Jonathan Wong, owner of O‘ahu Ace Handyman Services, wanted to make sure the franchise, which opened in mid-October, “was not a cookie-cutter, Mainland operation.”
Originally from the Islands, Wong says he knew that Hawai’i is “very different” in regard to the culture around starting and operating a business.
“I knew that it took a little bit more effort,” he told Aloha State Daily Friday. “And I know a lot of times, Mainland operations don’t understand that. It took a lot of working back-and-forth with the team, collaborating [to] understand how we can make this work specifically for the local communities. That’s really what I wanted to do. I wanted to not just make this, again, a cookie-cutter operation, but something that enabled people to get high-quality, trustworthy handyman services and also make good jobs. That’s really what I wanted.”
A part of the Ace Hardware family, this is Ace Handyman Services’ first franchise in the Hawai‘i. It offers just what you’d expect — handyman services across O‘ahu. Wong says they can do almost anything except jobs that requires a license or permitting, like full electrical, plumbing or HVAC work.
Some of the most common repairs and services the company provides include drywall repairs, flooring, painting, fixing fence posts and the installation of “grab” bars in showers, he notes.
Wong says he loved that Ace was “really open to the idea of creating something that was local,” and in understanding that in Hawai‘i, “we just kind of do things a little bit differently,” were willing to work with him on service offering and marketing perspectives.
Although Ace is a nationwide brand, Wong says it’s nice that there are “trusted Ace Hardware stores here,” which lends to the franchise’s credibility. A store locator identifies nearly two dozen Ace Hardware locations across the Islands.
The company’s O‘ahu Ace Handyman Services name also gives it a local feel. Wong says they hire people who live here and it’s run by a leadership team from Hawai‘i.
Meanwhile, company's five "value propositions kind of make us the best of both worlds."
Wong says the company is insured and bonded; background checks and drug tests are conducted on its craftspeople; a one-year warranty is offered on the work performed; is supported by the Ace brand name; and “we try to always respect people’s time.”
This isn’t Wong’s first entrepreneurial endeavor.
Wong, a Punahou School grad who majored in accounting and IT at Santa Clara University and received an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, worked on the Mainland for a number of years, including nearly a decade at First Republic Bank.
He returned to the Islands nearly two years ago and started Hele Logistics, which he says was the first locally owned Amazon delivery service partner to operate in Hawai‘i. That company now employs about 130 people.
When asked how he got involved with Ace Handyman Services, Wong says the “entrepreneur bug definitely kicked in.”
“I knew that I wanted to do more and be a part of another company, so that’s when the search really started.”
There were discussions with family trying to find people to do a variety of handy work.
“We just couldn’t find people to do simple-ish tasks.”
But a business school classmate — who does this in Oregon — tipped the scales.
Wong says he didn’t want to pursue just any opportunity, “because every place could use a lot of things. But it’s picking the right type of business, offering the right type of product [and] service that really makes the most sense, provides the most value and supports two ways — providing really good jobs and then as well as providing a needed service.”
Since opening, Wong says response has been good and they’ve been getting a number of repeat customers already.
His long-term vision is to expand to the Neighbor Islands, although there’s no timeline in place for such an expansion.
Find more information about O‘ahu Ace Handyman Services here. You can also reach the office at 808-460-8338.
The AHS brand now has 384 franchise locations in 47 states.
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Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
