(LifeWire) - Overview of the Home Safety Business
Help families lower their risk of injury under their own roof with a home safety inspection business, an offshoot of the occupational safety and building inspection profession. This type of business lends itself especially well to starting on a part-time basis and working strictly out of your home.
Although there is no official license for home safety practitioners, some prior training is a must. Newcomers can delve into the basics and find out about training opportunities through the International Association of Child Safety and the Home Safety Council. Other organizations that might be of help include Underwriters Laboratories and the National Fire Protection Association.
One of the fastest-growing segments of the home safety industry is child-proofing a home. It makes an ideal entry into the business, says Louie Delaware, the president of of Denver-based U.S. Safety Pros, LLC. You can take the business a step farther by doing the follow-up work safety work in accordance with your recommendations, such as installing safety latches for cabinets. Other homeowners may be interested in creating a fire safety plan; checking for radon, asbestos and carbon monoxide; or making their home more secure.
Home safety inspectors can earn between $100 and $200 for a two-hour survey (perhaps $500 with additional time spent on construction). The annual income can range from $30,000 into six figures. It helps to live in a dense market, except, perhaps, for the inspector-saturated areas of California and New York, where competition is already fierce, says Delaware.
Pros of a Home Safety Home Business
- Your home safety suggestions can save lives and make clients feel more secure.
- Safety inspections are non-invasive, meaning you're generally not tearing up floorboards or breaking down walls.
- Home safety inspection and consulting is a worthy home business for people with a knack for home improvements, even if you only carry out this business idea on a part-time basis.
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- Safety standards vary from state to state and municipality to municipality, so you'll need to do your homework to stay abreast of regulations.
- The home safety business is one that ebbs and flows, so you'll need alternative means of weathering the slow periods, Delaware says.
- The overhead of operating a home safety inspection and consulting business is between $15,000 and $20,000, Delaware estimates, if you're going to make the safety alterations yourself on the spot. (Delaware says he carries 500 kinds of safety latches.)
- Appeal directly to pediatricians by coming to their offices with flyers and business cards. "They're on the front lines reminding parents that all of a sudden their kids are at the top of the stairs or looking into that cabinet," Delaware says. He also recommends giving presentations to parent groups as another form of low-cost advertising.
- A business license and bonding, if required in your area. Check with your local chamber of commerce and state's office of the Secretary of State to see what's required.
- A professional printed checklist of potential safety hazards. You don't want clients to think you're operating on the fly, and having a checklist will help you not to overlook something that could be important to your customer.
- Print and online advertising materials (marketing collateral), as well as a website to promote your business
- Good writing skills. You'll be producing written reports of your findings for clients, as well as proposals for improving safety.
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