By Klark Brown  (no AI used in this writing)

 Outsourcing your obligations like a BOSS!

This short story can be read here: [Tom Sawyer- Whitewashing the Fence]

Ben Tally: “Say – I’m going in a swimming, I am. Don’t you wish you could? But of course, you’d druther work – wouldn’t you? Course you would!”

Tom contemplated the boy a bit, and said:

Tom: “What do you call work?”

Tom: “Why, ain’t that work?”

It doesn’t take long to see how easy it is to manipulate someone to do your work FOR THEM. To pass along operational responsibility to another and make them feel obligated and almost excited to do it.

THIS MIGHT STING A LITTLE

To get right to the point of this mindset detour…..this is what is happening to the disaster recovery specialists that perform work where insurance carriers and their multiple tentacles of control are involved.
They have slowly (and effectively)...

 By Klark Brown  (no AI used in this writing)

 What was once meant to revolutionize might be sending us backward. 

This may be familiar to many of us:

New Restorers: What do I charge for XXXX?

Keyboard Commando’s: Charge ANYTHING you want !!  Add more than you do because the insurance will screw you

Also Keyboard Commando;s: Eff the Insurance. 

Go back to school and learn your numbers….

Charge what Xactimate says….

Why are you in business if you don’t know what to charge?.....

PM me…..I charge tens of thousands to show restorers how to overcome this…..

It’s easy…….

Look familiar?

Un-Social Media

As a very visible presence in such groups, these are my perceptions.  

Have you seen the conversations like the short one above occur across the various forums and groups?
Yea. Me too.
It infuriates me and truly makes me wonder what is wrong with people. What makes people come...

By Klark Brown  (no AI used in this writing)

We called it Paradise……

We can almost kiss it goodbye. 

“They call it paradise

I don't know why

You call someplace paradise

Kiss it goodbye”

Wrapping up our MUSIC SERIES this week, I wanted to share a musing I had as I traveled up I-85 in North Carolina a few weeks ago.

Don Henley and The Eagles wrote more than a lot of classics. The quality of music that practically any generation at least recognizes the melody.

Their most popular and best-selling album was Hotel California. Among the almost endless number of gems on that album was Last Resort.

The song itself has a very important message about the degradation of our native land. The overconsumption of The United States' beautiful resources for the sake of growth and expansion. 

The Curse of MORE. 

What I got from the message was our industry.
If you look at the quote above, which is near the end of the song, I think...

By Klark Brown  (no AI used in this writing)

Changes - The Only Constant

In life, in business, and in the world, the one constant is change. 

 
One could say that that change direction has picked up ALOT of wind in the sales and is occurring in bigger strides and in a much faster pace.

Bowie was clearly speaking from a creative position in this particular song from his Honky Dory album in 1971. This was certainly a time in music and in the world where we were coming out of the Woodstock era and people were looking to say new things.

If you do not know or study Bowie, he was a true visionary in the realm of entertainers reinventing himself.
This was surely partly artistic expression, but it was also a new world that HE was creating. Not trying to live within the confines of what others said you are supposed to be and how you do things. He was punk, he was a REBEL. 

As a business owner and entrepreneur, I can certainly resonate with this (sans...

By Klark Brown  (no AI used in this writing)

WHO KNEW STING DEPLOYS ACCOUNTABILITY

Every move you make and every vow you break

Every smile you fake, every claim you stake, I’ll be watching you

Every move you make, every step you take, I’ll be watching you

“What in the absolute HELL do The Police have to do with anything?”

Give me 6 minutes and I’ll share it with you. I think it will be worth it. 

Every Breath You Take (link to the song on YouTube) is by far the most popular song ever written by the British Trio named The Police. The Lead singer/ songwriter is Sting ( birth name Gordon Sumner).
If you want to know how he got the name Sting, reach out to me and I will share that story as well. My useless music knowledge rivals Wikipedia. 

Released in 1983, it shot to the stratosphere of the music charts thanks to the introduction of MTV (yes, they once played music videos). 

The dark and sinister lyrics...

By Klark Brown  (no AI used in this writing)

I would love to think this blog post will be THE THING that finally helps you become a master at recognizing the things that we try very hard not to face or approach.

The phrase “Bandaid for Bullet Holes” sounds like a great anecdote by Mark Twain.
It’s not.

It sounds like something you would hear from a sarcastic comedy actor on your favorite show.
Again…No.

"Bandaids On A Bullet Hole" is a song by a wildly popular young country singer/ songwriter. Morgan Wallen also has a respectable mullet that proves that the 80s may indeed be making a comeback.

I am riding in my truck one day when this song comes on. I look over at my stereo and notice the title. I felt the proverbial WHACK across my face. The phrase seriously struck me.
In an instant, it reminded me of what I often do. I also can surmise that it happens with many people.

The idea or context that I attach to this is we often look for a...

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...