While the Covid-19 pandemic has cost millions of jobs and caused tens of thousands of businesses to close, one business that is going from strength to strength is HandyMate.
HandyMate is a clever idea that allows people to find a skilled person in their local area in Canada to do jobs in and around their property. Thanks to the platform, you can find any type of service from someone to clean your windows, to cleaning your house, and even a skilled person to decorate the property. Unlike other similar platforms, HandyMate verifies each person who offers their services, which provides someone looking for a skilled person to know they are hiring a skilled, trusted, and reliable person.
The new platform is not just a great way for local people to find a skilled person, it is also a fantastic way for local skilled people to increase their customer base. While skilled people are struggling at the moment to find work, HandyMate provides them a platform to have customers come to them.
Already HandyMate has become a huge success, so we wanted to find out more about Handymate and sat down with the founder to learn more.
Hi, can you introduce yourself and tell me a bit about yourself?
Hello, my name is Said. I am 25 years old. I live in Ottawa. In my spare time I like to play tennis and work on variety of side projects that I have. I like software engineering, everything about technology, art, philosophy, space and mind fascinates me. One of my most favourite topics to think about is artificial intelligence. One of my life goals is to make Canada one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, by starting multiple tech ventures that benefit local economy, environment and will modernize Canadian daily lifestyle.
So, you have launched a new business, sounds exciting, can you tell me a bit more about it?
We started HandyMate in December 2019. It is an online startup that focuses on helping Canadians with their daily chores and needs, all while helping local independent contractors and freelancers, known as TeamMates, to build their business and have alternative means of income. We want to build trust between contractors and local communities by ensuring that all our trades are background checked and verified. Customers can chat with TeamMates, schedule a time to get the tasks done, track TeamMates on the map when they are coming, and finally, get the chance to review the work they had done. All transactions are cashless making it secure and more convenient for customers. HandyMate helps customers to save a little money and support local economy by providing jobs to local contractors. TeamMates can start or expand their existing business, set their own prices and hours, earn money, receive guaranteed payment via the app, and help people in their local community.
Your website HandyMate says earn money by helping others, what do you mean by that?
We know that there are dozens of skilled independent contractors and people with valuable skills in Canada. Some contractors are struggling with building their cliental, some people are struggling with having fewer alternative means of income and others are simply not trusted within communities. We, at HandyMate want all people with valuable skills which can be monetized, to feel valued and motivated to use their skills to help others and get extra income.
Helping others and getting paid for it sounds like an exciting idea, how do you think of it?
I think of it very simply – have valuable skills and want to make money by helping others? Then join HandyMate and lets start growing together.
What is the difference from someone going direct to a tradesperson or company than going through HandyMate?
When someone goes directly to the tradesperson or company there is no guarantee that they are legitimate. Most of the time people would find a tradesperson from marketplaces like Kijiji and Craigslist. Those contractors are random strangers who were not verified or checked. There is no customer support for clients, nor there is any support for contractors. HandyMate eliminates all the small hurdles that current marketplaces are creating. Clients can track, message and review their contractor’s work. If something goes wrong, our clients are able to contact our customer support through the app within minutes. TeamMates can grow their profiles and see their rating in community. Becoming a TeamMate gives you a tremendous opportunity because we want our TeamMates to succeed and that’s why we advertise and promote their profiles for no additional charge. We work closely with all our TeamMates to ensure that their work is growing, and they are benefiting local communities.
So, if I requested a service from HandyMate like a painter and decorator, will I have someone visit my home who is a professional and qualified, or will I have someone who does it for a hobby?
If your profession or trade is regulated in the region, it means that to work and use your job title, you must: have a license or certificate. Someone like a decorator can do it for a hobby but someone like an electrician will be a professional.
Do you vet people who provide services through HandyMate?
Yes, we do. We have a selective verification process. We partnered up with Certn Co. to run criminal background checks on all our TeamMates within minutes. For certain trades that are regulated we require licences, certificates and insurance. We collect TeamMates’ personal verification documents and banking information. Safety and quality of our task requests is our main priority. We have deleted many contractors from our platform that did not pass our verification process or didn’t meet our requirements. Usually it takes about 15-25 minutes to get verified by our TeamMate support team. We do not charge our contractors for registering or doing criminal background check.
This sounds like a great idea for people who want to start their own business offering services and for those who are retired as well as those needing extra income for education, is there an age limit for a person who wants to join HandyMate and offer services?
Yes, all TeamMates must be 19+ years old.
You are based in Canada, but can we expect the service to go global?
We are based in Ottawa. We are available in all Ontario cities and we will be focusing on making HandyMate available across the whole country by the end of this year. Currently we are focused only on Canadian market but we are open to bring HandyMate to other parts of the globe.
Your site says no need to worry about quotes and invoices, so how does your service work?
All job requests are made through the HandyMate and the TeamMate mobile applications. Once a customer finds a TeamMate for the required task, they can send a request with all the details. Clients see rates per hour and per visit. TeamMate can approve, cancel or reschedule the request. Once the task is completed, TeamMate can create an invoice based on the hours worked. TeamMate can add any extra expenses that occurred while completing the task, and the invoice is updated momentarily. Clients get a detailed invoice straight on their phone. After both parties are satisfied with provided service, client pays for the order via the app and rates the TeamMate. We do 2 payouts weekly. TeamMates can request to get paid more than twice a week. All payouts are made through direct deposit.
What feedback have you received from customers who have used your service?
We have received a positive feedback regarding our platform and customer support. Our clients and TeamMates are happy that they can contact customer support and get help within 15 minutes. Customers like the design of our mobile apps and website. The only drawback that we have is having a small number of registered contractors. Sometimes our clients inform us that there is no available TeamMate to do a task. In the nearest future our customers will always have a TeamMate to complete any required task they have.
You have a lot of services that you offer, do you plan to add more services?
At HandyMate, we always listen to our users, no matter if it’s a TeamMate or a client who is reaching out to us, we value all the feedback we receive from users. All the services that you see on our platform were picked by our contractors and marketing team. Sometimes contractors would reach out to us and ask to add a new category for a service, in order for them to join the platform. Clients email us asking to add specific services after what we add them. We will be always adding new services. Just send us an email.
To learn more about HandyMate, please visit https://handymate.ca/
About HandyMate
HandyMate, is a professional platform to bring tradespeople together with their targeted audience
