Colette Bell: Scaling with Culture and Consistency

Name: Colette Bell
Title: VP of Franchise Development
Company: Ace Handyman Services
Years in franchising: 25
Number of units: 383

Colette Bell is the co-founder and vice president of franchise development for Ace Handyman Services, a nationwide home repair franchise. She and her husband, Andy, launched Handyman Matters in 1998 in Denver, expanding to six locations before franchising the business in 2001. Under their leadership, the brand grew into a nationally recognized franchise and was acquired by Ace Hardware in 2019 and rebranded as Ace Handyman Services. Since then, Colette has continued to lead franchise development, growing the brand from 119 territories to nearly 400 across 48 states.

A graduate of Colorado State University, Colette began her career teaching high school before venturing into entrepreneurship. She has built her career with a focus on people, culture, and consistent, high-quality service. Colette emphasizes finding the right franchisees and ensuring they are supported to succeed. She looks for those who are skilled, culturally aligned, and committed to excellence. She is known for her hands-on approach to franchise development, balancing national growth with attention to the individual franchisee experience and maintaining a culture rooted in professionalism, kindness, and accountability.

Throughout her career, Colette has seen firsthand the generational impact of franchising from franchisees’ families continuing their businesses to employees building long-term careers. She believes success comes from keeping business models simple, investing in people, and fostering strong relationships. Colette’s dedication to growing a family-oriented, nationwide brand while supporting franchisees and their communities makes her a respected leader in the franchising industry.

Personal & Leadership Journey

What inspired you to pursue leadership in franchising/branding? When my husband and I franchised our handyman business back in 2001, it became obvious how few women were involved with franchising at a leadership level. I wanted to be an inspiration for other women who had a great business idea that could be franchised. I encourage them to pursue franchising as a growth opportunity for themselves.

Can you share a defining moment that shaped your leadership style? I remember the first time my husband announced I was taking over as CEO. We were still both pretty young, and being a woman in a masculine industry, I was afraid all the franchise owners would revolt or leave the system. Of course, that didn’t happen. Many long-standing owners have been kind enough to share that they loved the way I led as I worked to bring a different approach and perspective to the role.

How has your personal background influenced the way you lead? I am a high school teacher by training, and I taught in a school for my first career. That experience deeply shaped my leadership style, which reflects my desire to communicate and explain my point of view and then understand someone else’s. It also informed my belief that we are all in this business together, franchisor and franchisee, which has led to meaningful collaboration and strong franchise owner input over the years.

Who or what has most influenced your philosophy as a leader or changemaker? My husband, Andy Bell. He is the kindest, smartest, and most driven person I’ve ever met. He had the vision to be the “biggest handyman business in the world” when we were still a local handyman business operating out of our basement. Without him, I don’t think I would have ever seen myself as a business leader, but he believed I could do it.

Driving Change & Innovation

What significant changes or innovations have you led within your brand? One of our earliest innovations in the handyman industry was technology. This was back in 1998, when technology was not as prevalent. We couldn’t find any product off the shelf that would work, so we actually created our own proprietary software that we used until 2017.

How did you implement those changes, and what results did they bring? Change is hard—even good change. I’ve learned in franchising that you need to include franchise owners as early as possible in changes and then get some early adopters in the network to become your cheerleaders and supporters.

What role have you had in adopting new technologies, including AI? AI is coming along. Our goal is to augment our employees in the business model, not replace them. We are a people business, pure and simple. But if we can have a great custom AI agent answering frontline phones and transferring true customers to the office manager, that speeds up their productivity. If we can have AI agents helping categorize calls and customers in our software, that leads to higher consistency. If we can utilize AI software to help our craftsmen estimate work that they aren’t familiar with inside the home, we are creating a more professional experience for customers.

How do you identify when it’s time for a brand to evolve? You have to keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground. Stay ahead of industry trends, read everything you can, and watch and listen to your competition.

Have you led similar change initiatives at other brands? I’m proud to say that this has been my only brand for 28 years! My husband and I founded the company in 1998, and it has evolved significantly over time. Leading change within the same organization for nearly three decades has taught me how to grow thoughtfully and adapt to new challenges while staying true to our core values.

How do you communicate change effectively to franchisees? Start by bringing a group of them into the decision-making process and then utilize these early adopters to provide feedback through beta testing to ensure the change delivers the intended results. Finally, lean on those early adopters for training and support across your franchise system. Franchise owners often hear and absorb things differently when it comes from fellow franchise owners, which is why we formalize this group into a paid power team to help with training and support.

Challenges & Resilience

What obstacles have you encountered while driving change, and how did you overcome them? One of the biggest obstacles in driving change is that sometimes you realize that even well-intended ideas don’t always produce the outcomes you expect. When that happens, you have to be willing to admit that your idea was flawed and figure out how to fix it or roll it back. You have to remember that while this change started as your idea, it directly impacts your franchise owners’ lives. It affects their ability to run successful businesses and support their families. Never underestimate the potential negatives in a change that isn’t right.

How do you maintain momentum when new ideas face resistance? You have to start by passionately believing in what you are doing. Passion will carry you quite a distance as long as your idea or change is valid.

What lessons have you learned from an initiative that didn’t go as planned? Don’t take negative responses personally. That is easier said than done, especially if you are passionate about the initiative.

How do you balance short-term pressures with long-term vision? Someone once told me, “Pressure is a privilege.” You can be stressed and negative, or you can be grateful that you sit in a position that allows you to build a business and navigate through difficult moments.

Culture & People

How do you build and motivate high-performing teams? Give employees a clear road map, hold them accountable, and then allow them to grow and rise in the organization.

What practices help you connect with employees and franchisees at every level? I am a big believer in gratitude. My husband and I are very fortunate to have started this business ourselves before we franchised it. I still remember those early days of worrying about making payroll or wondering if a marketing tactic we just spent a bunch of money on was going to work. Having firsthand experience gives me true empathy for our employees and franchise owners. Empathy is the key.

How do you mentor or empower the next generation of leaders or changemakers? You have to let go of the bottom to reach the top. Teaching the next generation of leaders to delegate is so important. No one is going to do what you do perfectly or exactly how you do it. But if you can allow them to find their own way of accomplishing the goal or task, it will allow you to focus on other things.

Future & Vision

What excites you most about the future of your brand or the industry? I am always surprised at how fractured the home improvement industry still is after being in it for 28 years. Our biggest competition is still individual “mom and pop” businesses. I can’t wait to achieve the goal of being a recognized name brand in the home services industry.

How do you stay true to a brand’s core while still adapting for the future? Culture, culture, culture. Know your culture, talk about it often, and bounce all decisions against it.

Where do you see the greatest opportunities for women in franchising? Everywhere! It is so much fun to attend the IFA and see more and more women participating at all levels, as franchise owners, in franchisor companies, and leading at the top.

If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be? Slow down to enjoy the ride. I still can’t believe it’s been 28 years. It went by in a flash. I was good about taking a work-life balance approach when my kids were young. I made myself take the flexible path and attend the school events and the sports events even though it made my schedule a bit more complicated.

What advice would you give to leaders who want to create lasting impact? Make it your life’s work. Find the passion and be willing to work on it for however long it takes to grow your impact in whatever format that takes. The path will be difficult and filled with naysayers. Take many detours, but if you always stay in a spot of gratitude, you will make a lasting impact. And be kind. Kindness goes a long way.