Meet Ms. Fix-It

Barbara Kavovit -- better known to the world as Barbara K -- has turned what began as a niche home-improvement business into a mini-empire that now includes a line of fashionable, female-friendly tools available through retailers like Target, two best-selling books and, most recently, an online show. Barbara K admits that while her career has rarely traveled in a straight path, and that she has made her fair share of mistakes, her business is stronger because of what she's learned along the way.

"My first job I took after college was as a financial analyst. I was living at home in New Rochelle, N.Y., at the time, and it was actually kind of boring. Then one day I heard my mom talking to some of her friends about how hard it was to get things done around the house without a man around, like hanging picture, fixing a leaky faucet, and tightening a doorknob. That's when a lightbulb went on for me.

"I realized that women are tired of having to rely on men to help with home improvements. I thought women might like to deal with another woman instead. So I went to a local printer to have some business cards and fliers made up. Then I went to the mall and started talking to women about how I had just started a home-improvement business and asked whether there was anything I could help them with.

"After I lined up a job, like putting up Sheetrock, I would go to the phonebook, find the contractors that could do the work, and check out their references. I would then drive the contractor to the job and talk with the customer as he did the work. I made my money by charging the homeowner more than the contractor was charging me. My first year, I made $25,000.

"After a while, I actually decided that I wanted to learn about things like plumbing and carpentry myself. I also expanded the business into the corporate world after I landed a few contracts for small repair work at companies like IBM, Coca-Cola, and Reader's Digest. Then, in 1995, when I was 23, I landed a condo-development project in Weehawken, N.J. All of a sudden, I had a name in the industry and was earning more than $2.5 million a year.

"Between 1995 and 2001, I moved the business to Manhattan and grew revenue to about $50 million a year, got married, and had a baby. Then 9/11 happened and everything just stopped. All of a sudden, I had to lay people off. It was a real time of uncertainty.

"Things seemed to hit rock bottom not long afterward when my husband and I decided to get a divorce. I remember going to fix something in my apartment when I realized that my ex had taken my toolbox. I was upset. Then, after watching an episode of 'Sex and the City' where Samantha has trouble hanging her curtains, I came up with the idea to create the perfect tool kit for women.

"I wanted my tool kit to look like the iMac -- slim and stylish -- and it would have all the tools and parts needed to fix the 10 most common home-repair problems. I spent $8,000 on a prototype and partnered with a manufacturer in Taiwan to make the tools. The big break came when we landed Bloomingdale's as our first customer. I even got them to do a window display for it. Everything kind of took off after that.

"We started working with Home Depot in 2005, where I did appearances in the New York City stores. That's when the book publishers came calling, and then the TV producers. We just filmed a 10-episode series called "Get a Grip with Barbara K" that will go online later this year.

"People have to understand that this wasn't an easy journey. It's really hard to build a global brand. You need to be persistent, focused, and willing to change the course of where you're going in an instant. That's the only way to stay on the right track."