He Makes $4,100/Month Inspecting Houses (No Experience Needed)

[00:02] >> Lou gets paid to take pictures of people's houses while they're being built and last year made over $2,000 a month as a part-time retirement gig. >> And this thing is doubled the first year and now it's going to double again this

[00:16] >> Even if you don't know a ton about construction, these loan draw hustle. >> In fact, I took my daughter who's a the last 6 weeks, two of [music] which she's been on vacation. She's made about

[00:30] >> In this video, you'll learn what the job entails, how to connect with paying for success. [music] Ready? Let's do it. >> When a bank loans someone money to build a home, they they don't just hand the

[00:43] half a million dollars. Go build your house." They issue out incrementally in what's called a draw. That draw is given during specific phases uh of the build. And so they will send someone out during the course of that build to verify and

[00:59] validate the information. The builder may say, "Hey, I've got the foundation in. Can we get a draw?" Um that draw may be a, you know, 10% of the build. And so pictures, we'll inspect, verify the location that we're at, and um make sure

[01:15] that what they've said is done uh has been done. It's kind of an internal control and we make sure that they uh the bank kind of knows what's going on >> and this is in place to protect the bank from the builder skipping town.

[01:29] >> Sure. Yeah. They want to make sure that the money is doled out incrementally and >> Yeah. And so each job is paying about how much? how much? >> Um I charge usually about $60 to $75. My

[01:41] price has gone up a little bit due to gas over the last few months, but um for inspection. >> And those are your only costs? It's it's the gas to get you to the job site and your time, right? Or is there other

[01:56] other costs involved? >> Correct. It's pretty minimal. I mean, uh >> sure, >> you have some business insurance and so those kinds of things uh that that cover me, but they're and gas is is the

[02:10] >> Yeah. [laughter] the biggest expense I have. It's not a whole lot to to do it and getting in the field was was pretty easy. And so, >> did you have a background in building in construction? What brought you into this

[02:24] >> So, I retired from the Army in 2012 and I went to work for the Navy as an inspector investigator for the Naval Inspector General's Office and I did inspections there. Well, when I got ready to retire, I was looking for

[02:36] said, "Man, we're building a house and this is the perfect gig for you." These ask some questions, and then they go back and they give a report. So, at the time back in 2022, 2023, I was listening to your show and just listening to

[02:52] out what I was going to do. And I didn't get any traction finding, you know, what how to get in here. When I come back and started to build a house, we had somebody come out and do the inspection. So, uh, I talked to the inspector, great

[03:06] guy. Um, he's since become a mentor of mine. and um he kind of showed me what to do and I got into the business and and really kind of just took off from there. I've had some inspection experience with the military. Um my

[03:19] mechanically inclined. I kind of know what goes into, you know, building a house. Not that I have personally built one. I've had two built for me, but I kind of know the process and and what goes into it and the different phases

[03:32] and steps. Uh so understanding those things was was kind of important. Um, but is easily learnable. >> Yeah, that's where I'm at is I don't have any inspection experience and and certainly no house building experience,

[03:47] but I can tell you the difference between a a 2x4 and a Phillips head general understanding of the order of operations as this thing goes up. uh you thing, we're going to do plumbing and electrical, but like that isn't

[04:04] necessarily a requirement to get started here. Like what what are the banks looking for? So, the banks will send out uh what's called the draw sheet or an inspection form. And that form can have anything from five items on it, usually

[04:20] between probably 20 and 40 items, line items of things that they're looking for. This list starts out with, you know, permitting and blueprints, and then it goes to excavation. Then it goes to footers and foundation, and then

[04:33] framing, and it goes through just about every step. Every bank does it different. Every builder does it different. So, I see I've got one builder that uses a standardized form that's a five item form, and they they

[04:46] call us back for each of those five phases, and last phase is the finish for the certificate of occupancy. But for the most part, I just kind of follow looking for the electrical's been roughed in? So, I need to go out and

[04:59] look to make sure that, you know, once the studs are up, they've, you know, uh, put all the, uh, the junction boxes in place and the switch boxes in place, ran the wiring, put the panel in. Uh, it won't be finished, but it'll be roughed

[05:12] into that point. That's just, you know, it's kind of a just one of those really just follow the line and, uh, it's not terribly hard. You could probably YouTube uh how a house is built and there's probably a video out there

[05:26] figure it out pretty easily. >> Well, and each each phase of the draw, there's the checklist to follow. And these are the items that I'm looking for on this particular visit. And I imagine

[05:38] too once if you were the go-to guy for this bank or this loan company, you were kind of watch the progression of the build as it goes up. if you're um doing okay, we're ready for the next draw. We're ready for the next phase.

[05:53] give you that sheet at the start of the build. And I don't think they particularly like to change it. So, it stays the same. know what those line items are and you just go through and you check them off

[06:05] at whatever percentage complete. Um you know, they each house that that I inspect, I normally get for the duration of the house. So, if it takes 5 months or 15 months for them to build that house, I'm

[06:18] going to be going back there once every month or every 45 days or whenever they want to draw, they might have, you know, uh, funded it well enough to where they may not need a draw until it's halfway up or they may need a draw once the the

[06:31] footers are poured. It just depends on, uh, the financial situation between the lender and the borrower. >> Got it. So, if somebody like me is coming in, I have never had a job with inspector in the title. um and don't

[06:46] have a ton of building experience that I could realistically claim. Like, is there still a path forward here to get on board with some of these banks and raise my hand and say, "Yeah, I you know, you want to pay me 60 or 70 bucks

[06:59] to come out and look at a construction site, I can follow your checklist. I can take pictures. I can document what I see and say, "Yeah, it looks real reasonable this project." >> Um, yes. So, as a matter of fact, I took

[07:13] my daughter, uh, who's a stay-at-home mom with three boys. She's got a said, "Look, you want to make a little bit extra money during the week, let me her under my wing, took her out on several jobs, explained to her what to

[07:27] look at, kind of coached her through, mentored her like I was mentored before. she's been on vacation, she's made about $1,200. $1,250. >> Yeah. It's not hard to to figure out. The easiest way is to get an inspector

[07:42] you along. Um, and I'm willing to do the competition that's going to kill me, but I also don't mind helping people, you know, that would get them in that business and help them along to make

[07:54] >> Well, it's very localized, too, right? You we're like, I I'm not going to go They're going to call somebody local. >> Sure. Sure. So, I've got Now, there are folks that travel all over. I know of one guy that travels from the east coast

[08:08] of North Carolina. He would travel all the way to the the mountains and he'd make it a long long day of it and hit as many as he could. For me personally, you know, I started this as a retirement gig. I wanted to make 12 or $1,500 a

[08:20] month. I wanted to make pay for my cell phone, my internet, just to take a pay for the business. >> And this thing is doubled the first year year. It's probably not for the person that lives in the middle of a desert and

[08:34] there's no construction going on. >> Okay. So, similar to the maybe the mobile notary loan signing u business that we featured where it's like if if no loans are closing where it's kind of a drought of potentially like higher

[08:48] refinancing or there's not enough volume of transactions it it kind of sinks the whole industry. But when times are good and lots of those refies are happening then sure there's lots of signings to go around. So I guess somewhat uh perhaps

[09:02] building happening, you know, these inspections are happening. It's kind of inserting yourself into a cash flow that is already happening. So let's talk about maybe some of your first jobs or what you did to get to get these first

[09:18] company called Nationwide Loan Inspectors. Great folks. They were the majority of my business in 2025. I price myself, I think, uh, competitively because you kind of set your price how much you'll do it for. And so, I mean,

[09:32] that, you know, they can find somebody else to do it cheaper, then they will do to get many jobs unless nobody can get to that job. So, I I priced myself to that job. So, I I priced myself competitively. Um, and then so they, you

[09:47] They emailed it to me, said, "Will you accept this inspection?" I said, "Yes." point of contact. Usually it's the builder, sometime it's a homeowner. You call them up and you say, "Hey, I'm Blue Shaver. I'm the draw inspector. I'm

[10:01] and look at the place. I'll be there tomorrow or the next day." Um, important note, the inspection companies usually want this back within uh 24 to 48 hours. So, this isn't something you can put off for two weeks or 3 weeks. They want a

[10:15] can get it back and get it to the bank. The bank can uh approve it and then distribute the funds. So, >> does the foreman does the crew like need to be on site while you're there or is it feasible? Okay. If I get a request

[10:29] coming in, oh, I could do it at my lunch hour or I could do it after work or >> Sure. Depending on accessibility to the construction site. Uh, you could do it in the evenings or during your lunch hour. Probably 90% of the time, I don't

[10:41] go to speak to the project manager that's there. I show up, I take somebody. I'll say, "Hey, who are you?" And I'll say, "I'm here to do a draw all everybody's happy to see me. That's what I like about this job.

[10:54] >> Yeah. You you're the ticket to them getting the next installment, >> I'm not trying to evict anybody. I'm not trying to make anybody mad. I'm just I'm trying to The bank's happy, too, because they're going to get that money,

[11:07] you know, on the hook to give folks more money out, which increases their revenues because once the loan issues out more money, then there's more >> Um, >> okay. go back to your original question.

[11:21] So, I I get the request, I go out, I call them, I make the appointment. Um, I try not to pin myself to a time because my days will change in the in the drop of a hat. I might have two inspections tomorrow and sure as the world when I

[11:33] get up in the morning to to go to those two, four more might pop up and then then. So, when I'm in the area, try to get them. It's it's uh you got to stay flexible with it. >> Yeah. So, a gig that perhaps rewards

[11:47] speed and flexibility and and probably some level of logistical coordination direction and then driving an hour the other way. Like, if I could stack two or three up in the same vicinity, then my hourly rate, including drive time, uh,

[12:02] >> That's correct. So, I'll sit down usually the night before uh, and I'll map out the next day's work. I'll get on to Google Maps. I'll plug in where I'm going and I'll look at them and then I'll strategically put them in order.

[12:15] can. >> And then throughout the course of the day, you know, more often than not, one another one will pop up in that area and I'll swing by and knock it out. I was out yesterday. Um, sometimes I take my

[12:30] gets to see these beautiful houses and I said, "Look, we're only going to do three inspections today and by the time we get back home, we've done six because two or three more popped up." >> So, nationwide loan inspections. This is

[12:43] kind of um like a marketplace of people like yourself and the banks. Kind of a a clearing ground where as the requests come in, we can put it out for for bid or for request to people like you on the ground to go and get that work. And you

[12:59] said, "Okay, well, I got to price myself competitively uh to get some gigs first couple months or even the first few like, "Okay, can I really do this on imposttor syndrome, but I I'll figure it out as I go.

[13:13] there's that imposttor syndrome and you come in, say, "Well, gosh, am I am I got my first Yes. Let's go see." >> Yep. And so you roll up to the site and folks are looking at you and you wonder, gosh, what are they looking at? There is

[13:27] awkwardness, but it's really, I mean, once you go through several of them, it's you realize that it's it's not that big of a deal. It's not that hard. I'm acting as the eyes and ears of the bank. I I show up and I get pictures for them

[13:40] that they can't see. I get information for them that they can't see. Um I take this is going to sound crazy, but I take pictures of things that are not there. there is just as important as something being there. Um toilets, for example.

[13:56] the house may be almost complete. Maybe the toilets aren't in yet. So you take give credit for this part of the plumbing because as you can see in the floor, there's this w round white flange that's sitting there and there's no

[14:10] commode." I got over the imposttor syndrome pretty quick and and uh it's been been really good. >> Do you have a profile page on the national loan inspections site where you know you you start to collect positive

[14:24] and more companies say like, "Oh yeah, we'll hire Lou for this gig." or is it similar to like in the loan signing gig? I think that's the closest parallel to this where yeah, you kind of get on board with these signing services, but

[14:38] reputation. They don't know if you're going to deliver quality work and you know, maybe if nobody else is available, you get the call and you get the gig and best and they're like, "Okay, that guy did well, right? We'll feed him some

[14:52] more work." And you kind of slowly become the preferred provider in that >> right? So, they don't have a a link to show my reviews or any experiences or, you know, longevity with them. Um, one of the companies I work with is called

[15:06] Built. And in there, they have a menu item. When the lender goes into when they create their profile in there for a loan, they have to select someone. So, that are in the area and they make that choice as to who they're going to use.

[15:20] Now, once they've used you, you know, a couple of times, you're poor likely to get a few more. I had one call me a few weeks ago and said, "I appreciate your know, there and you say what you're going to say and you're thorough and so

[15:33] going to say and you're thorough and so through um just the the experience with the different ones. Not all lenders are not all of the inspection companies are like that. Uh, Land Girl is another one that does um they do theirs and I'm not

[15:48] quite sure if it's like a Uber business model or something and I'm not really sure how, but they put they put it out for bid. They'll send an email out and say, "Hey, we have an inspection at this location and it will pay $45." And so

[16:01] going to be in that area or not? Can I get to it? Is it worth me driving over to there just for one job?" and that job up in the next hour it'll probably go up you start >> yeah we didn't get any takers at 45 so

[16:17] more desperate okay >> that's exactly [snorts] right so um you know I've worked with them some they've been uh I would say a part of my built built and nationwide have been the two biggest ones raise a z- getar.com is

[16:33] another one um they're uh they've helped me out throughout the way and I talked with their CEO the other day before our podcast just to kind of talk through because you guys have helped me get along uh through the system here." He

[16:46] expectations as far as bringing inspector in. Someone that's got some a couple years of experience or someone that's been referred uh by another would bring them in. >> You know that feeling when you finally

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[19:05] channel for you is just joining these different aggregator services or kind of um connector services between the banks and the inspectors. I mean would it be accurate to say like there's not a lot of proactive sales where I got to call

[19:20] have a build going on in my neighborhood? I can do the inspection >> I can't speak for all the banks. um another company that's here in North Carolina, Inspection Pros. He's been my mentor. Um you know, he has a lot of

[19:32] relationships with a lot of banks in North Carolina. He has done more of that um that field work and getting in there and talking to banks and making that relationship. And I think this business could be grown quite a bit if you were

[19:44] that person that wanted to get out there and go um seek business. I mean, I going to make a list of the local banks and go, you know, put a nice shirt on and go see them and see if I can get some business. But frankly, as I started

[19:58] really want to do this part-time. I don't want to make I don't want to be full-time again. So, uh, anyway, hard do I want to push this thing? >> That's exactly right.

[20:12] >> That's exactly right. any other of these um inspector connector services or marketplaces that that you like that you found success with? >> I've reached out to a few others and has

[20:24] kind of fell flat. There may be some regionally. Um there may be some banks inspection companies that are doing this stuff. the ones that I've done the most work with, built and nationwide and um raise and uh inspection pros have been

[20:39] kind of the four uh that have kept me pretty busy. I've also branched out and I jumped into something with short-term rentals and tried to make that work. I think that's an area that could probably be um pretty big if someone took the

[20:52] time to go um mold their business model into into that. And and when I say short-term rentals, you know, usually we had a short-term rental. We were overseas. We had we rented our house out here in North Carolina and we needed

[21:06] filters, the air filters, check on the condition of the house. The cleaners come in between guests. They come in, they clean, and they get out. There may be a manager that's working it and they're just kind of, you know, moving

[21:19] the right spot. But I go in, I have, uh, a couple of places where I go in monthly to check to make sure the air conditioner, uh, the HVAC filters have changed. um there's no damage to the

[21:32] house. The windows and doors are all locking properly. Um that gets me a spend an hour, hour and a half there doing that. Uh compared to, you know, I'm 20 to 30 minutes on a on an inspection site doing a um an inspection

[21:49] for a draw inspection. But in this maintenance type inspection uh has been a pretty good I mean it gives the homeowner that you know lives far away So >> yeah, targeting an out ofstate or or

[22:06] absentee landlord in that way where right the cleaners are there and of guests will let you know but kind of could charge kind of a monthly subscription especially if you're

[22:18] be 200 bucks a month. I'll stop by, you know, I'll do any of this low-level stuff, this routine maintenance, and I'll let you know if something bigger is uh maybe lurking on the horizon. >> I've been charging about 150 to go out

[22:30] there and I'll spend an hour and a half usually on use a platform called Tap inspection for these type of inspections. I'll go out, I'll walk through the steps of that and take pictures and give a report on everything

[22:45] I see. Hey, the grass has been cut. The grass has not been cut. Maybe they need to have mulch put down. Um, you know, maybe a window latch is not working right or something like that. And then I give them an overall assessment. Hey,

[22:57] house. If you need anything done, let me know. I'll, you know, I'll try to help there to help. And, uh, that's been a good relationship with the the folks lot bigger. >> This is this is side hustles on top of

[23:10] side hustles. How are you connecting with the short-term rental people? I said, "Hey, does anybody need an inspector?" And I also reached out to a local project manager with a real estate company and said, you know, she managed

[23:24] said, "Hey, is there anybody that needs a maintenance checkup, you know, once a month or between guests and um so I had one of them take me up on it and I it was the initial one I did and I underpriced myself. Um it was taking me

[23:38] lake." >> Oh wow. I' I'd walk in, pictures around the outside, pictures of the dock, pictures of their boat, pictures of the bedrooms, pictures of, you know, everything. And

[23:51] then, you know, if I would carry a a little uh Swiffer dust thing with me, and if I saw something looked dusty, I'd dust it or I change the filter. Just guest got there, they'd have a good experience. Um, but I way underpriced

[24:05] myself on that. And uh oh, the other thing with that too is checking bedroom drawers and under the beds for things because people leave things and uh it

[24:17] underwear. I mean, it's just all over the all over the map. So, you got to have a lift because that could be a heck of a liability for, you know, someone finds a firearm and a >> Yeah, totally.

[24:31] >> Yeah. Let's go back to the loan draw inspection stuff and I'm curious if you have any stories about well you showed up and something was out of the ordinary

[24:43] or you maybe it was a mistake on your part something happened that you know happen out there in the field? >> Sure. So one of the the big things I would caution somebody that gets into

[24:56] this is to be aware and alert to your surroundings. um you know, one for the yourself. If somebody just poured concrete and you get out there and walk across it, put footprints in it, they are not going to be happy with you. So,

[25:11] >> that's something to to be aware of. Uh floors that have just recently been refinished or finished. Um you know, usually they'll put up I inspected one a said, "Do not walk on this floor until Monday, June 8th." And I said, "I'm not

[25:24] 8th. I'm going to stay in here and take pictures and get the best I can, but I'm and take a chance on getting a dust print on it or anything like that. Probably the funniest thing that happened to me was I was inspecting a

[25:38] house and I pulled up and I'd already contacted the builder and a car pulls up "Yeah, I'm the the draw inspector. I'm here to conduct an inspection." And uh "Well, great. Well, it's nice to meet you." We had a nice conversation and um

[25:55] we she went on our way, she left. I was the only person there. It was a Friday and I've got my phone with me taking pictures. Uh I stepped out the back door and most new construction, a lot of these bigger doors don't have handles on

[26:09] them yet. So this door as I close the wind is blowing. It said boop and latched. Well, there's no knob on the outside. And so I'm about 12 to 14 ft

[26:21] off the ground. No handrails on the deck. The door is locked. There's nobody there. It's a Friday afternoon. And I'm like, shucks. And it's a remote remote place. So, um, first thing I did is I sent my wife a text and said, "Okay, I

[26:36] going to try to figure it out, but I this is where I'm at." And so then I went back through my my phone to the emails and I found her phone number and I said, "Look, I'm really sorry to say this, but I am locked on your back

[26:51] porch. Would you mind coming back and letting me How far away did you get?" >> Yeah. So fortunately, she opened a few miles away. She came back and had we had thing done the week before and one of her neighbors had to come let her in. So

[27:04] that was a lesson learned. Um, I either prop something in the doors or don't let that door close behind you because if there's no way to get down, I could have been stuck for a little while longer. >> Right. Yeah. Be safe on those

[27:16] construction sites. Make sure you got a a point of [laughter] egress. >> What are you using tools in techwise to >> What are you using tools in techwise to help manage this flow of incoming leads

[27:30] everything else that goes into this? and and maybe we can talk about invoicing and payments uh in a second too. >> So, uh jobs come in by email. I accept them uh or they come in by their app built as an app uh and it'll come in.

[27:45] "Hey, you know, these folks want an inspection at this at this location on this date." And so, I'll go in and look at it and, you know, take through put any comments in there I need to and get that on my schedule to do. Um Nationwide

[27:59] sends me an email. I'll go through and I'll accept that and that gets into my of the evening before go through Google Maps and kind of lay out and draw out my day for the next day. Um, some of the apps that I use, I use Built's app of

[28:13] course, uh, Rays, Land Gerilla's app. Um, I use a app called Regrid. Regrid allows to track where I'm at. When I get to a house, a lot of times there's no house numbers on the the house. >> Oh, sure. Half the time there's not a a

[28:29] the permits go. But if you get there and there's none of that, how do you know you are where you're supposed to be? So, um I'll use Regrid. I'll pull it up. It'll tell me where I'm at. I'll click on the the parcel and that parcel will

[28:42] tell me the address and the homeowner's name. And probably 90 to 95% of the time it it matches who I'm there to see. So, I take a screenshot of that. That's my first photo on every submission to validate the homeowner and the address.

[28:56] >> Yeah. um to prove I was here. Yeah, >> that's exactly right. The other part of that is your cell phone. I use a cell phone. I use I have an iPhone that I use and I've got the now the location settings turned on so when I take a

[29:09] picture, it takes the latitude longitude and it embeds that into the data of that photo. So the bank can check to make sure that I'm at the place I say I'm at another internal control for them to say, "Okay, here's, you know, here's the

[29:24] data. Luca said he was here. This is a picture of the house. These are the pictures of the interior, exterior, and each one's timestamped and dated uh with a location so that they know that I am where I was supposed to be. Um I have a

[29:37] drone as far as equipment goes. I use that on occasion. Some of these mountain that on occasion. Some of these mountain houses um that I get on are very very uh the terrain is very steep and so getting a good photograph of the back side of

[29:51] house, however it's laid out uh can sometimes be difficult as you're walking around. You you're like a goat, you know, you got to get out there and get a >> get it at a wide enough angle. Okay, >> that's exactly right. Um and that's

[30:05] really about it. I do have a Starlink Mini on my truck because S cell sell Mini on my truck because S cell sell signal where I go is sporadic. So, uh, I'll use that Starlink when I'm done with the job. When I first started,

[30:18] before I had the Starlink, I'd take pictures. I'd go back home. I'd sit down know, when I took my pictures and filled it out. And at night, I'd come home and I'd sit there for an hour and fill all the stuff back out, type it in, you

[30:30] know, upload the photos, submit it. But buying the Starlink was was probably one of the the best things I've done that allowed me to do the inspection on site and submit it and I don't have to come back home at night and sit down when

[30:45] wife and and enjoy the evening. I'm not sitting there for another hour doing inspections. I'm I'm done for the day. >> Got it. Yeah. You can upload as you're moving on to the next uh next job site rather than having to batch them all at

[30:59] uploads are going to be through that portal or through that app where it's kind of dictated by the the company that ordered the the gig. >> That's correct. Yeah. So, um, Built has a an app that you can use or you can

[31:14] their website. Nationwide requires you to upload the photos and and fill out just take and grab it from the cell phone, copy it over and um, and you

[31:26] >> Okay. And after you submit all your stuff and that payment automatically or do you have to stack them up and invoice at the of it work? [snorts] >> So I don't have to invoice anything. Um

[31:41] it's an automatic piece. Built I think pays once a month. They log everything at the end of the month. I think Nationwide pays every two weeks. Um Land Grill will send you a hard check and so does Inspection Pros. they they give me

[31:56] them. So, it just it kind of varies through the platform. Um, but every one of them have been great to work with. >> Yeah. For the I think you said $65 average, you know, how long are you on the site? I'm trying to get a sense of

[32:10] the hourly rate here because if it's only a few bullet points like I'm checking the plumbing is installed or you know, whatever the next phase of >> Sure. >> And it's got to be pretty fast. So, I'm

[32:22] spending probably between 25 to 30 minutes at a site. It depends on on the phase of the construction. I was at one two days ago that was uh in the very early stages. The the ground had been uh excavated. Uh the basement had been dug

[32:35] out. The footers had been dug but not filled yet. And so, I'm taking five or six pictures of that place and I was done in less than 10 minutes. Probably closer to five. >> Sure. The earlier in the stage perhaps

[32:48] the easier it is. Yeah, there's a hole in the ground. Check. Okay. [laughter] >> I factor in 30 minutes per job for every day. I spend more time behind a >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Just because of my the terrain and and

[33:01] the area that I've chosen to cover. Uh and I could probably push further towards some of the bigger cities, but I kind of like this, you know, this mountainous area. And uh you know, um and it's been, you know, the windshield

[33:15] is not always my friend, but it I spend a lot of time with it. That's okay. my old job driving around those same hills in North Carolina. And I wish I had uh some podcasts to listen to. That was before discovering the miracle of on

[33:29] demand audio at that point. >> Um and so costwise, obviously mileage, show, you mentioned having some insurance. This is kind of like an errors and emissions policy or what kind of insurance do you carry? Starting a

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[35:42] quo.com/sidehustle. quo.com/sidehustle. That's quo.comsidehustle. probably should look at an errors and omissions just in case I you know mess

[35:55] something up, but I I really think that um the liability covers me pretty well. Um but errors and omissions is probably dirt cheap for what I do and so it probably would be good to to get that. Um but as far as expenses go, you know,

[36:08] profitability matrix that I've I've kind of created just to kind of show what I'm earning versus what my expenses are. So, if my if I average $4,100 in a month in if my if I average $4,100 in a month in income, I've got about $972 in expenses,

[36:23] income, I've got about $972 in expenses, that includes $780 in gas, 30 bucks in software, 35 in insurance, probably 50 bucks for my cell phone, and 75 for the internet. And then from that, I've got deductions that include most of those

[36:36] same exact things, plus my mileage. >> So, um I really don't have a lot of >> So, um I really don't have a lot of overhead to to make this work.

[36:48] Yeah, that's great. It's drive time and your and your time and Y and there it >> Yeah, >> I'm listening to usually to a podcast uh you know, Side Hustle Nation or you know some of the other ones that I like

[37:00] >> Lou with now a couple years under your belt here, a year and a half, who do you think this is best for? And is it realistic or feasible to do it as as a part-time gig as a non not yet retired person? It probably depends on your your

[37:15] person? It probably depends on your your full-time job. Um, as a part-time gig, the the people that come to my mind uh are firefighters, EMS folks that work are firefighters, EMS folks that work those odd shifts that are on 24, off 48.

[37:27] Those folks, I mean, you know, first of all, their their attention to detail and uh, you know, they're just, >> you know, I think focused uh would probably be good. veterans. I think a retired veteran. This if if I was to

[37:40] take and build this into uh this training piece, one of the recruiting veteran center for different counties and say, "Look, if you got somebody that's retired and they want to do this, um this would be a great fit for them.

[37:52] um this would be a great fit for them. Detail oriented, not hard to learn. Um who else? Photographers. If you got if you got a photography business and you you got a photography business and you can get to learn the understand the uh

[38:05] not that hard. You're not having to to take a test to figure out, you know, what uh you know what is this, what is that. You I mean, you really just got to uh have a basic understanding of how this house is assembling. And so it it's

[38:20] level photography here. We're talking like iPhone pictures pointed at the and you want to tell the story with those pictures. Sometimes when you get through just flashing everything, but you really want to keep in the back of

[38:34] story. They need to see this picture. Uh you're their set of eyes. So, make sure >> That's interesting that you bring up photographers. That's like my wife's like, oh, this could be this could work for you. This could be a little

[38:48] >> You get connected with the right folks to, you know, to get in the door. Um, and it's really was not that hard to uh to begin doing it. And it's really been, you know, lucrative. Again, I started out last year. I wanted to make 12 to

[39:03] $1,500 and, you know, a month. And now I've averaged $4,100 a month every month. I'm grateful for the opportunity. And so, that's kind of where we are. >> Yeah. you're capped by how much building is happening in your area and there's

[39:18] probably a ceiling to how much you can realistically charge because if you well such an amazing job and I you know take it or leave it. I don't really need the work but then people will be like well I'll just go hire the $70 guy instead.

[39:31] So there's there's probably a ceiling. There's probably a capacity to how many you can realistically handle in a day. But if you're in an area with a lot of construction going on, this seems like there may not be that much competition

[39:46] have been other people doing it in your area, but you were still able to find quite a bit of work. Did you did that enter into the factor into the equation of like, oh, there's there's too much competition uh already doing it? So, uh,

[40:00] said, "Well, if I don't try, you know, then I I don't know and I'll give it a shot. If I make a few, then that's great." I work usually two to three days a week. Usually, probably one full day and probably two half days or, you know,

[40:15] just depends on the how I configure things. I'm looking at my profitability matrix. It says I work 91 hours a month. So, I took that and computed all my everything. >> That's that's not not terrible. 20 hours

[40:28] a week. The um the most number of inspections I've done in a day, I think I've hit 16. Uh and that's a full day. >> That's a marathon day for me. But there are guys that tell me in the field that

[40:43] there were times uh where they'll hit a neighborhood that's got five or six, you know, houses going up and there are people that have got many, many more I've heard others with some other numbers that I kind of wonder how how

[40:58] there I think I'm probably at the low end of of speed just because geographically I mean if I was all working out of my town uh that would be one thing but because I travel about 200 miles a day I would say probably 150 and

[41:12] >> Yeah. You're you're putting some work into that truck for sure. And is it all commercial stuff too or other types of properties? >> Not done any commercial. Um, my mentor Steve tells me that, uh, there's a lot

[41:25] of money in the commercial world. Uh, the inspections, you know, they get a lot more for them. There's a lot more a lot more work to that, uh, as far as the paperwork that goes. Uh, I've not ventured into that. You asked a minute

[41:37] ago about who would be good for this. Um, home inspectors, uh, home spend four or five hours out there, and they charge a significant amount of more they charge a significant amount of more money for a home inspection. uh they

[41:50] could weave this into their day to go in between places and become a draw inspector. One of the companies I talked to trying to find uh people in areas inspectors had to rely on those folks and those folks charge a premium.

[42:04] make between the draw inspector and then the home inspector who's spending four or five hours on the property and charging $500, $600 for that. And but

[42:16] it's like could you fill in some gaps in your day? Or if you're a gig economy type of worker, you know, it's on again, off again, and it's like, okay, I could off again, and it's like, okay, I could go over here in between jobs and make

[42:29] another 60 70 bucks and yeah, kind of start to stack up uh several different income streams in that way. I think that may make sense as far as who who might surprised you the most? I mean, you've got to have seen some stuff out here.

[42:43] and says, "Are you the inspector?" And I said, "Well, I'm the the bank inspector. don't like this builder and what he's doing. I said, "Well, sir, I'm You'll need to take that up with the builder or your grandson or whatever, but I I don't

[42:58] like what's going on or they're not happy with this or that, I stay out of that. Um, that's that's been uh it's just an area that I want to venture into in there. I don't I don't want to make myself responsible for well the

[43:13] inspector said you're doing a you know crappy job on on this footer and you causes >> yeah don't don't put this back on me see >> oh and and a good point with that too is

[43:27] >> oh and and a good point with that too is um we cannot give credit for anything that's not installed. So if I show up and I see a stack of windows laying on we're putting them in tomorrow. Can you give me credit for it?

[43:40] are actually installed. So, it's got to be screwed in, set in, set in place. Um, >> Well, Lou, what's next for you? What's got you excited these days?

[43:52] >> I started looking at my, you know, my longevity in this business. I've at 62, of doing this, but I really I want to teach other folks how to do it and try to mentor like I've been mentored. So, we begin to prepare a website and we've

[44:08] got our training modules almost complete to to actually do something called uh And what that's going to do is that's is going to teach uh someone um the

[44:20] fundamentals of this. I've got eight modules prepared uh introduction to draws banks and professional standards ethics um construction fundamentals applications uh software self-employment tips and the

[44:37] basics of being a sole proprietor or escorp or LLC. >> Uh I am a 1099 employee with all these companies. I'm a sole proprietor. I've got a good CPA. If I anybody was to get into it, I would recommend that you find

[44:50] to be a high dollar accountant. I think that's the thing the future for me. I'm houses for the rest of my life. I'm going to try to set up something and train other people how to do it. Uh much to my own uh it's probably going to

[45:03] probably be next door and say, "Hey, I want to do it." And so they learn how and they get get in line and they price themselves competitively and you know, they may take some of my business. It may be. Again, sometimes it's about

[45:16] time. >> Well, I appreciate coming on and kind of the willingness to share behind the scenes of a a new to me and I imagine new to many listeners type of sidehustle. So, very cool. It is

[45:28] drawinsspectortraining.com. We'll link that up in the show notes. Lou, let's wrap this thing up with your number one tip for Side Hustle Nation. >> Gosh, Nick, I gotta I gotta quote you. So, um I'm going back to episode 732.

[45:43] Don't delay because inspiration has an aspiration. So I've done a lot of things in my life. I've tried this, I've tried that. I've, you know, served my country. Um, but and I've always had ideas about, oh, let me let me try this, let me try

[45:56] that. A lot of times I've sat them and just said, well, you know, I'll get to just said, well, you know, I'll get to it. And inspiration can get rusty. So take that uh take action, do something with it. Um, that's kind of been, you

[46:09] know, that that quote from episode 732 kind of led me to push to do this uh, sit down and say, "Wow, that's a good it's just going to float out there in the back of my head and someday it'll be

[46:24] gone and and I won't help anybody or make a difference." So, that's my uh, my >> Appreciate that. It's funny that one comes up a few different times with

[46:36] sometimes you'll hear the story. We recently had a woman who started this it was a sleep podcast but she's like I'm up at 2 in the morning ordering a microphone because this idea like I I knew it had to happen. Those are the

[46:49] know you got to take action on it because it's like uh that that morning. So appreciate you [laughter] sharing that. >> A couple takeaways for me. Number one is kind of this relationship and reputation

[47:03] piece of, you know, once you get a gig, making sure you go not necessarily above and beyond, but that you do the job to the best of your ability and continue to because there's other fish in the sea. There's other options that companies

[47:17] have when they're hiring. And the second piece was being diligent about putting it's easy for customers to do business with you. in the case of this business, all of these different loan inspection, you know, marketplaces and apps where

[47:33] where these transactions are happening. So, uh, not necessarily going and knocking on doors to the to the credit union, although it may not may not hurt, union, although it may not may not hurt, but there's kind of a built-in deal flow

[47:45] business. So, tapping in uh to some of that. So, Lou, again, draw inspectctorraining.com. Again, we'll link that up. If you're wondering what to listen to next, take our little quiz at hustle.show. It'll

[47:58] build you a little personalized playlist of some of our greatest hits episodes couple minutes. You can do it right from your phone and then you'll be all set with another 8 to 10 of our greatest hits episodes to help you achieve your

[48:12] income goals this year. Again, that's hustle.show. insights. Thanks to our sponsors for helping make this content free for everyone. Thank you for supporting the advertisers that support the show. That

[48:25] tuning in. If you're finding value in the show, the greatest compliment is to share it with a friend. Fire off that text message to somebody who you know may not have heard of it, so let them know. Until next time, let's go out

[48:39] I'll catch you in the next edition of the Side Hustle Show. That's a one.