A Retooled Idea : Handyman Targets Firm at Women

Soon after Chas Eisner launched his handyman business, he realized that most of his customers were women. So he designed the No Husband-Father-Brother Needed Women’s Home Repair Workshop and other women-oriented business opportunities have followed. Eisner was interviewed by Karen Kaplan.

I started doing handy work just for the fun of it, around my house and for my friends. After I became disillusioned with my decade-long career as a salesman, the people around me encouraged me to charge for my services. In 1990, I became a full-time handyman. I had never worked for myself, and I had never worked as a handyman. But it was easy for me to get customers through word-of-mouth.

Most of my customers are women because they are generally the ones who hire the help around the house. A lot of them didn’t know how to fix anything, so I’d show them as I went along. That endeared me to them as someone they could trust. They told me I should consider teaching.

So in March 1993, I started the No Husband-Father-Brother Needed Women’s Home Repair Workshop. I rented a conference room that was set up classroom-style with a blackboard and chairs. I made a list of the most common repairs and questions and divided it up into categories. Then I went through all the books I owned and got some more from the library to write the curriculum.

The seminars were designed for women from the very beginning. From my sales experience, I knew it was good to have a gimmick and to target your audience as much as possible. I targeted women homeowners on the Westside who were tool-less and clueless.

I advertise my workshop in B&B; Hardware in Culver City, which is owned by a woman, in Sisterhood Bookstore in Westwood and in L.A. Woman fitness centers. By now I’ve taught about two dozen seminars. My customers become students and my students become customers.

I’m also building a Women’s Home Repair Tool Kit. Pink-handled hammers and screwdrivers are demeaning and they don’t sell well. What I’ve put together are things like a tool that can unclog any disposal and a safety outlet checker. There’s no reason that men wouldn’t find these tools useful, but they address questions that come up in my workshops. For example, women want to know if their homes are safe and men don’t seem to care about that as much.

I also do speaking engagements to women’s groups. They focus on topics such as how to make your house earthquake-proof. Then I hand out sample bags with wall fasteners, L-brackets and certain types of screws.

One of the hardest parts about starting this business was overcoming the stigma I had placed on myself that a college graduate couldn’t be a handyman. But I learned that you’ve got to go with what feels right and not let the stigma of changing careers put you off.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

On choosing his target market . . .

“Most of my customers are women because they are generally the ones who hire the help around the house.”

On why he designed a workshop especially for women . . .

“From my sales experience, I knew it was good to have a gimmick and to target your audience as much as possible.”

On deciding to make a career change . . .

“One of the hardest parts . . . was overcoming the stigma I had placed on myself that a college graduate couldn’t be a handyman. But . . . you’ve got to go with what feels right.”

AT A GLANCE

Companies: The Beverly Hills Handyperson and Chas Eisner Workshops

Owner: Chas Eisner

Nature of businesses: Handyman service and home repair seminars

Years founded: 1990 and 1992

Location: Beverly Hills

Number of employees: 1

Combined annual revenue: $60,000