Life & Work with Barry Mankin of Throughout middle TN

Today we’d like to introduce you to Barry Mankin.

Barry, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Starting in the landscape and construction industry to eventually owning my own business in Missouri for many years. We then moved to Nashville in 2016 after we sold our business to be around the music scene and apply all of the real world experience to the Inspection industry which led to environmental inspections and testing. Starting with the Home Inspection business, which we still have, to initiating the Environmental business, and then within the last year, starting a Ductwork cleaning business with a focus on home health. We have also launched a podcast called Holistic Home Health w/ Dr. House to address questions and concerns with indoor air quality and mold exposure to help others create a healthy home environment.

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?
Any business takes around five years for it to be sustainable with a lot of hard work in my opinion. Especially when it’s service based. Many people think that they can start their own business when they have a specific skill set only to find out that there is so much more involved. I was fortunate enough to have a father that modeled this for us as we worked in a family business and saw the challenges and benefits early on to learn from his mistakes as well as successes.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
In the Home Inspection industry, it’s rare anymore to find somebody with real world construction experience to apply with the information being given for a home buyer. We feel we are in a unique position with all three companies anpplying ongoing education, several certifications, and actual knowledge of physically repairing or constructing areas of the home that can lead to hazards or health issues. Having been a contractor in several different areas, we have a unique position to be able to speak to things holistically and apply the building science to the envelope that affects the health of the inhabitants.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Anyone in business takes risks. It is the nature of self-employment. It definitely takes a certain type of personality to venture into small business. Staying out of debt is a strategical way to minimize that risk on the front end of the leap. However, not everyone has that luxury. You definitely have to know your strategy prior to jumping in with a business plan and be willing to be versatile until you can hone in on your business model. Sometimes that model can change through that experience as well.
Our most recent risk was in specialized equipment in helping sensitized/immune compromised individuals in our market that are suffering from health conditions in their home. These diagnostic tools can be very expensive, and in this particular case, we’re the only people in Tennessee that have this equipment. If you measure the risk and are willing to deal with worst case scenario situations, it helps soften those fears.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.4cornersenvironmental.com and www.4cornerstn.com
• Instagram: @nashvillehomeinspector and @4cornersenvironmental
• Facebook: facebook.com/4cornersenvironmental and facebook.com/4cornerstn
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barry-mankin-a847b658
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp0PoyuNNR6C1Wyb_xzam2A/videos
• Other: Podcast: https://sites.libsyn.com/573480