For years our small jobs went through the same
sales and administrative channels as our larger jobs.
Whether we were installing a $100 screen door or
doing a $20,000 kitchen remodel, we met with the
customer, wrote up the estimate, issued a contract,
and went through the scheduling process. As a
result, the amount of time and money we spent on
estimating the small jobs was eating up the profit. In
many cases, we were even losing money.
In 1988, we launched our Handyman Service, a
new division of our company designed to handle
small jobs and make them profitable (see "No Job
Too Small," 1/91). We defined these jobs as
anything that