How Contractors Can Make Money in the Winter

Ah, summer. The moneymaker! You’re in the thick of the busy season. It’s easy to get caught up and put off planning for leaner times. Don’t make that mistake! One of the wisest ways to prepare for the slower season is to build value-added services into your business now. These four “all-season” money-making services keep your bottom-line consistent and strong all year long.

Picture this scenario. You get called to a home to provide an estimate to caulk and re-stain. You look around the place and determine that the re-stain is $20k. Then, you start asking the homeowner some questions about their home. Do you have rooms that are hard to heat or cool? Do you have problems with insects in the winter? Have you had any water leaks? How high is your energy bill? Do you need to dust the house often? If they answer yes to any of these questions, ask if they would like you to bring in some simple equipment to help diagnose the problems. It typically takes less than 30-minutes to identify issues on the camera right then and there. Talk about an easy justification for work! Score! You can schedule repairs while you are there staining, during a rainy period, or in the winter when you’re not as busy. Either way, one simple “value-added” service just helped secure you a job you may not have otherwise gotten.

Online thermography classes are available. You can also partner with your local energy company to learn more.

Add certified log home inspections to your list of value-added services. According to Nick Gromicko, Co-Founder of the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI), “You can charge more for inspecting log homes than for conventional homes because few inspectors are qualified to inspect them. Passing the Log Home Inspection course will lower your liability.”

Interested? Learn more about enrolling in InterNACHI’s free log home inspection course here, or through this free webinar.

Indoor air quality testing is a hot trend and you can jump on board. (Your wallet will thank you!). Health-conscious homeowners everywhere are looking for air quality certified inspectors. There are several credible online resources to obtain your certification. Most indoor air quality certification programs teach you to test for moisture, airborne volatile organic compounds (VOCs), airborne particulate matter (PM), integrated pest management (IPM), and other aspects of indoor air quality. Learn more at:

Log homes are unique, a special breed. That’s why you’re a log home expert. There’s room in the world of home appraisers for an expert like you! Even the most seasoned appraiser may be grossly under-trained on the ins and outs of logs. Your knowledge could pay back big time. While adding appraisal services to your “tool belt” does require significantly more training and education than some of the other value-added services mentioned, the return is proportionately higher. Interested? Click here to learn more.