Handyman Home Repair Business: Senior Citizens Offer a Big Opportunity

It's become quite common for seniors to live a significant distance from their children. So even though older parents may have a very good relationship with their children, that doesn't mean their kids are available to help with the daily challenges a senior may encounter.

Because adult children are aware that their parents are going to face some obstacles, they may worry about their parents living on their own. This concern can lead to them having a desire for their parents to move to some type of facility that provides living assistance.

And even though seniors can understand why their kids have worries, the majority don't want to leave their home. Since seniors' desire to stay in their current home is so strong, a large number are looking for solutions that will do exactly that. For handyman home repair businesses, this presents two big opportunities:

Aging in Place Solutions

When adult children worry about their senior parents' home safety, there's actually a very good reason for this concern. To the surprise of many, a senior's home is the place where they're most likely to suffer a serious fall. Not only is falling a big concern for seniors, but there are also other issues that can create challenges for seniors on a daily basis.

The good news for children, seniors and home repair business owners is there are numerous aging in place solutions to create a much safer home environment. Additions like grab bars can make bathrooms significantly safer, while modified hardware can be put on kitchen cabinets so it's less physically demanding for a senior to access what they need.

Since there are so many solutions, it's common for families to want a home improvement professional to do an evaluation of their home so they can see exactly which areas present the biggest issues and decide the specific solutions they want to pursue.

Taking Care of Home Repairs and Maintenance

In addition to safety, the other challenging part for seniors who own their home is keeping it in good shape. While most seniors have a significant amount of time, the physical demands of home repairs and maintenance often mean they simply aren't able to handle these tasks. For a handyman business, this translates into a great opportunity to build an ongoing relationship with customers.

House Doctors Can Help You Tap Into This Growing Market

While it's easy to see why this market is a ripe opportunity for handyman businesses, that doesn't mean it's easy to access. In order for a home repair business to win seniors as customers, they need to demonstrate that they not only understand what seniors need, but can also be trusted to get the work done correctly at a fair price.

Because House Doctors already has a lot of experience in this market, we're able to help our franchisees fully tap into it. So if you've been thinking about entering the home repair industry and are especially interested in fully tapping the potential of the senior market, call us at 1-888-598-5297 to learn more about exactly what a House Doctors franchise has to offer. Or click the button below to find out more: 

Learn How to Capitalize on Homeowners' Desire to Improve Their Home Before Selling

Whether they read it online or are told by a real estate agent, by the time most homeowners are ready to list their home, they realize that making some investments in repairs or even strategic upgrades can increase what their home ultimately sells for by as much as 15%.

Since homeowners are definitely willing to spend money in order to make more from their sale, this provides a really appealing opportunity for House Doctors franchise owners. Because homeowners are actively seeking help with these types of tasks, it really is an ideal opportunity to start what can easily lead to an ongoing relationship.

To understand exactly what home sellers are interested in, let's take a look at the most common pre-sale repair requests we receive:

Front and/or Garage Door Damage

Everyone knows that when it comes to selling a home, first impressions are very important. That's why no seller wants potential buyers to start their tour of a home by walking through a damaged garage or front door. Depending on the extent of the damage, a homeowner's exact needs can range from a fresh coat of paint to needing a brand new door installed.

Minor Roof Repairs

While plenty of homeowners are fine with a few missing shingles or minor gutter damage, when the time comes for them to sell, these are issues they want to fix. In addition to repairs, a homeowner may be interested in a thorough exterior cleaning so that their home looks great whenever someone passes by.

Deep Interior Cleaning

This is especially relevant for a seller who previously smoked in their home. In order to keep non-smoking potential buyers from losing interest as soon as they walk inside the home, sellers in this category are going to want their carpets deep cleaned and their walls washed.

Because homeowners are going to turn to your professional team for guidance, a potential upsell is recommending that once the walls are clean and dry, an undercoat of Kilz primer, followed by a fresh coat of paint be applied. This will help seal in the remaining smell of smoke and eliminate any discoloration issues.

Replacing Bathroom Flooring

Bathroom flooring that's in bad shape is a big turnoff to buyers. That's why many sellers are willing to invest in having their vinyl flooring replaced. When this job is quoted, be sure to factor in the cost of pulling out the toilet, replacing it, and then resealing.

Dealing with Drips

Whether it's a faucet or the pipe under the bathroom sink, getting ready for a sale is often when many homeowners finally decide to take care of a drip, as well as any mold that may have resulted from previous neglect.

Thanks to the fact that House Doctors provides so much branding and marketing support to our franchise owners, we ensure that when a soon-to-be seller realizes they need repairs done, House Doctors is the first company that comes to mind! Learn more about starting one of our franchises by clicking this button:

Home Offices: What This Trend Means for Your Future Franchise

There are more than thirty-three million Americans who complete some percentage of their work from home. And because movements like remote work and entrepreneurship in general have gained a lot of momentum in recent years, all signs point towards this occurrence only continuing to become even more prevalent.

While plenty of homes have a spare bedroom, that doesn't mean these rooms are optimized to be used as an office. As a result, more homeowners are turning to professionals like those affiliated with House Doctors franchises for help. The type of work that's done in this area can range from helping guide design choices all the way to doing a custom remodel of an existing room.

What People Want and Need from Home Offices

Although there are a lot of benefits that go along with working at home, that doesn't mean it's without its challenges. For example, if someone has kids, it's nice that they can be at home to help. At the same time, the challenging part can be finding quiet times to actually get work done. Because of this, it's important for a home office to provide ample privacy. It also needs to contain everything necessary for someone's job so they don't have to constantly be moving to different rooms in the house.

It's also important for homeowners who want to invest in a home office to realize that not everyone's ideal space is going to be the same. For example, the needs of someone who's going to see clients in their home on a regular basis are going to be significantly different from someone who's only working alone as a remote employee.

When it comes to creating a great home office, it's easy for homeowners to overlook details that may seem minor, but will actually have a huge impact on the overall effectiveness of this space. Lighting is the perfect example of this type of detail. At first, it may seem like a few lamps will be enough to illuminate this space. But since people will likely end up spending a lot of time in this area, inadequate lighting can take a toll on their eyes and mood. That's why they need a trusted professional who can guide them in the direction of illuminating the space with plenty of actual or simulated natural light.

The Opportunity for Franchise Owners

Once you start looking into this trend, it becomes clear that creating the right home office requires significantly more effort than simply putting a laptop on a table in the corner of a room. Since there are many choices that need to be made, your future franchise has an opportunity to act as a guide and authority on this subject. For example, while someone may not initially think about the importance of space that will keep their equipment at the right height for maximum comfort, those are the types of things they'll be willing to pay for once they're educated about it.

If you're interested in the opportunity a House Doctors franchise could bring, click this button to learn more:

Road from IBM to handyman franchise

Thought you might be interested in some info on one of our newest franchisees. I always remember when I became a franchisee. I went to the first Convention thinking everyone would be like me. The amazing thing was that everyone was different. People come from different industries and careers but all had found themselves at a crossroads. There career had led them on a journey that had taken them to a point where business ownership or franchising was indeed an option or a road that they could travel. When choosing that road they found many travelers who would be joining them. The exciting thing about franchising was that they had an immediate bond with the others they met as they now traveled the same road together.

The road from IBM to handyman franchise

George Wasickanin whose career started with IBM in the 70's is the latest franchisee to open one of our House Doctors handyman and remodeling franchises. George plans to bring professional handyman and remodeling services to homeowners in the Rochester, New York area.

George’s father had worked for IBM so it was a natural progression for George in '79 to start his career in computer maintenance with IBM. George worked on the Kodak Park account in Rochester till 1984. and experienced IBM's leading training during that period. He attended many IBM training classes on everything from the infancy of telecommunications and disk technology to advanced computer systems. George left IBM in 1985 to start his own computer maintenance business where he maintained his competitive edge by satisfying customers needs and following through on promises so he did not let people down. He sold that business and returned to the Corporate world where his career path took him in a Sales and Management direction. However his entrepreneur journey still had some miles in it. While a Systems Administrator with Crosman Corporation he decided to look into franchising and learned about House Doctors.

We are pleased that George is bringing his IBM skills and his understanding of good customer service to our network. He expects to see continual growth in home repairs and remodeling in the Rochester, New York area. He knows a lot of the markets across the country are booming and the House Doctors professional approach and high ethics is what keeps customers coming back. George's goal lines up with HD that is to provide the best quality work and the best customer service for his customers. If you feel that would be important in any business you would like to be involved in please contact me.

Is good customer service important for a new business? Please comment.

Enjoy Home Improvement Projects? Be Your Own Boss and Do What You Love!

Do you enjoy fixing problems around your home? Are you the type of person who loves having an entire weekend to devote to home improvement projects? Do you have experience managing a team to successfully get a project done? If you said yes, yes and yes, House Doctors has a franchising opportunity that may be right up your alley.

What Makes a Home Maintenance and Repair Franchise So Appealing?

Before we dive into exactly what makes a House Doctors franchise so great, let's take a look at why this is the line of work you want to enter. If you ask a group of people who already work in this field why they like what they do, chances are their answer will in one way or another relate to variety. Instead of showing up at an office and going through the same routine five times a week, home maintenance and repair means there's always going to be a new challenge on your plate.

While working in an industry that provides fulfilling work is great, that's not the only criteria for running a successful business. If it was, the term "starving artist" wouldn't exist! In order to find the right balance between passion and smart business, it's crucial to ensure that there's an actual market for the services you want to offer. And in the case of home maintenance and repair, the good news is the demand is definitely there.

It's no secret that when the financial markets collapsed in 2008, the home construction industry took a huge hit. However, just because it took people quite awhile to get back to buying new houses didn't mean they weren't caring for their existing ones. On the contrary, this industry continues to be on a path of growth. And if you're wondering how big the market is, remodeling in the US alone is a market that's generates over $120 billion a year.

Why is a Franchise the Right Way to Enter This Market?

Although just about anyone can see the appeal of this opportunity, some people may think that they can strike out on their own without utilizing everything a House Doctors franchise has to offer. Even though that is technically true, it means they're going to have a very hard time becoming one of the just 30% of businesses that survive their first two years of operation.

Since opening a business in any market is very hard, the big appeal of becoming a House Doctors franchise owner is you don't have to blindly try to carve a path to success. Instead, you'll be running a business that's already been proven and refined. Getting your own slice of the House Doctors pie means you'll receive technology, mentoring, training, support, networking and much more. All of those components will help make it possible for you to build the type of thriving business you've always dreamed about owning.

So if you're ready to find out exactly what steps you need to take to make your dream a reality, be sure to get in touch with us today!