Today we’d like to introduce you to Curtis Antoine.
Hi Curtis, 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?
So about 5 years ago, I had just begun working in the restaurant industry. I was making good money, was able to buy myself a new car & rent a new apartment, everything was good. At least that’s how it seemed early on. Shortly after I realized that I was spending way too much money on bills, and was losing more money than I was gaining. I started to go through a very stressful time in my life and was forced to apply for a second job to help make ends meet.
Desperate for a return call from one of the jobs that I applied to, I was answering every phone call that came my way. One day I get a call from what I thought was my bank telling me something about my account. It ended up being a scam and my entire bank account was wiped clean. I had zero dollars to my name.
A couple of weeks after this, I woke up in the middle of the night and saw one of those famous real estate commercials about getting into Real Estate with no money and no credit. I thought to myself that maybe this could be something that I could do. So I went to the event that they were advertising and learned about Wholesaling. Wholesaling in Real Estate is essentially when you act as the middleman in the transaction, matching a seller with an end investor and receiving an assignment fee.
I had some small success in this business, but my overhead costs were way too high and I had also learned that I did not enjoy having to kick out desperate tenants with nowhere else to go during the process. I did however learn that I enjoyed inspecting houses and the rehab process of these homes during this time. So I eventually came across a lady via social media who was explaining to people the need and demand for more diversity in the home inspection industry. At this time there were only about 12% Hispanics, 8% African Americans, and 3% Asians in the industry. There were also only about 16% Females and less than 10% individuals between the ages of 20-30. I wanted to find a way to help even these demographics and allow others the chance to get into the industry.
So I decided to begin the journey of my months of training to become a licensed inspector in the state of Florida. I wanted to make to sure I was at my best once finished, so I went and sought after additional training from a gentleman named Jock Mountain who I met on an app called Clubhouse. He would pour every ounce of knowledge that he had into me from his 15+ years of experience and literally taught me every detail about how a home is built and properly constructed. After time with him, I then felt ready to begin.
Thanks to many people who trusted and believed in me early on, I was able to get past that dark point in my life and find a new passion that now also allows me to help others. I’ve been able to refer jobs to other contractors and handymen who’ve told me that I’ve changed their lives, and that’s what has truly inspired me and keeps me going. I thank God for allowing me to go through that dark time in order to find my purpose and hope my story shows people that you can come back from anything if you put your mind to it.
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?
Thanks to receiving that additional training from my mentor, I was able to learn most of the things not to do when starting a business in this industry. However, nobody is perfect and of course, there will be things that come out that you didn’t expect.
I had to learn some of the state specific things that Florida requires as opposed to other states, finding time to actually do the inspections in the first few months while I was still working my 9-5, and then of course actually getting your name out there.
The biggest adjustment was my mindset. Having to shift my mindset to that of an entrepreneur required me to be more locked in. So early on I had to sacrifice some of the other things that I enjoyed in order to get things to where I wanted. I wasn’t able to go to the gym like I used to cause I couldn’t find time, wasn’t able to spend as much time with my friends and family, and missed out on a lot of things. However, over time as the business grew I was able to quit my day job and find time for those things again.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about NextGen Inspections?
We are a home inspection company that operates in all of Central Florida, Tampa, Space Coast and surrounding areas. We help inform home buyers/owners of all of the components of a home so that they can understand everything about it and possible areas that will need to be repaired.
Some of our unique features include our repair estimates that allow our clients to know the cost to fix all of the items from our findings within 24 hours, and also our virtual tours that allow them to virtually walk through the property and see the defects the inspector finds in areas they may not go in themselves such as the attic. These two items, along with our same day deliveries is what I believe makes us so helpful to our clients.
NextGen Inspections provides full home inspections, Pre-Drywall inspections, 4-Point Inspections, Wind Mitigation Inspections, Water-Quality Tests, One-Year Warranty Inspections, and Lead Paint Tests.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters the most to me is being able to refer those jobs to contractors and put money on other people’s table. It’s one thing to help yourself, but being able to help others I think is what truly makes a difference. Also, just being able to provide clients with that peace of mind before they purchase a home. One of the things I enjoy is reading through some of our reviews and seeing some of the things that people say about how much we helped them. These are the things that keep me going.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nextgeninspectors.com
- Instagram: @nextgeninspectionsfl
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/NextGenInspectionsFL
