They’ve had job requests from 150 miles away
A wife who decided to rent out her husband to other women to do DIY and odd jobs for £40 a time said business is booming. Mum-of-three Laura Young, 38, got the idea from a podcast describing how a man was making a living putting together flat pack furniture for other people.
So in June, she advertised ‘Rent My Handy Husband’ on Facebook and the Nextdoor app for a bit of a laugh, boasting about how good her husband James is at general DIY, painting, decorating, tiling and carpet laying skills.
But within a day, the 42-year-old had his first client and was soon working six days a week from 9 am to 8 pm.
He’s been so busy that he has had to turn down jobs and is now fully booked until mid-November.
Jobs include helping with putting up a TV or curtains to rebuilding a wall, and he is available to hire for anyone who needs help – men and women.
While James handles the labour side of things, Laura works on running the social accounts and website.
The business has been more successful than the couple could possibly have imagined.
The savvy pair have added a new service for the Christmas period, offering installations of festive lights, both inside and outside.
Laura said: “I never expected it to take off as much as it has.
“We’ve only been going four months and it got to a point where there was so much work coming in that James was working six days a week.
“We’ve had to start turning jobs down and reduce our hours, so now we do Monday to Friday 9 am-5 pm.
“We had our own building plans that we’ve not even started as we’ve just been so busy.
“We booked our first job for January too.”
James had to give up his job working in a warehouse to be a full-time carer alongside Laura, looking after their three children, two of which have autism.
James was also diagnosed as autistic himself four years ago and has always been able to focus on things like building and construction.
Laura said: “He’s really good at building things and doesn’t bother with the instructions. So I thought this would be something he could do.
“James doesn’t come from a trade background but his grandad was a nuclear engineer, and they think he was also on the spectrum.
“He’s got a very methodical mind and can think outside the box. He sees things differently.”
Within days, Laura’s Facebook messages were full of people enquiring about her husband’s handiwork.
The couple from Milton Keynes, Bucks, even had requests for over 150 miles away.
Laura said: “The first customer needed a door frame replacing and then from there I just had people enquiring on the Facebook page.
“It went from regular flatpack to so much more, like laying a carpet and rebuilding a wall.
“We even had requests as far as Manchester, to which we told them it may be more practical to find someone closer due to the extra costs, but of course we would have done it!”
But James does have his limits and doesn’t do any electrical and plumbing services.
They don’t charge per job, instead they work by the hour at a rate of £40, or a day-rate of £250.
They also offer discounts to those working in the NHS and emergency services, as well as over-65’s, disabled people, carers and people on universal credit.
Laura said: “We know what it’s like to be parents of children with special needs and we’ve known what it’s like to struggle for money or have to save.”
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