(Winston-Salem, NC)---Starting a business is among the most important decisions one can make in life but for Martin Thirlwell, that decision has a lot more riding on it than one can imagine.

In terms of his career path, the groundwork was already laid for Martin even before he was born: His father and grandfather founded the construction company W.H. Thirlwell in England in 1954 and both Martin and his elder brother, Steven, followed in their family’s footsteps. Projects ranging from hospital renovations, castle maintenance, property repairs and remodeling for Anchor Trust – the largest supplier of retirement housing in the UK – have all been accomplished throughout the company’s 53 years. Though he enjoyed his work, Martin and his wife, Donna, had been considering moving to the United States since the late 1990s; in order to obtain their visas, however, Martin had to have a business plan in place and approved by the government first.

“I considered a variety of different concepts but in the end, I knew I wanted to continue doing what I loved, which was carpentry,” said Martin, 44. “While there were many options out there, very few displayed the same level of professionalism I was accustomed to but when I found House Doctors, that mentality definitely changed.”

Martin found Milford, Ohio-based House Doctors, a professional handyman service and one of the leading property repair, remodeling and maintenance companies in North America, to be the optimum fit for both his background as well as his future goals. When their visas were approved in May 2007, Martin and Donna flew across the Atlantic and Martin began setting up shop in Winston-Salem. He opened House Doctors in January 2008 to service the home improvement needs of residents throughout Forsyth, Davie, Davidson, Stokes and Surry counties and business has grown steadily ever since – a result Martin attributes to many hours of hard work and the fact that this business is quite literally all he has.

“Owning a business is a huge commitment for anyone but it’s even more so for me. For many business owners, if their business fails, they have the opportunity to start over but that’s not the case for me: If this business doesn’t work out, I will be forced to return to England. As you might guess, I have a little bit more incentive to succeed than the average person,” said Martin. “Thankfully, I have been working in this field all my life and I have the support of a larger organization behind me just in case, which gives potential and existing clients even more confidence that any job we complete will be done right.”

Though he has a lot riding on his House Doctors venture, Martin is not letting that detail dictate how he runs his company: After a year in business, Martin’s clientele is still growing and he’s even considering expanding his territory further in the future to serve as many clients as possible.

“As more people elect to stay put instead of move, they’re going to make the changes necessary to make their homes as comfortable and beautiful as possible, and I will be there to handle the job,” said Martin.