General Contractor Builds Handyman Franchise

Justin Bates has been in the Construction industry for 15 years. He even owned his own construction business doing residential homebuilding, additions, and other large projects. He is a licensed general contractor..So why did he decide to become a salt lake handyman and buy a home improvement franchise.

From general contractor to professional handyman

Justin shared with us why he decided with all of his industry experience to buy a House Doctors franchise. "It was the House Doctors Brand and culture that attracted me. I was looking for a proven business model that would cater to smaller jobs and a Brand that I felt was poised for growth. I found it with House Doctors. House Doctors is growing nationwide and one of the reasons for that I feel is the culture of continuously pushing for excellence, sticking to our word, maintaining a high degree of professionalism, and always doing what we say we are going to do. I feel homeowners are searching for a company that they can trust today. This is a growing market but very few companies in it are actually licensed or accredited to do the work. When you’re letting someone into your home to do a job, you need to know that they are competent in performing the work and that they are someone that you can trust."

The National Association of Remodeling (NARI) stats show less people moving and more fixing up their homes so home improvements is in a high growth mode. The need for professional companies in the smaller job market is strong but a lot of people still have had bad experiences when being let down by a contractor or handyman. That's where House Doctors is different. The House Doctors handymen are trained to provide excellent customer service and are insured and scheduled to turn up on time.

The House Doctors model is definitely working for Justin. He's growing a business by building a team of technicians who work on small jobs on home to-do lists, and all the way up to larger projects. He is becoming known as the go to guy for a Salt Lake City deck  Justin is now a preferred installer for TimberTech decks.
His business is booming and with the support of his Salt Lake City customers his franchise is now one of the fastest growing in the network. He is continuing to expand by introducing more products and services like bathroom remodeling to Salt Lake City.

Handyman services made easy with technology

With improvements in communication, and other technological innovations and the advent of social media House Doctors aims to use the latest advances in technology to help make handyman services and home improvements easier for our customers. We have just launched our new website that is more inviting, easier to navigate, displays our products and services better and improves the process for our customers when they need to find a location and request service

Successful House Doctors site launch

All site launches don't go well. Last week the other major site launched by the Government didn't perform well. I'm glad to say ours was very successful. We have almost doubled our daily visits already.
The successful launch of the House Doctors website is just the first of a number of new initiatives that House Doctors Corporate is working on that will benefit the franchisees and the Brand in the future. Like a number of leading companies we are finding ways to use new technology to improve our systems and procedures.
Think about it we are in the business of helping people and making their lives easier. We maintain and improve their homes. We offer services that can simplify lives. We plan to use technology to help make the process of using us as seamless as possible. Hiring a handyman or contractor that you can rely on has been difficult in the past. Through our new website it's now easy for homeowners to find a trusted, reliable handyman or remodeler.
But our use of latest technology doesn't stop there. At House Doctors our franchisees use the latest on line scheduling software, smartphones and mobile presentation devices, to offer our customers the best home improvement customer experience in the market today.
Technology continues to increasingly impact our lives every day. Think about when you wake up to your alarm, then check your schedule, read your email or text, check the weather, traffic, flights, leave a message, and use your camera and your apps...and all of that from your phone!

In the business world, like House Doctors, many leading companies are introducing the new technology to help them better serve their customers.

Handyman services can help reduce falls

A growing market for a professional handyman company is making simple modifications to homes to make them safer and to help reduce the number of falls. As National Fall Awareness Week ends, numbers show that one third of seniors who are over the age of 65 and one half who are over the age of 80 will fall each year resulting in much pain and suffering and medical costs exceeding $27 billion annually.

Simple home modifications can help

This subject is close to my heart. I lived through it when my own mum fell when she was later on in life. We need to raise awareness of the simple home modifications available that would help reduce the risk.
The pain and the suffering and then the emotional decisions that you need to make afterwards about the persons safety going forward. National Fall Awareness Week raises awareness for a short time but we need to have this subject up front and center all year round. It's really annoying for example that most falls in the home can be prevented by doing some simple modifications.
In 2013, communities in 47 states and Washington, DC participated in Falls Prevention Awareness Day on Sept. 22, 2013.The National Council for Aging is working hard to raise awareness and prevent falls by uniting professionals, older adults, caregivers, and family members to play a part in getting people talking about the issue.
As far as a professional handyman company is concerned, the fact that more than a third of falls happen while bathing or showering, and more than 14 percent happen while using a toilet means something as simple as having grab bars fitted or installing a walk in tub in your bathroom can dramatically lower the risk of falling. All work that a professional handyman company can do.
Our franchisees in House Doctors for example have their technicians working on modifying homes to make them safer by adding grab bars and installing walk in tubs monthly.

Please let me know if this is an important issue for you.

Rising Rates Not Holding Home Improvements Back

The pent up demand for House Doctors handyman services, remodeling and home improvements means our franchisees are experiencing good growth as figures released just last week by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau show housing production nationwide continuing to rise despite rate increases. We maybe at the other end of the housing industry in that we improve and repair existing homes but we are always monitoring any changes in the market to see what impact they may have on our franchise network.We are finding that recent rate increases are not having a negative impact on remodeling or the need for handyman services either.

House production continues to rise

The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau show housing production rose by 0.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 891,000 units in August. Increases in single-family starts, up by seven percent to 628,000 were the main reason behind the increased housing production in August. Regionally, single-family starts activity rose 9.6 percent in the Northeast, 7.1 percent in the Midwest, 2.3 percent in the South and 17.5 percent in the West.This report means builders are now seeing the pent up demand that we have witnessed in remodeling and home repairs for most of this year. We have seen an improvement over the year in homeowners confidence with many customers now interested in bigger projects.

This is all very encouraging with neither segment of the market being hindered by rising interest rates. With this pent up demand now is the time to consider a handyman services and remodeling franchise. Our top franchisees are growing at a fast pace with same store sales growth of 20 percent  With this strong market growth we are looking to open another 40 franchises over the next year.

Why do you think our market is so strong?

Big Box Sales Increase Impacts Remodeling Franchises

Last week retailers Home Depot reported their first double-digit comparable sales increase since 1999. Lowe’s also reported a 9.6% increase. Is do it yourself taking off again or does this mean more work for handyman franchisees with House Doctors Remodeling?

The 3 different customers that visit Home Depot and Lowes

Home Depot and Lowes market products to;-

1) Home owners who tackle their own home improvements (DIY)

2) Home Owners who hire professionals to install the products (DIFM)

3) Professional contractors who choose the products to install for their customers.

At House Doctors Home Improvement Service we see the improving housing market definitely making a difference. Home Depot and Lowes are big players in product sales. Our franchisees are big players in product installation. When Home Depot and Lowes sell their products it creates a ripple effect. Many of our franchisees are experiencing double digit growth.
The increasing business seems to be coming from all three categories DIY, DIFM, and professional contractors. Sales of products to remodeling companies and contractors is the largest revenue generator for Home Depot, with almost double the sales of the DIY customers.
Our franchisees have customers who come from two of the segments the big box retailers target. Some of our customers purchase products then hire our professional handymen to install them (DIFM) and others have our franchisees recommend a product as part of the remodeling service we offer.

New handyman services come to Johnson City

Our newest handyman franchise owner Tony Woods now brings affordable handyman services and home improvement services to homeowners in Johnson City, Kingsport and Bristol. Homeowners who need home repairs, deck repairs, door repairs and more and may have had difficulty finding a reliable contractor in the past need look no further. House Doctors handymen are trained to provide excellent customer service and are passionate about making home improvements easier for home and property owners across Eastern Tennessee.

Former food service industry manager latest to start professional handyman franchise

After spending 27 years in the food service industry our newest franchisee Tony Woods has opened in Johnson City. Tony is enthusiastic to service the Tri-Cities community through building a trustworthy and reliable home improvement and handyman service in Johnson City and surrounding areas. “With the aging housing stock and more and more homeowners deciding to stay in their homes longer there is a growing need for repairs, improvements and modifications. Our experienced, insured and uniformed handymen turn up on time prepared to complete your project to your satisfaction. From deck repairs and door repairs to light remodeling projects like bathroom remodels and kitchen remodels, we can do it all!” Tony also sees a growing need for aging in place products such as installing grab bars and access ramps. “With 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 each day, the need for home modifications and improvements to help people live safely and comfortably in their homes is growing everyday", says Woods. In addition to providing quality home repairs and improvements, House Doctors also offers a guarantee on every job they perform giving their customers confidence and peace of mind and since every House Doctors technician is insured, screened and experienced, homeowners can be confident that the work performed on their home will be completed to the highest level of professional quality. That's the House Doctors guarantee.

For more info visit www.housedoctors.com