Today we’d like to introduce you to Bryce Kibbey.
Hi Bryce, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Gumshoe Property Inspection began when I found myself at a bit of a career crossroads in 2024. I had spent 26+ years working in the retail loss prevention industry on the solution provider side. We provided radio frequency (RF), radio frequency identification (RFID), and software solutions to retailers to help identify and prevent loss in their retail stores and throughout their supply chains. It was interesting work and in that time I wore multiple hats: In operations, product management, technical support, and business development.
It was stable work as well. Those 26+ years were split between just two companies. However in 2024 I had a significant professional disagreement with a working group in our European HQ. Long story short – we couldn’t resolve it so I decided to move on.
But now I needed to find something else to do. I could stay in the same industry – it was the easy thing to do because it’s all I’d known for so long. I had a couple of discussions with some other industry players and talked about roles but nothing seemed exciting. There’s an old saying that goes, “sometimes you leave a business, and sometimes the business leaves you”. And I ultimately decided both of those things were true at the same time. So it was time to step outside of that comfort zone.
That same year my wife and I had begun planning a short move and we needed to sell our house. Part of the process was the buyer’s inspection. Once that was done the buyer shared part of the inspection report with us. As I read it I had a bit of a Eureka! moment. I could do this! From my time in the Navy as a young man through my Loss Prevention career, I had worked hands on with technology. And what is a house? A collection of technology: structural, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, etc.. I had made my decision.
I enrolled in a training program for home inspectors and passed both a national and state exam to get my license (home inspections are regulated in Texas by the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC)). Looking around at how other inspectors ran their businesses, I could see that most offer other, complimentary services to home inspections. So to be competitive there I enrolled in training for and received certifications to perform mold testing (also regulated by the state), radon testing, and sewer scope inspections and getting an FAA drone license. All told I spent a solid six months in intensive training.
From there I registered the business, set up a website and began selling myself and my business. And here we are!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Hmmm….let’s first define smooth! Haha! As compressed as it was, my period of training went pretty well. I’ve always been a good student and the material was interesting, and the exams were challenging. But I made it through relatively unscathed.
Similarly registering the business and starting the website was pain free. These activities have well defined processes that were easy to follow.
The hard part is actually growing the business and attracting customers. So this is where I am at now. I am working on both attracting new customers via my website, Facebook and Facebook Ads, and Instagram while simultaneously building out my network of Realtor agents in an effort to establish a good referral business. The important thing for me here is remaining patient. Most businesses don’t grow at the rate they’d like so it’s key for me to remain positive and just focus on delivering outstanding results one customer at a time.
Opportunities like this to present myself, my business and my story are also huge so thank you for this.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Gumshoe Property Inspection LLC?
I selected Gumshoe to be used in the business name because that is a colloquial term for a detective which felt appropriate for how I view the profession.
When I thought about what complimentary services to offer with home inspections, I decided based on our geography and my own personal experiences.
With it’s proximity to the Gulf, Houston is both a humid climate and we also have the threat of hurricanes and tropical storms every year so offering mold testing made a lot of sense.
Radon is an underappreciated health risk in the U.S. and the second leading cause of lung cancer deaths annually, trailing only smoking. This offers me a way to help identify a hidden health risk in homes so it was an easy choice.
Lastly I landed on sewer scope inspections because in the last house my wife and I owned we had 2 sewer blockages due to root intrusions in a 3 year period. And I can objectively say it is awful when it happens! So I wanted to offer these inspections so homeowners or prospective buyers can detect a problem before it becomes a full blown emergency.
What does success mean to you?
I let my customers do that. We are all in the customer service business in one way or another. So if I think I did an awesome job and the client thinks otherwise, then that’s something I need to take a look at.
There can always be outliers in life. We’ve probably all met someone who seems determined to be unhappy no matter what. But by and large, when someone buys a service like a home inspection they want to be happy with it.
So as the business owner, I need to take my steps to set them on the road to happiness. So the first step is to communicate promptly and as often as is needed. The next is to set expectations with the client on what the inspection is and is not, what we do and don’t do so that when the inspection is done and the report is delivered there are no surprises.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://gumshoeinspection.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gumshoepropertyinspectionllc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Gumshoe-Property-Inspection-LLC/61577859137268/#
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/108463335/
