It’s a fair question, right?

What's wrong with Xactimate?

From the Desk of Klark Brown (NO AI was used in the creation of this writing)

Everyone starts with all the best intentions and direction to smash goals, get more done, and become a BEAST.

But the world has this odd habit of throwing in the most distractions to keep you from these things.
More times than not, these are social media or people and things that we have not done the best job setting boundaries with.

I coach and mentor dozens of individuals and companies that have ALL the talent and ability they need to get almost anywhere they need to go but are taken off course, never finishing much and then dwelling in a sense of failure or frustration.

Today I want to share a few of the things I learned from the great book THE ONE THING by Gary Keller, that most commonly see as culprits.

Let this list be a beacon to help you build new habits to achieve everything you set your mind to. 

1. Inability to Say “No” 

2. Fear of Chaos 

3. Poor...

From the Desk of Klark Brown (No AI was used in the creation of this writing or blog)

It is conference season, my friends. Get ready !!

Were you invited? Are only “PRERRERED” invited?

We already had the RIA Expo, Nexxus, DKI, and the Spring Experience was recently in Ft Lauderdale.

I encourage you to get that new outfit for the 2023 Claims Denial Adjusters Conference.

We are hearing that about 4500 Claims Specialists (they don’t even use adjusters most of the time anymore).

 This is going to be held in Salt Lake City, near their cousins of Verisk and Xactimate. Makes logical sense to the organizers

A large group will be gathered for 2 full days of learning and networking. 

What you can expect:

DAY 1

• Welcome and greetings 8 am
• Tips to justify ignoring clients' emails and phone calls 9:15-10:30 am
• Avoiding assertions that you may not be an adjuster 10:45-11:30
• Learning construction or remediation standard (IICCRC) 11:30...

From The Desk of Toby Clem (No AI tools were used to write this piece, but we did have a good conversation) 

AI is part of our future. As individuals. As business people. As companies. As a society. 

I thought it would be interesting to hear from ChatGPT about what it meant to run an efficient restoration business. 

It was certainly interesting. And it prompted some questions that I have never hesitated to ask a human, so I certainly challenged the artificial intelligence machine.

Here is how it went. 

Word for word. 

Running an efficient mitigation business is crucial to ensure that your clients receive the best service possible. Whether you are dealing with water damage, fire damage, or mold remediation, the following tips will help you streamline your business operations and provide top-notch service.

1. Invest in training and certification for your team: Make sure that your team members are properly trained and certified in their respective...

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...

Let’s have a conversation about certifications. 

The restoration industry loves education. They love all the certifications. Many people chase the prestigious title of “Triple Master”.

Certifications are very popular and some may say pertinent to have to build a strong restoration company.

In our discussion, we will cover some of the following topics:

• Required vs Recommended
• Should vs Shall
• Basic vs advanced
• Certification vs Education
• Licensing
• Specialty Certifications

I want to start by saying that education, knowledge and accuracy on the processes in which you perform restoration and especially mitigation are incredibly important.
Important from a liability standpoint for sure. Improper structural drying, faulty cleaning and skipped steps in the terms of safety, can open you and your entire company up to liability.

Molds, toxins, bacteria, hazards and biological exposures can impact the health of your staff, your client and the surrounding...

Missed Opportunities or Knowledge

You just might owe hundreds of clients an apology.

Apologies are a very hard thing for people to wrap their heads around because ego and pride get in the way.

Stay with me here for a moment.

You must first start out by knowing that my article here is a resource to improve.
As pretty much an optimist, I believe the overwhelming population of the world, and in this case, the roofing industry means to do the best they can for their client.

But this elusive thing called education just always dances around.

If you are currently in or have even been in the roofing industry for any period of time, it is quite likely that you have missed a few opportunities to truly deliver for your client. Again…not the intention (let’s hope), but from knowledge.

If this does not pertain to you, reach around and pat yourself on the back because you are up at the ninja level.

As a 20-year veteran and very knowledgeable MITIGATION expert, I have seen...

So, I wrote this to explain to all my non disaster and restoration industry friends how our business model has been jammed.  When I say jammed....I mean a force so large and with endless funds....that small and medium businesses feel powerless. 

Feel free to use the "problem" in your marketing, on boarding, or defense. 
Please. I implore you. Join in with being part of the solution that I've included in this blog. 

A homeowner (or business) has a fire or flood.

They have insurance (and plenty of coverage).

A contractor is contacted to perform emergency services (2 am).

Insured makes a claim with their trusting insurance (premiums paid for 13 years, always on time).

The first thing that happens is they look for evidence to deny the claim. That's effort 1.

Then when it seems to be a covered issue, they have a list of vendors that have agreed to be their preferred. This only means that they have agreed to rates and sometimes omission of charges...