Today we’d like to introduce you to Dave Bonnet.
Dave, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My dad would take me with him up into the mountains of Colorado where he would renovate old cabins. Learned much of my trade by doing that, Drywall, electrical, plumbing, anatomy of building and so much more.
My career has been in theatre so Ive done a lot of scenic design as well as scenic carpentry which taught me even more skills and new ways to do them.
In 2019 after 35 yrs at Walt Disney World in Entertainment i installed some baseboards for a friend who posted picture on Face Book and the snowball just kept rolling.
We now have has well over 2000 customers, over thirty 5 star reviews on Google.
There is a team of Myself (35 yrs with WDW), my Wife (5 yrs with WDW), an office manager (sister 30 yrs with Disney) and operations manager (35 yrs with WDW) and 3 additional team members, one of which is also a WDW retiree. As you can imagine our customer service if a very high quality. During the pandemic and layoffs, we had as many as seven WDW managers actively working to help homeowners and their families.
We have added a number of HOA and Condo Associations to our customer list as well as other corporate customers.
We are geared up and excited about HandyMania’s future.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One of the biggest struggles is staffing. Its difficult as a small business to keep a staff on a part time basis. They’re always looking for something else and who wouldn’t?
Were not a big enough company yet to incentivize them with benefits or bonuses. When they find something better they just disappear and usually at the worst times. Customers don’t get serviced and that hurts our reputation.
The other difficulty is advertising and marketing in today’s marketplace. I’m old school and today’s marketplace is not! Trying to learn new strategies and ways of catching you demographic is ever changing with youtube and other social medias. Once you learn it then it all changes again. Its hard to learn and the have to learn again.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We do home improvements and some remodeling projects. Our specialty changes with the jobs we get! Right now we are doing a lot of drywall repair for plumbing companies who have replaced all of the piping in a house after a leak.
We also do a lot of inspection report repairs, move in and move out repairs and working with Realtors and Property Managers.
Its our ability to receive the job request, contact the customer and get them on a schedule within 6 hours or so. If we dont do the task they need then will locate someone who can for them with no cost.
We are most proud of our Random Acts of Repair program where we help people or organizations in our community get repairs done at no cost or obligation.
What were you like growing up?
When I was a kid my dad kept me out of trouble by showing me how to build and fix things.
My sister took me under her wing very early and taught me show biz! i started as a child actor and then a technician and eventually a designer and manager.
Coming from the mountains i was an avid skier and an outdoorsy type.
I developed a huge love for music as a teen and have been lucky enough being in Entertainment to be able to work with some of my favorites! A teens dream come true!
Overall as a kid/teen/young adult I never caused any problems or got in trouble. Ever. 🙂
Pricing:
- $85-$125 per hour
- Project pricing for major jobs
- We love working with people within there budget.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gohandymania.com
- Facebook: @gohandymania.com
Image Credits
HandyMania LLC
