Are You Looking to Change Your Life this New Year?
A new year brings new beginnings – it’s a time to make the big changes you’ve spent the year weighing. For many people, that means a new career with more flexibility, time with family or earning potential.
For Robert Ormerod, that meant less time stuck in traffic.
“I was leaving home at 4:30 in the morning and getting home at 8 at night,” Ormerod said of his time living in the Washington, D.C. metro area and working in federal law enforcement. “I was ready for something new.”
This turning point came after a 31-year career in law enforcement, first as a local police officer and then as a federal agent. After spending most of his life chasing bad guys, Ormerod decided to go back to his roots: Houses.
A Lifelong Interest
Growing up in St. Louis, Ormerod watched his grandfather, a building contractor, fix and remodel homes. He developed a love for hands-on work and became increasingly skilled at building things. As a child, he built a doghouse for his family dog. But this wasn’t any doghouse. It had electricity and an underground bunker.
“I watched that television comedy Hogan’s Heroes, where they build a bunch of underground tunnels. I think that inspired me,” he said.
Ormerod’s first job was at a hardware store, where he did meticulous research and figured out how to fix anything that came his way. Eventually, he started doing construction projects on his mother’s house, then his own house, and finally the homes of his friends and neighbors. He fixed everything from plumbing to electric wiring to HVAC systems. When he decided in 2015 to leave law enforcement, he knew he wanted to work on homes again.
He became a licensed contractor and started his own handyman business, and he got busier and busier. His reputation grew, and before long he was remodeling homes and taking on larger projects.
Finally, a Dream Job
However, Ormerod still hadn’t found the career he wanted – he worked until late at night and was driving long distances to get to jobs. That’s when he discovered home inspection. He became a WIN Strategic-Partner in October 2016, and he hasn’t looked back.
“I really enjoy it. So I know I found what I really want to do,” he said. “I had a fantastic law enforcement career and enjoyed every minute of it. It was time to pursue the other part of my life that I’ve enjoyed: Construction and real estate.”
As a home inspector, Ormerod gets to use his investigative skills as he inspects houses and his interviewing skills as he communicates with home buyers in his service area of northern Virginia. Most importantly, he’s found a career and a lifestyle that make him happy.
“I’m much more relaxed. I exercise every day. I never had time before to do that,” he said. “I’m more focused on my personal life and my health than getting to work at 7 a.m. to be at a meeting.”
Ormerod said that even though he changed careers, his friends from law enforcement are still close to him – like family, in fact. And he still gets to do what he enjoyed most about law enforcement: Helping people.
“There are a lot of similarities in what I do now versus what I did as a law enforcement officer,” he said. “One of the biggest and proudest is the fact that I still get to help people. I help people understand how a home works and what maintenance is important to keep their home functioning well. Same as what I did with folks having a hard time with things in their lives. I have gone from making SWAT entries through doors, to fixing doors, and now I help make sure doors work properly.”
If you’re looking to change your life and find new happiness in the new year, learn more about business ownership opportunities with WIN Home Inspection. With more than 190 locations in 33 states, WIN Home Inspection is one of the fastest growing home inspection companies in the nation. Download a free WIN Home Inspection franchise report to learn how you can find a career with freedom and flexibility.
