Handy Canadian Inc. will become the biggest asset of the decade for business and homeowners all across Canada!  Global News thought so, when they dubbed services provided by this innovative new company as “An online match made in heaven…two motivated parties coming together,” in a news story by Mike Brown that aired July 25, 2006.

The company also demonstrates great potential as the strongest, most cost-effective platform to advertise and market the skills of Canadian contractors from every area of expertise. But more than that, Handy Canadian Inc. has the capability to benefit the economy.

By offering an efficient way for owners of renovation and construction projects to converge with contractors – successful         building endeavours in Canada can continue to flourish.  Small to medium contracting enterprises are afforded the opportunity to develop and grow into flourishing businesses.  This would help provide more employment opportunities for Canadians and further strengthen our economy.

Handy Canadian Inc. has already proven its immense promise as a viable business and service provider. A mere five months after first launching in January of 2006, it had attracted the attention of thousands of home owners, business owners, and contractors.

Several factors are responsible for the early success of Handy Canadian Inc:

• Public demand for a fast, effective, and more affordable means for business and homeowners to connect with contractors, and for contractors to acquire valuable job leads.

• World-wide 24-hour a day, 7-day a week visibility provided by the Internet.

• Increased use, popularity, accessibility, and diversity of the Internet as a valuable research resource, and for conducting business.

• Lack of strong competition from online resources that also cater to Canadians.

• Experience, skill, and marketing focus of the management team, with 20 years of combined experiences in the areas of web site development, marketing, advertising, public relations, and business management.

• High ranking position in the top 4 online search engines, including MSN, Yahoo!, Google, and Ask Jeeves.

• Countless hours of research, consultation, and web site development, including the development and programming of a customized lead generation system.

• High costs associated with print forms of advertising.

• Limited advertising budgets associated with small to medium-sized businesses.

• Canada’s present robust economy and the progressive trend in the construction industry.

And finally, a wide-open market that exists for a business venture such as Handy Canadian Inc.!

According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) statistics, Canadians spent an estimated $24 billion in home alterations and home improvement projects in 2004.  And, the Canadian Construction Association (CCA) estimates that more than $123 billion in goods and services was spent on commercial construction and renovation needs.

Competition for these projects is fierce.  To keep bid prices competitive, contractors are looking for a cost-effective way to advertise their services while keeping their company profile high.

Advertising online through Handy Canadian.com does just that.  It is more cost-effective than other means of advertising and provides Canadian businesses 24-hour a day, world-wide visibility.  And the added advantage is the ability to update profiles at the touch of a finger.

Statistics show that Internet use for the purposes of locating resources and conducting business online is becoming more popular by the day.  In fact, by 2003 about 75% of all Canadians were using the Internet on an almost daily basis.  All indications suggest that there are significantly more Internet users in Canada today, than ever before.

According to the 2005 Labour Force Survey provided by Statistics Canada, there are over 589,000 employed contractors and service providers in the construction trade in Canada. Additional research shows that 124,928 paid advertisements in Yellow Pages throughout Canada were generated from these contractors.

If 10% of these contractors and construction-related service providers could be reached through extended marketing efforts, Handy Canadian Inc. could realize over $16 million in annual premium membership fees.  But even if only 1% of all Canadian contractors became privy to Handy Canadian.com through extended marketing efforts and became members, a whopping $1.6 million in membership fees alone would still be realized!

The need is there, and Handy Canadian Inc. is ready to fill the gap. 

Marketing Opportunities
As the number of consumers who use the Internet to research desired resources continues to increase, our ability to successfully market ourselves online is greatly enhanced. 

By utilizing our advertising skills and proficient search engine optimization savvy, Handy Canadian.com has become more and more visible online, with each passing day. Combined with our commitment to an effective marketing plan and increased public demand for resources such as Handy Canadian.com, our position in the marketing world will become even more reinforced. 

The window of opportunity for a skillfully marketed resource such as Handy Canadian.com is broad, other comparative resources are limited.   Our success is limited only by available funds required to effectively promote it.

Competitive Advantages
Competition is extremely limited and most fall short in functionality, geographical scope, web site development skills, advanced technical knowledge, marketing strengths, and in search engine optimization knowledge – critical to Internet visibility.

The key personnel at Handy Canadian Inc. have 20 years combined knowledge and experience in each of these important areas.

As owners of Acecomp Plus, both Gerald and Mike are committed to success!  They have been directly responsible for creating, deploying, and marketing several prosperous online ventures for clients.  By combining their talents, Michael and Gerald represent a solid merger of programming competence, designing talent, and excellent public relation skills.  With a unique marketing perspective that will compliment Handy Canadian Inc. long-term.

Business History
After extensive research, Handy Canadian Inc. launched its pilot project in January of 2006.  It was fully operational with an impressive measurement of success by June, 2006.

Countless hours and extensive resources have been invested in research, marketing, and developing Handy Canadian.com into an innovative, automatically generated program with custom job posting and matchmaking capabilities. 

Handy Canadian Inc. is a national web site created to meet the demands of Canada’s construction and renovation needs.  By connecting home and business owners with reliable commercial or residential contractors in their area, valuable time and money required for costly advertising is saved in the process.  This is accomplished the following way:

• Homeowners and business owners are provided a free online resource in Handy Canadian.com to post their renovation or new construction project online.

• Once posted, our customized, multi-featured online program matches project requirements to qualifying contractors who offer services specific to that project.

• Qualifying member contractors receive an automatically generated “New Lead Notification” via e-mail, detailing project requirements. 

• The contactor has the option to pursue the lead by openly communicating with the project owner via e-mail, and placing a bid on the project.

• The project owner receives the communication and has the option to connect with the contractor, if interested.

Vision and Mission Statement
With 18 months of initial research and development, Handy Canadian.com was launched to provide users with the most innovative and comprehensive tools and resources available anywhere online.  Canadian business and homeowners are afforded a convenient, effective way to connect with professional contractors in their area, for commerce purposes.

Handy Canadian.com’s Vision and Mission Statement:

• To gain momentum as an increasingly valuable online resource for homeowners, business owners, and contractors throughout Canada.

• To aggressively compete in the online industry through well-developed marketing campaigns, excellent service, positive interaction with clients, and competitive rates.

• To continue to customize Handy Canadian.com’s services to best meet the needs of all current and future users.

This will be accomplished by keeping current with marketing trends, exploiting the benefits of effective marketing resources, utilizing our technical and marketing experience and capabilities, and by adapting our service to effectively meet the needs of homeowners, business owners, and contractors across Canada, 

Description of Products and Services
Handy Canadian.com is an online resource where home and business renovation and construction projects are posted by business and homeowners absolutely FREE!  Project owners can register to obtain access to job posting tools.

Features available to registered project owners:

• User-friendly tools for posting projects, and accessing profiles of contractors.

• Access to full-page profiles of all registered contractors that include: important information such as: company history, insurance and licensing information, level of experience, language capabilities, and portfolio of previously completed projects.

• Ability to control the entire screening process of contractors; who they contact, how contact is made, whether or not to conduct an interview, and whether or not they wish to hire a contractor.  There is no obligation to hire a contractor who responds to a posted project.

Lead generation marketing services are provided to registered contractors, as well as easy to use tools designed to help contractors and other service professionals connect with valuable project leads.  In fact, Handy Canadian.com offers one of the most diversified project listings available anywhere online.

Contractors have 2 membership options; free and premium.

Free Membership features:

• A basic company listing in the contractor directory.

• E-mail lead notifications of projects posted, including project details.  (Contact information is not included, the absence of which serves as an effective incentive for free members to upgrade their account to Premium.)

• Restricted access to contact information and bidding tools.

Premium Membership features:

• Full company listing in the contractor directory.

• A detailed company profile page to highlight their business, including company history, insurance and licensing information, level of experience, language capabilities, and portfolio of successfully completed jobs, including photos of projects.

• Automatic e-mail notification of each new lead posted in their locale, in their area of expertise.

• Complete access to project owner contact information and bidding tools.

• 365 days of non-stop advertising visible world-wide, for one low-cost annual fee of $305.

Key Features
Through extensive research we have discovered that most online users have been discouraged by inferior, hard to utilize tools for posting projects and bidding on jobs. Handy Canadian.com has eliminated that stumbling block.  We offer users the best, most user-friendly tools available online today, with easy, step-by-step instructions to eliminate frustration.

Handy Canadian.com services are unmatched by our competitors presently available online.  We offer clients superior tools, an easy to navigate web site, unique content for large and small project success, an unrivaled custom-made matchmaking system, and have the most diversified project listing found anywhere online.  Yet, our rates are less than half of that of leading competitors.

Traditional methods of advertising for and hiring a contractor can be a time consuming and frustrating experience. Many project owners are uncertain as to how to determine which contractor is best, and feel rushed into making a decision.

Home and business owners are provided a unique online experience at Handy Canadian.com.  They can effortlessly post job requirements, include pictures of the project area, and reach a wider audience of contractors. Competitive bids and suggestions from local contractors are received via e-mail. 

Tools and helpful resources at Handy Canadian.com help project owners make a more sound decision when selecting a contractor.

Contractors benefit from Handy Canadian.com membership because their business is made immediately more high profile.  Since many venues are used to generate numerous new leads that are sent to every member’s e-mail box each month, contractors and other service providers enjoy unlimited leads without having to invest money in expensive forms of advertising.  Nor are they forced to waste valuable time pounding the pavement in search of new leads.  Overall, we have created a very cost effective method of doing business.

Future Products and Services
Plans have been mapped out to broaden lead notification technique.  This includes the use of fax and mobile devices, in addition to the monthly e-mail announcements.

Sometime within the next year we would like to implement a subsection of Handy Canadian.com that would open the web site up to lenders and mortgage specialists.  Home related products will also be included.  This would create a one stop shopping type web site for homeowners.  Not only could they locate qualified contractors for project needs at Handy Canadian.com, but connect with reputable lenders and find the latest in home products such as major appliances and furniture.

A mirror site to expand our services in the United States has recently been developed.  Still in the new stages, the site will remain free to all users, to help build a strong client base while we actively promote and expand Handy Canadian.com

Rights have been obtained to sister domain names www.HandyAustrailan.com and www.HandyEuropean.com – both scheduled for pilot release in late 2007.