'Bird'. Offensive and derogatory… or not?

‘DIY gal’ is a similar business local to me. Works better with a northern / Scots accent.

Personally don’t find gal, bird or chick offensive.

As above my maintenance man is just called his name, so thats what he trades as. He is fairly well established though so i suppose if you are new and getting going you need to grab attention.

Lady gardener is brilliant

I think something like:

Mrs DIY,
Mrs realnamehere – I fix, repair and make good.

Something that doesn’t include anything that could be misconstrued or cause offense would cause her less trouble. “Mrs” clearly indicates marriage, then add something that tell people what she does without sounding like a “professional” out of the personal columns.

There is a van that I see round our way that says ‘Heather – The lady painter’ on the side.

I presume she is a decorator, but it does conjour a certain image

It’s not offensive per sé

“per se” is Latin. No accent required.

I’ll get my brown shirt.

ChixFix

ChixFix

Coke AND Hookers?

Feel like the earlier mention of Lady DIY didn’t get the credit it deserves.

Equally, if not more, cheesy……

Fixin’ Vixen

Faster Pussycat, Drill! Drill!

Mmmm, would avoid obvious gender reference in name of company. Perhaps refer to gender in description. I’d be worried about perverts phoning!

Name doesn’t give off a professional vibe

rubbish, that handy bird is a brilliant name. which proves just how subjective branding really is. take it to extremes i can’t stand nike but i like adidas.

i would say go for it, slightly off the wall names really do make a difference and get noticed. if it really does not work then re-think.

bird is a common term in west cornwall, my wife calls everyone ‘bird’.

Senorita with a Makita

if you want some advice though, best thing to do is play around with some logo ideas or if you can’t create logos yourself sit down with google images, pinterest et al and make a scrap book of the vibe you would like. for instance ‘that handy bird’ suggests a more folksy handwritten type feel and certainly would not work with a classic fonts… imho of course.

‘Bird’ is definitely derogatory unless you are a bird, or your name is ‘Bird’.

I would avoid a gender specific name, but being female is a positive selling point if marketed the right way.

LaDIY

bird is a common term in west cornwall, my wife calls everyone ‘bird’.

Well as long as all her customers are from West Cornwall or 1970’s Liverpool she’ll be fine 😉

Handy Lass. For cash in hand jobs.

Off topic-ish.

There’s a lesbian couple that have a business called ‘Lady Gardeners’ near me. Can’t help thinking they’ve missed a trick; ‘Les Jardiniers’ would have been SOOOOOOOO much better.

Drill Bits ‘n’ Tits
Screws ‘n’ Shoes
Brigitte Silicones
Gritty Woman
Cakes & Ladders
Hammer & Nail Varnish

(You’re welcome)

Les Jardinieres, surely?

I don’t think it’s a good name. Even if she as a lady is using it herself, the existence of such terms perpetuates them. People take their cues from what’s around them.

Les Jardinieres, surely?

Les Jardiniers = Gardeners
Les Jardinieres = the planters

I wasn’t aware of the distinction until I just looked it up, but either could work, I guess. It’s the ‘Les’ bit that gives the humour.

Hammer & Nail Varnish

That is brilliant!

Jardinière is a flower box in my head.

Hammer & Nail Varnish

Sod mine, that’s much better. Irrespective of the contentious nature or otherwise of the word ‘bird’, Hammer and Nail Varnish is just betterer.

I preferred “Brigitte Silicones”… 😐

Ah, planter as in flowerbox. That would make sense. Wish I’d listenened more at school. 😕

Handy Mandy.

Just googled and there is a handyman near me called “Fonahubby”. Now, ignoring the piss boiling nature of the spelling, it did give me an idea, how about Rent-A-Wife ?

“per se” is Latin. No accent required.

Every day’s a school day, thanks for that.

I particularly like “LaDIY”, though you’re not really DIYing if you’re getting someone else to do it, are you.

I particularly like “LaDIY”, though you’re not really DIYing if you’re getting someone else to do it, are you.

It’s 2017 and Grand Designs is full of selfbuilders who employ contractors to do the actual work. No one will notice. 😀

Handy Bird sounds like the lower end of the market I.e. cheaper. I’m sure you’d get trade using that name but you’re unlikely to get better prices paid because people see you as professional and superior etc.

Joking aside, and assuming you’re right and there’s a market for this kind of thing, my ‘sensible’ suggestion would be:

“Mrs Makegood”

Recognises she’s female – Tick
Sounds Positive – Tick
Describes what she does – Tick
Sounds a bit “nominative determinism” which people think is cool – Tick

Kim’ll Fix it.

Fix-ey Lady

Faster Pussycat, Drill! Drill!

Is obviously the best, though.

I like handy Mandy, but does it only work if you’ve seen that cartoon about the Mexican handyman?

I think the name if any should reflect the market your wife is targeting. If it’s general DIY regardless of the sex of the client I would just use

(firstname) (lastname)
Home Repairs and Maintenance

If she wants to specifically market the fact that it’s a lady doing the work then that could be done either with a reasonably classy company name or a suitable strapline after her name.

Personally I think company names for sole traders don’t really work and can be a bit offputting if they are a bit silly.

Rich.

There are quite a few small business on the industrial estate business park where I work. Many of them use the first letters of their names so we have JonRo, DavRon, RogMic, Two Gs etc

Not too bad when you put ‘International’ on the end

If she wants to specifically market the fact that it’s a lady doing the work then that could be done either with a reasonably classy company name or a suitable strapline after her name.

Bra-strapline?

Senorita with a Makita

This one!