Branden Adams
If you have been in restoration long enough, you have probably heard water losses described as “clean,” “gray,” or “black.” Those terms are leftovers from earlier editions of the IICRC S500. In fact, the 1999 edition referred to Category 1 as “clean water,” Category 2 as “gray water,” and Category 3 as “black water.” Earlier […]
Nelson Higgins
Most water damage jobs stall because the file has a gap somewhere: no clear scope, no authorization on record, or a scope change nobody documented until the invoice showed up. After 45 years in this industry, I’ve watched the same pattern repeat. The contractors who get paid consistently aren’t doing anything extraordinary. They’re getting the order right, every time. Start with […]
Nelson Higgins
The average estimator in the United States spends 30 minutes to an hour writing a $10,000 estimate. That number surprises people. It shouldn’t. What happens before the estimate is opened determines the outcome far more than the estimating itself. Most payment delays in water damage trace back to a bad file: By the time the estimate is written, the […]
Chris Tilkov
If I could hire for one trait in an estimator today, it would be a good listener. Not the fastest writer. Not the most technical. Estimating touches negotiation at every stage. You’re working through scope with the homeowner, submitting to the carrier, going back and forth with a reviewer. At every point, someone has a […]
Nelson Higgins
If I could go back 45 years, I’d tell myself one thing: learn to be the best communicator in the room. Communication is the age-old failure point in restoration. In my experience, about 80% of restorers are bad at it. And it costs them in ways they don’t always connect back to the real cause. […]
Chris TilkovDon't narrow yourself down before you have to. I studied architectural engineering, then pivoted to business, then technology management. At every turn, I just kept moving toward whatever was next. Looking back, that was probably the best career decision I never fully realized I was making. The advice I'd give my younger self is less about what to do and more about timing. I started building my business to improve estimating peer review processes when I had no dependents and no one else's stability on the line. That mattered. I got lucky in that respect, and I wouldn't do it again without looking hard at the full picture first. Entrepreneurship in restoration is hard work. People see the ones who made it and assume that's the norm. It's not. Starting a business is draining in ways you can't anticipate, and whether it works often comes down to life circumstances as much as it does to skill. What I'd tell myself, though: operate with a two-to-three year outlook. Stop trying to build a 20-year plan. I've never done the same thing for any long stretch of time. Stay humble, stay broad, and keep moving.
Don’t narrow yourself down before you have to. I studied architectural engineering, then pivoted to business, then technology management. At every turn, I just kept moving toward whatever was next. Looking back, that was probably the best career decision I never fully realized I was making. The advice I’d give my younger self is less […]
Eric Sprague
The reality in the cleaning and restoration industry is that the majority of companies are smaller, Mom & Pop type organizations. Most of us start our business because we are good at the technical work of our trade and we desire more freedom and more money by not working for “the man”. However, we also […]
Eric Sprague
Life of the Restorer We work 16-hour days.We chow down on gas station food. We rarely say no.We show up exhausted.We roll out of bed in the middle of the night to help people during their worst moments. We are there for others when they need us most—but in doing so, we neglect ourselves. We are […]
Eric Sprague
Let’s cut straight to it—most of us in the trades didn’t get into business to become HR specialists. We got into it because we’re good at the work, we wanted more control, and maybe we thought we could do it better than the guy we used to work for. But now here we are running […]
Eric Sprague
As much as I hate to admit this in print, I am 58 years old. It feels really old when I type it out on the page. For those of you who haven’t yet reached my level of “seasoning,” it’s a weird age to be. You’re still young enough to be driven and want to […]
