Handyman business

[cnelk]

The key about being a handyman is ya gotta be ‘handy’, and be willing to do things that GCs don’t want to mess with.

Another example:

Customer had a trash enclosure that the wood slat door got blown off due to high wind in the foothills. He also wanted it bear proof.

I bought metal tubing and welded it up and covered it with metal.

Securely attached to enclosure

$750

 

[Deadfall]

Ill throw my 2 cents in the pot.

Pros:
1). you will never be out of work if your any good at all.
2). You can make a ton of money and still have some flexibility

Cons: Now this is be being a touch negative since I have been in the residential construction business for 14 years. Both as a builder and as a trade.
1). Homeowners can be a real pain in the butt to deal with. IF you think they are even the least bit crazy run away. You cant bid the job high enough for it to actually work out. This is why we dont work for homeowners at all.
2). Chasing down money sucks. You will need to learn how to file and remove a lien. Its 300 to file and 100 to remove in texas. This is built into every job price wise. This is why we dont work for homeowners at all.
3). Insurance here is expensive.
4). Major trades here plumber, electrician and HVAC are licensed.
5). Mission creep is real and has to be avoided and nipped in the bud otherwise you will never get a job done.
6). Getting qualified people to work with you is akin to hitting the lottery. The trade pool is very shallow.

Business wise.
Word of mouth is the only way to fly. We have no online presence and no advertising and still get to select who we work with. We only work with builders and only those that have the horsepower to do 300-500 homes a year.
My handy man I put in business in 2009 as I needed a bunch of remodel work done on older properties we were selling. I advanced him 25k and off we went. (I knew him prior) 11 years later he is still doing it and has a 6-9 month backlog. He simply has more work he can handle and stuggles to get qualified guys that are worth a shit to help him. He cleared 425k last year in the bank in profit pre tax.

This right here

 

[DenverCountryBoy]

If you're new to estimating, Homewyse.com can help until you get a better sense of what projects will cost.

 

[Ranger619]

Thanks everyone for all the good info, I really appreciate it.

 

[Scottyboy]

Pm incoming,...always looking for a good/local handyman!!

 

[hodgeman]

A handyman that charges reasonable rates and actually shows up will be busier than you want to be.

In my AO, a guy could make bank just moving snow, cleaning gutters and doing minor home maintenance tasks that GCs or trades turn their nose up at. No one except crackheads needing a fix even returns calls on that kind of stuff.

 

[bushcamp]

cash. word of mouth. choose customers wisely. bill for the job rather than hourly. as long as the value is there, customers don't need to know if your making $40 an hour or 100. repair work is recession proof. leaks & squeaks always gonna be here. shits always gonna break & fall apart. mechanical ability is beyond a lot of people these days & it feels good to help. chicks dig tool belts.

 

[JGuest]

@Reburn covered the important stuff in his post

My FIL is a handyman and has more work than he can actually do.

His method is that he has close ties with realtor referral groups and most of his work is for people buying/selling homes or their realtors. Currently a majority of his work is for realtors buying investment properties and flipping them.

Its nice since normally the appraisal has laid out the work that is required.
The realtors tend to pay or make sure he gets paid or he won't work for them anymore.
The bad here is that almost every job he does is on a fairly strict timeline.
Due to location there is more flexibility in what he can and cannot do then MN.

Just always pick up the phone and do what you say, when you say it'll be done and you should have more than enough work.

 

[RS3579]

I do small side jobs myself. My trade job is a electrician. Try contact local realtors. They always need stuff done for the seller or buyer. Small quick money jobs. It’s another avenue to income.