Handyman Not Looking For Handouts
By Marshall Zelingerm.zelinger@krdo.comFollow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mzelinger
COLORADO SPRINGS – When you’re out of work, how do you look for a job? You may try the classifieds or go to Craigslist. Raul Andujo puts on his tool belt and steps from job-to-job.
“Getting more creative than my competition. I got to come out and do a little extra to get some customers,” said Andujo while flashing his sign “HANDYMAN – SKILLED – ALL TRADE – RECESSION RATES,” along with his phone number to an audience of drivers at the intersection of Cimarron and 8th Street. “This is not new, I’ve been doing this for about eight months now.”
Andujo steps with a purpose during his two-and-a-half hours looking for work. You’ll sometimes see him at Cimarron and 8th, other times at Powers and Constitution or Lake and Southgate. No matter where he is, he’s always moving, trying to get your attention.
“I’m trying to convey my energy. I do a survey after I catch a customer and they tell me it was the energy that caught their attention,” said Andujo. “I’m not starving. I’m making a living. It’s a stepping stone to get through this recession.”
His offers a variety of skills: masonry, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, dry wall, paint and landscape. Andujo is a handyman not looking for a handout.
“One lady once asked me, in fact she was my very first customer, she said ‘hey, can you paint?’ And I yelled back, and I said ‘I painted this sign.’ I was hired,” said Andujo. “The worse the weather, the better for me because it shows it doesn’t matter, I’m trying to get some work.”
“He’s out there every time that I see him, he has the same energy, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth,” said Jake Garcia, who sells nuts from a nearby parking lot. “As soon as he’s finished with his work, he’s not out there asking for a dime, he hits the pavement literally. Real clear that he has some skills and he wants to work, strong work ethics.”
It’s not the first time Colorado Springs drivers have seen this type of advertising. In December 2008, NEWSCHANNEL 13 introduced you to Bryce Berth. He stood in the grassy median downtown at Cascade and Colorado with a cardboard sign looking for handyman work. Berth got some jobs from just standing still. Andujo hopes for more, by never standing still.
“Actually, I get tired when I stop,” said Andujo.
“He says sometimes he has to sleep in his Jeep,” said Garcia.
“Sometimes I’m living in a conventional home and sometimes the wilderness is my home,” said Andujo. “None of my tools, none of my equipment, all my thousands dollars invested in tools, is not in anybody’s pawn shop, that I’m very proud of. I could pawn them and have a place or keep my tools and stay in the Jeep sometimes. It’s a no-brainer actually.”
We wanted to know why he’s still looking for work on the sidewalk after eight months. Andujo says he makes better money with odd jobs, than the offers he’s had for full time employment.
“In a month, yeah I could hit four figures. Like I said, on average it’s not a lot because I get jobs intermittently,” said Andujo. “It’s enough to keep me alive. Not enough to get insurance or anything like that or even a permanent home, but you know enough. Keep my esteem up there, keep me in shape.”
While we watched him on Tuesday, he did get two phone calls.
“The phone’s rang a couple of times but I don’t pick it up, I let it go to a message. Sometimes I get as many as nine, but today it’s slow,” said Andujo. “Hopefully I’ll land at least one job out of this, at least a couple of days worth.”
He says his best phone call wasn’t even for a real job.
“They asked if I could mend a broken heart. They were just pranking me, but I thought that was very cute,” said Andujo.
As for an end goal, Andujo has big plans.
“I got to build up a retirement and retire someday, make enough money for that. My ultimate goal is to buy me a ranch and raise buffalo or bison rather, near the four corners area,” said Andujo.
