Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jarrod Schulz. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jarrod, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

In my early twenties, I was talking with a real estate agent friend. She was upset about how much her home inspector charged because he wasn’t thorough. I was very curious about him, and she explained that he was self-employed, charges a minimum of $300 per inspection, is on-site for less than an hour, and had no competitors. I grew up on job sites working for my father, who ran a housing repair program for a non-profit and had a custom remodeling side business. I knew immediately that this was my dream job.
After learning this was something I could possibly accomplish, I began strategizing immediately. One of the biggest hurdles was getting certified. It is very difficult to obtain this license in Nevada, and it took me years of careful planning and timing. I had to go as far as officially requesting a leave of absence from my full-time job as a contractor at a military depot to complete three weeks of classroom training in Reno, then another three of on-site testing in Las Vegas. I worked seven days a week for years at my job, nights and weekends, on small real estate flips.

I saved enough to take time off and enroll in the class in early 2019, then officially opened in May that year. I knew this was going to be a DIY project for pretty much everything, but something I felt strongly about was having a great logo, so I hired a creative company, and they nailed it for me. Since then, I’ve done everything myself. About a year into it, I was standing with a client as he was going over a report. He seemed to like everything but was somewhat conflicted and said, “ you really need a website.” Knowing that he was right, I went home and figured out how to make a webpage and started my Instagram channel. I most likely spent a month’s worth of days on the road walking into real estate offices to hand out cards and flyers. I posted information on any public board I could find, like hardware stores, coffee shops, casinos, and public buildings. I even cold-emailed local agents.

My phone rang one day, and a woman on the other end said, “ I hear you’re doing home inspections?” After greeting her and asking how I could help, she responded by saying she had one for me. I met her at the vacant home where it was just the two of us. She watched me like a hawk during the entire inspection. I realized I knew I could effectively inspect a structure but didn’t know much about conducting the business part of an inspection, so I just made sure to concentrate and be as professional as possible. At the conclusion, when I was finished listing the deficiencies, she looked at me briefly in silence, then said, “ I have three more; when can you do those?

Once my reports were starting to be distributed and viewed by different people, more calls for service started coming in, and I was able to shift my marketing focus from pounding the pavement to online forums and social media, where I ended up falling in love with creative design. I’ve always been the artsy type, so it has been my pleasure to develop my brand through my marketing posts, where I’m able to learn, study, develop, inform, and catalog my life and growth as a structural inspector in Nevada. Thanks, have a good day.

Jarrod Schulz

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I provide structural inspections across Nevada for every situation. The problems can be plentiful and are wide-ranging, from contract disputes to unsatisfactory workmanship and premature damage, among many others. There are not many inspectors in this area, and I have been told by a fair number of agents that my report is easier to understand and my customer service is unmatched. One thing other inspectors do that I refrain from is charging extra for more information. I care about everyone involved in the transaction, so I put my all into every inspection and include everything possible so the transactions can develop smoothly. To be an effective inspector, I’ve learned that you have to be dedicated to helping ensure families can transition without headaches, stress, or potential bad investment.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

I would estimate 75% of my business comes from word of mouth.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

In my business, clients put a lot of blind trust in me, and I never want them to regret that, so I’ve made sure to go above and beyond by providing an expertly crafted presentation of their perspective buy so they can make a comfortable decision remotely.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nevadainspector.com
• Instagram: @sierranevadastructural

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