We were lucky to catch up with Katie Whitaker recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Katie, thanks for joining us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later
I love this question because I wish I had started my business sooner but I know I started Handyma’am at the perfect time. I moved to NYC in 2011 and immediately got hired by West Elm as a visual manager – my role eventually expanded into something like a brand carpenter. I worked there for 8 years and loved my time with the company but there was no career path for me. In late 2018 I met my now wife, Madeleine, and we started talking about what my life would look like without a traditional job. What if I worked for myself? Where do I even start? Do I need a team? What kind of business would it be? I was in a brand new relationship and considering uprooting my entire life to start a business. So I started doing handiwork as Handyma’am on the side to build clientele and feel it out. From there, it all happened so fast. By March of 2019 I quit my job at West Elm and turned Handyma’am into my full time job. I had no real plan but I had a partner who believed in me and more work than I could ever imagine. Now, Madeleine and I are married, Handyma’am is a team of three amazing humans and we’ve built a community around this little business that could. Do I wish I started sooner? Yes, but I couldn’t have built it without the love and support of my wife and our queer community. That’s how I know Handyma’am was started at the exact right time.
Katie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I was born on a farm in Georgia. My dad owns a hardware and industrial supply store that was his fathers. My grandfather was a welder. I grew up doing things on the farm, getting my hands dirty and working in my dads store. I went to school at Savannah College of Art and Design for furniture design and installation art. After graduation I worked as a display artist for Urban Outfitters (worst job of my life) and eventually moved to NYC and started work at West Elm. I’ve been building things and fixing stuff pretty much my whole life.
Now, I own and operate Handyma’am. Handyma’am is a queer owned and operated handy business. We can fix, build, install and create (almost) anything. We offer everything from bidet installation to interior painting. I noticed that good handiwork is almost impossible to find in our area. Everyone I talked to had countless projects their contractor refused to finish or their landlord refused to fix. We believe home repairs shouldn’t be complicated. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed when your sink is leaking and your light fixture makes your head hurt and you have no idea where to put your furniture. Your home is special and we want you to love it.
Handyma’am believes in accessible home repairs in a safe environment. We want you to feel comfortable having us in your home, we want to pet your dog and meet your kids. We want to build community and lift each other up.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I started HM in 2019 with a toolbag and a lot of confidence. It grew so fast, I was saying no to jobs and working 6 days a week within 2 months. I was thrilled – tired, but thrilled. Then Covid hit in early 2020 and the world came screeching to a halt. I went from being thrilled to being terrified. After NYC lockdown ended, my inbox was flooded again. But I had no idea how to safely start working amid a pandemic. Luckily, our clients are superheroes. They would quarantine in one room while we worked in another, video chatting and calling back and forth to make sure TV’s were hung in the correct place, light fixtures were the right height and everything was exactly right. The amount of trust that went into every job was truly incredible. Folks repeatedly showed up for us. They were stuck as home and in desperate need of help reorganizing their kitchens into workspaces or classrooms and we were there to help. Looking back, I am so proud of what we accomplished.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
We are 100% referral based so our reputation is everything. We keep it simple, be honest, do good work and don’t overcommit. We never start a job we can’t finish. We are good people doing good work and that speaks louder than anything.
Contact Info:
- Website: handymaam.nyc
- Instagram: @handymaamnyc
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/handymaam-brooklyn
- Other: https://g.page/r/CZwYRQcoWr5_EBE/review