A new business is looking to connect local contractors and customers in an effort to help businesses and make life easier for residents.
Owned by Donna Frank, 1-Click Contractors launched Oct. 1, and it has already enjoyed a positive response. Frank said she had been working on the company since April, getting the people in place and testing the software the company uses.
鈥淭he last month has been busy with lining up independent contractors and qualifying them for our business,鈥� she said in an interview with the Mercury.聽
Three key areas are their current focus: home repair, house cleaning and yard work.聽
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at jobs that would typically take anywhere from one hour, up to a day or two for contractors who can come in and provide services from assembling products to small construction jobs,鈥� said Frank. 鈥淲e do painting, flooring tiles, tap replacement 鈥� handyman services.鈥澛�
The house cleaning services would include cleaning walls and windows. 聽
Seven contractors are already on board, with four in the home cleaning area and three in home repairs and yard work. 聽
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking for a few more for the home repairs and yard work,鈥� said Frank. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 growing our team as we grow our customers.鈥澛�
A contractor could be a 14-year-old who cuts grass and shovels snow around town, and 1-Click has a special rate for students so that they can come on board. 1-Click looks after marketing and schedulling, and connects them to customers.聽
鈥淲e want to make it so that ... those services are available to our customers, but also to build the strength in the youth and get them employed and making some money,鈥� said Frank.聽
But they would also have contractors who could be the age of 65 looking to get some supplementary income while working two or three days a week.
鈥淭hey choose their schedule, so if they don鈥檛 want to work five days a week, they can choose three days a week. They can take a month off and still come back a month later and take a job, so I think there鈥檚 a huge opportunity for finding the right people who want to work, and help out those who can鈥檛 get it done because they鈥檙e elderly. Or if they鈥檙e busy working many hours a week, it鈥檚 nice to have all these things done for you by someone else,鈥� said Frank.
The contractors are screened, with Frank personally interviewing them and going over their references to ensure it鈥檚 someone she can trust.
鈥淔ollowing that, we do customer reviews, so after the contractor is done work, this customer will get a review, and so we鈥檒l eventually have those reviews posted up with our contractors so that people can see.鈥� 聽
Contractors pay a monthly fee to be part of 1-Click Contractors, which covers the cost of doing the marketing and having an online scheduling app, which Frank described as very sophisticated.聽
鈥淚t allows me to deliver the service that I wanted for our customers,鈥� Frank said. 聽
The number of contractors on the website will be balanced with the number of customers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very exciting, because as we鈥檝e been telling people about what we will be doing, it鈥檚 unique in the area in that it covers services around your home,鈥� said Frank. 鈥淚t鈥檚 online booking, so people can just click, read the review about their contractor, book it online.鈥�
Both customers and contractors have been receptive to the concept.
Frank came up with the idea for the business after previous experiences.
She had to book a housecleaning person in Kelowna, B.C., when one of her sons was selling his condo.
鈥淚 just Google searched and I found a place, and I didn鈥檛 ever talk to anybody, and I booked my service, and it was all handled so easily.鈥澛�
Ever since that experience more than a year ago, she thought this could work in Estevan, using modern technology to connect people.
鈥淭hey really like technology, and the less time it takes for them to do something, the happier they seem to be,鈥� said Frank. 聽
She believes there is an opportunity for growth for the business. People have already asked her if it鈥檚 a franchise.
鈥淥bviously we鈥檒l grow within Estevan, because when we鈥檙e first starting out and building our customers, we might start off with seven contractors, but I would expect that in a year from now, we鈥檒l be up to 12 or 14 contractors.鈥澛犅�
