I was always building/making things while I was growing up: I always built my own GI Joe forts. I made my own rock tumbler when I was 13 (took apart a toy train to do it…Mom & Dad weren’t happy). I designed a 4-wheel bike, but dad wouldn’t let me use the welder. I built a bench to go around a tree in our back yard. I tried to build a boat one time, but Dad never let me try it out…now I know why. In high school, I built my own loft bed that would have shouldered a horse…this was when I learned about erring on the side of caution. I actually wired my bedroom all directly to my bed after that…the wires were a bit unsightly, but it sure was convenient. I built a desk for my room that I still use as a workbench today. I also built a box for the speakers in my car, and actually used trigonometry to figure it out…who would have thought Mrs. Rutecky’s class would pay off like that.

I attended college at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN. This was when I realized how fortunate I was to have access to all of Dad’s tools and his shop all those years. All I had was my socket set and a bunch of screwdrivers, so I began messing around with car stereos and other small things. My buddies and I rented a house for the last 2 years of college, and I bought my first circular saw and drill. Our first project was stadium seating for the living room to accommodate our 6 couches. My loft bed eventually became our mezzanine for those who didn’t plan on staying awake through the movie. This was when I began my first project of unorthodoxy. I built a captains bed for my bedroom with the intention of making it look like a child built it…I made sure there were no square angles anywhere on it. It was a great mental exercise, and I was so proud of it. Eventually went back to a traditional bed frame, but the headboard became my new guitar rack.

"the red house"
best work truck a guy could have - Never say die, Big Red!

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I graduated college (cum laude) with a B.S. degree in Public Relations, and minors in both Marketing and Spanish. I worked at a bookstore for a while, taught Spanish to kids at the Alternative Learning Center in Williamson County, and eventually ended up as a sales rep for a record company. I thought I’d finally made it, but after two and a half years, I decided it just wasn’t for me. I was tired of not having any say in my business practices and also tired of using my hard-earned good name to sell things for other people.

It was during this time that I purchased my first house, which is when everything changed. Instead of making up projects to do all the time, I finally had an outlet for my creative frustration. Not to mention, I took every excuse I could to buy more tools. Since moving in, I’ve re-wired, run new electrical lines. Dad and I cut a big window in the wall between the kitchen and the living room. I’ve built shelves and cabinets, etc. etc.

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irrelevant, but awesome
I still call dibs on the turkey legs

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I finally thought to myself, “Gosh, I’m pretty good at this, and I actually enjoy it…why don’t I start doing this for other people too?” Thus, the birth of “Handy Graham’s Odd Jobs & Handyman Service.”

I love having the freedom to know that I can do a job properly, and I don’t need to go through red tape just to fix something that I should have done differently in the first place. I love knowing that I’m saving people money. I love the feeling of finishing something and looking back at it with the satisfaction of knowing that it’s just as good, if not better than somebody else would have done it. I love when people trust me with something because I’ve earned it by not letting them down in the past. I could go on, but I think you get the picture. Anyway, I hope this helps. Always work smarter and safer!

graham