Hafida Sarachi

Hafida’s experiences with intimidating and unreliable tradesmen inspired her decision to take DIY into her own hands. Endless horror stories about women and older people being scammed by ‘rogue’ handymen got her thinking about how much more comfortable many people would feel with a women working in their home.

Initially Hafida had to split her time between caring for her two year old son and business planning. By day she was a mother and by night an entrepreneur, turning her spare room into an office and translating her personal values into a viable business plan. The ethos of HandyGirl is very clear: respect for people’s homes and time; a prompt, reliable, trustworthy, local service; and quality workmanship at a fair price!

Hafida worked tirelessly to raise the profile of HandyGirl, setting up a launch party and inviting the local press and the mayor. The novelty of the idea meant that she received a good deal of coverage and was awarded a year’s free membership of her Chamber of Commerce. She worked in partnership with local businesses that supported and promoted her enterprising spirit. What she lacked in business knowledge she made up for with hard work and extensive research.

Hafida is now an award-winning business woman with a variety of strings to her bow. She has set up and run ‘Girl Power DIY Evenings’, helping women to feel confident about tackling home improvement tasks and raising money for Age Concern. She has this advice for anyone starting out: “Every time I feel fear it’s because I care about an idea, and knowing this gives me the determination to see it through. You can control fear through planning. Be yourself, be passionate about what you do and be proactive – it will help to keep your fear of failure under control”.