'A one-stop shop for homeowners': Handyman turns layoff from Cat into opportunity

Look up the PowerRating of CAT and see how it has performed over the past week as well as the current proprietary PowerRating.

PEORIA, Nov 03, 2009 (Journal Star - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- CAT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- PEORIA -- When Charlie Hurt was laid off from Caterpillar Inc. in 1982, he decided to go into business for himself.

Today, Hurt runs All Around the House and More, a handyman service that employs five people for both residential and commercial jobs.

"I didn't want to just sit back and receive unemployment. I had already worked on several homes for Caterpillar executives. I thought, I can do this," said Hurt, 55, who started doing assembly work for Caterpillar in 1974.

After being laid off for five years, Hurt returned to Caterpillar but continued to operate his own business in his spare time. His business continued to grow to the point he couldn't do both jobs so he resigned from Caterpillar in 1997.

He hasn't regretted that decision.

"I haven't looked back. I've seen the business grow not just financially but in the response we're getting from the community," he said. Hurt said his business racked up $230,000 in sales last year.

An employee came up with the All Around the House and More name in the mid-1990s, he said. "It describes what we are -- a one-stop shop for homeowners. We do painting, drywall, door and window repairs and cleaning gutters -- just to name a few of the jobs we do around the house," said Hurt.

The business was originally based in Chillicothe where Hurt previously lived. "I painted a lot of the storefronts in Chillicothe in the late 1970s and early 1980s," he said.

Hurt moved the operation in the late 1980s to Peoria, where his work takes him on extended visits to various area neighborhoods.

People then tend to tell their neighbors about his work and one job leads to another, said Hurt.

"We did a lot of work on Grandview Drive and in Peoria Heights -- maybe 15 to 20 homes -- then we wound up doing a number of jobs in the Edgewild subdivision," he said.

But Hurt said his work has taken him to all parts of the city. "You have to care about the customer. The low-end homes are just as important as the high-end ones," he said.

Hurt said he knows what it's like to be in need, recalling when he first started doing handyman work. "Sometimes when I didn't have a vehicle available, I would have to take a bicycle to a job," he said.

"There was a time when I wasn't sure where the business was going to go," said Hurt. "I realized I needed transportation to get from one job to another, so to buy a used car, I borrowed $500 from people I knew from church.

"I was able to pay that loan back in three months, but that gave me the determination to keep on going. I always look back to their generosity and support. That support helped me fulfill a dream," said Hurt.

That dream now involves having an office in the Dunn Building at Forrest Hill Avenue and Knoxville Avenue in Peoria, where Penny Orr and Erin Swearingen help schedule jobs and assist customers.

"Sometimes people aren't sure about things. Some are fearful at first," said Swearingen, referring to first-time callers seeking help on a household project.

Aside from his full-time painting staff, Hurt also employs a host of subcontractors for various jobs, from carpentry to de-watering basements.

Sometimes it's important to find the root cause of a problem, he said. "I may get a call to paint someone's basement because the paint is peeling. I can just do the job and maybe get a call five years later when that paint is peeling again. But suggesting that we do something about getting the water away from the walls fixes the problem," said Hurt.

During a down economy, Hurt feels lucky that he's been able to stay busy all year. He knows that some of his customers may not be so lucky.

"You have to know where the customer is coming from. You have to care about the customer," he said.

Business Blueprint is an occasional feature that focuses on small businesses in the Peoria area. If your company has an interesting story to tell and has been in business at least a year, write to us at Business Blueprint, Peoria Journal Star, 1 News Plaza, Peoria IL 61643.

Steve Tarter can be reached at 686-3260 or starter@pjstar.com.

To see more of the Journal Star or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.pjstar.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Journal Star, Peoria, Ill.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email
tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax
to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave.,
Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

More News:   Market Updates | Stock Alerts | All Trading News | Stock Index