David Rothenberg put his 3-month-old business on hold in March when COVID-19 appeared in Rhode Island. Gradually, he began feeling more confident about accepting jobs, and in April fielded more than 300 calls for work.
Rothenberg, owner and operator of A Plus Handyman Services LLC, partially credits his decades of experience as a plumber and business owner in New York City for the company’s quick success.
Created in January, the Johnston-based business is a sort of distant cousin of the large Staten Island-based plumbing and heating business that Rothenberg owned for 28 years.
He’d retired and moved to Rhode Island at the end of last summer, but the urge to work stayed with him.
His new venture is “mostly just a one-man game,” but he’s managed to assemble a network that expands the business’s services to cover painting, siding, excavating, sheet rock and other jobs.
“You can call me for anything,” Rothenberg said.
He’s already booked weeks in advance for interior and exterior projects, including work on decks, plumbing and roofs.
While Rothenberg plans on staying in touch with customers, he has his eye on growth, a roster of employees and an office.
“I want to succeed here like I did in New York,” he said.
