Weekend radio, long the domain of home-improvement do-it-yourself shows, is now airing the other side of the story. Hire It Done!, which launched in 14 markets in January, champions giving the work to professional contractors.
The host and founder is Adam Helfman. In 2004, he was president of Fairway Construction (Big50 1995), in Southfield, Mich., when the company was contacted by ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Some 23 million people saw Helfman's small-screen debut, which involved the remodel of the home of a family with two deaf parents and a blind and autistic child.
Helfman left Fairway Construction to be the show's construction consultant, guiding local contractors through a standardized, if manic, process of dramatically overhauling a home in 108 hours. He did Extreme Makeover for two seasons while transitioning into radio.
Each episode of Hire It Done! has a theme and a guest expert who discusses his or her approach. Bringing the concept full-circle, the radio show and its Web site ( www.hireitdone.com) act together as a referral service. Helfman is looking for “great-quality contractors” all over the country to join his network of pre-screened providers. He says their investments should pay for themselves 5 to 10 times over.
