Community Highlights: Meet Courtney Michael of Candor UpKeep Handyman Services

Today we’d like to introduce you to Courtney Michael.

Hi Courtney, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstory.
Hi! I’m Brandon Michael, owner of Candor UpKeep Handyman Services (actually, this is Courtney, his wife/right-hand woman and I’ll tell the story on Brandon’s behalf). Candor UpKeep Handyman Services began after Brandon was laid off during the pandemic. He started doing little odd jobs and gained more and more opportunities to continue pursuing honey-do-type tasks to stay afloat. Then, he met me! At the time, I owned a cleaning business. I told him early into our dating that I wanted to marry another entrepreneur. We discussed our values and determined that we aimed to build something as a couple where we could influence culture through service. We wanted to be able to invest our hearts and souls into creating companies that offer quality, trustworthy, and personalized services while meeting practical needs that buy back people’s time. We love that whether changing a light bulb or remodeling an entire bathroom, we are impacting our clients’ environments so that they can put their attention and time towards the things that matter most to them.

We both have a lot of experience in property management and have witnessed the need for many providers in the handyman and residential service industry to offer quality services with integrity. We see ourselves and our role within the industry as guardians and examples to set the standard of expectations for Kansas City’s residents and our peers. This goes a long way for our clients in our services but also impacts and champions our friends in the business. The cream always rises to the top! Our work always speaks for itself.

Our journey has been beautiful, painful, and deliberate. Like every entrepreneur, we have faced many challenges to overcome and enjoyed timely victories to keep us motivated to keep growing and reaching for more. Being a husband/wife team has also been a very personal and unique challenge and blessing with many crossovers.

I could talk a lot about specifics. Still, in a nutshell, for every giant we have faced, I have had a front-row seat to watch Brandon approach the battle of growing our business with the same grit and determination as he has within our lives behind closed doors. My husband is an example to me. He urges and compels me to become a better woman. He doesn’t just pursue growth when needed or required but actively and regularly takes assessments of each area of our company and his character. He aggressively pursues development, inspiring everyone lucky enough to witness him.

Right now, we are faced with “smashing the pot”. We are reinventing and re-systemizing many components of our company in order to scale to the next level. Our systems have been a great fit for us, up to this point. Still, to effectively keep our core values as the foundation of our service and multiply our contractors and internal staff, it has become apparent that we need to take the time to write out a lot of expectations and processes that can be more replicable with a variety of personalities.  This season of pruning is exciting and intimidating but must be done so we can continue to offer intentional and personalized services with a much larger team. We look forward to the results of our efforts!

Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No. Not at all. Neither Brandon nor I have business experience outside of growing our own companies, so we have had to deliberately learn every process from website building to finance to tiling a bathroom! We have had to learn through many hard hits, failures, and disappointments but we have not and will not give up. We take the hits, learn from them, take responsibility, and try again!

Brandon has taken primary ownership of the onsite work. He is responsible for doing quotes, preparing and planning for the jobs from start to finish, networking with other industry professionals who we partner with to do specialized work (plumbers, electricians, roofers, etc.), working onsite, training and teaching other handypersons how to do each job/task onsite, hiring, and attending in-person networking events to promote our company. He also does several weekly coaching sessions, the finances/books, payroll, and oversees the website (which we finally outsourced and looks way better – check it out! https://www.candorupkeep.com/).

Courtney operates the phone, does the social media posting (primarily Facebook and Instagram), handles the conflicts/complaints when they come, does billing and emails, and manages contracted back-end help (our accountant, bookkeeper, website developer, etc.), and attends growth clubs to help set quarterly goals.

These tasks have had to be learned, refined, systemized, re-systemized, etc. There have been several late nights, weekend getaways, early mornings, and backyard team meetings over a cigar and glass of wine (that’s our thing) to overcome the challenges we face and ensure that the onsite and office operations remain as in-sync as possible.

On a personal note, we have also dated, got married, moved in together/learned to live with each other, got a puppy, traveled, made a baby, and survived the first 3 months of parenthood in our personal lives while creating the company over the last 2 years! We have faced significant financial challenges, theft, learning not to commingle, learning how to set aside for taxes, how to create a point of differentiation, what we need to outsource vs. keep in-house, and learning to lead in a way that facilitates the growth of the culture.

There have been so many times when we have felt that growing and creating this business would crush us (this last week has been one of those weeks, to be honest, because we had 3 core team members put in their notice all at once for different reasons). We are recalibrating quickly and adapting methodically.

One of the other challenges has been the success.  At our height, we have had a team of 11 members! With success comes a lot of responsibility and the need for accountability. Finding appropriate accountability, teaching, mentorship, and teachers has been challenging. Choosing to be responsible and obedient to those structures of authority that we have put over ourselves is another challenge that we regularly face. I anticipate these challenges to remain as long as we are in business, regardless of our success level, because they are vital to growth.

Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us more about your business.
Candor UpKeep Handyman Services started as a “Jack of All Trades” solution to residential upkeep, repair, and remodeling. As we grow, we are choosing to focus during the Fall and Spring of 2023, specifically on water purification and remineralization filtration installation systems, deck work, and wood rot repairs.

Our commitment to being honest, authentic, and real daily (BHARD) keeps us accountable to our core value of offering a “CAN DO” service with excellence. We don’t just want to fix things in homes. We want to attract clients we can build relationships with, encouraging them in times of difficulty and celebrating with them as they experience victories. If we cannot be the answer to a residential need, we pride ourselves on our network for quality referrals. We want to be the source of the answer to our client’s needs. Choosing to invest time and effort into creating a strong and vast referral system is also a way we can champion and build up other ventures in Kansas City. We strengthen our city when we choose to be the biggest cheerleaders for other companies and industries. Kansas City is known for being the nation’s heart in business and entrepreneurial endeavors. We seek to become a household name, which can only happen if we choose to participate with other businesses and clients we can serve.

We are most proud of our team! We believe in treating our team members with the same honor, enthusiasm, and service mentality as we deliver to our clients. With our team, we could get a job done! We choose to make personal investments in our team members’ growth, education, development, and personal lives as a perk of working with us. In turn, we are rewarded with their loyalty and the benefits of their knowledge and skill. We offer a paid yearly opportunity to attend a Christian retreat with us, opportunities to attend Growth Club with Coach Joe for business and personal development, and try to create fun experiences in the day-to-day (sometimes we catch these on camera and post to our social media! Keep an eye out for what the team is up to next!). The experience we have to offer is a direct result of the company culture we are trying to create and invest in behind the scenes and the core values we are committed to injecting into every department.

What makes you happy?
Courtney here! I am happy when I choose to be still. Selah. Breath. Observe. Relax. This opportunity to tap into a God-inspired and protected peace is a huge part of why I am willing to grind and hustle. I am most happy with my family, sitting outside with my dogs, enjoying a glass of wine, smelling Brandon’s cigar, watching the sunset, and feeling a cool breeze sweep my hair across my shoulder. I am happy when we take off six weeks out of the year to tell people about Jesus. We could not easily take that time, promote our faith, or even share our personal stories if we did not own our own company. I love watching people walk into freedom and wholeness and seeing how that revelation of what Jesus has done, who He is, and what He promises can genuinely transform people’s lives as it did mine. Lastly, uniquely flavored hot lattes make me happy. Please go find a 16 OZ, Oat milk, Cookie Dough, and double shot right now!

“Brandon, what makes you happy?” I asked as I was finalizing my review of what I wrote. “Life isn’t about happiness.” he responded in typical Brandon fashion. “What do you want me to say it’s about then?” I pressed. Without pausing he answered, “Serving God and building character. Why are you asking me this? I’m busy working!”

And it’s true… he is busy working… and I should be too… so long!

Pricing:

• $125/man HR
• Whole quotes by project
• In person and virtual estimates available depending on scope/scale of work

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.candorupkeep.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/candorupkeep/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CandorUpkeep
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/candor-upkeep/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CandorUpkeepHandymanServices

Image Credits
Courtney Michael, Karis Michael (hiding in Courtney’s Belly), Brandon Michael, Zach Hogan, Mariah Kutilek, Baby Mac, and Becky Lee