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Under-promising and Over-delivering

Being Neighbourly x Darren Catterall, Jack of All Trades

Author/ Being Neighbourly
16 June 2025

I was offered a job in 2006 at the same time as being made redundant in the UK and it just seemed like a good idea at the time to come to Hong Kong. I stayed because I was having a lot of fun and the sailing was very good; and then I met my now wife, who also loves Hong Kong,” says Darren Catterall, founder of Jack of All Trades.

Catterall has been living in Hong Kong since January 2007, 18 years, and says he’s lived all along the Number 23 Bus route, from Pok Fu Lam Road and Bonham Road to Robinson Road and Caine Road.

In his trademark jocular style, Catterall, breezes through his timeline: born in Singapore, reared in the UK from the age of three, living in Windsor and London; and that he recently became Irish (through his late Grandfather) to become a ‘European’ again.

“My core company is Jack of all Trades, which is how I like to think of myself. The Shakespeare quote is often misinterpreted. It is, in fact: ‘A Jack of all Trades is a master of none, but often times better than a master of one’. Shakespeare understood that Generalists have their place and can be very useful at integrating things, and this is how I like to work.

Known to Hong Kong’s Sailing community, as a dedicated and enthusiastic sailor, Catterall has become something of a legend in more recent years for his handyman work under his Jack of All Trades label. Living in Midlevels, as do most of his clients, Catterall shares in common with many of them, membership of the Being Neighbourly Central & Western group, the Facebook community from which Being Neighbourly Ltd sprung. He’s also a member of the Being Neighbourly VALUE Business Membership, set up precisely for SMEs like his.

“The Being Neighbourly group has been great to partner with. It is a great source of contacts and introductions to an excellent network. I am glad I joined and look forward to a long and prosperous relationship,” says Catterall.

Jack of All Trade Services

Darren Catterall’s Handyman services run the gamut, but centre on his motto of, “Simplifying life when it comes to every room in your home.” Key hiring times are at the beginning or end of rental lease contracts, when people are looking to make improvements to their new home, or fixing up an apartment before handing it over to their Landlord.

Putting up TVs, mirrors, shelves, bathroom cabinets, curtains, etc

Building IKEA furniture

Changing light fittings and switches and sockets (Anything more complex requires a registered electrician)

Changing taps, toilet seats and showerheads

Fixing U-bends and simple plumbing

Building wooden shelves

Repairing roofing

Painting and Decorating

Catterall has an almost exhaustive list of can-dos, from simple electrical and plumbing jobs, to building things from wood and painting and decorating.

“It started in the middle of COVID as a pivot from a job that fell apart, and I have been doing it ever since, as I have found that I really like working for myself with control of my own schedule. Being constantly active, instead of sitting at a desk is good for me,” he says, adding that his native English skills helps a lot when people cannot speak Cantonese and deal with local Handymen.

According to Catterall, there’s plenty of crossover from his experiences as a sailor and past white-collar work experiences. “Part of being a sailor is that we have to fix things when they break and we cannot wait for someone else to come along and fix things for us. So, I am good at looking at something and quickly working out what the best way is to get it working again; and when to give up completely and not waste money on something when it is time to buy new,” he elaborates.

With a decade of past work experience in IT, Catterall says he’s happy to troubleshoot WIFI and home networking problems; and is even contracted by some of his clients to fix computers and upgrade PC systems too.

Working with A Jack of All Trades

1. The Client gets in touch. “If you have an exact list of what needs doing and it seems clear enough, I can estimate the time needed for the job,” says Darren Catterall, Founder of A Jack of All Trades.

2. A Quotation is issued. “I quote by time and not by job, as some jobs are quick and some have hidden problems that you don’t see until you open something up. I am very clear that I am estimating my time and it could be between X and Y hours/days for the job. I let the would-be customer know a worst-case scenario. If the job is unclear, I am happy to visit the location and discuss it with the client. If it is a long way away and I have to go by taxi, then this gets added to the job if I take it on,” says Catterall.

3. The job is done. “I always try to under-promise and over-deliver. I am clean and tidy and will make a minimum amount of mess and clean up as I go. If a problem happens, I will either fix it or explain the options to the customer and discuss what to do. I will never just fix something badly or hide something, and move on to the next job. Happy customers and referrals are how I generate new business!”

“My policies are to do the best job I can and to explain to each customer what their options are, and what the cheapest and easiest ways are to get things done,” says Catterall, explaining that this makes most sense when people are renting. “I often talk a customer out of doing work that has no real benefit for them.”

According to Catterall, the most common requests are TV/picture hanging and apartment fixes when people move in Midlevels and the north side of Hong Kong Island, but he will work beyond these places, provided that transportation by taxi from Midlevels is covered, to help transport his equipment. He says that a painting job to repaint an entire apartment room by room has been his longest job to date: he worked a week on and a week off doing other jobs, for about two and a half months. He says he also built a partition wall with a door for someone, which took 10 days and was “hard work”.

“Things that other people won’t attempt’, says Catterall laughingly, in an addendum to the other services he provides, featured above . “I built a set of stairs for an outdoor terrace that nobody else wanted to do!”

BN VALUE Business Membership

The BN VALUE Business Membership was created in January 2025 and currently has over 70 SME members. Operating through WhatsApp, our FB Being Neighbourly community groups and in-person lunches, the membership is a connection point for diverse registered businesses across Hong Kong. It offers free B2B and B2C promotions on Wednesdays through our Whatsapp and FB groups, respectively, to help local businesses do better business.

To request membership of our group, please WA +852 9231 6215 or email [email protected].