PRIME Initiative

Mike Crisp set up HouseHubbies when he was aged 58 with one of the first loans from PRIME. Five years later the firm is thriving, and has extended its area of operation to two sites in the Manchester and Staffordshire areas. It now employs Mike, his partner Sharon Hocking and nine other people.

HouseHubbies (www.househubbies.com) provides a one-stop shop for both basic and more technical home repairs on a fixed price basis. Unlike calling a plumber, gardener or electrician from Yellow Pages, what’s unique about the service is that you can predict in advance exactly what a house hubby is going to cost.

Mike had spent most of his life installing and repairing things. His career started with 10 years in the RAF as a communications technician, followed by many years as a systems engineer in the computer and aircraft industries in both the UK and Saudi Arabia. After returning to the UK, Mike ran a pub and renovated houses.

In his early 50s Mike decided to improve his education. He emerged four year later with a BA in Law and a BSc in Psychology, but without much money or a job.

He started exploring the Australian Hire-a-Hubby idea and realised there was a market for something similar here. But he needed a loan to get the business going on a proper basis. The banks did not want to know because Mike had no collateral - and was by now in his late 50s.

With the help of MES (Mature Enterprise Support), a PRIME partner in Stoke-on-Trent, he developed the business plan and applied for a loan of £5,000.

PRIME’s scheme is a loan of last resort - in other words you can only apply for it if a normal bank has already turned you down. You also need to be aged over 50, not yet trading or in paid work, and have a viable business plan.

But Mike was one of PRIME’s first applicants and it was early days for schemes of this type. There were still legal problems to iron out with the whole concept of ‘community development finance’, and Mike’s file in the PRIME office contains ministerial letters to underline the point. But eventually all was resolved and Mike became one of the pioneers of the community development finance movement.

Mike’s business is itself highly innovative. What worries people about calling a plumber or other tradesman is the risk of not knowing what it’s going to cost. Especially for people without a lot of money to risk, the fear of sky-high call-out charges, and unpredictable labour and material costs may put them of having vital problems fixed.

HouseHubbies has no call out charge. Instead you pay for an amount of time - usually a day or half-day. For example, a Hubby will install new taps, fit a new door lock, tidy the loft - and then do the ironing. HouseHubbies will provide basic items like filler, glues and tap washers free, but more expensive items like taps, pumps and light fittings you can either buy yourself or get a Hubby to buy at cost plus a fixed 10% handling charge.

The idea is so simple and straightforward, people are no longer afraid of getting repairs done. Business has boomed for HouseHubbies, the community has got a valuable new business service - and Mike has been able to pay off his loan early.

Mike can be contacted by email at mike@househubbies.com