When did Odd Jobs open?
[Jeff]: Formally, Odd Jobs was started in 2024. Informally? When I was 11 years old and our water heater stopped working. We didn’t have the means to hire a plumber and there wasn’t anyone else in the house with any knowledge or aptitude for the way things work. My mom asked if I could learn to fix it and I responded, “probably with a book”. Off to Powell’s Books we went where we purchased The Reader’s Digest How To Fix Anything coffee table book (still on my shelf today, BTW). After that, it was on to Fred Meyer’s for a voltmeter, replacement element, and a special wrench. A couple of hours later, we had hot water again.
What made you decide to open a handyman business?
[Jeff]: I spent most of my adult career making children’s toys. After 15 years working from “guy who unloads boxes in a warehouse” to CEO of an internationally recognized children’s product brand with offices on three continents, 30+ employees, and $ 25mm in revenue, I just felt I wanted to do something more local. I have two young children and wanted to be here for them, as opposed to galavanting across the globe, hawking gimcrackery that usually ends up in the rubbish bin after kids have their way with it.
From that very formative moment of fixing our water heater, I have always been the guy that people knew to call when something in their home wasn’t working right. The only difference is now people pay me for it.
What’s the oddest job you’ve ever been hired to do?
[Jeff]: I LOVE the weird ones. Truly, it’s the challenge of “someone told me that this couldn’t be done” that I love the most. Whether it’s rebuilding a 1930’s fishing boat motor, trapping small varmints that end up in strange places, or trying to make sense of some machine that someone inherited or got a great deal on with no knowledge of how to operate, it’s making things work that really makes me happy.
Anything else you’d like people to know?
[Jeff]: I believe in giving people options. When I was born, I came pre-programmed to be curious about why things work the way they do and have spent a lifetime building knowledge to satisfy that curiosity. Not everyone is so fortunate. I am more than happy to share that knowledge in a variety of ways. Whether it’s “Let’s throw money at this problem until it goes away” or someone who shares my curiosity and wants to be taught how to do what I did for themselves next time, I’m happy to be the medium through which their problem is solved.
Odd Jobs 