Gran leaves job to turn hand to DIY (From The Bolton News)

Gran leaves job to turn hand to DIY

WHEN Kath Wright decided to become a professional handywoman it was not too much of a wrench to leave her old job.

Gran leaves job to turn hand to DIY

She saw the writing on the wall and left before redundancies were announced.

But the grandmother had no intention of going on the dole.

Mrs Wright was always handy with DIY around her home in Farnworth and with support from family and friends she decided to turn her hobby into a career.

She has transformed herself into a Mrs Fixit and has called her new company Wright Handy Women — no job too small.

Complete with a set of tools, a van with her logo and a will to work and determination to succeed, she has gained a lot of jobs from women customers who are sometimes uneasy about having male workmen in the their homes.

She has no regrets about spending several thousand pounds on setting herself up as a handywoman.

Mrs Wright, aged 44, of Farnworth, said: “I was working in textiles production and I could see what was happening so I left but I wouldn’t go on the dole.

“I’ve always been quite handy around the house, doing my own DIY and decorating and helping out friends and family.

“Somebody said to me why don’t you do what you do now as a job so I thought about it and went ahead and set it up the business in August.”

Since then she has completed several jobs, including painting and decorating, hedge trimming, fixing drainpipes, put up curtain rails and fitted a bathroom along with a female plumber.

“I’ve had a lot of work from women who feel happier having another woman in the house and I will do any job however small it might be.

“I will even take elderly people shopping if that’s what they want.”

She reckons that around 85 per cent of her work since setting up has come from female customers and a lot of new work is now coming from word of mouth.

Mrs Wright says she gets a lot of fiddly small jobs and often those lead satisfied customers to ask her to do bigger jobs.

If the business continues to build, as it is now, she may look to take staff and expand it significantly.

She was helped in setting up as a sole trader by Bolton Business Ventures and she completed courses designed to help people set up on their own.

“When I first set up it was a it daunting because I didn’t know what to expect but I am getting into my stride now.”