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Key Takeaways Colette and Andy Bell started a handyman business in 1998 to tackle small projects for homeowners.
In 2018, they connected with Ace Hardware, which purchased their business in 2019.
Colette is now the vice president of franchise development for Ace Handyman Services, and she continues to lead expansion.
Colette Bell and her husband, Andy Bell, started a handyman business in Denver, Colorado, in 1998 after identifying a unique need.
They found that big specialty contracting companies did not want to do small projects for homeowners. For example, if someone had one sticky window and called a window company, the firm wanted to sell them 25 new windows for their house.
“We found that homeowners had a really hard time finding somebody professional and reliable for small projects,” Colette tells Entrepreneur in a new interview. “That was the niche market we built this business to serve.”
They knew immediately that they had struck gold. Their first year in business, the company “just took off like a rocket,” Colette says.
Andy and Colette Bell. Credit: Ace Handyman Services
They ended up franchising the business, called Handyman Matters, in 2001. Andy led the business as CEO while Colette took on multiple leadership roles over the years, including chairman of the board. In 2018, they connected with Ace Hardware, which acquired the business in 2019.
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