DOUBLE DYNAMOS
Award-winning Hire A Hubby franchisees share their stories.
Franchisor Brendan Green has been at the helm of the successful property maintenance franchise for 21 years.
“Typically franchisees start out as a man in a van and we offer an income guarantee of up to $125,000 as they establish themselves,” he says.
“Then the goal turns to transitioning to a business with two or more employees to increase the skillset and capacity to tackle larger projects and bigger workloads.”
Among the 360 franchisees are a handful turning over more than $1 million annually including the two award winning franchisees were recognised as the best in the country in their respective categories.
“These two are employing between five and eight guys each and most of them are trade qualified meaning you can really take on a lot of varied projects.”
Hire A Hubby is Australia’s largest franchised property maintenance business with plenty of room to grow in an industry tipped to exceed $1 billion annual revenue in the next few years.
“If you look around any CBD you see cranes and trades everywhere, which leaves fewer people available to tackle the types of work we are targeting resulting in stronger demand for our services,” Brendan says.
“We do everything from property maintenance odd jobs to minor renovations and extensions and our best performing franchisees have strong ties with their local real estate agents and body corporates.”
With annual turnover of $65 million, Brendan says Hire A Hubby could double the number of franchisees across Australia.
“We have defined up to 750 territories currently and that number will grow as new developments open up outside major cities,” he says.
“Some of our franchisees have also grown as big as they want to grow and are now exploring the opportunity to sell off half their territory.”
“It is an opportunity for them to get a return on the business they’ve worked hard to establish and the incoming franchisee is underpinned by our income guarantee. It’s a win-win.”
AWARD WINNERS ALL ROUND
That’s what Sydney-based small business entrepreneurs Jim Kelly and Crystal KellyPetzer decided 15 years ago. The couple realised it was time to move on from running service stations and convenience stores and they started exploring other franchised businesses.
“Jim discovered Hire A Hubby and after a few meetings went and worked for Hire A Hubby in Manly to bring his skillset up to speed, and then he had the opportunity to start the franchise in Narrabeen,” says Crystal.
“He was working on his own and I was working a corporate job to help subsidise our income, but by the second year Jim was starting to work until late in the evening finishing off quoting and paperwork.
“Over time I was cutting back my days at work but eventually I had to give it all up to support him full time.”
Jim remembers on the one hand how daunting it was when Crystal finished up her job in the city but this was countered by the pair learning to work better together.
“We had the goal of creating a lifestyle we wanted so it forced us to grow the business laterally, focusing on customer service and generating a lot of word of mouth referrals, and we had a great partnership,” he says.
The business now employs five full time staff across the two franchise areas and that is supported by regular work through local body corporates and real estate agencies.
There are 11 other Hire A Hubby franchisees on Sydney’s northern beaches, which collectively provide a great support network and sounding board for discussing ways to tackle the variety of challenges thrown at them.
“Preparing properties for sale has been a huge growth market for us because a lot of things need to be fixed ready for that all important first impression,” Jim says.
“There’s normally a tight deadline attached to that sale and we can go in there, fix it all up, and help them sell the property at a higher price – particularly with average prices dropping a little.
“However, we try to not put all of our eggs in the one basket,” Crystal adds. “There is a huge amount of property maintenance odd jobs and minor renovations needing to be done, and people simple don’t have the time or knowledge to do them.”
She says one of the more unusual projects they completed this year was building a 3-metre by 4-metre cat run from a house to a garden in a yard that backed onto bushland.
“We do a broad variety of jobs and one thing we have focused on over the past five years has been building a complementary team with different trades and skillsets to boost both our credibility and ability to take on a bigger scope of work,” Crystal says.
“Our son is an electrician and he occasionally gets some work out of us too.”
Shifting their business focus to the handyman scene has put this handy duo into high performance mode. The pair topped off 10 years as Hire A Hubby franchisees by winning the Franchise Council of Australia Multi-Unit Franchisee of the Year award.
Brendan Green says Jim and Crystal are more than deserving of the national award.
“Jim and Crystal have shown how you can start out as a man-in-a-van operation and through doing great work with the right attitude you can take on multiple territories and build a successful and respected business.”
At the same national event fellow franchisee Cairns handyman Russell Hampton was recognised as Franchisee of the Year with two or more staff.
Brendan praised Russell’s achievement, saying he is the perfect example of what could become of buying a Hire A Hubby business.
“The market for handyman work and trades is only growing and Russell has built a successful and significant business based on his high levels of workmanship and commitment to customer service.”
For Russell operating Hire A Hubby Bayview in northern Queensland is in stark contrast from his previous role.
Russell established his franchise five years ago after a 24-year career with Woolworths, where he was promoted through a range of positions from store management to area manager.
Overseeing store fit-outs at the supermarket chain and renovating a few homes over the years are what piqued his interest in getting on the tools full-time.
“Both my father and grandfather were cabinet makers, so I guess it was in the blood, but I enjoyed working with the different trades and on personal projects, so I thought why not make this my job,” Russell says.
He now employs eight staff in the business, most of whom hold different trades, which boosts his capacity to take on almost any project, large or small.
“We tackle everything from property maintenance odd jobs such as mounting a T V on a wall or resealing bathrooms to minor renovation projects - and often people don’t realise just how big we are,” he says.
“Having relationships with real estates has been key because we do a lot of call outs and preparing properties for sale. They can send us literally any project and we coordinate it all, making life easier for the agent, property owner and tenant.”
About 18 months ago Russell purchased a warehouse to move the growing business away from his home, creating a good grounding point to store materials, meet with customers and manage administration duties.
Another handy Hampton is in the making with Russell’s 15-year-old son starting his carpentry apprenticeship with the business three months ago.
“It’s a pretty good platform to learn your trade,” he says. “My wife and daughters also get involved in the business, helping to keep things moving behind the scenes.”
Reflecting on his business journey, Russell remembers it being a daunting move switching careers.
“I wanted to make sure it was something that was a sound opportunity for my family and future, which you can never know for sure until you do it.”
Not only has Russell scooped a top gong for his franchise performance he sees other significant benefits to his lifestyle change.
“Five years later I consider the CEO of Hire A Hubby a mate and I’m part of a network of 360 franchisees who collectively provide tremendous support to one another,” he says.
“I’m also involved in the local BNI networking group which is the top chapter in Australia and I’ve met a lot of different people in the community through that.”
Hire A Hubby was also recognised as the best franchise network in Australia at the awards night, rounding out an impressive evening for the property maintenance business.