If it seems you don't have enough hands for all you need to do, Barbara Fulmer and Joanne Smith have extras.
The owners of concierge service Extra Hands of Chattanooga offer their assistance with the mundane tasks of daily life such as picking up dry cleaning, grocery shopping or planning birthday parties.
"The variety of services we provide make us different from any other service in Chattanooga," Fulmer said.
Extra Hands of Chattanooga owners Barbara Fulmer, left, and Joanne Smith offer their assistance with chores like picking up dry cleaning for residents of Hamilton County who don't have time to complete the tasks or are unable to leave the home.Smith and Fulmer said the people they expect to be interested in their services include those with elderly parents they are unable to assist themselves, as well as the ill and busy families.
"It's important to spend time with your family, and a little bit of help allows you to do that," said Fulmer.
The two women said they recently dealt with the issue of caring for their own aging parents who live out of town, which inspired them to start a service they would like to have patronized themselves.
"It's an opportunity to work with the elderly and allow them to live independently for as long as they can in their own home, and also to run errands for busy people who don't have time to do it themselves," said Smith, of Harrison.
Additional examples of services provided include planning travel, organizing calendars and writing letters.
She said the flat rate for their services is $30 an hour, with an extra fee for chores outside the home which require transportation and additional charges by the mile for errands outside the 10-mile radius of the customer's home.
"Since we charge by the hour, to get the biggest bang for your buck we suggest you combine your chores," said Smith.
Operated out of Smith's Harrison residence, Extra Hands brings its services to the customer, which includes all residents of Hamilton County. They said charges for services will be laid out during the free initial consultation at the customer's home.
"We develop a plan based on his or her wants," said Smith. "It's very individualized."
While the two are happy to use their cars to run customer's errands, they said they are unable to allow the patron to accompany them on these ventures due to insurance liability factors.
Smith, a former teacher and principal in the Hamilton County school system, and Fulmer, previously the director of the National Science Foundation grant, worked next door to each other in the Department of Education and both retired from their professions several years ago.
They said they started formulating plans for Extra Hands beginning in January with the assistance of an entrepreneurial program at the UTC College of Business.