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Handypro makes homes safe for seniors
RICHARD WEINER
Legal News Reporter
Published: May 28, 2013
After a career in financial services, Kevin and Beth Krakora wanted a change.
The Fairlawn residents decided that, said Kevin, “after 30 years of corporate America, we wanted to try something different.” And, beyond that, the still-young couple wanted to create a business that made a positive impact on people’s lives.
The couple took about a year to look at numerous franchise possibilities, while Kevin worked as a consultant. In the end, they decided to go with the Handypro company, which started in 1996, and which has serviced over 20,000 residences and businesses in that time nationwide.
The Krakoras have Handypro’s northeast Ohio franchise, which includes Summit, Medina and Cuyahoga counties. Kevin said that their franchise has worked on homes, “from Akron to Solon, west to North Olmsted and Parma and out to Medina. It is a big territory.”
Handypro owners like the Krakoras contract with construction professionals, called technicians, to perform construction jobs. Kevin does the sales and Beth runs the books. The Krakoras have several technicians that they work with, and they are looking for a few more. Business has been very good in the year that they have been open, said Kevin.
One of the things that makes Handypro a bit different form the normal construction company is that a substantial proportion of their business is devoted to “senior modification,” Kevin said, adding that that is the primary reason that, ultimately, the Krakoras decided on Handypro.
“We help seniors stay in their homes,” said Kevin. The company can go into the home of a person and make the modifications necessary for that person to stay in that home. It could be changes in the kitchen, stairs, bathrooms or access to any part of the house.
In the course of their research, Kevin said that they realized that, for starts, seniors were a growing proportion of the local population. “We like to live in this area,” he said. “We moved back here in 2001, after living in Atlanta.”
Kevin had spent some time volunteering in a senior housing facility and says he had an affinity for that population. He is “in my 50s; my wife is in her 40s” he said.
“We asked ourselves what demographic was growing the most here? Specifically, in this area, the over-60 population is growing. So we thought that, if we could find something that benefits that group, that would be a good business to be in.”
His experience in the senior facility also inspired him to create a business to help that population before they needed to move into such a living situation.
“If I could do something to help people delay or avoid going into senior housing, I thought that that would be a good thing. Those two dynamics drove a lot of this decision.”
Senior modifications, while important to the company, is not all that HandyPro franchises can accomplish. Handypro, as the name implies, advertised itself as “your trusted handyman.”
The company guarantees its work for up to one year, and the labor to fix any mistake is free. It uses certified technicians. It also guarantees that the technician will show up within an hour of the appointment time, or the price is discounted. Work is priced by the job, rather than by the hour. And the company allows the customer to pick up the materials.
Most construction companies, said Kevin, do not operate in that way. “And those little things can make a difference,” he said.
The company’s services offered include virtually every small and large job around the house—from lighting and deck building to tree trimming and hauling.
Kevin said that he and Beth have definitely made the right choice in picking a franchise. “So far, so good,” he said.
One aspect that held things up for a bit was the amount of governmental paperwork necessary to be able to do senior modifications. But now, that is all straight, and business is picking up.
“We are solidly booked out,” said Kevin. “We are now steadily booked four to five weeks out, business is steady, and things are really starting to pick up.” The company is expanding to the point that it will need to hire several new technicians in the near future.
Northeastern Ohio Handypro contact information: http://handypro.com/OH03__Akron.html. Phone: 800-942-6394