The Alimond Show
Welcome to The Alimond Show --join us as we share our entrepreneurial guests' stories, uncover their secrets to success, and explore the unique paths they've taken to build thriving businesses in our community.
In each episode, our host, Aliyah Dastour, sits down with a diverse group of local business owners, from the corner cafe to the boutique shop, from tech startups to family-run enterprises. We peel back the curtain to reveal the trials, triumphs, and transformational moments that have shaped their entrepreneurial journey.
Discover the passion, perseverance, and innovative thinking that fuels these businesses, as well as the challenges they've overcome along the way. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur seeking inspiration or simply a curious listener interested in the stories behind your favorite local spots, The Alimond Show has something for everyone.
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The Alimond Show
John Partridge of Honey Do Today - From Handyman Enthusiast to Business Visionary: Leveraging AI for Rapid Growth, Expanding Across States, and Balancing Personal Ambitions with Entrepreneurial Success
Ever wondered how a simple passion for fixing things can transform into a thriving business empire? John Partridge, the mastermind behind Honey Do Today, shares his extraordinary journey of turning a common handyman question into a successful venture spanning 12 states and employing over 125 people. Get ready to uncover the secrets behind his rapid growth, the innovative use of AI in streamlining operations, and the fine art of balancing personal life with professional ambitions. This episode is a treasure trove of insights for anyone looking to bridge the gap between a dream and its realization.
But that's not all—imagine wielding the power of artificial intelligence as you would compound interest, unlocking unprecedented opportunities for your business. We unravel the transformative potential of AI, drawing parallels with its impact to financial game-changers of the past. Northern Virginia stands as a testament to the possibilities, and we capture the invigorating spirit of being an underdog in the race for greatness. Tune in to discover how the joy of entrepreneurship lies not just in the achievements but in the pursuit itself, offering inspiration and practical wisdom for aspiring innovators.
John Partridge, and my company is Honeydew Today, and we exist for one purpose to answer the question do you know a handyman?
Speaker 2:I love that and as far as the type of services go, it's handyman. So go into detail a little bit about what those services entail.
Speaker 1:Sure, I mean, handyman can encompass a wide variety of activities, but it's really we mount, install, assemble just about anything. But it's really we mount, install, assemble just about anything. I mean, if there's something that needs to be fixed, we fix it. Wood rot, things that need to be caulked, grouted, you know, we fix it. That's what we do.
Speaker 2:I love it, and could I get a backstory on yourself and how you got started in your industry?
Speaker 1:Sure, you know I've always been the guy with five paper routes growing up, always the entrepreneur, and part of that involved just taking things apart and putting things back together. Okay.
Speaker 1:Or one way or the other, and you know, I've also been a serial entrepreneur and involved in the construction trades, scaling and growing several businesses, and I like to go where people aren't necessarily doing the best job. Okay, and I noticed several years ago that nobody was answering the question do you know a handyman? Well, and we took off on a journey to try and answer that question and that's why we exist at Honeydew today.
Speaker 2:I love it. And now, how many people do you currently have on your team?
Speaker 1:We have probably a little over 125.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow, okay, I don't know why. I was thinking it was like maybe 20 or something, but 100, that's a pretty big number. What have been some challenges in expanding and having such a big number now?
Speaker 1:You know we've only been around for six years, but the world has changed. We started before the pandemic and you know, if you had asked me to, you know Zoom before the pandemic, I would have. I don't know if my wife wants me doing that you know something like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And you know, the idea of artificial intelligence was something I saw in a Terminator movie and now these are things that we use every day. Yeah, so you know, in growing we've used. You know, just like every other industry has modern technologies that have been developing, we use them every day. We still realize what business we're in and we're in the recruiting, onboarding, training and development business. We're only as good as the guys and the girls that make the repairs, so it's training and then the artificial intelligence and technology does help with that.
Speaker 2:I'm curious how are you using the AI technology?
Speaker 1:does help with that. I'm curious how are you using the AI technology? Well, for instance, we use it to take our procedures and get it into video and then change languages. We have people in our company from dozens of different companies and we speak at least a dozen languages at Honeydew today, and technology makes it so that if you can communicate, it doesn't matter what language it's in. We can talk back and forth to each other, but you have to be able to communicate which is agnostic when it comes to whatever language.
Speaker 2:that is that's right? No, that's awesome. Thanks for sharing that. I'd like to ask you about marketing, and what are some of the strategies that you're using or techniques that you would like to share with our listeners?
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know marketing provides the greatest leverage for you know return and survival in any business and you know what we do is. You know we seek the lowest price detention at all times, but then also we take advantage of the existing technologies. I think every one of our directors at Honeydew today, in all the different states that we're in and locations I know they have a sign above their computers in their offices and it says if you have time to breathe, you have time to network and social networking is networking. So we really follow a procedure where we're out at the different networking groups and chambers of commerce and clubs and organizations engaging in the know, like trust business.
Speaker 1:We think we have some very nice, good people in our company. We think we have some very nice good people in our company and when people know them and they get to know their expertise and their competence, you know they will want to hire them. But then we back that up because you know we're all out meeting so many people and you've got to back that up. Where the attention is and when we go home at night, it's not necessarily on the TV, it's on our handheld devices and our phones and listening when we go for walks or working out, and you've got to be there. That's a space you've got to be, and so that's where we go.
Speaker 2:Thanks for sharing that. Speaking of devices and phones, I know you walked in here with two phones. What's that about? Are you a really busy guy?
Speaker 1:How are you managing all of that and do you have boundaries? Um, yes, I mean this is not my first rodeo, so I've learned from when I was young. Uh, uh, you know I like all trades I get up very early and most entrepreneurs, uh. But then I, you know, I know by to work so hard that by six o'clock I can turn it off because I can't go anymore, I'm out, that's for the family. My youngest is a freshman in college now, but for years it was coaching or watching them in the sports and different high school things with my wife and the dogs and things like that. But you know you have to have some boundaries. But you know, in terms of the phones, you know technology is evolving and you know we have different apps and things that we have to run from different state locations Wow, and every state's a little different.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and when you say state, are you talking about your business, like do you have different states that you work in?
Speaker 1:We're currently in 12 states and we're scaling fast. The goal at Honeydew today is to be America's handyman.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And to be the first brand name handyman service from coast to coast.
Speaker 2:Wow, and I'd like to ask for any entrepreneurs who are listening how do you know when it's time for your business to scale up, because that can kind of be tricky. I'm sure you have numbers also that back everything. But talk to me about how, when you're like, okay, yeah, this is we got to go here.
Speaker 1:Well, I think for scaling you have to go through a series of really understanding your business's from a 50,000 foot level and one of them is either are you a request for proposal business or are you a recurring revenue model? You know a membership model and then you have to really look at and go. You know what's the price point, what are you providing? Can you reduce the amount of variables and account for variables in the services you provide? You know, for instance, you know common search handyman service is to mount a television.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And we want to be able to provide the consumer with here's your price and we do that. But you have to account for the different variables that are going to come about, and one of them is are you mounting on a brick wall? Are you mounting on stone? Do you have to have some cables run? Is this an 80-inch TV that one person can't put up? You need two people there. How high is it? There's so many little things that you have to put in there, and the beauty of it is I thought we were blessed years ago when we were given the internet. You could Google things and do stuff. But now, with again, artificial intelligence, you can get procedures out and things so much faster and get that into video or audio and teach people the way they want to be taught For sure, and how is the training process for your hirees and the handymen that you have Like?
Speaker 2:what does that look like and what type of person are you looking for when they're working with you guys?
Speaker 1:Well, we're looking for a number of things, but you know, again I'll give the sports analogy. You know I've always had an affinity and participation with different, different sports.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And you know the best coaches are the ones that can take, uh, you know, they don't have to have hall of fame players and they can still win a Superbowl, um, or, or world series or what have you. And, uh, you know the best entrepreneurs and you know, if you want to try and be one of the best entrepreneurs, you've got to be able to take good people and turn them into, you know, superstars, and you can do that now with the technology, because people learn different ways. And you know, no longer can you hand somebody the procedures manual and say read it.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And you know, we all know how that works. Most people take it and they throw it in. You know, at best they throw it it. Yeah, and you know, we all know how that works. Most people take it and they throw it in. You know, at best they throw it away. Yeah, you know, or usually you see it on the side of the road or something like that, or it's, you know, in the backseat of a car or something like that. We try and gamify things. We put things into bingo sheets and flash cards.
Speaker 2:Hey, that's awesome. Hey, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and different things Just make it fun. Does the entrepreneur, the business owner, really care how your people learn, whether it be your clients or your? I mean, you have different stakeholders. Yeah, you have to educate your stakeholders into what your secret sauce is. Yeah, and how you do that. Yes, there are going to be some people that will give me that book. I'm going to read that, and they do. Some people are going to be some people that will give me that book. I'm going to read that, and they do. Some people are going to watch the whole video. It doesn't really matter. You've got to have all of it. And, let's face it, for a lot of businesses, unless you're a Fortune 500 company, where's the money to do that?
Speaker 1:up until recently. But now you have it, now you can do it.
Speaker 2:So, in a nutshell, that's what it is. That was a great way to put it, thank you. Where do you see yourself in the next five years as a person and with your business?
Speaker 1:You know you have to build your companies like you're never going to sell it, but you also have to structure it so that it can be sold and it can be run by anybody. If the person who started it or the people that started, the founders, are the only ones that can run the company, it won't run. Without that guy or that girl, you're in trouble. You didn't really build a business, you built a profession, so you always have to have that mantra going on, somebody whispering in your ear what are you building here? And there's nothing wrong with a profession. It can give a lot of satisfaction and money. Here in Leesburg we know plenty of very good professionals lots of lawyers and doctors and all kinds of marketing people that they love what they do and it's their art. It really is. I mean, anything can be an art, but a business is a little bit different and it has to be able to run without you and that means it's procedure, procedure systems, backup systems. You know it's tricky.
Speaker 2:It's the hardest thing. Have you been able to find like the secret to how you do that? Are you still in the process of that, where it's like able to run without? I guess you.
Speaker 1:You know, it's not a secret, it's out there, just like a lot of things. You know, how do you get strong or in shape? How do you, you know, get to Carnegie Hall? You practice, all of this is out there. The thing is, the technology makes it easier to do and then you've just, you know, you have to experiment and that means run down the rabbit hole, sometimes Realize there's nothing good at the end of the rabbit hole, run back up and run down another rabbit hole, and the entrepreneurs that create something great have that energy and that drive that they can run down endless rabbit holes.
Speaker 2:Wow, yeah, okay, is there anything that perhaps I have not touched on that you would like to share with our listeners about your business or yourself or your industry?
Speaker 1:You have the floor. But boy, this is exciting. I mean, we finally have something in artificial intelligence that doesn't provide just linear growth to anybody's company, it provides geometric growth. And I think that it's. You know who is it? Albert Einstein? They kind of you know. They always say it's Einstein or Lincoln who gets credit for the quote.
Speaker 2:Okay, let's see.
Speaker 1:Maybe Churchill, you know, but he said, you know he once said the greatest power in the universe was compound interest and I think he's been proven wrong recently. Right now it's artificial intelligence and if you can harness that and you get kind of a mentality that I'm going to find ways to do it I know it's painful and it can be difficult, but if you find ways to use the devices and the systems that are coming out in your business, people are going to create great things from bedrooms and offices and basements.
Speaker 2:Literally, our world is going to be in moisture.
Speaker 1:And that will create greater wealth and well-being for everybody.
Speaker 2:So it's exciting.
Speaker 1:It's going to happen, and we've got some smart people here in Northern Virginia. We sure do. I'm excited to see what comes out from some of the people.
Speaker 2:Okay, maybe it'll be you too. You're one of the smart guys, come on.
Speaker 1:We'll see. I don't know about that. Hey, you're here, I'm saying you are.
Speaker 2:I work hard, and then my final question is going to be do you have a saying, a quote or a mantra that has stuck out in your life, or maybe something that someone said? Could you share that with us as a final message?
Speaker 1:I do, and it's life is never so fun as when you're the underdog chasing the giants.
Speaker 2:What does that mean? Break it down for me.
Speaker 1:It means it's a lifestyle. It's not about getting to the top of the podium or the summit. It's the journey. I know it's cliche, but it really is. And if you're the true entrepreneurs out there, they wouldn't do anything else. They're unemployable If they can't get up every day. The people that I know that build their companies and do things, they get up every day and they're excited to go, build their company and the idea of and again, everybody has their place and different things that drive them. But that's what that means. I love it when you're chasing something and trying to create something great. It's enjoyable in itself.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, thank you so much for being here and offering so much wisdom and a lot of background knowledge and firsthand experience that you have. We really appreciate it. Well, thank you Absolutely.