Job lot: hire-a-hubby

By AIDAN RASMUSSEN

Graeme Barnard, aged 58, lives in Massey and has held the franchise for Hire-A-Hubby in that area for the past two years. He earns between $40,000 and $45,000 a year and will soon add the franchise for Lincoln, Ranui and Swanson to his business.

What is a Hire-A-Hubby and what is your job description?

To keep our clothes on, that's the first one. We do lawns as part of a comprehensive service. We do minor electrical and plumbing work that doesn't require a registered electrician or plumber; they're the only things legally we're allowed to do. We get a lot of bathroom and kitchen renovations like changing tap washers and putting in vanity units.

What sort of experience/qualifications do you need?

You've got to have a really good background in handyman work and a love for it. And you have to enjoy relating to people. You don't need to be a qualified tradesman but you certainly need to have had a lot of experience.

Are there prerequisites or a test that you have to sit?

No. But when you show an interest in becoming a franchisee you are put through an intensive interview about your background. You also have to fill in a questionnaire stating what tools you have, your skills and interpersonal relationships. They try to pick people who have good people skills.

How do your rates compare to tradesmen?

They're comparable. Hire-A-Hubby is not promoting itself as a low-cost service. It's promoting itself as a reasonably priced service with the backup of a guarantee of service and workmanship. If we do a job and six months down the track whatever we've fixed has gone crook, we'll do it again for no charge. That makes us a bit more careful the first time.

Why did you become a Hire-A-Hubby?

I did not have a job and I didn't want to get into fulltime employment again. My wife suggested it. Two years ago we went to the Franchise Expo and I thought it would be wonderful to work from home. I'd never had a sole-trading business before. I thought you can have a day off in the middle of the week if you want to and go fishing. You're also going out meeting nice people, doing interesting jobs and a wide variety of jobs. You do four or five different jobs in one day - it's more of a lifestyle thing than a job.

What's the biggest thrill about your job?

It's got to be the customers. It's just lovely to meet somebody you've never met before and click with them. You start off with something that is a bit of a mess and needs to be tidied up. You go in there and you finish that job and it looks like a million dollars and the customers are happy. You really do get a buzz out of that.



A lady I'd done some regular work for had just had an operation and her elderly mother was trying to do all the washing and ironing and wasn't coping very well. One day I got a call and was asked to iron some shirts. It took me about an hour and a half to iron nine shirts. I was so embarrassed that I didn't charge her for it. I hate ironing, my wife has a devil of a job getting me to iron anything at home.