Page 16 – ‘Tatura’s Booming’, November, 2021
TATURA’S Booming
Phil's flat-out in semi-retirement Phil Serra has rocketed into semi-retirement with a new handyman business. By DANEKA HILL “I moved into Tatura from the farm and I thought, what does this town need? No-one was doing odd-job stuff so I got started,” Phil said. Soon after launching Serra's Handyman Services in September he was running flat out. “I was hoping it would be two to three days work a week and every weekend was a long one, but I'm running seven days.” With enough clients to keep him busy until Christmas, Phil puts the overnight success of his little business down to the Serra name. “People trust us, they know the Serras,” he said. “I go to jobs where people have left their keys on the table, they leave money in the mailbox. There is a real hometown trust.” The Serras came out from Italy in 1928 and got their start growing tomatoes before moving into dairy. “At one stage there was five Serras playing footy in Tat,” Phil said. “My father and uncle are pitching in, my daughter is doing the books. Without a doubt it's a family business and I don't want it to change.” Phil is trying to tempt his tradequalified sons into the business, but he says there's “too much money in footy at the moment”. “We'll see what's happening around Christmas. “I might have to hire some local blokes. Then I can actually start working three days a week.” Phil discovered there was massive untapped demand for a local, affordable handyman.
Phil Serra started a handyman business to keep him busy in semi-retirement. “I bought everything for the trailer brand new,” he said. “It’s easy to get things new sometimes, there is less to worry about.”
“No-one was looking after the pensioners. Especially with this COVID, the families weren't coming up and hanging a painting or putting up a shelf for them,” he said. “Some of them just need a pot plant moved and want to have a coffee with you. I'm drinking more coffee now than I've ever drunk in my life, and because it's a little family business we can do that instead of rushing off.” Serra's Handyman Services does everything from tractor slashing, putting latches on gates, fencing, cleaning gutters and fixing sprinklers. Phil has proved so reliable Ray White has him booked as the agency's go-to tradesman for rental property jobs. “I had an emergency job a few days ago. A Ray White rental needed to be
looked after until the plumber could come along to fix the sewerage. “We do pretty much anything within 40 kilometres of Tatura.” Phil said he was out to do a good, honest job. “I'm very proud of everything I do. I like things to be done well. “I don't walk into a job and think 'let's do this under budget, under time and make as much profit as we can'. On some jobs I'll lose a hundred because I wanted it done right, on others I'll make a hundred. “To you it's just a pool fence or a brick garden edge, but they'll look at it every time they go outside so you need to be a perfectionist. Otherwise it's 'who did this job? That bloody Serra'.”
Phil has worked across the region as a stock and station agent, dairy farmer and Telstra technician, to name a few of his jobs. As a dairy farmer he ran a 200-head Ayrshire herd that was in the top five per cent of Australia for cell count, winning Dairy Australia milk quality awards in 2014, 2013 and 2012. Phil and his blue heeler now call Hogan St home, but he still runs beef on 218 hectares and does cattle work for Northern Victoria Livestock. “There are never enough days in the week,” he said. “After I'm done talking to you, I've got to go out and video some cows for auction.”
Popular bakery gets a makeover Local icon Tatura Hot Bread Bakery is getting a facelift in the coming months. By CAITLYN GRANT With more than 12 months of ownership, Sophia and George Wells are looking forward to putting their personal touch onto the bakery. "We're doing bit-by-bit with the store," Sophia said. "The bakery will get a new sign and a few other small renovations throughout the year." To match the bit of a revamp, you
may see the workers at Tatura Hot Bread donning some new blue shirts to match their bright demeanour. "We've been really lucky, we have such a great team," Sophia said. "They're really on top of it all, always looking out for each other and the customers." Tatura Hot Bread Bakery is at 130 Hogan St, Tatura. For more information, visit the Tatura Hot Bread Bakery Facebook page.
The team at Tatura Hot Bread in their new uniforms.
