Blanket Statement

What: Restaurant and retail facilities management services
Who: Mark Bucher of Fixx Services Inc.
Where: Bethesda, Maryland
When: Started in 1999

Mark Bucher takes the headache out of handling the kind of maintenance nightmares that restaurants and retail stores routinely face. In fact, years of firsthand experience with managing such properties inspired him to launch Fixx Services, a company that offers facility management services.

Now businesses that have maintenance problems can call Fixx to get help 24/7; third-party plumbers and other professionals are sent to the site by Fixx representatives. "[Customers] want one number to call if their oven breaks or if someone throws a brick through their front window," explains Bucher, 34.

Customers receive 40 percent off repair prices once they pay a one-time membership fee in addition to monthly fees based on their volume of calls. Vendors are willing to offer the discount because they get more business from Fixx's referrals.

Self-funded and homebased until last year, Fixx Services now has 12 employees in Bethesda and currently does business nationwide, thanks to word-of-mouth referrals from satisfied customers. Bucher expects sales for 2003 to reach $10 million.

This article was originally published in the March 2003 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Blanket Statement.