In a recent episode of  "Franchisor Hot Seat,"   Nick Powills , founder and publisher of 1851 Franchise, interviewed  Colette Bell , founder of Ace Handyman Services . This podcast tells the story of how what was formerly known as Handyman Matters, a successful home repair franchise, was acquired by Ace Hardware and transformed into Ace Handyman Services. It's a tale of perfect synergy, brand power, and the unexpected benefits of a pandemic. The acquisition wasn't just a financial transaction; it was a cultural alignment.  “I tell people all the time — basically, what happened was we had built this car, right? This franchise business model, and Ace came along and gave it a new paint job,” Bell said. “The engine’s the same, the seats are the same, the chassis is the same — they didn’t change the business model at all.” The COVID-19 pandemic, while challenging for many businesses, proved to be a surprising boon for Ace Handyman Services. With people spending more time at home, they became acutely aware of needed repairs and improvements. Ace Hardware, with its smaller footprint and perception of cleanliness, saw increased traffic and a customer base looking for contractors. Customers thought, “If these contractors are good enough for Ace Hardware, they’re good enough for me.”  A transcript of Powills’ interview with Bell has been provided below. It has been edited for clarity, brevity and style. Nick Powills: All right, Colette, like every other interview I do, it always starts with the scripted portion and then we go unscripted. But how did you accidentally fall into franchising? What's your franchise backstory? Colette Bell: Yeah, like everybody else, it wasn't intentional. It starts way back — I'll date myself — 1997. My husband and I decided to switch our lives around because we were having our first child, and we didn't think corporate America was going to be a good way for us to be the parents that we wanted to be. So, we started a handyman business in the basement of our house. The only goal was just to pay the mortgage, feed the new kids and see where it took us. We ended up franchising it in 2001 because it grew a lot in Denver. Then, we decided to try it in California just to make sure it worked somewhere else. We franchised it ourselves in 2001 under the brand name of Handyman Matters and grew it. Fast forward to 2018 — we get a phone call from Ace Hardware. They’re interested. We were interested. We did not have the business for sale. Of course, we’re here. I can’t believe it’s been five years, but we’re still here. We went through due diligence for about a year. They acquired us at the end of 2019. We rebranded the franchise to Ace Handyman Services in March 2020, when the world shut down. We were very fortunate because Ace is a great brand name and home services grew a lot during the pandemic. We’ve grown from 120 territories to 388 today. In the last four years, it’s been a totally wild, joyful ride. And we’re still here. Ace kept us and our entire corporate staff intact in Denver. Powills: All right, a bunch of stuff I want to unpack from that. So obviously, they saw a foundation in your business that they wanted to add to theirs, and then it’s accelerated from a growth standpoint. If you look at it, is it the Ace name that allowed it to go? Was it access to capital? What is the difference between you exiting what you built, joining forces and then what’s happened beyond that? Bell:  Such a great question. And you’ll love this as a marketing guy. I tell people all the time — basically, what happened was we had built this car, right? This franchise business model. And Ace came along and gave it a new paint job. That’s what they did because the engine's the same, the seats are the same, the chassis is the same — they didn’t change the business model at all. I mean, we’d been running this way for 22 years before Ace came into the picture. And they were the first ones to tell people, “We don’t know anything about service. We bought them because we think they know about service. We just want to see what happens when you put a 100-year-old brand name on top of a really solid franchise system.” And the answer to that was a lot of success. I hear from people every day, all day long, and I’m in the development chair. They’re interested because it’s Ace. And if you look at our franchise owners’ social media, their customers don’t say, “I love Ace Handyman Services.” They say, “I love Ace.” Even consumers don’t differentiate. They call Handyman offices all the time and ask for the paint department because they don’t pay attention. They just know that we can come to their house and solve their problem. Powills: Yeah, I love that. As you’re speaking through that answer, I think about — and this is going to sound negative — but Sears tried doing the same thing. The problem was, as a parent company, their credibility was declining because they were closing down their big brick-and-mortar department stores. Ace, being ingrained in the community with a more mom-and-pop feel, allowed it to continue to hold on to the brand name. When you’re thinking about authority, do you hire Sears’ ex-franchise or do you hire Ace? It’s almost like protection. It can work beautifully as long as the brand is stable. But in the case of Sears — brand not stable — their home services department, even though probably ripe for what they were trying to accomplish, was attached to the wrong thing. So, it’s awesome that you go through that. When you go through this exit and obviously you’ve hit the accelerator so fast, do you have time to pinch yourself and say, “We actually did it”? To build a business and to exit is what every franchisor wants to have happen. Then, for you to continue on and actually for them to like you and keep you in there is pretty crazy. Bell:  Yeah. I mean, it’s unheard of, right? In mergers and acquisitions, founders don’t stay five years. That’s just not what people do. But I think it’s a testament to two things: this was the right connection. Culturally, we matched up. We always wanted to be — even when we were a little teeny-tiny business in the basement — helpful. That’s what the whole premise of being a handyman is all about. So, the culture combination worked perfectly. There wasn’t a lot of pull and tug on trying to be something that we weren’t in order to fit under this fantastic brand name. And the second thing is they’re just amazing people, right? They are humble, which is wild for a $9 billion business that’s been around for all these years. They didn’t send anybody to Denver to run this because they didn’t have anybody who knew what we were doing. So, they were willing to sit back and let this unfold. Now, I’ll be honest — the pandemic helped, right? They kind of got distracted like everybody else did. In retail, they were busy putting up plexiglass and trying to protect their employees during the pandemic. So, we really did have a chance to flourish without a lot of oversight. And then when they did turn around and go, “Oh, wait a minute, we bought a handyman business. We should see how they’re doing,” we were doing so well they just kind of left us alone. I have the really unique position of being in the development chair. I get to tell this story every day, so I don’t have to pinch myself because I live this, and it is amazing. When we first exited, everybody was like, “Oh my gosh, you didn’t give the business to your kids?” We have two boys. They’re 26 and 24 right now. They were the reasons why we started the business in the first place, so they’ve been around Handyman since they were born. And I said two things. They didn’t want it. Neither one of them ever came to us and said, “Oh my God, I want to take over this business.” And number two, we gave them the bigger gift, which is to teach them you can start something, work really, really hard at it and have a strange fairy tale — like selling a business to Ace Hardware — come true. That really does still happen in America. Powills: All right, let’s shift into the brand. I have more questions. So, the pandemic — obviously retail gets hit hard, but human beings are at home looking at all the things on their to-do list. And so obviously, in my opinion, you end up being a savior for the business because it was almost a diversification of brick-and-mortar versus non, so I’m curious about that. But I’m also curious — have Ace Hardware owners bought into Handyman Services? Is there crossover, or are they staying separate? Bell:  Great questions. The pandemic did a couple of things. One, people had cabin fever, right? They wanted to do something because the days of getting up and going to the office were gone. Early on, nobody knew when it was ever going to come back. People flocked to Ace Hardware to buy materials. Home Depot, Lowe’s, Ace Hardware — everybody’s business increased during the pandemic because people were stuck at home. But Ace Hardware saw a greater increase because of what you mentioned — their smaller footprints. A lot of people believed Ace could provide a cleaner environment to shop in. We were not listed as essential. Hardware was listed as essential early on. The handyman business had to wait until about the middle of April. So, most of our franchisees operated on a 10-month P&L for 2020 and still did more sales than 2019. That’s thanks to the brand name, of course. But it was an interesting dynamic that happened with the pandemic. In terms of retailers buying Handyman Services, it hasn’t been as big a percentage as anybody expected. You look at it and think, “Well, that’s a no-brainer. You own the hardware store; might as well own the handyman business.” And I say, maybe it’s my weakness as a development person, but I really emphasize to every retailer I talk to: service is a very different business than retail. It’s high-touch. It’s high customer service. You’re going to customers’ homes. It’s very employee-driven, especially skilled tradespeople. So, it’s a very different business than hardware. And I wanted them to understand it wasn’t just going to be a home run because they have the brand name. We’ve got about 60 Ace Hardware store owners. They own about 82 territories. Some of them were multi-chain owners who wanted to make sure they got all their stores covered with the handyman footprint. Some of them were highly respected retailers in the hardware business, which really helped our franchise owners because it gave respectability to the brand. If Sunshine Ace on the West Coast of Florida is going to buy Handyman, it must be okay. Powills: If I’m painting the perfect franchisee, you figure out how to build the retail side and service those customers. The supplementary income makes it perfect. When I think of the categories that do it best, I think of pool service with a retail shop and field service. It captures a significant percentage of the wallet a homeowner or pool owner spends. It’s like, how do I get both? Growing up in Oak Park, Illinois, my barber shop was next to Ace Hardware. Both had a similar community feel. You’d go to Nick’s Ace Hardware for advice and Nick’s barber shop for a haircut. Has that local feel carried over? Bell:  Very much so. People looking at the handyman business often don’t realize how many Ace Hardware stores are in their potential footprint because they’re tucked into residential areas. It’s like a reveal. They create their territory, and I show them they have multiple Ace Hardware stores. They’re often surprised. Powills: If I buy into Handyman Services, does Ace Hardware turn into a lead generation source? Bell:  Yes. Powills: Is there a revenue split? Is Ace incentivized to recommend Ace Handyman? Bell:  Not directly. Ace Hardware is a cooperative. When you buy an Ace Hardware store, you also own shares in Ace Corporation, which supplies inventory. At the end of the year, profits are returned to store owners. Each Ace Hardware store benefits from Handyman Services because profits are part of that patronage dividend. It’s a unique model. Sometimes even the hardware store owners don’t fully understand it. The reason for adding services was customer demand. Retailers heard customers ask, “Who can help with this project?” They didn’t feel comfortable recommending someone without oversight. Retailers went to Ace Corporate and voted to buy Handyman Matters, using their money. Ace exists to serve others. It’s ingrained in their culture, all the way to store associates who assist customers. Powills: I wouldn’t have guessed this model would work five years ago. Bell:  It’s surprising. You’d expect brick-and-mortar owners to ask, “What’s in it for me?” But they’re already sharing profits, so it’s a collaborative mindset. Powills: If I open a handyman business, what percentage of sales comes from Ace Hardware referrals? Bell:  About 10%, depending on the relationship between the handyman franchise owner and the store owner. The stronger the relationship, the more leads they’ll generate. Most Ace Hardware customers are still DIYers, but this dynamic is shifting, especially with millennials. Powills: Millennials aren’t shopping at hardware stores? Bell:  No, they shop on their phones. They’d rather hire a service than buy materials themselves. Handymen shop for materials at Ace and complete the project. Powills: Should I spend downtime at Ace Hardware to connect with customers? Bell:  It’s a good strategy, but it depends on the relationship with the store owner. We provide marketing materials, seasonal product tie-ins and participate in events like Ladies Night or Craft Nights. Franchisees can also set up a table to educate the community or answer homeowner questions. Powills: Let’s talk about investment. What’s the cost, and what do you disclose in Item 19? Bell:  Item 7 ranges from $131,000 to $220,000, with the high end covering multiple territories. Most start with one territory, generate cash flow and expand. Our Item 19 includes four tables: single and multi-territory owners, new Ace owners (1-3 years) and legacy owners from Handyman Matters. New franchisees typically outperform legacy owners due to brand recognition and higher expectations. Single territory owners average over $500,000 annually, with some reaching $1 million in their first year. Powills: It’s a solid investment. Transparency is key to setting realistic expectations. High energy and effort from franchise owners make a big difference. Bell:  Absolutely. Powills: What’s the vision for the next year? Bell:  At 388 territories, we’re less than a fourth of the way saturated in the U.S. We estimate 1,200-1,500 potential territories. Ace Hardware operates in 69 countries, and we get international interest, but we’re focusing on U.S. growth for now. Our goal is to saturate the U.S. within 10 years. Powills: You’ve built something impactful that fills a gap. Congratulations on your success. Colette Bell: Thank you. Powills: Thanks for sharing some of your story. And I hope anybody that watches — obviously, we try to show the culture side of who you’re going to work with. And Colette’s one of the good ones. So, thanks for doing this, Colette. For Colette, I’m Nick. This is another Franchisor Hot Seat. Watch the entire interview above or on  YouTube . For more interviews with those influencing the franchise industry, check out these stories on 1851 Franchise: Tiam Behdarvandan’s Let’s Get Moving Offers a Franchise Opportunity Rooted in Growth and Support Lucas Kovalcik Shares How The Gravity Vault Is Making Climbing Gyms Accessible Across the U.S. Executive Q&A: Natalie Black, CEO of Comfort Keepers