The Part of Running a Service Business No One Talks About | Erin Brite | Part 2

Part 2 of a 3-part conversation with Erin Brite, co-owner of LiteHouse Services Group.

In this episode, Erin goes deeper into the realities of running and scaling a home inspection business; the responsibility, sacrifice, and systems that show up after you choose entrepreneurship.

She breaks down what it actually takes to build a service-based business from nothing, including the real costs of getting started, the emotional weight founders carry for clients and teams, and why long-term sustainability depends more on relationships and systems than fast growth.

This conversation also explores:

• Why building a team is often more profitable than staying solo
• How introverts can build strong referral networks
• The personal sacrifices that come with early-stage growth
• Why “work-life balance” is a myth and what integration actually looks like
• The systems that allow a business to evolve without demanding everything forever

This episode is not about quick wins or shortcuts, it’s about what running a real business actually requires once the responsibility becomes real.

This conversation continues in the next episode.

Chief Milestones is a video podcast featuring honest conversations with founders, parents, and investors about building real businesses, staying healthy, and raising families.

New episodes release Tuesdays and Fridays.

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Transcript

Starting Without a Construction Background

Erin Brite 0:00

To be passionate to build something from nothing, it takes a lot. You could potentially make $200,000 a year as a home inspector if you did 10 home inspections a week. A lot of people get into home inspection because it's really attractive to be your own boss, and I get that. However, if you join a multi-inspector firm.

Reshma Vadlamudi 0:20

What's one thing you would do every day to stay organized that every busy mom needs to try? Do you need a background in construction or real estate to be a successful home inspection company?

Erin Brite 0:40

You wouldn't have to. Obviously, I don't have one. I was a social worker, zero background. Whereas someone who's been working in a construction-related field, even like a handyman or um someone who's a maintenance person in building maintenance, someone who works in construction um materials or you know, physical construction themselves, they know so much already. Their base knowledge about the systems are so high that really getting them to the next level of being more technically sound, it's just not such a leap. It's it's much easier to build on that knowledge.

Reshma Vadlamudi 1:19

What's the hardest part about running a home inspection business that no one talks about?

Erin Brite 1:23

To

The Responsibility Founders Carry

Erin Brite 1:24

be passionate to build something from nothing, it takes a lot. And so we work a lot. Our team works a lot. And so I don't think people are talking about how the real estate market um is always happening. People are, you know, I might get a text at 9 p.m. Now, are there boundaries I need to put in place? Certainly. But as an entrepreneur who's trying to build something, do I respond? Mostly. Yes, because I value those partnerships. Um I think the other, the other part that nobody talks about is we feel really responsible to our clients. They are really opening up a very intimate part of themselves. And I love that it's such an honor. But then you carry that. Even though we can't possibly know everything in a three to four hour period about a home, you carry that.

The Real Cost of Starting a Service Business

Reshma Vadlamudi 2:28

How much does it actually cost to start a home inspection business? And how soon can someone make that like money come back?

Erin Brite 2:37

I think it about $5,000, I would say, is a pretty good um, you're gonna spend about $1,000 in tools. You um are gonna have various other expenses, uh, the technology, whatever, report writing software. You know, there's all kinds of costs. But I would say if you had $5,000, you could start a company and be, you know, have a good start in your in year one. Um could you make that back in year one? Certainly. Uh not ours, but uh I would say an average home inspection could be around $500. So really you're just saying, um I need 10 home inspections, right? To be able to make back that money. Now that's just making back that money. Yes. But yeah, so you could certainly invest $5,000 and then make back that five thousand five thousand dollars easily in in a few months.

Reshma Vadlamudi 3:42

So does that include the marketing in there? Or do they, if they have to go grow beyond that?

Erin Brite 3:50

So I think you're definitely not gonna hire a marketer. Yes. So as a single operator, you're going to have to go and do the marketing on your own, which is gonna cost time. So, no, you now could you build a website for that? Yes. I mean, I think one of the things I've heard or seen on a website is you could potentially make $200,000 a year as a home inspector if you did 10 home inspections a week. Um, that's like the marketing. Yeah. Again, it's going to take you a lot of relationship building and time. Like there's realtors who ask us, how many inspections has your company done? How many years have you been in service? Because they don't want to take the risk on the brand new home inspector. So that's what you're up against as a new home inspector for sure. Yeah.

Reshma Vadlamudi 4:39

What's the most profitable way to scale a home inspection company?

Why Teams Scale Better Than Solo Operators

Erin Brite 4:45

I believe that the most profitable way would be to build a team. So there are variable expenses and fixed expenses, right? So the variable expenses, any number of things. The fixed expenses you're always going to have, whether you're one person or five people. So for instance, if you want to grow quickly, you might hire someone who's really good at marketing. And let me tell you, most home inspectors who are interested in working alone are actually not that great at marketing because they the part of the attraction of the job is being able to work alone. And so they might be more introverted, just not outgoing. And so it's a great idea to hire someone who is a little more outgoing, who easily creates relationships and actually enjoys it. Cause I would say a lot of home inspectors don't enjoy that part of the business. So if you built a team where you could have multiple inspectors covering the fixed cost of one marketing person, covering the fixed costs of websites and insurance. And, you know, there's a number of these fixed costs. If you can spread that across multiple inspectors, you're really going to be more profitable. Versus a single person is often I hear them saying, like, I can't afford to hire a marketing person just for myself.

Reshma Vadlamudi 6:21

Yeah. Okay. And one tip for an introvert who wants to network but cannot network.

Networking When You’re an Introvert

Erin Brite 6:34

Think about the questions that you want to ask because it's actually not as necessary for you to talk as it is for you to listen. So asking pointed questions of realtors are the primary source of referrals for home inspection companies. So how did you get into real estate? What was interesting to you about real estate? How long have you been doing this? Do you do something else? Like these are all getting someone else to talk about themselves, they actually think you're really interesting and you're just listening. So I would think I am an extrovert, but I would think that would make it easier is to come prepared with here's the questions that I'm gonna ask, and then hopefully not have to speak that much myself. And then even myself, early on, I love people and I like talking to people, but I still sometimes, and sometimes even still now, if I'm going into a space that's totally, you know, I've never been before, or I'm just not in the mood for it. Sometimes you're just not in the mood for it. I literally say in my mind, our team is depending on me to go build relationships so that they can feed their families. And if I think about it in that most basic terms, I can force myself to do something that might might be a little uncomfortable.

Reshma Vadlamudi 7:57

Okay. How do you get clients when you're new and no one knows your name?

Getting Clients Before You’re Established

Erin Brite 8:04

Reaching out to realtors. So attending open houses, that's something we started early on and saw success with because you would think, oh, a seller's agent is, you know, is not our primary goal. So a lot of realtors will do both sides of the deal, but sometimes they're just selling. Like they kind of um get to a point where they want to just sell. And so uh that's not necessarily my target. I want to work with buyers' agents mostly. So going to an open house, you might think, well, this is the listing of a seller's agent, but actually they probably have a buyer's agent there who is looking for clients because who's going through open houses is people looking for homes and they might be unrepresented at that point. So um, so we would put together a little gift card, gift bag that um shared about who Lighthouse is. I might have a snack in there, um, something to keep them energized while they were doing, you know, their job. Um, sometimes we put in little free CE courses in there. So something to support the work that they're doing. Because my goal is always how can I help you do your job better? Because, you know, that's if they're doing their job well, then they might refer to me and that's how I get my clients.

Reshma Vadlamudi 9:28

Yeah.

Erin Brite 9:29

Um, so that's a good, that's a good place to start, would be open houses.

Reshma Vadlamudi 9:33

If you had to give a brand new home inspector one piece of advice to succeed fast, what would it be?

Erin Brite 9:40

If

Why Experience Beats Independence Early On

Erin Brite 9:41

you are coming out of school or you've just gotten your license, honestly, my advice would be join a multi-inspector firm. A lot of people get into home inspection because it's really attractive to be your own boss. And I get that. However, if you join a multi-inspector firm, you're gonna get experience, which is what people are gonna most hold against you, is that you have no experience. So join a firm, get experience, let them train you. Even if eventually you would do it differently, they're gonna feed you jobs so that you can get the experience. And that would be it, you'll make less money than if you were doing it on your own, but you'll gain so much experience that I think it's so valuable, even if your goal eventually is to have your own company.

Reshma Vadlamudi 10:31

Four kids, a business, school and activities. What's the secret?

Erin Brite 10:38

There's no secret. Yeah. I think you I had to be really excited about what we were building to make it worth it. Because there are sacrifices. When you're an entrepreneur, there's lots of sacrifices. Um, so really being excited and interested and passionate about what you're doing and time management for me, uh having older children is huge. Uh and then we we talked about networking for business, but I would say even networking in parenting. So building relationships with the parents of the kids who are doing the same things your kids are doing, you can't do it alone. If you have grandparents, this can be such a resource to supporting your goals.

Reshma Vadlamudi 11:37

What did you have to sacrifice to get to where you are today?

Erin Brite 11:41

Early

The Personal Cost of Building a Business

Erin Brite 11:42

on in in early on in building the company, I sacrificed a lot of me. So a lot of my hobbies or the things that made me happy, even physical health and friendships. So time with other people who just to enjoy. I sacrificed a lot of that. And it felt like it was just all business all the time and family when it could be. Once we got over the initial climb, it became really clear that that's not sustainable. And I'm not, would I do it differently again? I think it had to happen that way. Um, but I do appreciate that now we're at a point where I'm able to put back more of the priorities personal enjoyment, even physical, like fitness, things like that, that I maybe compromised early on. So being willing to compromise, but also maybe knowing that that's not the rest of your life.

Reshma Vadlamudi 12:56

Yeah. And I definitely think we are not talking enough about the sacrifices we have to make as an entrepreneur because we all see the wins at the end of the day and feel like this is how it's supposed to feel all the time. And but then you're only seeing after someone made it, and everyone has to give up something during those initial days.

Erin Brite 13:20

And is it a cost you're willing to pay? And is there a a time frame on that? Because already I can see that starting to write itself.

Reshma Vadlamudi 13:31

So what is work-life balance? And do you think it is possible?

Why Work-Life Balance Doesn’t Exist

Erin Brite 13:42

I think work-life balance is a fantasy. Uh actually, it's something. So John and I complete one sheets, which is where we try to um plan out our year. What are the things, what are the goals that we have for the year, and with really specific details. Um my overarching goal for last year was I I said my like what I wanted to focus on that year was work-life integration. Because um, especially in this career of real estate where it's just happening all week long, there's no Monday through Friday. Like, but I'm sure this is true for many entrepreneurs. I just only have experience here. The idea that um I I'm never gonna find balance between the two things. So, how do I integrate the two parts of my life to work well together? And um can I? That was could that be possible last year? One of the things that I started to see was okay, I might work more on a Saturday, um, being out at the inspections or answering calls. But then Tuesday midday, I can, or every day at 3 p.m., I can go pick up my child from practice, from jazz band or football or whatever. There's a lot of parents who work a Monday through Friday, nine to five, who don't have availability during the work week. So really trying to be present to my family when I am. So when when the kids get off the bus, if I can be there and give them really intentional connection time, then making the most of those points of connection where I'm not, I'm trying not to be distracted. I'm not on my phone, I'm not, you know, we're really trying to connect and and recognizing the gift that that is, that um, if my child needs to go to the doctor at 10 a.m. on a Thursday, I can make time for that. There is a lot of flexibility as an entrepreneur that I think could be um could be washed over and not recognized as well. So when I was only seeing the hard in entrepreneurship and the places where I felt like I failed my kids or wasn't available to them, I had to reframe that and see the places where I was available to them that in my past career I wouldn't have been and take that for the benefit that it is.

Reshma Vadlamudi 16:24

Yeah. Okay. Uh what's your morning routine like? How do you get everyone out the door on time and still get work done?

Morning Systems That Keep Everything Running

Erin Brite 16:34

So certainly the older kids play into this because everyone is self-sufficient and everyone can get themselves ready. Um, so my morning routine looks like at least Monday through Friday. Um I wake up at 6 a.m. because that's when the twins have to wake up. And so because they're the youngest, helping to make sure that they're awake. And then um it seems silly. I am a morning person. So that actually might be the time where I'm in the kitchen space because they're there eating their breakfast, they're making their lunches. Um, so I might, if if I am spent at the end of a day and it's been a crazy day, I might not do the dishes that night and I might catch up on them in the morning. So I can be present to them, but I'm still uh accomplishing things. Um, so then they get on the bus uh around 6:50. And that might be a time where I would go and exercise um or have quiet time. I like to journal and read the Bible. So um some days it's exercise, some days it's journaling. If I have an early um appointment like this morning, it was like get in the shower then at that point and get myself ready because I had to be to an inspection at eight. So um, so it can be flexible, but then I'm making sure that my teenager who never gets up with his alarm. I shouldn't say never, it is a challenge for him to get up with his alarm. So making sure he's up at 7:20. Um, and then just kind of at this point, I can just check in with people and make sure that they're moving and they're very independent as I get myself ready for the day. The interesting thing is I usually I'm the morning crew and my husband is more the evening crew, and I think that's something we've figured out works well for us. I used to not like it. Like, oh, you like to be up late. I like to go to bed early. Um, but now that we are in this age where we have two teenagers driving who might have a later curfew of like 11 p.m., it is really hard for me to stay up to 11 p.m. most nights. So that's a nice balance of having a partner who is is different from you. Sometimes there's there's differences in marriage that you think, oh, I wish we were just the same in this way. For us, this actually works out well because he can make sure that everyone's home safe and sound at at night and make sure that the house is shut down and everybody's okay, even if we're both in bed together, but I'm asleep by 9:30 or 10.

Reshma Vadlamudi 19:24

Okay. What's one thing you would do every day to stay organized that every busy the mom needs to try?

Erin Brite 19:31

Calendar.

The Calendar That Holds the Business Together

Erin Brite 19:32

We have a a digital, we have a Google calendar that's shared between myself, my husband, and the older two kids. And I live by that. Our business calendar is linked to our personal calendar. So it's the last thing I do before I'm like winding down every day is look and see, okay, what's the next day? And then it's the first thing I'm doing generally in the morning to remind myself, okay, what's Coming up this day, everything has to go in the calendar because there's so many kids' activities and there's so many personal responsibilities, business responsibilities that if if we get, you know, uh track season has started. So my husband put all the track meets in the calendar right away so that we can make sure as I'm out and about doing things, like that's not something I don't want to miss that. And so it all has to be in the calendar. And then we actually also have like a fridge calendar for the younger guys. And so once a month, it's my practice to put the new month up on the fridge calendar and everybody's color-coded and everybody has their own square. But it helps me to understand, okay, looking ahead, are there, are we gonna have issues on certain days? How are we gonna work that out? And then yeah, I just I have to live by that calendar. I was talking with some business owners uh just today, some mothers, and they were like, do you put drive time on your calendar? Like, do you block that out? And I said, absolutely. I block out when is the last moment I am gonna be like available to my job, and when is the next moment that I'll be available? So drive time a hundred percent. Um, everything has to be in the calendar.

Reshma Vadlamudi 21:31

Okay.

Erin Brite 21:32

Like, but I I want sometimes I want to have some spontaneity, right? So in general, I would say if you are a family of six, like we are, and you are a business owner, there's some of that that goes away. It just, but um, so for instance, my husband, he actually figured out that in this year, one of his goals is to be more present to our family and the kids, really. Um, and so he actually has time blocked 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. every day. And he is has an accountability group of business owners that check in with him sometimes. How's that going? And because for him, what he realized is I can work all day while they're at school. And then because I like to stay up, I can go back once at 9 p.m. when the twins are in bed and the older two, you know, are doing whatever. I can go back to work. And he doesn't mind working, say nine to midnight even. Um, so for him, that was important. And then within that time block, he can have spontaneity, but it's already now. Does he occasionally schedule things then? Sure. Okay. But the intention is Monday through Friday. This is my family time. Okay.