Checklist Home Services: Handiwork done right

I'm Tasha O'Farril, president of Checklist Home Services, a white-glove handyperson company in NYC. My journey with Checklist began in 2014 when I started as a part-time bookkeeper. I quickly became the right-hand to the company's founder, and in 2017 she gave me the opportunity to become president and co-owner. I seized the opportunity and became a first-generation business owner.

I've worked in the service industry since I was legally allowed to work! I've worked in every function of a small business: bookkeeping, dispatching, marketing, hiring, firing, even rolling up my sleeves and working side-by-side with my handymen. 

As a mom of 4, I put myself through college while working full-time. 

I am not an attractive loan candidate for banks. But if they made lending decisions based on grit and determination, I would be! 

Banks don't see that I run the highest credentialed handyperson company in NYC: licensed, insured, bonded, Latina-owned and reviewed 5-starts on Yelp, Google and Angie's List by hundreds of clients.  I'm crowdfunding to raise the capital needed to scale the business to serve the ever-growing market for outsourced home services. 

In today's gig economy, consumers are outsourcing more and more of their home tasks to get some relief from the mounting to-do list. Dog walking, food delivery, home cleaning, meal preparation, laundry services, you name it. Some consumers turn to mobile apps to book handyman services, usually through a platform that connects them to W-9 subcontractors.

Most of us have had negative experiences with contractors -- from poor quality work to lousy customer service to outright theft. Many consumers don't want to hire Chuck-in-a-Truck or an anonymous person through an app. They want someone background-checked, broadly skilled, who will be respectful of their home and take the to-do list off their hands. That's where Checklist comes in.

Have you ever been belitted by a contractor in your own home? Construction is an overwhelmingly male field; purchasers of home services are overwhelmingly female. Unfortunately that often leads to condescension. We at Checklist don't have that problem because we are woman-owned, with a mission to bring professionalism to an industry not known for it.

While it may seem that we are just painting, fixing, assembling, and unclogging things, what we are actually doing is giving you time and peace of mind.

Recently featured on MSNBC, Checklist gets into the details to make every job successful. From the gloss of the paint to your toddler's nap schedule, we ask the right questions up front so that when your handyperson arrives, they've been set up for success. Our flagship service is the handyman-for-a-day, which our clients love as an efficient way to tackle the dreaded list all in one day.

Our biggest differentiator is simple: all field and office staff are W2 employees, not 1099 subcontractors. We care about our work and build long-term relationships with clients. Our work is in your home, your sanctuary, and we treat it as if it’s our own.

The demand for handyman services is growing rapidly. With your support, Checklist can capture it by expanding beyond our narrow service area of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.

With the capital raised through IFW, I will be able to to invest in marketing and purchase company vehicles. With more wheels, Checklist can expand our service area to all of the boroughs, Long Island, and Westchester, where there is demand that we haven't previously been able to serve. The funds will also help me fully purchase Checklist from its founder.

With your support, I can reach my dream of owning my own business and providing a great life for my family. Thanks for your consideration!