Multi-Brand Operator Finds Perfect Work-Life Balance

Pedro Giorgana has found the perfect work-life balance. The 37-year-old entrepreneur first got into franchising when he became A Buyer's Choice Home Inspections franchisee back in 2011. "I have mastered the ideal work-life balance," he says. "I have been able to run my own business and launch a second concept while still being able to enjoy ample time with my family." That second concept is iHandyMan, a home repair franchise brand he signed on with just last year.

Giorgana says he loves working with real estate agents and their clients to help identify great homes. And as a regional manager for iHandyMan, he helps identify potential franchisees to help expand the brand throughout the Central East Ontario region where he is based.

Before 2016 is done, Giorgana hopes to have reached his goal to conduct 350 home inspections and to expand his territory. He also expects to sell 3 or 4 iHandyMan franchises.

Name: Pedro Giorgana
Title: Franchise owner and regional owner
Company: A Buyer's Choice Home Inspections and iHandyMan
No. of units by brand: I have two territories for A Buyer's Choice Home Inspections and one territory with iHandyMan.
Age: 37
Family: I've been married to my wife for 11 years and together we have two daughters.
Years in franchising: Five years. I launched my first A Buyer's Choice Home Inspections territory in 2011 and we launched iHandyMan in 2015.
Years in current position: Five years as a franchisee of A Buyer's Choice Home Inspections and one year as a regional manager of iHandyMan.

Key accomplishments:
One of my biggest accomplishments from franchising with A Buyer's Choice Home Inspections and iHandyMan is that I have mastered the ideal work-life balance. I have been able to run my own business and launch a second concept while still being able to enjoy ample time with my family. Additionally, I have had the honor of assisting real estate agents to ensure their clients know and understand in what the conditions their houses are, and to ensure we're able to help them solve any problems they may have with their homes.

Work week:
I typically work seven days a week. I strive to properly manage my time to schedule work, personal time, and family time each day.

How do you spend a typical day?
I wake up early each day and enjoy breakfast with my family. I then take my daughters to school and daycare before beginning my workday. Taking this time with my family in the morning helps set a positive tone for the rest of the day while I work to conduct home inspections and finalize my marketing strategy for iHandyMan. I wake up with a 100 percent commitment plan to productivity.

What's your passion in business?
My passion in business is to help aspiring entrepreneurs to realize their dreams of owning a business. As a regional manager for iHandyMan, I work to find unit franchisees in order to expand throughout the Central East Ontario region. There isn't a greater feeling in the world knowing that I'm able to help dedicated businesspeople to find success in their careers and one of the biggest investments of their lives.

Business philosophy:
To garner strong client relationships for life, not just for one day. With this philosophy, I strive to ensure my clients are 100 percent satisfied by offering technical advice and ensuring my clients understand the conditions in their homes. I don't charge my clients extra money if I need to return to their homes for additional services. Their longstanding satisfaction is how I measure success.

Management method or style:
Communicative and open to feedback from my team. I feel the best when I know my employees are prepared and have a clear understanding of what needs to be done. If they can do their work, I can do my work, and we can generate amazing results.

Greatest challenge:
One of my challenges when I began franchising was to ensure my clients were accommodated in a timely manner. This is why I am very communicative with my employees across my territories in order to ensure we go above and beyond for our clients as efficiently as possible.

How close are you to operations?
Very close - I manage them myself.

2017 goals:
For A Buyer's Choice Home Inspections, we plan to perform 350 to 400 total inspections. We are rolling out new products and warranties for our services and we also have a new regional owner on our team so we are confident we'll reach this goal with flying colors. As for iHandyMan, our 2017 goal is to kick franchise sales into full force and sell 10-15 unit franchises throughout the Central East Ontario region, including Toronto and Belleville.

Growth meter: How do you measure your growth?
We measure our growth by the amount of inspections we conduct per year. We annually review these numbers to see if we can expand our territories in the following year. We also identify what the demands are in the housing market so we can become appropriately certified and adhere to even more homeowners.

Vision meter: Where do you want to be in 5 years?
In reality, my goals are to hire more contractors under my A Buyer's Choice Home Inspections umbrella and to expand my territory with the concept. For iHandyMan, we plan to continuously grow and thrive by selling franchises throughout Central East Ontario.

What are you doing to take care of your employees?
It's very important to me that I help my employees with any concerns they have. I look after them and in turn they can count on me. I check in with each contractor every week, even to just say hello and ask how everything is going. We also conduct quarterly meetings to discuss long-term goals and achievements so everyone involved can find success.