Hire a Hubby (HAH) was founded in Melbourne in 1994 when the wife of a DIY-centric father of four was asked ‘Could I hire your hubby please?’ by a friend – and so the company was formed.
HAH has since grown to one of the largest franchises in Australia, and in September 2008 the franchise was launched in the UK. Steve Haynes, a franchisee for the company, explains how he got involved in this DIY franchise opportunity.
BusinessWings: What did you do before you bought a franchise?
Steve Haynes: I’m originally from Manchester, but I moved to Spain for eight years and only came back four weeks ago. I heard about the Hire a Hubby concept and was very impressed when I went to see them in Potters Bar.
I took up the franchise opportunity and went on the training course, now I’m actually doing the work and running my own business.
It is important to consider finance, however I think buying a franchise that you have an interest in is also significant.
BW: So after living in Spain for eight years, you’ve moved back to the UK and bought a franchise in only four weeks, how does that feel?
SH: I realised if I had come back and tried to do what I’m doing now, purely by myself, I would be nowhere near the stage that I’m at now.
I’ve already started work on my first job, with four or five prospective customers, and approximately £45,000 of work already in progress. I’m confident I made the right choice in buying a franchise, even though it was a quick decision.
BW: What motivated you to buy a franchise?
SH: Working for myself – I’ve always worked for myself in the past. In Spain everything went a bit pear-shaped, and I came back with limited funds, so I decided to go into something completely different.
The great thing about buying a franchise is you’re already given an established business plan to work from, which provides a certain amount of comfort.
BW: Did you find it relatively easy to find a franchise considering you had limited funds?
SH: There are so many different franchise prospects – there are franchises for less then what I paid. However, I loved the opportunity HAH gave me. I already enjoyed DIY, and to be able to make money out of a hobby, with the added bonus of an established brand, made me go for the handyman franchise straight away.
It is important to consider finance, however I think buying a franchise that you have an interest in is also significant.
BW: Do you think buying a franchise is a secure route into business?
SH: Statistics shows 90% of franchisees are successful. When comparing this to starting an independent business, it is interesting to see that 90% of business start-ups, in this economic downturn, fail within the first three years.
HAH has been going in Australia now for about 15 years, they have about 300 franchisees and another 100 in New Zealand. A brand that has experienced this success helps you start your own business confidently.
BW: How would you advise prospective franchise buyers?
SH: I think if you’re going to be involved in a franchise you must enjoy what you do. For example, I wouldn’t like to get a McDonald’s franchise because I wouldn’t like to be serving burgers.
HAH is a company that provides a handyman for people who don’t have the skills to do work around the house, or for single parents that don’t have the time. It’s everything from cleaning someone’s gutters to building an extension on the back of their house, and that’s what keeps me interested in the franchise.
BW: How has the past four weeks been, running your own franchise?
SH: It’s going very well. All the work I have at the moment is around Stevenage; because we’ve been advertising down there we’ve had so much work I’ve had to split jobs.
The next plan is to advertise in Derbyshire within the next few weeks, when that starts I’ll be based there. It’s definitely keeping me busy, but I believe when you put more work in you get better results.
