Today we’d like to introduce you to Curtis Larson.
Hi Curtis, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up as a kid who loved sports – I loved playing them, watching them, talking about them, and learning every players’ stats. I was competitive and had the attitude that asking for forgiveness was better than asking for permission. That combination got me in trouble a few times, but ultimately is what has led me to be successful today.
I first pursued a major in Physical Education at a small college. I realized that wasn’t a great fit for me, so I stepped into my first entrepreneurial role launching a sports officiating company that I co-owned with my dad. It combined my passion for sports and the challenge of a fast-moving business which kept me on my toes. I married young, and when we had our son, I needed to find a job with predictable hours.
I then tapped into another area of life that always came easy to me, which was numbers. As a kid, that helped me remember all of the stats from the back of my large baseball card collection and served me well as I pursued my degree in Accounting. I learned a ton in my three years as a full-time accountant, but it turns out that accounting isn’t quite fast-paced enough for me. Then I kind of stumbled across a home inspector who was moving out of the business. I ended up shadowing him and another home inspector for free for two years, as they taught me everything they knew about home inspections and managing their businesses.
I jumped at the opportunity to learn something new; a type of work that kept me moving and not behind a desk, but with the opportunity to run my own business. That’s when I started Marigold Home Inspections. It was an exciting opportunity to put all of the experience I had gained in running the reffing association and the business and financial knowledge I gained from my accounting degree. Most importantly, it put me in the driver’s seat, not only for my own family, but because creating a company that is first and foremost about relationships is really important to me. I wanted to create a company where people actually wanted to work, where they were challenged and given opportunities to grow, and where they and their families were taken care of. Being able to provide excellent service for something that many people need at some point in their lives, a home inspection, while creating a company that brings opportunity and carriers to my community is my passion.
And to bring it full circle, I’m able to create the flexibility in my schedule to coach my kids’ sports teams, and invest back in our community by sponsoring local sports. I still love to play sports, and I still officiate for high-school and college-level basketball, but my biggest joy now is watching my kids learn and excel in their sports, learning all of the lessons sports teach kids.
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?
I had only been in business about 1.5 years before Covid hit, which dramatically affected the real estate market. First, by pretty much shutting things down because no one was seeing houses. So I had to navigate a drop in business and income, as many people had to. Then, I had to jump on the Zoom bandwagon and learn how to offer walk-throughs via video with home buyers and realtors. As the market picked up, it went crazy and was really difficult to keep up with in hiring and training new inspectors. Though some buyers were waiving their home inspection to try to make their offers more competitive, it seems like many saw the risk with that and instead had very short windows in which to get a home inspection, so it made us have to adapt again to be competitive and get out to do home inspections within 48 hours. I think because of the way we worked to stay nimble with these challenges we saw success, but it has definitely been a challenging (and tiring) few years!
With that, a struggle that has been a double-edged sword has been rapid growth. In a service-based industry with increased liability, it’s important to both our company and to our clients that we uphold really high standards for our home inspectors. We’ve been working to scale the business up and it seems like by the time we implement and learn one system or program, it’s time to find another one to deal with our new, bigger challenges. In all areas, I feel like I’m being stretched to grow and improve, and I know there are moments I haven’t done it gracefully, but I have an amazing team around me that has helped us continue to grow and serve our clients to the best of our abilities.
We’ve been impressed with Marigold Home Inspections, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
From first home buying experiences to working with seasoned, professional Realtors, we strive to provide the best experience possible with clear communication, thorough inspections, and using advanced technology to deliver excellent service. Clients appreciate our online scheduling, friendly inspectors, thorough inspection processes, and quick report delivery. Realtors enjoy our clean and modern reports with a built-in repair request generator making their lives much easier!
We serve the Minneapolis, St Paul & St Cloud areas and surrounding cities including Coon Rapids, Brooklyn Park, Maple Grove, Plymouth, Edina, Roseville, Oakdale, Blaine, and will go anywhere in Minnesota! We have multiple inspectors available to make scheduling easy.
We offer: home inspections, radon testing, water testing, sewer scopes, level 2 chimney inspections, preventative maintenance inspections, pre-listing inspections & TISH inspections (St Paul).
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
When I was growing up I was a sports nut. Everything I did revolved around playing baseball, basketball, football, running races and creating tournaments for kids to play in the neighborhood. I loved math and was very social.
Pricing:
- Single Family Home $350 (Starting At)
- Condo Townhome $300 (Starting At)
- Radon Testing $175
- Sewer Scope $175
- Water Testing $175
Contact Info:
- Email: curtis@
marigoldhomeinspections.com - Website: www.
marigoldhomeinspections.com - Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/ marigoldhomeinspections - Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/ marigoldhomeinspections
