THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 2, 1996 TAG: 9610010123
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Earning a Living in Virginia Beach
SOURCE: BY DOUG BEIZER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 89 lines
WHEN IT COMES to home repairs, sometimes it's difficult to know who to call for the small stuff. What contractor would want to bother coming out to unstick a window, replace a light switch or to recaulk a bathtub?
Mike and Mary Esposito plan to fill that void with their new company, House Doctors Handyman Service. And based on the response they've received so far, they are doing just that.
Four months ago the Virginia Beach couple opened House Doctors, which specializes in basic home repairs. Now they have enough work for three full-time handymen and they are on the verge of hiring one more.
On any given day, House Doctors' handymen can be installing a ceiling fan, replacing a garbage disposal or painting a room.
``We try to stay within the medium to small jobs,'' said Mike Esposito. ``If someone was building a new bathroom and they wanted new plumbing, we wouldn't do that. But if someone wanted to change a sink, that is a job we would do.''
In fact House Doctors rarely turn down any job. Mike Esposito goes to each customer's house and gives a free estimate. Since House Doctors doesn't have the overhead that many contractors do, the price can be lower, Esposito said.
For example, labor cost for replacing a garbage disposal is $70, installing a garage door opener is $85 and replacing a lock set on an exterior door is $35.
It took years of research for the Espositos to find a business opportunity that interested them. Mary Esposito has 15 years of accounting experience and her husband worked as a manager for Ford Motor Co. for more than 20 years. But the couple dreamed of finding a franchise opportunity they could work on together.
``We ran the gamut in ideas over the years, from muffler shops to selling coffee,'' remembered Mike Esposito.
After reading something about House Doctors in Money magazine, Mike Esposito traveled to the corporate office in Cincinnati to meet the company's officers.
``I was really impressed with the officers of the company and their down-to-earth approach to the business and to life in general,'' said Mike Esposito. ``Their approach seemed right for us.''
The House Doctors chain has 79 franchises in 30 states. After a week of training in Cincinnati and several weeks of preparation in Virginia Beach, the couple opened their doors June 2. Operating out of a home office, they started with one full-time handyman but quickly realized he wouldn't be enough. Using mostly direct mail for advertising, House Doctors was flooded with calls.
``The normal corporate structure is that you crawl, then you walk and then you run.'' said Mike Esposito. ``But when we opened up the door, we were running as fast as we could. That's why I started doing some of the work myself. Now I mostly do customer contacts and the estimates.''
That's what he prefers to do. Although he can handle a limited number of repairs himself - some typical around-the-house jobs - he would rather leave that work to his crew.
All of House Doctors' handymen are full-time employees and go through a rigorous interview process. They are all insured and licensed so customers don't have to worry about liability issues.
``They have to have a real wide variety of talents and have been in the business for a while,'' said Mary Esposito. ``Basically we hire people who are really good at a lot of different things.''
House Doctors guarantees all its work for one year.
Besides running the office, Mary Esposito markets the House Doctors to insurance and real estate companies. House Doctors has already begun to build a steady client list.
Pam Rentfrow, an agent with Realty Consultants in Virginia Beach, began using House Doctors a couple of months ago to get homes ready to show to potential buyers.
``I like using them because they coordinate so many different repairs,'' she said. ``For example, I don't have to find a plumber, find an electrician and find a carpenter. I can combine all of that with one phone call to them and it saves us a lot of time and it helps coordinate it for the seller.''
For now, House Doctors will continue to serve only Virginia Beach. Later, the Espositos would like to expand into Norfolk and Chesapeake.
``Coming from the customer-oriented backgrounds we have, our vision is that we would never get so large that we wouldn't be able to handle the business or the customers on a one-on-one basis,'' said Mike Esposito.
Retaining House Doctors' emphasis that no job is too small is something Mary Esposito wants to ensure won't change no matter how big the company grows. MEMO: House Doctors Handyman Service is at 2129 General Booth Blvd.,
Suite 103-211. The phone number is 426-3154. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
Mike and Mary Esposito read about House Doctors in Money magazine,
traveled to the corporate office, then opened one of the company's
79 franchises. by CNB