brochure creation

[Les]

It stinks!

[chicago]

Unfortunately it looks like I'm heading back to my crappy Comcast job, in order to pay for all this marketing. I can see getting into home inspection is not like winning the lottery for me. And since we are on marketing, any opinions on use of the Yellow Pages. Does it seem to be cost effective to have more than a one line mention. Should I sell the farm and get a large ad? In the Chicago area deadlines are at November.[?]

[Les]

I suspect you will be listed with 9,483 other "inspectors", so my answer would be don't waste your money.

Seriously, we have been in this business for many years and tried YP twice and it was not worth it. In fact, two years ago we spent thousands on YP and got nothing but grief and constant dunning, sales calls, etc.

[randynavarro]

Originally posted by chicago

And since we are on marketing, any opinions on use of the Yellow Pages.

You mean the Yellow Pages . . . online, right? Personally, I don't think I've touched a yellow page book in 3 years. You should try the trendy new thing called the internet.

[Jerry Simon]

"Put your name on your vehicle. I've gotten calls when I'm stuck in traffic."

Me too. More like "learn how to drive, a**hole", though.

[kurt]

Now Jerry, no road rage....

When I think about it, it amazes how mellow the city really is. All these folks jammed into too small a space, all trying to maneuver too large gas guzzlers through too small spaces, crowded together, etc., etc.....

If it wasn't mellow, it would be total carnage.

When I go over to the shack, I've had rural folks go road rage when we're the only two people @ a crossroads 15 miles from nowhere.

City ain't crazy; it's mellow.

Oh, forgot, thread drift.....

Forget Yellow Pages; they get you nothing but price shoppers wanting to ask you the "10 Questions You Have to Ask Your Home Inspector Before You Hire Them" they read about in some dipsquat real estate book written by know nothing associate editors.

There's no silver bullet in this gig; it's a long hard slog. Everything they told you in HI school about how much money you can make is wrong.

You want the best way to go at it? No one ever seems to want to go this route, but it's the best way.

Take your skills & start up an honest to gosh excellent Handyman service. You can make good money, you're self employed, you build a good reputation doing good work on houses, you do HI's when you can fill them in to YOUR schedule, not Comcast's, and in a few years, you'll maybe be getting some jobs.

I mean, Case Handyman is getting $108 per hour in Lincoln Park hanging pic's in rich folks DR's, and that other service out in (I think) Forest Park called High Maintenance has crews knocking down $100 per hour.

Think about it. It works. It did for me.

[chicago]

Could tip Kurt . Whoever getting the handyman jobs also involves some marketing which I would rather be spending my time on marketing the home inspection business not the contracting business. I figured during the Comcast gig at least I will enter half a dozen homes a day. Oh and a slightly off the subject I cracked the frame on my van yesterday and ran into a gentleman from alpha home inspection who tells me only 15% of his businesses is real estate agent referral. He swears most of his business is people selling through BUY OWNER. It actually encouraged me but made me wonder why with three websites I am not getting more phone calls. He says his is all through Yahoo and very rarely gets business from the city itself. Mainly in the Elgin area a suburb northwest of the city.HUMMMMMMMMMM[:-graduat

[kurt]

The whole FSBO thing is the parallel universe; the realtors deny it's existence, but it's the future.

It's a good gig; educated buyer's, intelligent sellers not willing to give absurd amounts of money to morons for nothing, and no dipsquat realtors hanging around.

I love FSBO deals.

[blunsford]

I did mine in MS Publisher. I defy you to tell it was done by a HI. It is 100% professional.

Of course I looked at several professional pamphlets from HI's to Realtors and "borrowed" several ideas for the graphic portions. Once you do that, it's pretty easy to do the layout.