Women mean business

Sheila Hogan is typical of the new type of women who is making big strides in business.

Four years ago, she and her Husband set up Handy Buddies, an East of Scotland handyman agency to help people cope with the hassles of basic property maintenance and to get those odd jobs sorted.

“We needed some odd jobs done at home and had difficulty finding reliable tradesmen who were interested, so we saw a niche for a business offering a dependable service for all those niggly jobs that build up over time,” says Sheila.

When Handy Buddies was launched, Sheila took care of the business administration and bookings from home while her husband Phil carried out the handiwork. Now they employ five Handy Buddies, and office manager and two cleaners, and are gearing up for further growth from their own business premises.

“We’re in talks with our Business Relationship Manager at the Royal Bank right now about franchising the concept, I can really see a big demand for a reliable, well-structured handyman service,” says Sheila.

Her increasing customer base includes Domestic clients, shops and offices and a growing number of property management companies and landlords - all looking for easy maintenance support.

Networking support

As a committee member of the East of Scotland Business Women’s Club in Edinburgh (which she was introduced to by her Business Relationship Manager at the Royal Bank), Sheila fully recognises the rewards that reliable support can bring and believes that similar networks are making a key contribution in encouraging women to set up their own businesses. “I’d encourage every business women to join one of these clubs,” she says.

“They are a brilliant forum for networking. It’s a great way to find new customers and new suppliers - and develop real friendships with people who face the same challenges as you do”.

Find out more on Sheila’s company at www.handybuddies.com.