Bio of Stan Barrett
My career in home improvement and repair began in 1973 while working for a home improvement company as a door to door canvasser, then I enrolled thru the UAW connected Trade Union Leadership Conferences into building trades training at Cass Tech, learning house wiring and framing. I later worked for various home improvement companies such as Walker Construction, Unity Builders and others. During this initial learning period of 8 years after 1973, as I accumulated more knowledge and skills, besides “hands-on” experience I also worked sales, cost estimating and as an assistant superintendent overseeing multiple jobs.
After graduating from Michigan Technical Institute with a diploma as a legal secretary (although I intend to become a medical transcriptionist and medical records specialist). I went from part-time to full-time at University of Michigan an engineering tech III, concerned with building, updating and teaching college professors about the software applications of the late 1980’s. When I started with computers we used magnetic cards, tapes and a green monochrome monitors.
When I left the U of M soon after I met my wife in Detroit in 1988 was torn between pursing a career building and selling computers or going into home renovation where I had to most experience—I chose starting a home investment and renovation company. The corporation I founded around 1990 as a licensed builder with a two large crews of mostly labors working on several home improvement jobs. That business was called Rhema Investment Construction Corp. and lasted less than two years, after which I closed this business. Later after finding a job (as a regular employee), later I went into business again but this time my venture was a company called Minor Home Repair Co., doing handyman work in 1993. By this time with 20 years of experience on and off experience in home improvement, construction and repair experience I was in such demand from commercial businesses, landlords and homeowners that I was working near and some times more than 80 hours a week and my health failed as a result of bacterial pneumonia. As a result I have had a life long interest in learning about nutrition and maintaining health.
After recovery I worked at various jobs, property management companies, real-estate investors and with contractors from 1994 to about 2005 these included Handyman Connection for which I completed over 100 jobs, Handy Andy, Mr. Handyman and again for Walker Construction for (the third time). While this was all happening I never let go of another new company I started in 1996, called American Home Repair Company. During these years until the present, I also worked from time to time doing repairs and improvements independantly in various buildings from offices to warehouses from vacant houses that were barely standing to homes (on occasion) who’s valued more than a couple of million dollars. My mission as stated above is to build a client base of steady customers who call on me again and again for all their small to medium sized repairs and improvements.
Now my company is called America's Home Services Inc. and I have a builders license (over 35 years experience) with general liability Insurance but no crew--just doing handyman work, specializing in very small jobs only. Currently have six websites, the one with the most traffic has about 2,000 hits a day. Also studying to be a certified "home inspector" and I have been studying building science.