Relocating from the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania to Myrtle Beach, Tony Critchfield has made a pivotal career and lifestyle change, transitioning his longtime construction side job into a full-fledged business.
For years, Tony’s full-time work was as a paramedic, but he dedicated his off-hours to his passion: construction and repair. “I’ve been doing it for years,” he explained, “like, my full-time job for a lot of years [was] with the paramedic, and then I relocated to Myrtle Beach and decided to take up my part-time job that I did for the last 12, 15 years, and then I turned [it] into business and kind of just getting [an] overall fresh start kind of ordeal.”
The move was a family decision; while his wife and three daughters moved to the area about a year ago, Tony himself followed a few months later, seeking a career that offered flexibility to manage his new family life.
The business, listed as Critchfield Construction, is currently focused entirely on handyman services. Tony offers a range of necessary home repairs, including window and door repairs, light electrical, and drywall.
He made the conscious decision to concentrate on smaller projects initially to get established in the area and simplify the process of running a business in a new state. “I'm just trying to do, like, the smallest shorter project and jobs for people at this point in time,” he said. This strategy allows him to keep jobs between a couple of hours to eight or 12 hours, which is flexible around his children’s school schedules.
When asked why he markets himself as a construction company but offers handyman services that are often seen as distinct from building a house from the ground up, Tony cited the regulatory environment in South Carolina. “More like handyman services, for now,” he confirmed, explaining that South Carolina has different building codes and he needs to get his state license before taking on ground-up construction. “I want to stay as a handyman service for now, kind of with the scope of South Carolina, just until I can get established, get everything done, then out [of] transition as time goes on and take on bigger projects,” he stated. He prefers to stick to tasks that don’t require special licenses or permits, keeping the work simple and avoiding the often-difficult "permit game" with the city.
This focus is on work he is most proficient at and where he can currently operate legally, with an eye toward specializing later in areas like finished carpentry and drywall finishing.
Despite the crowded market of handymen advertised on platforms like Facebook, Tony believes his key differentiator is his diverse skill set and ability to grow quickly. “I think like the biggest thing as far as I go, like I have a fast, on the skill sets, I guess, far as what I’m able to do,” he noted. He’s also looking to connect with the community by offering veteran and senior discounts (generally for those 65 and over).
