Damage Restoration Service

Natural disasters cause massive damage to both residential and business properties. Once the immediate danger has passed the cleanup work begins. After any natural disaster an army of assessors and contractors usually descend on the area, one type of contactor that specializes in such a situation is a damage restoration service. Damage restoration services work with insurance companies to assess the damage done to a property, draw up an estimate of the costs and ensure that the work is properly carried out. If you have a background in construction, enjoy being challenged at work and don’t mind working in devastated areas, this is a work at home business for you.

Before The Start-Up, Let’s Not Get Ahead Of Ourselves

This is a specialized work at home business that requires in depth knowledge of the industry and plenty of on the job experience. Before getting started you’ll need to have extensive knowledge of building structure and repair codes, regulations of hazardous chemicals (often used in the cleaning process) and specialist construction knowledge (this might include how to deal with damp, water damage and structurally compromised structures).

The Start-Up

To get started you’ll need basic business equipment such as a computer, printer, Internet connection, fax machine and cell phone. More importantly you’ll all the necessary tools, equipment and chemicals needed to get the job done. Hopefully you already own a pick-up truck as this forms an important part of your business. If you don’t you might consider leasing one to begin with.

Damage repair services spend the majority of their time repairing floors, walls and ceilings. As was apparent after hurricane Katrina a large part of this business involves damp removal and dealing with water damage. What you charge is a difficult question and one that can only be answered after assessing each particular structure. Use your on the job experience and advice from other contractors to build a successful pricing structure.

Many disaster specialists aren’t necessarily based in disaster prone areas and jet around their country or the world whenever a situation occurs. This is more suited to consultants and insurance people, as their job requires little equipment. As a fully-fledged contractor you’ll need to be based in or near disaster prone areas. Finally don’t forget to scout for new work all the time, disasters don’t necessarily have to be natural, fire, broken plumbing or accidents in general can help create a steady cash flow when their aren’t any natural disasters to respond to.

Making It Work

Reduce your initial capital outlay by renting your equipment. Prices for renting vary according to the type of equipment but are always a fraction of the purchase price. Renting is definitely not a long-term solution but can help you enter the market without the need for large bank loans.

Marketing

Market you services by building an extensive networking within the construction, insurance and real estate industries. Insurance companies are usually the first place a property owner calls after a disaster; keep this in mind when marketing your business. Advertise your services in the Yellow Pages if you have the budget, in local newspaper classifieds and with a website. Make sure your business website is simple and built with conversion in mind. Consider hiring a Pay Per Click professional to market your website on Google Adwords or Yahoo Overture once it’s done. PPC as its known is a great way to drive targeted traffic to your website at a cost you can afford. If you’d like to learn this valuable skill yourself we recommend Perry Marshall’s, The Definitive Guide to Google Adwords.

Don’t Forget

Depending on where you live you might be required to take out insurance.