“As an industry, we must perform at a higher level than ever before with less qualified people than we’ve ever had. That is the restoration industry’s staffing challenge,” Jeremy Reets writes. “Companies that bring on new staff and quickly get them to a high level of competency will be the ones to dominate their market. So, how do you increase the competency of your staff quickly and dominate your market? Hands-on training is part of the solution!”

Jeffery Gross shares an overview of hoarding cleanup best practices based on his experience with First Onsite Property Restoration. “The process of cleanup includes several steps: Bulk removal of trash, then cleaning and disinfecting of all surfaces and remaining contents. Then comes extermination and usually some refurbishment like painting or replacement of damaged fixtures,” Gross writes.

Ours is an industry where entrepreneurs cling to traditional ways of doing business. It’s an in-person service, after all. We work with our hands, we serve clients face-to-face. Who cares how tech savvy we are? Everyone cares, and if you don’t see that reflected in your customers’ priorities now, you will soon.

“If the Jon from five years ago has anything further to add, perhaps this idea still has merit: ‘Your office is your second home. Arguably, you spend more time in your workspace with your work peeps than with your actual family, so making it an enjoyable and functional environment should be a priority,’” Jon Isaacson writes.

Inevitably, if you are a restoration company, sooner or later you will run into situations where the adjuster won’t pay for work you completed or only a fraction of what you have estimated the cost to be. In these situations, restorers have a few options, which depend in large part as to how far you’re willing to go, how much you’re willing to spend and if the risk is worth the reward.

The motivation paradigm is described as the reasons we do the things we do in the manner we do them. Over the years, I have taken the position that money does not motivate, nor is it necessarily an effective tool that creates desired outcomes. Appreciation ranks higher than money, believe it or not, when it comes to motivation, Lisa Lavender writes.

Les Cunningham shares 13 reflections and predictions for restoration business owners to consider as they plan for 2022, from working with TPAs, to increasing labor and material prices, to COVID-19 effects.

By being proactive and educating property owners about the risks of dishonest engineering and insurer fraud, you can help defend your clients from unethical claims professionals, Jack Hanks and Doug Quinn write. This will help ensure fair insurance markets where policyholders suffering a loss have the best chance for an honest claim and a smoother process of rebuilding their property. When this happens, the consumer, the restoration professional and the insurer win.

Every fire has its own chemical makeup or DNA – the fuels that burned, the types of chemicals that have reacted or interacted, the duration of the fire, the intensity of the heat, the odors and gases the fire generates all contribute to the uniqueness and toxicity of structure fire environments. 

Sometimes we get in our own way, not because we don’t recognize opportunity, but because we resist it. A lot of entrepreneurs have done this to themselves, including me. Business has never been better. Leads are pouring in, your team is performing at their highest level, but something within you keeps pulling towards a new opportunity outside your business.