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.”
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. Visit buckscounty.score.org/ for more information.
