be the best inspector in your state, but it's not going to help if the phone isn't ringing.

3) You almost certainly don't know nearly as much as you think you do, the experience of almost everyone entering home inspection field from a construction background is that they think they understand what has to be inspected and how,only to discover that they have an enormous amount to learn about both.

I'd suggest reading through the first dozen or so threads in each of the technical topics here, you will almost certainly discover that there's a whole lot more knowledge necessary to do this business well that you suspected.

The bottom line is that in my experience the really competent people in the home inspection field are way too good for it, and find it almost impossible to get paid what they're worth, especially considering the fact that there is always a high potential financial liability coupled with a substantial risk of personal injury.

The upside is that you have a very high degree of independence and the occasional satisfaction of actually doing your clients a very considerable service, and having them acknowledge it.

Rick,
It's all quarters now a day's

Originally Posted by Michael Thomas

3) You almost certainly don't know nearly as much as you think you do, the experience of almost everyone entering home inspection field from a construction background is that they think they understand what has to be inspected and how,only to discover that they have an enormous amount to learn about both.

I'd suggest reading through the first dozen or so threads in each of the technical topics here, you will almost certainly discover that there's a whole lot more knowledge necessary to do this business well that you suspected.

Michael-

Thanks for all the pointers. I am currently participating in an ASHI approved 60 CE hour introductory HI course. I think this is probably a good place to begin. I am also researching various courses for BPI and RESNET; for that piece of the business. I only consider this to be a starting point and hopefully other resources / local mentorships will begin to present themselves as I evolve through this progress. I have developed a detailed and robust business/marketing plan - but realize that I need advice and mentorship as I begin to become more serious about this venture. I wonder how many of our fellow bolggers enterd into this business "cold-turkey" and became successful?

Originally Posted by Scott Patterson

I'm sure you already know this but PA is kind of a licensed state. I say "Kind of" because their law is in flux or being rewritten or something of that nature.

For home inspectors, there is no license in PA, and I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for one. Yes, it's been "in the works" for a while, and eventually maybe it will happen.
There is a HI law which requires membership in a national organization, continuing education, E&O insurance, etc. Not really enforced, as far as I can tell.
Philadelphia has a license, which only means you give the city $300 every coupla years.

A lot of very good inspectors started off just like you are. Me Inspecting has been in my family for a very long time my Dad started out in the LA.

You will do just fine stay on this board look into all the past search post on just about everything to do with a home you will find.

Best

Ron