Shape Your Future with Nick Morris, Founder of Housetagz

Nick Morris is the founder of Housetagz, an app that allows users to post pictures of their home renovations and tag items that are available for purchase elsewhere. The app has the support of companies such as John Lewis and Marks & Spencer. In 2018, Morris launched a YouTube home renovation channel, which teaches people to skills to renovate their house professionally and cost-effectively. We recently had the opportunity to speak to Nick about his work.

Having been an electrician by trade for around 8 years, you started your YouTube channel in February 2018 when you had just bought a three-bedroom house that you would be renovating for the next 3-4 months and uploading weekly videos of your progress. What made you decide to start the YouTube channel and show everyone what you were doing?

A lot of my friends and family were always asking me about my renovation, I think it is the homes under the hammer generation! So I thought if they are interested, maybe more people are! I started out and received lots of questions about what things cost and where did I buy them so I now add these things as a minimum and the channel is growing really fast.

You developed an app called ‘Housetagz’ in 2018 which John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and The White Company have come on board with. What does the app aim to do and what inspired you to develop it?

Housetagz is an app where users can add photos of their home renovations and tag items for others to easily purchase. The idea came from me seeing hundreds of amazing photos of home renovations on Pinterest but no information about the things in them. I tried contracting the photo owners but often didn’t receive a response so thought Housetagz was a great idea. Currently speaking with investors about diversifying this business later this year.

Your second project was renovating a Victorian three-bedroom terraced house in London. Another has been you video series on how to renovate a house in 30 days for £15,000, plus videos on specific room renovations. What’s the plan for your next project for the YouTube channel?

I have lots of exciting things coming up. A time lapse video showing the internal and external build of a bespoke £30,000 garden room over 8 weeks, several full house renovations, a kitchen refurbishment which Selco are so impressed with (they supplied the kitchen) they are sending a film crew to showcase it and interview me and I’ve also quoted on a loft conversion that I am hoping to get!

What have you found to be the biggest challenge to date from your various renovation projects?

Finding reliable tradespeople. This is always tricky. I now have a great team full of reliable people but in the early stages of renovating houses it was impossible to find the right people who you could count on would do the work when they said and for what price they originally quoted.

In relation to our Shape Your Future video series, I would like to ask you one more question, in fact the one to top them all and guide all of us: “How do you shape your future?”

By always striving to improve. I started out just as an electrician; but have since learnt many skills such as some basic plumbing, stripping walls, removing walls, hanging doors and many others that I have added to my daily life. I think no matter how old you are there is always something to learn from anyone who is willing to teach you. This has helped me grow several businesses including my Easy Off Gloves business and improve my future!