Never took a business class in my life because I didn't want to hear about it.
That was for guys who liked to wear suits.
I have a BS in Marine Science.
In this state you need a contractor's license to do any work over $1000.00 / job, so I have one of those. And an S-corp.
I've never advertised, all business is word of mouth.
I spent more than 10 years as a framer on different crews across the country.
The reason I do what might be called "handy man" work now is I live in a vacation area with a lot of rental homes and a lot of retired folks that run into all kinds of needs. The HO's I know call me first, and they tell their friends to call me first.
I'm sure a better business man could make more money at this than I am.
So I have stuff to learn.
All I know is that if I double my prices to get more profit my phone will stop ringing. Or at least I believe it will. Haven't tried it. Not likely to.

 

Never took a business class in my life because I didn't want to hear about it.
That was for guys who liked to wear suits.
I have a BS in Marine Science.
In this state you need a contractor's license to do any work over $1000.00 / job, so I have one of those. And an S-corp.
I've never advertised, all business is word of mouth.
I spent more than 10 years as a framer on different crews across the country.
The reason I do what might be called "handy man" work now is I live in a vacation area with a lot of rental homes and a lot of retired folks that run into all kinds of needs. The HO's I know call me first, and they tell their friends to call me first.
I'm sure a better business man could make more money at this than I am.
So I have stuff to learn.
All I know is that if I double my prices to get more profit my phone will stop ringing. Or at least I believe it will. Haven't tried it. Not likely to.

Why would you double your prices?

 

The "same day service" strategy is a good one but you would have to be in a huge market and have the good fortune to be able to sift through many calls to get enough work to make a 4-6 stop day consistently.

My experience has been that if you always turn down the unusual or difficult jobs, you will get a reputation for being very limited in your capabilities.

That's fine if you specialize in a trade, but handymen are considered to be generalists who can do a variety of jobs. Many of my jobs consist of a list of 5-6 small tasks. A couple of those items might be things I do every week, but every list has a couple of unusual tasks.

I would never have enough work if I tried to specialize in the top 10 or even the top 25 handyman projects.

 

Same day service is just one out of a 1000 possibilities.

Look at Volvo. What did they specialize in?

The "safest car in the world" category. They held that spot for years until the marketing people screwed that up. Anyhow, once they owned that space in the market it was impossible for other companies to claim it. Why? Perception.

BMW is a safe car but they knew better than to try and take that space so what did they do? They created a new category called "The ultimate driving experience.

It was brilliant and it worked for many years. The luxury car that drove like a sports car. Smart!

Look for unique ways to capture a certain category in your market. If you can't find one than make your own category.

Position yourself

Brand yourself and focus!!!!

 

In my opinion, a PROFESIONAL handyman service can be very profitable. An operation like the one Summit has. Branded, insured, ect...

I would think it would require intelligent marketing, and the hourly rate would either have to be fairly substantial or the mark up on fixed cost would, to cover overhead. If my self and one other guy ran two vans and did the small project/repair work we get as a construction company I think I would do pretty well. You have to be very skilled in a lot of different things, flooring, carpentry, painting ( :no

The reason we get a lot of these calls is there is no professional handyman service here, that I know of. Some good old boys who do good work (a few anyway) , but are uninsured and are not exactly Johnny on the spot.

 

...

 

My problem doing the handyman work is changing directions every day. Different tools, materials, planks, no planks, fasteners, etc.

Drives me nuts. Plus around here they want to pay 100 bucks to install a door.

I do a lot of handyman work, but price it as a GC. And only do one thing a day or one jobsite with multiple things when I do.

I have enough problems swapping from siding one day, custom shower doors one day, dry rot 2 days, back to siding, then install a door, then paint, then...

Can't imagine three completely different things a day at different jobsites.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

 

I try to line up like tasks together. Like drywall repairs, painting etc. This allows me to go to three to five places in a day. It's also helpful to keep everyone informed.

Most of the time if I can get to 3 places I'm doing well....I keep on going lists for my client's, and ask them to do the same. I only have have repeats and word of mouth through a recommendation. I will block time, days for larger projects. But that may require a service call before and or after getting to site.

It can be a curse and a blessing to always be doing something different.

I'm lucky that my geographical range is very limited, and I have supplier options very close.

Surely I have and probably could make better money with something else. But
At my age and time in my life it's a good fit. And most of the time I enjoy what I do.

Sometimes I can even help someone that really needs it...

 

You're quoting someone from 13 years ago and what does that have to with this thread.

 

Yes. You can make very good money as a handyman. That is if you consider an average of $ 150.00 per billable hour good money. You will need to run the company professionally. That means purchasing a CRM like Jobber to manage the clientele and workflow, and establishing a business owner mindset. If you would like to learn more about how to open and run a good profitable handyman company, I recommend you go to YouTube and start following The Bulletproof Handyman. You will find everything you need to set up and run a profitable handyman company there. Good Luck.

Yes, that's right. I stated an average of $ 150.00 per billable hour which comes to $ 6,000.00 per week, $ 32,000.00 per month, and $ 312,000.00 per year working by yourself without an employee. It will take you a little time to get to that number but it is doable providing you run an honest operation focused on branding and customer service.

 

@Ayangonz

Welcome back !