We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ryan Feemster. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ryan below.
Hi Ryan , thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later
I wish I had started my business sooner. Probably before incurring master degree debt back in 2012. I didn’t know at that time I was interested in building things. I started my business in 2019/2020. What started out as simple handyman task such as putting furniture together and hanging televisions has turned into something much bigger than I imagined. During this 2019/2020 timeframe I was still working my corporate job as a corporate trainer. Oct. 11 2020 was the day I was let go along with thousands of other individuals company wide. A mixture of COVID-19 and company rework was the cause of so many terminations. Luckily I had an entire business to fall back on.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I am a music and movie loving HBCU grad (WSSU) who enjoys building unique structures for the home. I am from both Carolina’s. South (Carolina) birth me and the North raised me. If you have a space that you have no idea what to do with, I bet I do. I am proud to be able to provide my clients unique solutions for their normal and not so normal spaces in their homes.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Funding is a huge issue for folks starting a business. The best advice I can give, for those who can, start your business while still employed. There is a thousand things to think about when starting a business, your homes light bill should not be one of them. Employment keeps your home life intact while building. It also, funds the business. This may not work for everyone, but it did work for me.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
My side hustle most certainly turned into my career. In December of 2018 I printed my first business cards and called myself a handyman. In January of 2019 I had my first client. I worked my 9-5, but on the weekends and after work I was a handyman. I put furniture together, hung pictures, changed faucets, etc. like I mentioned before in 2020 my corporate job let thousands of individuals go in the name of Covid and “reorg.” In 2021 I became a full time handyman which has grown into more robust carpentry work.
Contact Info:
- Website: Feemstershandymanservice.com
- Instagram: Feemstershandymanservice