Picture used for illustrative purposes only.

There are several reasons that have been laid down for a successful marriage: love, trust, understanding, the list goes on. However, one acquaintance said in a lighter vein that the husband has to be henpecked for the relationship to last. In other words, he has to be her ‘Yes’ man all the time, 24/7.

Well, in the case of British lady Laura Young, her husband, James, has gone more than the extra mile to make her happy: he does not mind being rented out by her to do household chores for others! The best part is that he is so much in demand that he is booked for weeks. The charge: just 40 pounds an hour.

Whether it’s helping set up a goggle-box or television, putting up curtains in the living room or rebuilding a wall, the dutiful husband will do it all. The cracker of an idea is advertised on social networking sites. Well, how did he end up being a successful business model? According to a report in a section of the British media, Laura came up with the proposition through a podcast. One man said that he earned his entire living doing odd jobs. It was then that she had her flashbulb moment: her husband could also do the same thing.

So she started marketing his services on Facebook and Nextdoor, an app for neighbourhoods, with the words ‘Rent my handy husband.” It became an instant success: the first enquiries came after just 24 hours.

Such was the clamour for his services that James had to quit his job in a warehouse. However, the couple simply could not cope with the demands that came their way: sometimes he had to work six days a week, from 9am to 8pm. So the couple decided to cut down on the number of hours. Now he works from Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm.

Laura, who lives in Milton Keynes, between London and Birmingham, takes care of their three children and handles the bookings when he is out of the house. She says some of the requests come from people staying 250 kilometres away; there were enquiries from as far away as Manchester. Now that is a tall order!