Today we’d like to introduce you to Cat Theriot.
Cat, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Four years ago, my husband and I built our dream home in Garden Oaks. We were both very busy consultants with a full plate. I went looking for a business that could help us maintain our new home throughout the years and to be there when we needed something fixed. I didn’t have the time to figure out who to call or if they were truly qualified. And with two full-time working parents, neither of us had the time to meet with or “supervise” a handyman, if I could find one.
I needed a reliable and trustworthy company that specialized in various home maintenance services, including everything from sheetrock repair to gutter cleaning to maid service. Yet to my surprise, no such company existed in Houston. So, I decided to start one on my own. I left my 15-year career as an IT consultant and director at a major firm in the energy sector, to open my own home maintenance company—The House Manager (THM).
As I started to write my business plan in the spring of 2016, I discovered that not only could THM be a one-stop-shop for all home maintenance and handyman needs, but we could also provide concierge and laundry courier services.
I sent in my first job bid in August 2016, and have not looked back. Our builder, interior designer and other friends and associates in the industry have helped me build and secure a list of very professional and highly qualified trades, some of who helped to build my own home.
Opening my own business has given me a chance to be more involved in my family life and I pray every day that it will be financially rewarding, as was my previous career. In the meantime, I am working hard, keeping my head down, and plowing through.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Yes and no. As a homeowner, I know what I expect from people working in my house and how I would like my house to left upon completion of a project. Also, as a homeowner, I would like a quick turnaround of bids and would like to get the work scheduled based on my calendar. However, as a business owner, I am coming to find out that a quick turn around of bids and promptness in this line of work is not the same as it was in the corporate world.
My clients and I are beholden to the schedules and availability of the various trades who work for us. A major service that The House Manager provides is selecting the proper trade, planning and scheduling the job, project management on site, ease of billing, and finally, quality assurance once the job is done. Since we are starting to have repeat tasks, we have built up our price list and are able to quickly turn out bids and projects.
After several jobs of similar nature, we are now able to provide clients with a firm idea of cost and time to completion. Also, I am discovering that clients really do not know the true cost and long-term benefits of maintaining their home. We try to educate clients on every task we do, along with explaining step-by-step the project plan going forward, so they can better understand why proper and regular home maintenance is important to the longevity of their home, and how it can save them money over time.
As it was in my old job, follow-ups are still as important and sometimes it is purely just to let the customer know we are still working on getting their bid together.
Our number of calls and leads for bidding on jobs has tripled since Hurricane Harvey. As a one-woman show, handling the day-to-day operations, along with the back office work, client scheduling, and onsite management, has been overwhelming. With a recent addition of a customer/project management software and an assistant, I am now able to get one or two nights of good sleep at week!
Another major challenge we have faced and will certainly continue to face is when and to what degree we should expand our team of high-quality trades.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are a handyman, home maintenance, and concierge company. We want our clients to give us their home maintenance headaches and let us handle their household year-round. We want them to enjoy their family, their life, their hobbies or whatever makes them happy and leave the regular home maintenance problems to The House Manager.
We provide our clients with a worry-free atmosphere. As I tell a lot of them, “just send me your laundry list or to-do list and we will start knocking them out.” This helps our clients feel a sense of relief that someone other than them is handling items that have been burdening their minds.
I am most proud as a company of getting repeat business and referrals.
We are a one of a kind company in Houston. To my knowledge, we are the first one-stop shop for all of your home and household needs We do everything from fixing your toilet, installing a new toilet, to remodeling your bathroom, to making your hotel reservations and running those last minute errands for your upcoming vacation.
What were you like growing up?
I kind of laughed at this question. I was very social and always wanted to know what was going on to ensure I was available. I have always liked being around friends. I thought I wanted to be a lawyer until I sat in one of the law libraries at my dad’s office and discovered it was just a big English paper and I hated writing.
My senior year in high school I had to take a computer programming class and I fell in love with the black and white logic of programming. I guess in some sense I have always been a very logistical thinker. While growing up if my parents bought something that needed to be put together, I always want to be the one who did it. I just loved doing the step-by-step and seeing the finished product.
Computer programming was very similar with building programs out of code.
Pricing:
- Handyman – $75/hour Typical handyman tasks: Hang items within home, change lightbulbs, etc
- Concierge – $50/hour Run errands, shop, make appointments, post office, online shopping returns, etc.
Contact Info:
- Website: thehousemanager.net
- Phone: 832-915-0207
- Email: sales@thehousemanager.net
- Facebook: facebook.com/TheHouseManagerLLC
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
