home inventory industry | National Inventory Certification Association

03 Dec 2019

As You Plan For 2020

2020 For most business owners, the end of the year usually means reviewing their Business Plan. Two key areas most concentrate on are setting new goals and adjusting areas for improvement. Thinking about your business image is a key element when reviewing your successes in the past year.

One of the NICA and industry Code of Ethics is Professionalism. This helps provide a focus on being professional, establishing the way you will conduct business with clients, other business professionals, and those with whom you network.

Two key items in the Code of Ethics under the category of Professionalism are worth remembering when putting your business plan for 2020 together:

Fulfill all obligations in a respectful and business-like manner.
Conduct business in a manner that will not denigrate this industry or other inventory professionals.

What can you do to improve or add to your current policies and procedures to show your high regard for professionalism?

19 Oct 2016

Integrity In The Home Inventory Industry

The level of integrity of a business owner can make or break any business. In the home and business contents inventory industry, it is critical. The need for integrity is highlighted in our Code of Ethics, under which all members of NICA agree to perform business.

As a service professional providing a home inventory, you are being entrusted with possibly more information than many family members have. And when inventorying a business, you might see or hear confidential information. Keeping that information to yourself builds credibility.

There are three specific subcategories under the Integrity section that we want to focus on today:

Answer all questions truthfully and honestly prior to, during, and after services rendered.
Display honesty and integrity in all business and personal relationships.
Promote and advertise services honestly.

Honest and truthful – a key element of the Code of Ethics

Being honest and truthful during the entire inventory process is extremely important. Answering questions fully is essential for a successful outcome of the sales process as well as the inventory process itself. If there is a misunderstanding, it is imperative to discuss and reach an agreement before proceeding. Likewise, advertise your services honestly. Whether you are promoting your business in print ads, through promotional mailings, or face-to-face at vendor events, always ensure that your information is straight-forward and honest.

Developing positive customer and personal relationships will help you receive further business via referrals due to your clients’ comfort level with your integrity.

Examples of recent phone calls regarding integrity

Following are examples from recent phone calls. These were not regarding any member of NICA, and we are very proud of this! Some specific things happening in the industry that are not in line with our focus on ethics:

Asking for and receiving copies of a person’s inventory records – this is a breach of privacy and is regarded as very poor business practices. When becoming certified, NICA does not ask for these records for this reason. Those requesting to be certified must state that they have completed at least 2 inventories, and state that this is a true statement. We will never ask for your clients’ inventory records.
Selling names in a database – this goes without saying. Keeping your database confidential is – or should be – part of your standard confidentiality agreement. The only time it is proper to share thie information is with the clients’ consent, such as when asking for testimonials to place on yoru website.
Not showing up for an appointment – we can’t imagine not showing up, but it happens, unfortunately.

Click here for a full list of the Code of Ethics.

05 Oct 2016

New Membership Category

As we continue to focus on creating a firm foundation for our member association, we realized the need to include companies that have a synergistic relationship with the home inventory industry. Therefore, we are happy to announce a newly created membership category – Associate Member.

This membership level is designed for companies that have a quality service or product that brings value to the asset inventory industry.

Associate member benefits

The Associate Member receives a variety of promotional opportunities via the newsletter and our social media accounts, referrals to do business with their target market, and a listing in the NICA online directory.

This benefits the inventory professional members by having access to companies who focus on the asset inventory industry and have been vetted by our management team. We anticipate referral opportunities between our regular and our associate members as well.

If you know a person or company that would be interested in working with and marketing directly to home and business inventory professionals, please share this information with them, and recommend that they contact us to learn more about becoming an Associate Member of NICA.

11 May 2016

New Schedule For Newsletter

As most associations do, we periodically review our processes and see how we can be more efficient, more helpful, and provide more or better service to our members. We also consider those who are not members, but are professionals in the home inventory industry.

Communication is one of the most important elements of any organization. With this in mind, we have chosen to increase the distribution pattern of the NICA News newsletter from bi-monthly to monthly. As we continue to grow, and have more information to share, we felt it was time to communicate on a more frequent basis.

Therefore, beginning in April, we began this new distribution frequency. Our intent is not to fill your mailbox with a plethora of emails just to send emails. However, the board felt that more frequent communication would benefit you and NICA.

At this time we also want to notify members and non-members alike that if you have news that you would like included in a future issue, we will be happy to share your news. What would be appropriate information for the NICA News?

Opening a home inventory business
Adding a service to your home inventory business
Adding a staff member
Receiving certification in an ancillary industry
Any other industry-related news

Please send an email with the information and a contact email and phone number. The last Tuesday of the month will continue to be our distribution date, so we would need your content by the 20th of the month to be included in that month’s issue.

To sign up for the NICA News, click here.

03 Feb 2016

Collaboration Strengthens The Home Inventory Industry

The asset inventory is a fairly fragmented industry. By that, I mean that it is made up of small, home-based, independent businesses. Most create their own processes from the ground up, without much guidance from others who have been in the industry for years. The owners are caring individuals who seek to be of service to others, helping them in some of the worst times in their lives. Since it is not a saturated industry, the service provides are normally the only one (or possibly 2) services providers in their area. This doesn’t give the business owners much of an opportunity to meet and learn from each other.

As a new entrepreneur begins his or her business, they find out how much they didn’t know prior to launch. They also find it difficult to meet other home inventory professionals due to geographical restrictions. Being alone is often a common thread of conversation among business owners of all industries, especially during the start-up phase. It is even more prevalent in this industry.

Though the National Inventory Certification Association must remain focused and true to our purpose of educational efforts, we are happy to help facilitate the formation of a group of home inventory professionals to share ideas, processes, challenges, etc. There is currently a LinkedIn Group that was created with the intent to serve the purpose of sharing ideas.

We are seeking all home inventory service providers, whether members of NICA or not, to offer your input. For those of you interested in collaborating with other members, please visit and participate in the LinkedIn Group. Post questions, start a discussion, reply to others’ questions and comments. LinkedIn has changed it’s group process, so if you are not able to access the group, let NICA know by emailing NICA (at) NationalInventoryCertificationAssociation.com and we’ll invite you to join.

Also, please leave your comments below. This blog post can be the starting point! Ask questions, seek advice, etc. We can begin the collaboration right here. Continued discussions and sharing of ideas will help to strengthen the personal property inventory industry.

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