Turning Problems Into Opportunities

By Valerie Young

"In the middle of difficulty," observed Albert Einstein, "lies opportunity." Some of the best opportunities often originate from problems – either yours or someone else's. Like a lot of parents, Debra Cohen's problem was that after her first child was born she wanted to find a way to be a stay-at-home Mom.

Around that same time, Debra became aware of a real problem for most homeowners – namely finding someone reputable to do home repairs or improvements. By putting these two problems together, she came up with the perfect solution for both her problem and that of her neighbors.

Since 1997 Debra has been owner of a highly successful company called Home Remedies of NY, Inc., an organized referral company that matches homeowners with skilled, pre-screened independent home-repair workers.

Home Remedies offers homeowners referrals to reputable home improvement contractors free of charge and the contractors represented in the network pay a commission to HRN for any work secured. If you've seen any of NBC's Dateline segments on unscrupulous home repair men (I would say home repair "people" but I've never seen a segment that featured a woman) then you can imagine what a relief it would be to homeowners to be able to easily find trustworthy and competent contractors.

In fact, a few years back I remember picking up a brochure at my local hardware store about a service that sounded a lot like this one. I only wish I'd looked into it before I hired the fly by night guy who replaced my roof last summer. What a NIGHTMARE!

I first learned about Debra when the Work from Home channel at iVillage.com featured her as their May "Mompreneur of the Month." I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that Debra's business has become so successful that she has expanded to offer others the chance to launch a Homeowner Referral Network (HRN) in their community. As someone who sees a LOT of work-from-home business opportunity scams, I felt instantly reassured when I read that to date, there are more than 200 Homeowner Referral Networks operating in the U.S., Canada and abroad and that HRN was Rated The #1 Business Opportunity for 1999 by Small Business Opportunities Magazine.

What's nice too, is that aspiring entrepreneurs can choose from a range of business start-up kits at different price points. The kits offer step-by-step procedures on how to start a network in your area including how to locate, screen and represent a comprehensive network of home improvement contractors, contractor commission structures, liability information, a complete direct mail and advertising campaign and more.

All kits include The Complete Guide to Owning and Operating a Successful Homeowner Referral Network and unlimited leads from the HRN website. Kits range in cost from $1,795 – $3,590 with the higher priced kits including options ranging from business forms to individual phone consultations with Debra to a turnkey website.

This also seems like a good opportunity for someone who wants to start their own home repair/improvement business because HRN takes care of all of the marketing and you are instantly affiliated with a company that is known for referring only quality professionals. If you've had a good experience with a home repair person, HRN is actively seeking referrals from satisfied homeowners.

If you've been searching for a legitimate work from home business, and this one sounds appealing, I think it is well worth a look. Learn more at ChangingCourse.com/recommends/hrn and check out the links in our Featured Resource section.

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About the Author

“Your entire life has been getting you ready for this moment. Use everything you’ve got to create a future that is your dream.”
~ Barbara Winter
Author of
Making a Living Without a Job

“Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out.”
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes