Today we’d like to introduce you to Malinda Daughtry.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Malinda. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I worked in banking for 17 years, handling special projects like Insurance premium financing and bankruptcy. The bank I worked for was bought by another bank and they didn’t want to be in the specialty business. So, I got a job at a big box home improvement store where I met a large amount of women shoppers looking for help and advice.
It just so happened that my 17-year-old dog died on Black Friday 2006 in the wee hours of the morning and my manager had no mercy for me, telling me that if I didn’t show up I was fired. I worked 13 hours that day, thinking there has to be more to life than this.
The next day, I sent out this mass email to all my family, friends and former banking colleagues asking if they were happy in their current professions. I wanted to know if they had passion for the profession or just going through the motions. I stated in my email that it was time for me to find a new profession, something I was passionate about. At the end of my email, I made the statement that if I had the guts and courage I would probably start my own home repair business to help women. I got more responses of “what are you waiting for? You would be so good at it”. By January 2007, Home Fix-It Divas became my next great thing.
I started out with a little red Nissan pick-up and a toolbox. With my customer service background and the knowledge, I gained from working for my family’s construction business when I was a teenager, my calendar filled up quickly and has stayed full.
Now 10 years have passed and I have a big Nissan truck, every tool imaginable and enough home repair knowledge to write several books.
A major portion of my customer base are women; they know what they want and how they want it and they call again and again for my advice and the great service I provide.
Has it been a smooth road?
One of my earliest frustrations stemmed from coming behind others that didn’t know what they were doing or didn’t ever come back to finish the job they started.
I’ve had customers, usually women, that had been duped by the random handy person and asked me to fix their mistakes or finish what they never showed up to finish, sometimes $1,000’s of worth.
There is nothing more heart-wrenching than having to tell a customer they got ripped-off and believe it or not, many have no recourse because whoever they hired simply disappeared, won’t return calls or their phone numbers and email stops working.
I get stared at a lot when I go to supply houses for parts and materials. It is still a Man’s world and they usually give me that condescending look of “how can I help you little lady”.
It usually takes a bit of speaking someone’s language, before they catch on that I know what I’m talking about.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We started out to serve women in safety. Since we are women we have experience with how uncomfortable it can be having a Handyman working in your home. Especially if you are alone.
Another caveat is that people usually don’t have a problem leaving us alone in their house, while they go run errands, or aren’t even there at all. Husband’s especially like not having to worry about the safety of their wives, and children. We have a box full of house keys that signifies relationships we’ve built over the years and the trust that people put in us. There are actually some customers I’ve never met in person, only emailed or talked on the phone!
I want to get to know my customers, build a relationship with them, so that they have peace of mind when it comes to the maintenance and repairs on their biggest investments. We do it all when it comes to the maintenance/repairs of your home, with only one exception. We have no desire to do roofing!
We get a lot of kudos from people because we really clean up after ourselves. We like to leave a place better than we found it.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
The Atlanta area is a great place to start a business. Being a big city means a lot of opportunity. But it also means that the people who rip you off can hide in the crowd pretty easily.
The only tragic thing about the Atlanta area is the traffic! We spend a lot of time driving and it can be heinous and frustrating!
Contact Info:
- Website: homefixitdivas.com
- Phone: 770-367-1818
- Email: moreinfo@homefixitdivas.com
- Facebook: homefixitdivas
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
