'Renovation Island’s' Bryan Baeumler Was Once a 14-Year-Old Entrepreneur

On Renovation Island’s current second season, married home renovation experts Sarah and Bryan Baeumler face a “rollercoaster ride of business during the first year of their Bahamas resort, Caerula Mar, including the most unexpected challenge of all: a global pandemic,” as HGTV teased in a press release.

But it seems like Bryan and Sarah have risen to every challenge, especially since they have a reported net worth of $20 million.

So, how did Bryan Baeumler make his money anyway?

Well, the 47-year-old has had an entrepreneurial spirit since he was just a young boy growing up in Canada. He even became a neighborhood handyman before he could legally drive!

Here are more details on his career so far.

Bryan’s personal website explains his career trajectory so far. As he grew up in Ontario and attended Appleby College, the future TV star learned “tricks of the trade” from his aircraft engineer father and even spent his summers building his family’s cottage. At age 14, he started a handyman business and helped neighbors with odd jobs.

“I always knew I would work for myself — I took a few jobs here and there — but punching in and out was never a long-term option,” he told RBC Royal Bank in 2018.

For his college education, Bryan attended Western University, obtaining a dual degree in business and political science. He initially pursued a law career, but “traded in his tie for a tool belt” and founded the contracting company Baeumler Quality Construction after he realized he’d “rather be renovating than chained to a desk.”

Bryan also set up an air cargo brokerage during his twenties, RBC Royal Bank reports, but after doing renovations in his spare time, Bryan realized that working on houses was his passion.

“My parents gave me the drive, and Sarah gave the confidence to go all in and never look back,” he explained to the bank. “My parents, Sarah, and the kids have always been my biggest inspirations. And, I admit it, I watched a lot of This Old House and Bob Vila.”

By now, Bryan has expanded his brand to include the organizations Baeumler Construction, Baeumler Approved, Baeumler Productions, Baeumler Media, and Baeumler Family Foundation, according to his website.

Along the way, Bryan has become a prolific star of renovation-themed TV shows. On HGTV Canada, he has starred on Disaster DIY, House of Bryan, Leave It to Bryan, Bryan Inc. (known in the U.S. as Renovation Inc.), and now Island of Bryan (known in the U.S. as Renovation Island).

And Renovation Island Season 2 — airing on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on HGTV — shows how he and his wife cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. “Forced to reckon with the realities of the international health crisis, Bryan and Sarah must reassess their business and family plans as they quarantine on the island and take the necessary steps for their eventual reopening,” HGTV added in its release.