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: 

Remodeling market growth good for handyman services

Over the years I've seen business opportunities come and go. Choosing a franchise that is here to stay and not a fad can be so important for your success. Remodeling and home improvement activity continues to be a great measure as to how strong the opportunity is for any of our House Doctors and House Medic handyman service franchises. That's why it's great news when we see the remodeling market continuing to grow. In this post I share some remodeling data from a study by Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist with Hanley Wood, dated November 12, 2013 which show exciting times ahead for both of our Brands.

11,651,573 remodels forecast for 2014

The Hanley Wood study states that the homebuilding and remodeling market is expected to continue building momentum into 2014. According to the study it looks like 2014 will be the strongest year in residential spending in 7 years and remodeling and home improvements is expected to rise by another 5% getting us close to figures that show a full National recovery.
I thought I'd also include for you the top 10 remodeling markets at the moment and the markets that are expected to be the biggest in 2014. The great news is that at House Doctors and House Medic handyman services we have a number of these markets available for new franchisees.

 

  Top 10 Remodeling Markets in US

1. Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY

2. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX

3. San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX

4. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

5. Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

6. Pittsburgh, PA

7. Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

8. Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO

9. Oklahoma City, OK

10. Indianapolis-Carmel, IN

  Biggest Remodeling Markets for 2014

1. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA

2. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA

3. Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI

4. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

5. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

6. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX

7. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

8. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH

9. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

 

10. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA

Reasons why confidence is high that momentum will continue into 2014 and beyond

• The Baby Boomers are feeling more confident. They are investing in new homes and/or discretionary home improvements and home modifications—Aging in place is expected to be a key driver for the next 5-10 years
• Increases in Mortgage rates are not expected to stop the recovery
• Consumer confidence is increasing and once again driving home purchase decisions
• People have put off remodeling and replacement projects. They are now needed just as home equity improves
• New home demand is shifting again to better and bigger
• Housing is again a positive contributor to the economy and helping to drive economic growth
• Economic growth and opportunity continues to vary market to market

What do you think? Will the momentum continue? How does your market compare?

 

Remodeling numbers good news for handyman business

The Remodeling Market Index (RMI) continued to climb in the third quarter of 2013 rising another two points. This is the highest reading since the first quarter of 2004, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). I believe this is another sign of a strengthening economy and good news for anyone considering a handyman business.

Improving economy is good news for handyman and remodeling franchises

The RMI's current market conditions index rose from 54 in the previous quarter to 58.
You know this is the highest reading since the creation of the RMI in 2001.
What does that mean? For those not familiar with the RMI it's an indicator of remodeling activity and confidence. Being above 50 indicates that more remodelers report market activity is higher as opposed to reporting it lower.
Increasing home equity and home sales, and a strengthening economy, definitely have an impact. We see it in our own network. Across the country our franchisees are producing some great numbers.

The exciting thing is that all of the three major components of the RMI's market conditions index increased in the third quarter. Minor additions and repairs increased from 55 to 58 while maintenance and repairs increased from 57 to 59. Even major additions and alterations increased from 51 to 55.

The growth in home equity and home sales has given home owners confidence to remodel, repair and do handyman upgrades that they had put off during the tough times.We expect the demand for remodeling services to continue to increase however at a more gradual pace as the housing recovery makes progress.

Do you think this is a good sign?

Entrepreneur, baby boomer and now handyman franchisor

Welcome to the entrepreneur and baby boomer club. I have lived and worked in four different countries, owned businesses in three, was born in Scotland, immigrated to Canada at age forty six, came to the U.S. at age fifty two and bought House Doctors at age fifty seven. I think that entitles me to be a member of the entrepreneurial baby boomer club and now I'm a handyman franchisor

Harris Poll says 90% agree entrepreneurship driver of economic growth

You know in a recent Harris Nationwide poll an overwhelming 90 percent of Americans surveyed agreed entrepreneurship was a driver of economic growth in the US. That is a very strong endorsement of the importance of new-business creation in the U.S.
When a poll is so overwhelming in its findings we should take notice. As a franchisor I'm lucky enough to see the impact entrepreneurs have on the economy every day. We open two new franchises a month. Each new franchise employs three people. Then they grow and employ six, seven, maybe ten staff. We're planning to open three to four hundred of these franchises in the U.S. Remember that there are thousands of other franchise companies in the U.S. thinking the same way.

The survey, sponsored by the non-profit Center for Productive Longevity in Colorado also found 87 percent of all adults surveyed agreed small-business success was important for the future of the U.S. economy while 63 percent said people over fifty should be encouraged to start a new business
We're finding more and more baby boomers are interested in the House Doctors franchise. The tough times over the last few years have created a huge pool of potential entrepreneurs who will make great small business owners. Many from the corporate world had a successful career working for someone else, now they have the opportunity, experience, and skills, to do something for themselves.
99 million Americans are over 50 and I believe that entrepreneurship is a viable option for many of them.
It may be the last positive impact that us baby boomers can have on society. Many of us have the same attitude. We want to continue to contribute to the world as opposed to drawing from it.

Do you think us baby boomers can still have an impact?