Meet Heather.
Growing up on a farm she learnt the hard way that if you wanted something done, you did it yourself. She now finds herself running a highly successful Handyman AND Handy Ma’am business with her husband, Bill, around their local community in Brisbane’s west.
“My husband and I have always built everything ourselves, so we started small to test the water and the business literally grew overnight…we found so much need in the area for someone with handy skills”, she says.
Two years later and going strong, Heather and Bill’s Complete House and Home Care is not your average Handyman business, offering products that make them rather unique to their competitors.
“We looked at what everyone else was doing and tried to be innovative”, she says.
In an industry overwhelmed by handymen, Complete House and Home Care specialise in a ‘Handy Ma’am’ service that offers the addition or alternative of a female on site, which, according to Heather, has helped shake some of the myths surrounding female tradies.
“There is a general community expectation that only a man can use a tool, but we go in with both a handyman and a woman. Once the client understands the woman is just as capable, I find I am recalled again and again”, she says.
“We have a lot of women who live alone and are a little bit nervous about having a strange man turn up. In that case, a handywoman makes them more comfortable. Sometimes I’ll need to call in some extra muscle, but otherwise, I complete all the same services as my husband”.
Not only does Complete House and Home Care take the ‘man’ out of ‘handyman’, but they also offer what they call a ‘DIY Job Buddy’ service.
“We see all jobs as a team effort, and the DIY Job Buddy is available seven days a week to work alongside as a helping hand. It’s particularly popular on weekends with people who have some idea about handy work but need that extra guidance or muscle.”
When it comes to the business side of things, Heather insists that their strategy to success is built on nothing but fair prices and transparency.
“We are one of the only businesses I know who publically advertise a fully detailed pricelist so customers know exactly what they are up for. Our flat rate for the first two hours never varies, and we look at the job and provide an accurate time and price before we start”, she says.
