She Started a Niche Business in Her Basement with $10,000. Now It Does $113 Million in Sales: ‘Took Off Like a Rocket.’

Colette Bell and her husband, Andy Bell, started a handyman business successful Denver, Colorado, successful 1998 aft identifying a unsocial need. 

They recovered that large specialty contracting companies did not want to do mini projects for homeowners. For example, if personification had 1 sticky model and called a model company, the patient wanted to waste them 25 caller windows for their house. 

“We recovered that homeowners had a really difficult clip uncovering personification master and reliable for mini projects,” Colette tells Entrepreneur successful a caller interview. “That was the niche market we built this business to serve.”

They knew instantly that they had struck gold. Their first twelvemonth successful business, the institution “just took disconnected for illustration a rocket,” Colette says.

Andy and Colette Bell. Credit: Ace Handyman Services

They ended up franchising the business, called Handyman Matters, successful 2001. Andy led the business arsenic CEO while Colette took connected aggregate activity roles complete the years, including president of the board. In 2018, they connected pinch Ace Hardware, which acquired the business successful 2019. 

“This is the only profession I’ve had my full life,” Colette says. “For 28 years, I’ve been moving connected the handyman business.”

Andy is now the CEO and president of Ace Handyman Services, and Colette is the vice president of franchise development, a position she has held since 2019. She continues to lead description , helping the marque turn from 119 territories astatine the clip of its 2019 acquisition to 383 territories arsenic of April this year, much than tripling its footprint.

Ace Handyman Services grew by 12% from 2024 to 2025, pinch full income exceeding $113 cardinal successful 2025.  

The pursuing question and reply pinch Colette has been lightly edited for clarity and concision.

Colette Bell. Credit: Ace Handyman Services

Growth tactics

What were the main factors that allowed the institution to turn truthful quickly? What did you do to facilitate growth?
We group nonstop assignment times and coach our labor that “if you’re not early, you’re late.” They request to get connected time, look master and deterioration logoed shirts. If they locomotion up and spot the trash cans still astatine the curb aft pickup, we coach them to move the cans backmost up the driveway — little things that show we’re location to thief pinch the full house, not conscionable a azygous project.

We do extended follow-up: calling the time aft to make judge the customer is happy, and again astatine 11 months because we connection a one-year warranty. Adding that precocious level of customer work to a low-tech, fragmented manufacture made a large difference.

Getting things correct pinch franchising

Looking backmost astatine that 2001 determination to franchise, what did you get correct astir franchising, and what did you underestimate astir really difficult it would be?
We underestimated everything. But we did get a couple of important things right. One was creating protected territories for franchise owners delineated by ZIP codes. ZIP codes are intelligibly defined by the station agency and person accessible demographic data, truthful we could build territories utilizing that data. Franchise owners past had protected territories and didn’t person to interest astir title from neighboring owners. We did that from time one.

The different point we did right, which was much accidental, was our billing model. Even though we’re a handyman business and building often estimates projects arsenic fixed dollar amounts, we decided to measure customers utilizing a time-and-materials format. Time is cosmopolitan — an hr is an hr everywhere. Pricing, connected the different hand, varies importantly between, say, Connecticut and Arkansas aliases Illinois and California. Instead of trying to unit 1 cosmopolitan value building crossed the U.S., we made clip the changeless and allowed each proprietor to take their ain hourly rate. 

That made the business overmuch much feasible in different markets. About 85% of our activity is labour and only astir 15% is materials, because we attraction connected mini repairs and restorations, not ample remodels.

Choosing franchising complete firm locations

What convinced you that this thought would standard amended done franchising than done company-owned locations?
We learned that firsthand erstwhile we expanded to California. At 1 point, we were efficaciously moving six firm locations — 3 successful Colorado and 3 successful California. We quickly realized we couldn’t springiness each employee, and truthful each customer, the clip and leadership they deserved.

It was clear this business model should beryllium disposable crossed the U.S. Every homeowner deserves a professional, reliable handyman work for mini projects, but location was nary measurement we could build that nationally arsenic a purely firm concatenation — particularly since we started successful our basement pinch $10,000, each spot of savings we could scrape together. 

The franchise exemplary made nationalist description imaginable because it relies connected section owners rooted successful their communities. Handyman businesses are very community-centric; you’re fundamentally moving for your neighbors. Franchising fits the exemplary perfectly.

The biggest astonishment astir franchising

What is thing astir franchising that amazed you?
The biggest astonishment — though everyone tells you this upfront — is really overmuch the occurrence aliases nonaccomplishment of the business exemplary depends connected the narration betwixt franchisor and franchise owners. Until you’ve lived it, that doesn’t afloat descend in. This narration has to beryllium beardown and reciprocal. It can’t conscionable beryllium the franchisor giving and the franchise owners taking; franchisees besides request to lend ideas and feedback.

Early on, we had franchise owners pinch awesome business ideas we ne'er would person developed connected our own, and they were consenting to stock them truthful we could rotation them retired systemwide.

A awesome illustration was during Covid, erstwhile the full state unopen down, and nary 1 could participate customers’ homes. We spent that downtime connected convention calls pinch franchise owners, figuring retired really to make the business arsenic touchless arsenic possible.

For instance, we utilized to return customer signatures connected invoices. During Covid, we shifted to reference the statement connection aloud and signaling “verified by voice” alternatively of a signature. 

Franchise owners helped creation caller modular operating procedures, which we rolled retired to everyone. So erstwhile we were designated basal successful April and could return to homes, we had safer, smarter procedures successful place. That level of support and collaboration is captious successful franchising.

The perfect franchisee

For an entrepreneur evaluating Ace Handyman, really do you specify the perfect franchisee successful position of background, skills and mindset?
Our owners travel from each kinds of backgrounds. One of our apical franchisees is simply a erstwhile horticulturalist. We person group from finance, marketing, works management, a ample number of veterans, erstwhile teachers, and erstwhile coaches and mentors.

The done statement is simply a passion for improving their organization and beardown activity skills. As an owner, you don’t spell to each customer’s house; our measurement is excessively precocious for that. The measurement you present awesome work is through your employees, which intends you must beryllium an fantabulous leader. That includes paying bully wages, providing training and mentoring and offering existent maturation opportunities. Leadership is astatine the bosom of our astir successful franchisees.

For us, a reddish emblem is erstwhile a prospective proprietor focuses much connected money than civilization and people. Our business has robust numbers — you don’t turn different — but if the superior attraction is financial, it typically isn’t a bully fit.

How overmuch does it costs to commencement an Ace Handyman franchise?
In our 2026 franchise disclosure document, Item 7 shows startup costs ranging from $132,200 connected the debased extremity to $226,000 connected the precocious end. That includes a $70,000 franchise fee.

Long-term vision

When you ideate Ace Handyman Services 10 years from now, what does occurrence look for illustration for the brand, for individual owners and for the customers they serve?
First, occurrence intends our existent franchise owners are still here. Longevity is very important successful franchising. Ace has ever believed successful generational businesses; galore hardware stores person been passed down from great-great-grandparents done aggregate generations.

In our system, we already person franchise owners who’ve been pinch america 24 years. I’m very proud of that. They stuck pinch america erstwhile we were young and figuring things retired and contributed ideas, passion and suggestions. We’ve seen transitions wherever a begetter handed the business to his girl and uncles passed locations to nephews.

My extremity for the adjacent 10 years is that we’ll not only expand to screen possibly half of the U.S., but besides spot much of our locations go generational businesses, pinch kids taking complete for their parents. That benignant of longevity would beryllium a existent measurement of success.