Hello all, I am wondering if there is a need to emphasize to our clients that the inventory process is extremely important and will take time as well as input from them, after all this is their belongings and hard work we are documenting. Just as important as sitting down with mortgage lenders and car purchases , this is not some kind of air conditioning or plumbing trip. I sent my clients info or talk to them about the process and expectations and all of them by far have been with me the entire inventory. I do this because E&Ois so expensive and I really cannot afford too much if any errors and time to have to come back. Just my two cents.
Thank you. I understand now. I feel much better about it. I plan on doing my first inventory this week. I did my own house already. I see that very quickly I will have to spend more money to make money. I will need a video camera, a light tent, and a new camera. It seems overwhelming at times. But I am excited nonetheless.
Kelly when you are meeting with the client and doing walk thru you need to ask them what is important in each room and make notes! Just real quick!Then tell them that you would like them to be availvable for questions if you have them! Give them the option to follow you around but tell them it is not necessary but you will have questions! After you go into a room I input all the catogories first(obviously) That take awhile take the photos and do that for a couple rooms! I will then sit down with the customer if they do not want to follow me and go over some of the questions i have for a few minutes! then i go to a couple more rooms!! It is kind of like darin said case by case!!
You will see the more you do all these things will work themselves out and you will feel more confident!
I can't even get my freebie clients to stay with me for two hours. They just don't want to follow me around. I really need feedback on this from people who are actually inventorying.
I see that there is a lot of debate about whether the client should be present during the inventory; not only present in the home but actually shadowing us as we work. This is a subject that definately needs to be sorted out.
I am not actually doing inventories at this time but it is my opinion that the client should be with me the entire time, not so much as working as a team but more of them being a "tour guide" for my work. I'll do all the work, but nobody knows a home better than the person who lives there, so they can take a lot of the guesswork out of it for us and therefore save themselves time & money.
I suppose this can be something that can be decided at the initial in-home meeting before the inventory begins as each case is a little different, but as a general rule I think that the client should be actively with us the entire time. I know that people are really busy but this is a serious deal. Surely they can find time to do this on the weekend or use a vacation/sick day. In the big scheme of things getting your inventory done right is of far greater value than having a couple extra hours on the weekend to goof off (or whatever).
Thanks for your reply. My message wasn't very well worded. I was confused about two things: one, does the customer shadow me the entire inventory; and two, if i were doing a 1500 (typo was 2500) sf place, would 90 minutes be enough time. I can see where it would be enough time if I was working on my own and only asking the customer questions periodically.
What kinds of questions generally come up that you need the client to answer?
I am so grateful for all the support offered here at this forum. I can't wait to get started. Still waiting for an answer back from my insurance agent on liability and bonding; once that's in place I can move ahead at full speed.
i would say just to ask questions!! I do not like them following me around ONLY because I feel wierd if I am not talking to them so I can't work efficiently.
There is no way you can do 2400 in 90 minutes unless they do not have anything?? What are you commenting on?? I did not see that in this post! I do remember seeing somewhere about 90 minutes on the site! believe that was per room! I could be wrong!!
Feedback from people who are actively doing inventories:
Would you say that your clients just need to be in the house for you to ask questions, or that they need to shadow you the entire time? While the latter sounds reasonable for a 90 minute inventory, it doesn't sound practical for a 2500+ square foot home.
I have to have the owner present to ask questions or you have to go over everything again! My Big inventory took forever because the owner was in and out all day!! She did not have 2 full days to stay!
Here's the short answer; our business will succeed because people;
1. Don't really know what all is involved in a home inventory. 2. Should realize that they need a home inventory. 3. Don't want to or can't take the time to do it themselves.
The matter of the owner being present is a given, not a deal breaker. You don't want somebody to just turn you loose in a house and let you figure it out, that would be a nightmare (unless you are talking about a situation where the owner/family has passed away and the estate planning people need an itemized list).
As far as I am concerned, the owner, or another designated person, has to be present to answer questions. It also prevents the user from accusing me of theft if they are present. By the time of the inventory, the homeowner will know somebody must be present.
While you *do* want the homeowners around (to help provide you with the information required to complete the inventory -- i.e., where the item was acquired from, how much it cost initially, etc.), you're correct -- it's *your* job to actually collect this information (in addition to taking the photos).
While I have heard of a "combo" service that is somewhere between DIY (do-it-yourself) and full-service, I don't think picture-taking is generally a $100/hour service. It's the combination of your documentary and reporting abilities (as well as your photo-taking skills) that make it worthwhile for the homeowner to hire you to perform this service. (And remember -- the report you provide to the client at the end is the only *tangible* record ofyour service, so you want to make sure that it's spectacular!)
From this question (as well as your other recent questions on the forum), it sounds as if it might be useful for you to do some "volunteer work" to get yourself started. I'd recommend you identify 4-5 friends and family to use as guinea pigs. Volunteer to do a complete inventory of their homes in exchange for testimonials for your website and marketing materials and their willingness to act as references for clients who want to talk with someone you've worked with before.
On a resume, volunteer experience is just as relevant as paid work experience (the phrase we use is "Experience is experience!) -- and I think having a couple of them under your belt before you go out on a client's job site will help give you the confidence you need, as well as give you an idea of how long an inventory will take you.
You'll find when you get down to it, there's a lot of "tricks" you will learn after the first 2-3 inventories. Things like -- where to find the serial number on certain kinds of electronics, how to best layout collections of things to best capture the the set (i.e., photographing a set of china -- if the client isn't paying for a detailed inventory of each item individually), and the best way to phrase things ("Are there any other rooms in the house that we should inventory?" is one way to get at whether there are "hidden" storage areas -- i.e., an attic, a hidden room (my parent's house had one that was hidden behind a built-in bookshelf), etc.)
Plus, then you'll have a sample document you can show prospective clients (be sure to fictionalize any contact information on this sample report, as well as change identifying info like serial numbers).
Most important, I *would* recommend that you find someone to help you with your inventories. It would be great if your husband were available, but perhaps you could recruit a niece or nephew, or friend to accompany you ... taking an inventory is really a two-person job, or it will take you a *lot* longer. You don't want to inconvenience the homeowner by having a two-hour inventory take five hours because you're doing everything yourself. Plus, having an extra set of "eyes" with you will help ensure you don't forget anything.
Before you're ready to hire any employees, you can have this individual work with you as an independent contractor (check your bonding requirements to see if you need to add them), or reward them with a gift certificate. If it's a matter of hiring a baby-sitter so someone can stay with the kids while your husband helps you for the 2-3 hours the inventory should take, look at it as an investment in your business. Just make sure whoever you work with is patient, detail-oriented, and honest/ethical. It's your reputation on the line.
I have a question and hope someone can help me here. My husband suggests that I should have all the pictures taken and have the owner fill in the information. I told him the whole point in having this type of business is for me to do the work and not them. Otherwise, what would be the poing when they could do it themselves? He doesn't think the client would want to hang around the whole day while I inventory. I don't agree.
Plus, I'm also getting very nervous and I haven't even gotten a client yet. So if I feel that way now, how would I feel when I did. I guess time will tell.
What does everyone think. I hope this makes sense.
Hello all,
and I haven't even gotten a client yet. So if I feel that way now, how would I feel when I did. I guess time will tell.
