This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Is there a market for professional home inventory services? That's our topic. Got a listener idea, a listener with an idea for a side hustle, Laura in St. Louis. She's thinking about a business which basically helps people with home inventories.
A lot of people don't think about this until it's too late after they have a fire, flood or break-in and they have to list everything that they've lost for an insurance claim. Could be a homeowner's claim, a renter's insurance claim, something else. So she's thinking this could be a business depending on the market, depending on how she markets it, I think, I think that's a big part of the answer. So let's break it down for her. In every episode, I hope to give you a practical idea or a practical step, a next step at least for somebody out there hoping to create extra money without quitting their job.
And not only for that person, but also just to get you thinking as well about what you might be able to do. So let's break down the market, potential challenges and how to approach it strategically. Detailed question from Laura and my answer coming right up. [Music]
Hey Chris, this is Laura from St. Louis.
So I've been thinking about starting a home inventory service where I document and photograph people's belongings for insurance and estate planning purposes. The idea is to help homeowners and renters and families create detailed records in case of things like theft or damage or legal issues. It sounds like something people might need, but I'm not sure if there's an actual market for it or how to find paying clients. Is this a viable side hustle? And if so, how would I go about turning it into a business?
[Music]
Laura, it's an interesting idea. The demand for home inventory services does exist. The problem is most people don't realize they need it until they do. So I think that's a big problem and it's a big challenge at least. The challenge isn't whether it's valuable, but rather how to position and market it so people actually see the benefit before disaster strikes.
Trying to get people to take preemptive action is notoriously difficult. And we see that in other industries like healthcare. People are just bad about doing their checkups and their preventative stuff. They kind of wait until things get bad. So let's consider that you really wanna do this.
Who needs this service? How can you find them with that caveat or that disclaimer to start off? Potential clients are not only homeowners and renters, I think, but also estate planners and executors. Family settling estates need a detailed list of assets, especially if a dispute arises over inheritance. Small business owners, property managers and landlords.
And in fact, I think maybe some of those business groups might be a better fit for this service because if you're a property manager or a landlord, having a pre-rental inventory can protect you from disputes with tenants over damages. And of course, the tenants could benefit as well, but as I said, they're less likely to do it preemptively or proactively. So how might you do it? I would focus on partnering with insurance agents and those estate planners. Maybe you could offer an emergency ready package like Frame Your Service as peace of mind.
Any real life stories you could share. There's a reason why the insurance world uses real life stories or testimonials or archetypes so often they're kind of pulling at heartstrings, trying to get people to take proactive action, which of course leads to them getting paid. So it's possible to be cynical about it as well, but ultimately that's the kind of marketing that works in that world. So in short, I think this can be a viable business, but you have a big challenge to overcome at first. And that's why I think your positioning and marketing matters so much.
If you can connect with the right referral partners and frame the service as an essential just in case investment, then that might be the way that it's gonna work. Otherwise you've got that big challenge to overcome. But nothing wrong with challenges. I just think you should choose them wisely. Let us know how it goes, listeners.
If you have a question or a comment, sidehustleschool.com will continue to feature listener reports throughout the year. I'm excited to bring you another batch of episodes coming up very soon that go out once a day, seven days a week, always completely free. That's all for now. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School.
[Music]
From the Onward Project.
