We’ve been officially recognized as one of only a few thousand businesses (think Ben & Jerry’s, Allbirds, and more!) that meet the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.

Fixer was founded as a Public Benefit Corporation — meaning that in our articles of incorporation, our legal charter empowers and requires us to:

1. Improve our employee’s skills and career opportunities, and

2. Increase the quantity, skill, and diversity of skilled tradespeople in the communities we serve.

This means that in addition to our obligation to do right by our shareholders, we also pledge to do right by our employees and the communities we serve, and if those things are ever in conflict, we will pick doing right by our employees and community first. So, it’s not just a promise, it’s a commitment that’s baked into our very charter, and that’s pretty serious.

But, we thought we’d take it one step further and also go through the process of certifying as a B Corporation, too — an even more stringent process that signals to our stakeholders, employees and customers that we will meet the highest standards of social performance.

“Meeting the highest standards — ones we set for ourselves, and ones set by becoming a B Corporation — is easier said than done,” said Mike Evans, founder & CEO of Fixer. “We’re a few years in to trying to make this a reality, and we wanted the accountability of being certified by a third party to expose any blind spots that we had, and to make sure that our execution matched our aspirations.”

“Going through the process of attaining our B Corporation certification was as educational as it was gratifying,” says Fixer President Josh Evnin. “We learned so much by clarifying the ways we want to work in order to maximize the social benefits we deliver to our employees and community.”

Here’s a guide to what it all means…

What does it mean to be a Certified B Corporation?

Certified B Corporations® are for-profit companies that use the power of business to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

They meet the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. As of 2018, there are more than 2,500 B Corps in 130 industries and 60 countries around the world. Here are a few:

And Fixer has just joined them.

What went into Fixer’s B Corporation certification? 

As a Public Benefit Corporation, we’re committed to doing the most we can for our employees and their careers and change the landscape for tradespeople by increasing the overall representation in our community, increasing their skill levels, and increasing the diversity of folks working within the trades.

All of our Fixers, regardless of their previous experience, are constantly learning – from informal sessions with fellow workers and online training, to classroom and apprentice based certifications. This keeps all of our Fixers up to date with the latest updates and innovation in the fields of home repair.

Our more experienced Fixers are not only dedicated to providing exceptional customer service, but are also mentors to our younger Fixers as part of our in-house training school. As these apprentices complete training and on-the-job experience, their careers advance. As our company grows and expands to new markets, we further develop new management and entrepreneurial opportunities for our Fixers that drive career advancement.

We hire people who are not traditionally represented in the handyman workforce, namely women and underrepresented minorities, and we foster a welcoming culture. Fixers should and do look a whole lot like the people who use our service: Diverse.

Those invaluable parts of our mission were also the key to getting our B Corp certification: Fixer has created specific policies and metrics to maintain accountability and to measure progress in the areas of recruiting, training, maintaining full-time staff, and promoting women and other under-represented populations in the home repair industry. That’s part of our commitment to the ongoing training and advancement of its employees and creating high-quality, long term careers directly in the communities where we operate.

We were measured on those commitments, because certified B Corporations amend their governance so that, by law, they can make decisions and implement practices that consider not just shareholder value, but the impact on all stakeholders — employees, customers, society, and the environment. We (and other B Corp businesses) work toward reducing inequality, lowering levels of poverty, and creating a healthier environment, stronger communities, and high-quality jobs with dignity and purpose.

For us, it’s not enough to fix things. We’re committed to building people, too.

And we’re just getting started. We’re proud to be part of this community, and are committed to continuing our mission to build something better together.