By Klark Brown  (no AI used in this writing)

A modern nostalgic tale

A quick sideways smile appeared as I read what an actual person in 2023 wrote in a professional (somewhat) forum. 

With a teaspoon of amusement, a dash of dismay, and a gallon of continued frustration, I watched the comment appear, and develop a large audience around the words in true social media fashion.

Before diving into my visions of Bugsy Siegel, Al Capone, and Tony Soprano, allow me to fill you in on the context. 

This is about yet another online post about Asbestos Testing, the laws and the standards surrounding the requirements.  

What many do not know (because I find no reason to announce it) is I made a PROMISE to do my part to help educate an entire industry. 

Being a hard-headed, ADHD, sometimes hectic industry about this important misunderstood law is affecting too many unknowing and helpless workers. 

But enough about that, I have written scores of...

From the desk of Toby:

When I was in business for myself and I was approached about doing work that I had never done, I went to social media groups to find other people doing the work that I needed to quickly learn how to do. What I realized after a few times was that I could figure out how to do the work on my own if I just ignored the noise and put my thinking cap on. I had enough knowledge to get most any job done, I often lacked the confidence to try the first time. What I realized is that I often felt completely in the dark about pricing. So I would go look for pricing parameters. Obviously... This was before the good ol’ Rebel days, and before Restoration Nation; communities that fostered growth and knowledge sharing. So naturally I got more roasted than I got good information. 

These were good though. I used "roasting" to pause, take a step back, and look at the truth in the comedy, albeit at my expense. I took a stop back and realized that I needed to develop my...

   TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. What is Scope Creep?
2. Examples of Scope Creep. 
3. 5 Common Causes of Scope Creep
4. How Do I Avoid Scope Creep?
5. Conclusion

Scope creep can occur when a project’s completion requirements exceed the planned requirements. 

When this happens, the project runs the risk of being completed late, over budget, and lacking in quality. 

It can also severely deteriorate your relationship with clients, referral partners, and subcontractors.

It is such an important topic that I wanted to spend a few minutes today sharing more information and ways to foresee it and avoid it. 

WHAT IS SCOPE CREEP?

 Every project should begin with agreed-upon project requirements, including a project timeline, budget, boundaries, and incremental and final deliverables. A clear and solid contract should be in place outlining the mutual agreements. 

 When a project’s requirements go beyond those included in the original plans...

People in this industry avoid real sensitive topics. But we’re not afraid to touch those. 

This is Part 4 of the series where we talk about what it means to be a professional restorer. 

If it’s your first time reading this blog or listening to our podcast,  you can always visit our previous blog posts and podcast episodes and catch up before we start Season 3 at Jan 27th 2023. 

Here are also the links below to the podcast episodes for the three parts that we have already discussed:

S2:E19 Professional Series Part 1 - Technically Qualified

S2:EP20 Professional Series Part 2 - Leadership & Culture

S2:EP21 Professional Series Part 3 - Being Structured

You can also check out this week's episode of Disaster Podcaster:

S2:E22 Professional Series Part 4 - Being the EXAMPLE

When we talk about what makes a professional restorer or professional specialist in any field or trade, it could probably take 47 or more blogs to get everything covered. But for...

Professional Series Part 3 - Being Structured

We are in our series on professional companies and professional people in the restoration industry. 

If you missed the first 2 parts, you can find the blogs here:
Part 1 - Technically Qualified Blog 

Part 2 - Leadership & Culture Blog 

The Podcast here:
Part 1 - Technically Qualified Podcast or YouTube

Part 2 - Leadership & Culture Podcast or YouTube

This is the third part of this series and I'm excited about this one because this is more in the lane of what I have spent my career doing and coaching. 

And that's being structured. 

Having an organized, responsible systems and process-oriented company.

Just because we're a small business, it doesn't mean we have to run like a small business. It's okay for a small business to have a big corporate structure and you can find that in a lot of different ways. 

I think it's easier to become a larger company when you have scalable  systems....

This is part two of our series about what it means to be a professional restorer.
This series is also the last four segments of Season 2 episodes for  the Disaster Podcaster.

Part 2 of the series can be found here

If you prefer to watch the series on video, be sure to check out our YouTube Channel, and Part 2 of the Series here

In Part 1, we talked about being technically qualified. Having the technical know-how to actually do a particular job to be in this industry will call you a professional. You need to know what you're doing. 

In Part 2 we will discuss leadership and culture. 

I've been coaching for quite a few years now and have the distinct privilege to interact with many restoration contractors through conferences, coaching sessions, friends, Facebook groups, and the like. 

I have come across some winning and losing components that I want to talk about in detail a little bit more. Let's see what a professional looks like in this industry; not only a...

This is part one of a four-part series that we break down what it means to be called a professional restorer. If you've followed me for any length of time you know that I talk about professionalism a lot.  

Follow on our YouTube channel for this series as well: 

 S2:E19 Professional Series Part 1- Technically Qualified

In my humble opinion, the traits, characteristics, skill sets, and presence of someone in our industry is the one who checks off most of all the boxes as a professional.  

Being professional does not mean you know everything. But it means that you have a company of value that people look at as what they want to model themselves after.

And I think that actual professionals make up less than 10% of our industry.

I believe professionalism is absolutely everything for your business. It's really what creates a repetitive business, a reputation, and a brand.  

I believe it's a company that people want to do...

Simple.
Black and white.
Binary business.

Seems like it is shaping up to be the theme for Restoration Advisers in 2023.

We fly solo.
We walk alone.
A lot of naysayers.

What they are missing is the simplicity of what we talk about.
We preach doing things RIGHT.
Right for you.
Right for your people.
Right for your business.
We don’t need to follow a script that everyone else says we should follow.
You don’t either.
The challenge is figuring out what the right thing is for you, your people, and your business.

 We use an 8 step process so your business can have an identity.

1
What do you stand for? Meaning. What is at the core of everything you do?
3-5 things.
In the business world people like to use the words “core values”.

2
What is it that you want to be known for when all of this is in the past?
Either when you die. Or when your business shuts down.
What do you want people to know you and your business for?
In the business world… It's known as a mission...

 Hard Times Make Great Leaders

Fatigue and Burnout from Fighting to Get Paid by the Insurance Companies?

I want to talk about something that I believe many of you will resonate with and relate to. 

I speak to a lot of people in restoration and remediation with small and big companies. And a prevalent theme that I'm seeing is fatigue from the fight of trying to get paid by the insurance companies.

Unless you have been in hibernation for the last decade, I’m sure you’ve noticed that the insurance processes and procedures have become harder over time. It’s like year after year and job after job, the same thing happens and it’s causing a lot of people to get tired and burn out. 

Check out this weeks episode of Disaster Podcaster 

Video Version

Audio Version

Take Time to Rest and Work on Things

Every year, I take one week and go to a pretty remote area of Montana. It's a humble place.

I go there with the pure intention of disconnecting...

 If you were offered a reset button for your business, would you press it?

We’ve been doing solo podcasts for a while on the Disaster Podcaster. Much easier, far less complex recording process. 

We did a podcast with Andy McCabe recently to talk about the Restoration Rebel movement, how it got started and where it is today. 

As we post-produced it we realized that there were some audio issues. Nothing that most people would pick up on, but significant enough that we felt that they needed to be addressed to get future podcasts to an acceptable standard in our books. 

We adjusted knobs. We turned dials. We slid sliders. To no avail. 

Then Klark yanked the XLR chord out of channel 4 and plugged it into channel 1. Shazam. 

All was well. 

The audio was seemingly perfect. 

All we needed was to change channels. 

We needed to try something new. 

To Reset. 

The irony of the situation was that the podcast that revealed the issue to...