House Doctors featured on KARE 11 News @4

House Doctors of Minneapolis’ Derek Stoeckel was featured on Minneapolis/St. Paul’s KARE 11 News @4 in a segment about important spring home checks homeowners should make, and Derek’s expertise on the topic. Derek Stoeckel appears on site at a home to point out checks homeowners should make on their homes as spring and summer approach. View the video on KARE 11 News' site, or watch it below.

Spring to it: Cleaning tips for creating a healthy home environment

If your cleaning routine doesn't specifically focus on allergen removal, you may be only moving dust around, sending allergens and irritating cleaning chemicals into the air. To maximize your cleaning efforts to reduce allergens, consider these simple tips from the asthma & allergy friendly Certification Program, the healthy home initiative of the nonprofit Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA):

* You may think dusting your home will help reduce allergens, but if you use a feather duster that simply lifts the dust off surfaces and into the air, you will actually increase airborne dust particles. Instead, use moist cloths or special dry dusters designed to trap and lock dust from hard and soft surfaces.

* Certain cleaning products can also contribute to airborne irritants, especially if they contain harsh chemicals, strong odors or volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Choose products that contain none of these irritants, but also beware of "green" labels, as some of these solutions may be made with natural allergenic ingredients, such as lemon, coconut or tea-tree oils.

* Use a vacuum that has a HEPA filter with tight seams and seals to prevent particles from leaking out while you vacuum. Also, choose a style that requires minimal exposure during canister emptying or bag changes.

* Rodent dander and cockroach particles are common household asthma triggers. However, some pesticides may do more harm than good for people with asthma and allergies. If you have a pest problem, look for an exterminator with expertise in integrated pest management and experience treating homes of people with asthma.

* Whether you have a cat or dog, pet dander is present in most U.S. homes. Your cleaning routine should include frequently washing linens in your bedroom, where cat or dog dander can settle. Place mite-proof bedding on your mattresses and pillows. Wash your bedding at least once a week in 130-degree hot water to kill mites and their eggs.

* Mold, a common allergy trigger, can grow anywhere in your home where moisture is present. Look for cleaning products that help kill and prevent mold from returning. Also, keep household humidity below 50 percent and fix leaky pipes and cracks to reduce standing puddles of moisture where mold can prosper.

* Gather stuffed toys, where dust mites, mold and pet dander can accumulate, and wash them in hot water and dry completely before using again. Place stuffed toys that can't be washed in the freezer for 24 hours, then rinse in cold water to remove dead mites, and dry completely. Do this monthly.

* Lots of air passes through window areas, and airborne dust and allergens accumulate on all types of window treatments - which are rarely cleaned. In the family room and throughout the home, replace big, heavy linen drapes with more sensible window treatments such as wood blinds or flat screens that are easy to wipe and keep clean.

Keep in mind that while consumers spend nearly $18 billion annually on asthma and allergy medications, they also spend more than $20 billion on nonmedical consumer products marketed for people with asthma and allergies such as room air cleaners, bedding, vacuums and more, according to AAFA. While demand for such products continues to grow, there is little regulation governing product claims, the Foundation notes. AAFA's asthma & allergy friendly Certification Program helps consumers evaluate and verify the allergen-reducing effectiveness of a variety of products, from cleaning supplies, air cleaning devices and vacuums to toys, bedding, home improvement products, paints, clothes washers and more. You can learn more at www.AAFA.org/certified.

Franchisee Profile: Michael and Dana Donohue of Colts Neck, NJ

Name: Michael and Dana Donohue

Opening Date: January 16th

Market: New York City/Newark

Location: Colts Neck, NJ

Phone Number:   (732) 778-5306

Q: Where did you grow up?

A: Michael: Bronx, NY

Dana: Staten Island

Q: How did you learn about House Doctors?

A: Mike: I started looking at other opportunities. I looked all over the place and just happened upon House Doctors online. I started to look at the whole franchise opportunity and slowly but surely happened upon House Doctors and continued to look harder at it.

Dana: He did a lot of the research and then we talked about it. You consider doing the business on your own or with a franchise and after looking into it myself, I really thought the franchise was the way to go.

Q: How did you conduct your background check on House Doctors?

A: Mike: I spent a lot of time on the phone with the Vice President of House Doctors that’s charted with the mission of bringing in new franchisees. I did a full and lengthy legal review with my attorney. I put the test out there to many colleagues and close friends that I’ve had over the years and sought their opinions. I had my accountant take a look at it as well. When you do that, you get all different types of feedback and then it’s up to you to filter it all and make a decision.

Dana: It was really mostly internet-based. I looked at their website, who they work with, how their business is run. Once we went out to Ohio for the actual training is when I got kind of an actual feel for them.

Q: Why did you decide to open your own business?

A: Mike: There are pros and cons with working in a corporate environment. You get a lot of stability, a lot of structure and you also get a lot of structure. In some cases there is not a lot of room for an entrepreneurial type of spirit. You’re not really going to change the way the company is set up. It was a long 25 years in the elevator industry as well. I worked a lot of hours per week. My commute invariably was a minimum of an hour and a half each way. I worked 10-11 hours each day and then you add the commute on top of that, it got old. I started to hate it. My friends and colleagues encouraged me to open and run my own business. I was in a position to do it but I said if I was going to do it, I was going to open one right in my backyard. This territory I’m in right here was available. It’s a good territory, it’s a nice size and it’s a great community. It will afford me the opportunity to spend more time with my kids, watch their games, see their plays, which, I missed a lot of that in the last 5-6 years. I feel like I could be my own boss and run an effective business on my own.

Dana: One thing that is nice about having your own business and working from home, there is someone to share the household duties and parenting. He’s now there to do some of the extracurricular activities that he was never able to do. He left at 5 in the morning and got home at 8, 9 o’clock at night. That’s the major advantage is that he’s more accessible to me and the children.

Q: What was most appealing to you about joining a franchise system as opposed to starting your own business?

A: Mike: Once I made a decision to go into business on my own and into this particular business, the only remaining decision was do I do it on my own or do I do it within the franchise? I gave it a lot of thought. I consulted with my wife and friends and so forth. Anytime you go into a new business, whether it’s your own business or a franchise business, you enter that business with a lot of trepidation, you second guess everything. I also put myself in the place of the consumer as well. I asked myself how I make consumers comfortable. I wanted to align myself with something that was more structured, maybe had a bit of a brand to it so it would ease that transition. House Doctors has a well-developed structure including Discovery Day where you go out and meet the corporate team and find out what it is they can do for you. They don’t completely disclose everything. When I left that experience, I remember going to the airport and telling my wife “this is the right way for us right now. I feel more comfortable with the House Doctors franchise team than just doing it on my own and making it happen overnight.” You pay for it, but at the end of the day if the brand does what it’s supposed to do, the cost becomes inconsequential.

Dana: I really liked the corporate support. They have a proven track record. They have everything from the financials to the marketing, everything they have set up. The corporate support is really excellent.

Q: With regard to your previous experience, what skills do you feel helped you in your business?

A: Mike: I believe in taking a look at the whole picture, understanding everything, not just taking a knee-jerk reaction because that’s how people make mistakes. I’m very cognitive of the customer experience. I’ve had hundreds of customers over the years and you really need to be sensitive to their needs. The customers I dealt with in Manhattan are absolutely the toughest customers you’ll ever come across. I always felt that if I could lick this New York thing, and I did for many many years, I could succeed anywhere.

Dana: I was a recruiter for ten years. I really dealt with people in human resources and that’s what this business is all about is building a customer base and putting the customer first. I’ve dealt with employees so that will help with the employees that we hire as well as dealing with the public.

Q: What are your hobbies? What do you like to do for fun? What activities do you enjoy on weekends?

A: Mike: We have four kids that keep us very busy. I have three girls and a boy ranging in age from 6 to 10. They keep us very busy with various activities and so forth. I love to fish, anything that’s really related to the outdoors. I also really love to play golf but I feel like I haven’t played in such a long time, so that’s something I want to get back into. Swimming, anything that’s beach related, that sort of things.

Dana: I’m an avid tennis player. I play locally and competitively. It’s my physical outlet and my social outlet aside from my kids.

Q: How many jobs is your location going to create?

A: Mike: Initially it’ll create two full-time jobs in the first 60 days. I’m going to hire a full-time technician which will be the person we hire to do our fixing out in the field. I’m also going to hire a full-time customer service person. That person will work solely in the office and handle all the phone calls, scheduling and day to day office tasks. I’m hoping that within the first year I add at least another two full-time jobs. By the end of the year, I want to have 2-3 FT technicians and one customer service.

Q: How does your business connect with the local community?

A: Mike: It’s another area that I’m new at. Once we launch, we will be out there networking. I’ll be joining local organizations like the business network, the Better Business Bureau, and as a result of becoming familiar with and involved with those groups. As a result of that, I’m expecting to be more involved in the community. I’m involved in Boy Scouts with my son. I envision that to just continue to grow, those kinds of relationships.

Dana: We’re basically servicing the members of the community. We are a local business, we want to support our local businesses as well as our local families. We live in a small tight-knit community.

Q: What are some of your achievements (professionally or personally) that you think will help you along the way in your business?

A: Mike: I didn’t get my college degree out of high school. I went to college while I was working for my first employer in the elevator industry. I went at night and got a full four-year degree in five years while working full-time. I can tell you I killed myself to do it. I just never let anything slow me down. When I believe in something and make a decision to do it, I go out and do it. My wife and I don’t look back, we move forward, we support it and we make it happen. I never complained about the work, you just get out there and you do it. I’m expecting to grow it to where I can some day pass it on to my kids. We’re not taking this business on to struggle. I’m expecting to grow this so that the community sees a House Doctors van every 2-3 days. I want to be a household name locally because when people in the area have a problem, they call us and we take care of it.

Dana: I think that my personality is a good fit in terms of networking. Accomplishment-wise, kind of being part of the community and staying on top.

Q: What are your expansion or development plans?

A: Mike: I would like to have ten technicians within 5-7 years. I think it’s doable. We’re starting in the slow months and I’m not that disappointed in that because I want to get out there, I want to grow the business at a slow rate right now. Now is when we’re going to make our mistakes. I want to make my mistakes now, I want to understand what went wrong and fix it right on the spot. The more I do that over and over, when the business starts to ramp up and now I have a business model that continues to get stronger. You combine the business model with great networking and advertising, the business grows.

Dana: Right now we’re focusing on Monmouth County. Once that is developed and running well, we’ll move into Ocean County, NJ. After that, the sky’s the limit. We’re hoping that Monmouth and Ocean Counties become really successful. We have four children and one of them could take over the business 20 years.

House Doctors featured on WISH-TV Indy Style

House Doctors was recently featured in a segment on WISH-TV Indy Style. House Doctor Franchisee Erik 
Prock of Hamilton County gave demonstrations on how to correctly caulk around the tub and weather strip your doors. Erik also brought in samples of a dirty dryer filter and incandescent light bulbs designed to help home owners save money. Click here to view the segment or watch it below.
 

House Doctors: wishtv.com

Franchisee Profile: Hugh Sutherland of Greater D.C. and Northern Virginia

Franchisee Since: 2005
Franchise Location: Alexandria, DC, Arlington, Falls Church, Fairfax Co.


How Hugh Sutherland Got Started With House Doctor…

Hugh Sutherland has a history of entrepreneurship. He founded a company called Washington Courier, a package delivery company based in Washington DC. He developed the concept and grew the business. About 7 years ago, he sold it to pursue other career interests. In the interim before becoming a House Doctor franchisee, Hugh continued his involvement in real estate, fixing up and selling homes. It was at this time that Hugh started to notice a trend in the professionalism of handymen in his area. Whenever Hugh needed repairs done to his home, he called local handymen to come and fix the problems and most the time, those professionals turned out to be unprofessional, unreliable and inefficient. That’s when Hugh got the idea to look into business ownership in the handyman field.

Hugh was faced with two options. The first, start his own independent business or second, become a franchisee of an already-existing business. He chose the latter because he could use the knowledge of the support staff already in place to help him develop his business quicker than he could on his own.

What Intrigued Hugh Sutherland about House Doctor…

Out of all the franchises in this field that Hugh researched, House Doctors was by far the most ambitious, serious and professional according to Hugh. He was delighted and impressed by their ability to balance priorities and support his individual efforts through marketing, website development and management, SEM, and negotiation of contracts with vendors.

Something Interesting About Hugh Sutherland’s Business…

Despite economic conditions, Hugh has seen a 25% increase in his business this year. He equates the uptick in his business to a solid influx of repeat customers, people keeping their homes and fixing them up, people working harder, staying busier and still needing those repairs done, as well as the economy starting to pick up.

Hugh has 10 years of experience in the home improvement industry behind him, and realizes that customer retention is the key to growing a business. In order to do so, he provides superior customer service, including 24/7 support to answer calls and schedule appointments; he hires handymen in his territory in order to ensure reliability and calls his customers to give him updates on their repair services.

ABOUT HOUSE DOCTORS:

For more than 12 years, House Doctors, a 90-plus-unit professional handyman service, has brought commercial property owners and homeowners high standards of customer service, reliability, and quality workmanship.  Every House Doctors handyman location is independently owned and operated. Today, House Doctors continues to expand throughout the United States by offering franchise opportunities.  For more information on House Doctors, visit www.housedoctors.com.  

House Doctors Opens in Scranton by Father, Son Team

House Doctors brings new face to professional handyman service in October

It’s that time of the year again. Leaves are falling, the weather is getting colder and we are spending more time indoors. With the holidays approaching and school in full swing, many people forget that this time of the year is the perfect time to do a thorough home inspection to make sure your house is completely “winterized” for the next four months. These annual checks can save big money on your heating bill while avoiding costly mistakes that could occur from freezing temperatures. The experts from House Doctors are here to help with this list of easy tips and reminders for winterizing your home:

Exterior Inspection

• Check Hoses - Drain any hoses around your house to make sure there is no free flowing water or leaks in the pipes that could potentially freeze and lead to a broken pipe. Also, make sure to check hose beds for excess or standing water to ensure the area does not become hazardous when frozen.
• Clear Downspouts and Gutters -Avoid basement flooding and damage to your foundation by cleaning gutter channels and clearing downspouts of debris. Replace deteriorating or broken gutters to ensure proper water drainage.
• Protect your Pipes - Frozen or burst pipes are among a homeowner’s worst nightmares. As a preventative measure, add insulation to pipes in unheated areas, reducing heat loss from hot-water pipes and condensation on cold water pipes.
• Check your Chimney - Visually check the chimney for loose debris that could catch fire or block smoke from escaping the house. If not vented correctly, carbon monoxide can build up in your home and endanger the whole family.

Interior Inspection:

• Winterize Your Weather Stripping - First, do a simple light test around all of your door ways. If any light shows through, you need to replace the weather stripping. Use caulk on your doorways to seal out moisture and outside air as well as keep heat from leaking out of the house. Caulk creates a tight moisture barrier which prevents precipitation from seeping into the gaps and joints of your home.
• Basement/Utility Room- First, check for seal cracks and leaks in the walls and floors. Then make sure you clean the vents to ensure proper operation and then test, clean and lubricate the sump pump. As for your water heater, make sure you don’t crank the heart up too high and instead try insulating the outside of the tank to conserve energy and cut your bills.
• All of these steps can be taken to better ensure your house and family will be kept warm and happy this winter season. By taking some time to do a fall inspection of your house, you can avoid costly repairs and save money by making sure your home is ready for the cold.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ed and Bill Shoener are the owners and operators of House Doctor, a professional handyman service helping with dozens of tasks around the home, from the little “honey-do” projects to small remodels. They recently opened in the Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Pocono area and are ready to help with your every household question and concern.

How to Join House Doctors

There are still territories available for you to become a House Doctor handyman franchisee all across North America. There is a simple, three-step process that will enable you to find out more about this incredible franchise opportunity.

Step 1 Contact one of our Franchise Development Team members for further information. They will discuss the franchise with you and answer any questions you may have regarding House Doctors.

Step 2 Complete a simple, confidential application. This aids you in presenting your personal information to us and gives us the information we need when considering awarding a House Doctors handyman franchise.

Step 3 Attend a Discovery Day. This gives you the opportunity to meet us at our Home Office near Cincinnati, Ohio. It is your opportunity to get to know us and find out for yourself what House Doctors is all about. It is your opportunity to see what incredible potential there is in a House Doctors franchise. Contact a member of our Franchise Development Team to book your Discovery Day now!

If you wish to learn/receive more information about House Doctors handyman franchise, please click here!