Justin Kloc grew up helping his “very
handy” father with projects around their home. The Lower Makefield native
bolstered his handiness by lending a hand to family members as they made home
repairs and renovations.
When Kloc bought his Upper
Makefield Township home, his ability to repair sinks, toilets, install and
repair drywall, paint, install lighting and flooring, address plumbing, and
remodel kitchens and bathrooms was a definite advantage.
After renovating his home, Kloc, a
social studies teacher of 12 years, said the idea to start his own handyman
business “just took off from there.”
He began meeting with SCORE Bucks
County mentor Joe Lutes in October 2020. By year’s end, Kloc had formally
started Kloc Work LLC, a home improvement company providing a variety of handyman
services to customers in Bucks County and portions of New Jersey.
“I started meeting with Joe and we
talked about as you grow,” Kloc said. “I started laying the framework with
everything I wanted to do.”
For now, Kloc operates his business
in addition to teaching, with more availability during his summer break from
school. Eventually, he would like to take his side hustle full time.
“It’s going really well,” Kloc
said.
Two summers ago, Kloc began working
with a fellow handyman.
“I went home and told my wife, ‘I
can do this,’” Kloc recalled. “It was the first time I realized that I could do
what I like to do.”
When Kloc first began mentoring
with SCORE, Lutes helped him develop a business plan and shared insight on
establishing an LLC, insurance, contractor licenses and more. Lutes also
imparted on Kloc the importance of researching his competition and undertaking
a monthly cash forecast for the business and as a household.
“He clearly takes my mentoring to heart
and understands the importance of the various components of his business,”
Lutes said. “I feel confident that he is succeeding and will continue to succeed
going forward due to his organizational skills which have served him well as a
teacher and which he is now transferring to his business.”
Kloc intends to keep meeting with
his SCORE mentor monthly. As his business continues to flourish, he knows there
could be opportunities for further information sharing sessions.
He credits Lutes with helping him
make a living out of what he enjoys most: “meeting people, talking to people
and being able to share what I know with them.”
About SCORE
Since 1964, SCORE has helped more
than 11 million aspiring entrepreneurs. Each year, SCORE
provides small business mentoring and workshops to more than 375,000
new and growing small businesses.?With 50 members across the
county, SCORE Bucks?County?provides over 1,500 free
mentoring services annually to local small business owners
through one-on-one counseling and small business seminars. To stay up to
date on news and happenings, join SCORE Bucks County’s email list. Text
SCOREBUCKS to 22828.
