Meet Ian Mayer

 

We recently connected with Ian Mayer and have shared our conversation below.

Ian, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

How I found my purpose was a multi-step process. It started when I read the book “Now, Discover Your Strengths” by Donald O. Clifton and Marcus Buckingham. I had always been the type of person who could find problems with just about anything. In most jobs, that gets you into trouble, as most people don’t want someone always pointing out problems. But in this book, I discovered my knack for always pointing out problems was actually a strength, not a curse. And that there were careers around pointing out problems. From there, I was able to land a job at a wholesale mortgage company, and they appreciated my strengths enough to eventually give me a role in dealing with problem loans. It was my job to figure out why some loans had problems, who, if anyone, was to blame, and how we could fix it. From there, my wife and I were able to buy our first home, which was a complete fixer-upper. So I learned how to fix up homes on nights and weekends. Eventually, I realized I enjoyed being in homes much more than sitting in an office looking at pictures and descriptions of homes. However, in a short period of time, my mother passed away, the economy collapsed, and my wife got pregnant with our first child, so I talked myself out of doing something with homes. Flash forward a few more years, and I found out I was getting laid off from a job I didn’t even like. At that point, it was a new low for me. I had two kids, a wife, and a mortgage, but no job or career. At that point, I vowed I would never feel like this again. I would never put myself in a position where I could be laid off, and I was going to do something that I would enjoy. And that was when I opened my home inspection business. Finally, I was working with houses, I couldn’t be laid off, and people were paying me to find problems To me, it didn’t even seem like work, it was just a natural fit. You’re going to give me money to walk into a house and point out everything wrong with it? No problem! So in short, I found my purpose by reading books and hitting the rock bottom of life.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

One thing that I realized early in my inspection career was most people don’t know anything about houses. A funny story is I was doing an inspection working with someone I thought was a top Real Estate Agent. I mentioned there was a leak by the water meter. The agent walked over to the electrical panel and asked where the leak was. That’s when it dawned on me, that most people who grew up in their parent’s house and/or lived in an apartment for years don’t know the basics of a home. So that changed our reporting style from merely a list of problems to giving clients an education about the home we are inspecting. Our reports are a document of where things are in a home, what is working, and what is not working. We don’t just look at ourselves as inspectors but as educators of homes. And we educate people by doing inspections and producing a report. And this feeling of being an educator really pulses through everyone in the company. We all enjoy teaching people about their homes. Outside of homes, we also inspect swimming pools, sewer inspections, mold inspections, and commercial property inspections. And while we used to just be based in the West San Fernando Valley, we have expanded all across Los Angeles county.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I’d say the three qualities are remembering there is always more to learn, don’t be afraid to go against the grain, and walk with confidence.

When you are 18, you tend to think you know it all. And you grow up being told if you go to college, you will know it all. So I think people tend to fall into a trap of well, I went to school, I know what I need to know. But there is always more to learn. I admit when I was younger I was stubborn, But over time I’ve really developed a skill for being open to learning new things and being open to reevaluating what I do know.

To be a business owner means being bold and going against the grain. When I was in college, if I told any of my professors one day I wanted to have my own business, they looked at me like I was an alien. I was really conditioned to believe if you went to school, you’d get a good job, and that would be life. It took many years to break out of that mindset and realize, I could go out and start a business. I remember when I finally decided to do it. I was telling some of my close friends my plans. They all looked at me like, that’s just crazy. Starting a business means going against the grain of what you’re raised to believe, and what most people believe about themselves.

And finally, once you decide to open a business, you have to walk with confidence. It’s tough when you’re new and you have no real-world experience. People can sense when you’re unsure of yourself, and they don’t do business with someone who is unsure of themselves. So you have to feel 100% confident you can do the job and get it done right. I tell new people all the time not to dwell on how little experience they have, but rather to talk with confidence about what you do know. People, life, and situations will throw curve balls and you to test you, and you have to have the confidence to keep going.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

I’ve read many books that have an impact on me, but the number one book that jumps out is “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy. It really made me realize I am not just who I am, but I am what I have done over time. And that I can change my life at any moment by making small decisions. I don’t need to make big radical decisions, but just simple small decisions, compounded over time, can have drastic effects on my life.

My marriage thrives not because I one day said I do, but because I tell my wife I love her daily, and we continue to date. My business doesn’t thrive because I just started it one day, but because I work on improving my business every day. I’m not healthy just because I am, but because I eat healthy and go to the gym several times a week.

I know when I put it that way, it sounds simple and obvious, but it’s rather the complete opposite of what most of us were taught in school: Take the class, pass the test, and you’re now good for life.

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