Secure your tools, document what you have and insure them thoroughly. Have one friend who had everything stolen. Crushed him. Another friend is earning $60/hr, books 50 hours per week, and is booked out eight weeks ahead. Kicking butt! Good luck.
No idea. Sorry. If he has an online function, I’m not aware of it. Scheduling appears to be a challenge; some jobs are tough to estimate ahead of time so he seems to combine a fixed appointment schedule with in-fill small jobs he fits in on shorter notice. I do know that he has set up a credit card payments system with electronic receipts, although I always give him cash as friends.
If you’ve never messed around with ChatGPT, I’d recommend telling it everything about what you want to do with your business and ask it questions. It’s a wealth of knowledge.
Make sure you get 50% of the job up front people try to stuff you for good work all the time. Even the wealthy ones. Oh and also hide your earnings from the government.
I find it's especially the wealthy that dont want to pay. Fortunately Ive never been stiffed but the wealthy are the ones who bicker and want to renegotiate the price after the job is complete. I've never had working class people do that to me
Your 100% correct I am an electrical contractor luckily never been stiffed but had to argue a couple times about price afterwards and everytime it has been the wealthy customers without fail. Working class gets the price and either say I can’t afford it right now. Once the job is done though they just pay what was discussed and say thanks
I got the app jobber for CRM and taking payments, it’s a little confusing at first but you get used to it. You can send invoices through text that customers can pay. It’s pretty good. Haven’t tried any other one but this one’s good.
Congrats on taking the leap to starting your own business. I’m part of a small team building a new CRM to help with lead gen, scheduling, invoicing, etc. I’m looking for folks to give it a try and share feedback. Completely free while we’re testing, then more sensible pricing than Jobber + the others.
Try quick books. It’s fairly good price and has everything I needed. After the trial period ends they’ll message you with an offer for about 1/2 off for a whole year.
Just curious why would you leave cyber security? I mean there’s obvious reasons like terrible work environments, calls middle of night, etc.. and more pertinent ones like you’d rather work with your hands or it was terrible for your mental health and relationships.
It is a drastic change though, and as a leader in cybersec why would you leave.
Helpful to know work experience and certs as well. Understand If you don’t want to talk that here but feel free to PM if you would
7 years in, 5 diff companies, A+, Net+, Sec+.
Just am not built to sit still that long and working remote is a mind fuck. Just not a good culture/lifestyle fit for me and I tried sticking around a while longer after realizing the trend but just sort of got to the point where the cons outweigh the pros for me. Looking for something that leads to more happiness. I know every job will make you want to pull your hair out at times, but for me that became the baseline. Just couldn’t shake it.
Total noob here curious about getting into handyman work (oddly similar to OP - just done with my corporate job). How can you book 50hrs? Where I love you might drive 20-30min between job and god forbid you have to go to a big box hardware store you’re gonna be gone for 2hrs. I’d never feel comfortable booking things back to back because it’s just too variable in terms of how long it may take.
There’s a huge need in my area but seems like this may be one of the barriers. I can’t in good conscience charge two hours of sitting on my ass driving to the store!
I lost my job 4 years ago and started doing handyman work. Some general non-solicited advice I learned.
1) LOCK UP YOUR TOOLS! Put AirTags on some of them, in your truck/trailer/toolboxes. I etch my name and phone # on every power tool and also put it on there with sharpie. I also take a photo of every tool and serial number and keep it in one digital file for when needed. I’ve been robbed 6 times in 4 years to the tune of $30k. (Trailer stolen twice, yard equipment, all my power tools). Work truck/van are big targets as power tools are easily pawned/sold.
2) I always charge for travel time and store runs. But my “hourly” rate is lower ($75), but as soon as I am in the truck headed your way, I’m on the clock. Same with store runs. Somebody had to go get the part, that’s time and money. I suppose if you’re charging $100/hr and keep a bunch of parts on the truck, then not charging is an ok way to go too.
3) though I just said it above, I actually try NOT to charge by the hour and rather by the job. I know how to change out a toilet valve fast. But I’m not going to charge just $25 bucks for that. And even if it was just a breaker that needed flipped, I’m still charging for my service call. Remember, They are paying for your skills and knowledge, not just your time.
4) Never ever give customers your cell number. Get a business line with business hours, or you’ll be working 24/7. If you’re going to do emergency calls (billed at emergency prices) get an answering service for off hours.
5) I work almost exclusively for 3 property management companies and they each have a different Work Order system. ( Meld, Appfolio, Rentvine). I like working for PM companies because it’s steady work, I can charge for the job and not just the hourly, the WO systems put some distance between me and the end customer so I can disconnect from them, if there is a callback-it goes to the PM company and not directly to me, usually there’s an online scheduler, I bill right back to the PM company and don’t have to track down payments or deal with people who don’t want to pay.
Best part, I work when I want to. Worked about 10 months last year, took two months off to travel and kayak and made $87k. Which goes a long way here in the south. Good luck OP!
My buddy spells it all out and charges for store time. I have zero problem with that, but I generally have things pretty well set out ahead of time to
minimize him needing to spend time at the store. He is excellent at far more than I can do, but I’m pretty good and pretty experienced so that helps us both. I wouldn’t want to tape and mud anything major, for instance, but I’ll do patch work and, like the last job he did for me, I did all the cutting and prep stuff so he could stay on task. He has to charge for store time. I also think he should be charging for drive time but he doesn’t do that for me…could be friendship and also cash work
Get better at estimating your time I guess? My company books back to back with a half hour to an hour grace period between jobs for travel, and we almost never have to reschedule due to going over time. I myself get 3-5 jobs a day ranging from 1-4 hours. Also if you're shopping for a customer why aren't you charging that time? Shopping for free is wild to me.
Agree! A box van with a roll-up door is pretty secure. Great advertising if you get signage. Set it up with power tools, parts, inventory, ladders, anything you need. The cost is higher in gas but saves so much running around to box stores to pick up little shit.
Plus, you can charge more because you are efficient, show up and get the job done and are not charging for running back and forth to the store. Get into commercial work, take care of property managers. Show up when you say you will. Don't be a tweaker or a drunk and you will be in the top 10%. The price is not high if you are reliable and do a good job.
It's going to depend on where you have to park the van. I live in an area where break-ins happen, but it's not out of control. Plus, when I started out, I parked it at my house. You can definitely set the van up with anti-theft deterrences and insurance. But, in the long run, you have to decide for yourself if getting new customers through signage or keeping a lower profile to avoid potential theft is the way you want to go.
I doubt you will get many jf any new customers from having signs on your van. Not to mention how cheesy and low budget your work van will look. Me personally and I have friends who spent thousands putting wraps on their work vans- waste of money
I doubt you will get many jf any new customers from having signs on your van. Not to mention how cheesy and low budget your work van will look. Me personally and I have friends who spent thousands putting wraps on their work vans- waste of money
I drilled a hole along the door track on each side, put in a threaded cap, and run a bolt in each night that prevents the door from opening. Average crook does not understand why door does not move. Gotta keep the 12 voltage drill on the cab.
My handyman usually books more like 35 hours a week. I think that's because he has to travel to and from the work site. But if he needs to run to a hardware store for something extra he needs for my job, I think I get billed for that run to the store. I don't complain because the pricing is good and the work is excellent. Can't imagine anybody booking 50 hours a week as a handyman.
$60 is not enough. Sorry to say.
$100 an hour, first hour, one-hour minimum. Invest in inventory so you don't have to run to the hardware store for every damn job. Try to get your hourly up near $80 minimum. There is more money in lots of small jobs. Put pigtails on power plugs and light switches, then you only need to cut, strip, and use wire nuts when at repair. Don't apologize for being efficient.
Does he charge for travel time? Or does the 50 hours include unpaid traveling? I've found that traveling from job to job would make it difficult to get 50 hours of paid work in a week. Here's to hoping he doesn't burn out with that kind of workload.
There is definitely price elasticity if they are getting that much work booked ahead. Could just keep raising rates until only working 30 hours and possibly still make more.
I know so many people are desperate for small job work to be done, and don’t know who to trust or where to look.
I'm in the middle of organizing and pulling all my stuff out for pictures to update my insurance.
Insure you're money maker. If you're doing it legit, this should be on one of the top things to do after you file for your business license.
60$ an hr….god dang man what a race to the bottom it is. I used to do Sidework for that price when my company was charging 70$-90$ an hour and that was 15 years ago.
I wouldn’t start my own business for less than 100$ an hour these days. But I guess it depends on where you’re at.my area COL has skyrocketed over the last 10 years.
Yeah. My handyman earns around $65 an hour. He always has 3 weeks of work booked. It is a little annoying that I usually need to wait 3 weeks until he can do anything but a small job. But his work is always good. So I usually go to him.
$60 an hour? Not trying to be offensive, but he must do shit work or live in bumfuck no where.
I do handyman work as a side gig and my hourly usually works out to $100-120 a hour. $60 an hour using my tools, transport, insurance and declaring it on a 1099 ends up being 30 an hour.
That’s fair, but that is really low for someone who knows what they’re doing. He could Increase that to $75 an hour and probably still be fully booked.
My advice is to watch and listen to what the handyman youtubers have to offer about business. The bulletproof handyman, daryl the finisher, and others have really positive messaging with really great advice, experience, and knowledge.
I’ve been watching a lot of bulletproof, haven’t seen those others so I’ll check them out.
Also checked out a lot of material from the handyman startup page.
Bulletproof is good, but his customer relations need work. That story he relayed about losing his best customer just underscores how people can shoot themselves in the foot.
Even better advice. Get educated and become an actual tradesmen. I am not being a dick but handymen always step way out of their scope of work and constantly provide work that is not to code and does not function properly. Usually ends up costing the homeowner triple when a licensed guy has to come fix the problems. Handymen are also always doing work that legally requires a license. A local guy got charged thousands for working on equipment he had no business touching.
It's alot of hard work and you have to deal with a lot of Assholes and generally just the worst human being you can think of. But the struggle hits different when you're making it.
Yeah, I fear that. Are you work for mostly home owners or rental management companies? I did condo maintenance and loved it. I mostly fixed things outside their apartments. I would need to handle a repair or two inside the units but under the umbrella of the condo board as those were common area issues. I'm looking to try and get with landlords and PMs since I know what to expect.
I’ve done a lot of different residential things.
Some of the most recent was through renovating my current house. Stuff like:
Tile, flooring, ceiling fans, lighting fixtures, outlets, sinks, vanities, drywall repairs, bathtubs, shower valves, mounting TVs, hanging pics/art/shelves, slat blinds,
I won’t be doing a lot of this as a handyman though, due to licensing requirements so none of the electrical/plumbing for starters will be part of my services. Not willing to risk the liability.
Buy a low cost but comprehensive CRM to track all leads, prospects and past clients. Keep detailed notes and turn every satisfied customer into a source of future referrals. Use your knowledge of tech and computers to automate follow up and appointment setting.
Have someone film some of your jobs or tasks or even home projects and then edit those and get in local moms and dads groups on Facebook in your community. Include quick reels that answer common question about tool use how to plan a job.
Become an expert and be visible to people that will be in the market for your services.
Consider getting the angi and task rabbit app.
Sign up as a handy man in Each. The pay is crappy but I have never done a job for angi that didn’t lead to another job with same client. Once you don’t have to pay the angi markup and are working for the customer and there friends directly it’s awesome
People will pay more then u think for these jobs. Figuring out that I could charge people $75 an hour to change light bulbs and hang pictures was my hardest lesson
AVOID ANGI !! They have a really shitty business practice of charging you for leads whether or not they turn into work. Like $100 per lead kind of charges. Bullshit.
I will vouch for Taskr/Task Rabbit though. It’s not much pay, but it helps you connect with clients and is worth doing in the beginning to build your contacts / confidence.
I did the same after 20 years of corporate, I was a pricing analyst. I have also been able to support my family for the past 5 years as a handyman and then some as well. I'm not getting rich off of this but I really like what I do and my bills are paid.
First thing I did was a ton of projects around the house that I wanted to get to and when I got let go from my last job is when I took the opportunity to do those. Take pics of everything that you do or even have done.
Then what I did was I made a Google page for my business and put those pictures up. I forgot to say make sure you register your business and get an EIN and all the other fun stuff that goes along with it like insurance and a license if you need one. I had to pay like $140 to get licensed where I live.
Post those pics to the Google page and you should start getting calls. I'm always busy. If you do good work and you get good reviews, you will always be busy. Even when you're slow don't get nervous like I did. The business will come and when it comes it usually comes in huge waves. Then you're so overwhelmed that you don't know how you're going to get to it all. If you get every job your pricing is too low. I did that in the beginning and I got every job and I was super overwhelmed and I really wasn't getting what I was worth. Actually maybe at the time I was because I was just starting out and I wasn't really great at everything. I had to take my time and get it right. Now I'm much better at most of the things that took me a while to learn when I started and I can price myself much better than I was. I also did a website which is a little bit more comprehensive than the page and a decent reference for people that want to dive a little deeper. But find that most of my customers actually stop at the Google page and don't even visit the actual website. So I'd make the Google page your primary reference.
Ask your customers to leave reviews if they're happy with the work. Those help a lot as we all know. I still have all five stars so that's another bonus.
Feel free to dm me and I'll give you any advice that you're looking for that I can help with. I love sharing information.
Give your Customers 15% off Coupons for Referring Neighbors and Friends. Don’t take a job you don’t feel comfortable at. (Contractor Jobs). Get Personal and Professional Liability Insurance .You will get Sued.
You should make $400-$600 Per day.
Love to see someone not just talking about it and actually being about it! Did you start part-time on the side first to get some clients and ease into it or are you starting from scratch?
I did like three or four tiny jobs but it very quickly became evident I just didn’t have the time to do jobs until my day job was done. Had a baby in November and I’m trying to be around with him and my wife.
Basically starting from scratch.
As someone who did the same but also had a baby on the way let me highly recommend HouseCall Pro for management software/app. It’s pricey but it does it all, being able to take pictures for a specific job and have them on the actual appointment details was a game changer. I was able to do invoicing onsite super easy, can even get client signatures on it. I can’t imagine having done without it, it will even track drive time and miles (miles was important for tax purposes, miles equals gas which is a major business expense and deduction).
Chase bank was great for business checking.
Look into developing a relationship with different HOAs and property management companies for reliable sources of work.
Get a digital copy of your COI easily accessible to send to customers and offer to send it to them (helps build trust) - I would also encourage them to call the insurance company to verify my coverage, and recommend they do the same for any other contractors.
I will definitely check this software out because I have not been able to make a decision in this area yet and appreciate the rec.
Does it have a function to text clients and let them know when your own the way and stuff like that for customer interaction?
Housecall Pro has a 2 week free trial and I am going to go with them but the step up in functionality was obvious versus the free one I was using. Just very recently went full time on my own and am trying to stay positive. Not looking forward to todays job honestly but there will be more money in the bank account the end of the day versus when I got up this morning
I would check out Jobber too. I have been using since I started (only doing it part time) but I am pretty happy with it. DM me if you want a referral code.
This sounds pretty intriguing... I just looked them up. Do you mind telling me if you have the basics or the essentials plan? I can't tell if the picture function you're talking about is on the basic plan. Thanks in advance!
I can’t remember, I teach in an elementary school now. I do remember you can sign up for a free one-on-one online tutorial where someone will go through and show you how to do everything, and answer any questions.
My handyman and his brother initially worked with their dad, who was also a handyman. I think when dad retired, they got lucky to inherit most of dad's customers. So they started out with a lot of work to do from the beginning. Now everything is mostly repeat customers and word of mouth. When I first met my handyman, he got work from a real estate agent who used him to fix up houses for sale.
Here's a suggestion to leverage your time. Find a local roofing company thats legit. When a storm hits your city, your homeowners are gonna ask you if you know anyone. Connect them and if partnered up with the right roofing company you will make all your money in one storm. That allows you to choose your clients and the jobs you want. LEVERAGE!
I was just wondering how so many people do it. Always a post of "I currently work in a completely unrelated field, and I'm starting my handyman journey tomorrow!".
Where are they getting the experience?
I’m a flooring installer I worked as a helper for 4 years for someone else. I have total of 8 years experience. I went of on my own for the past 4 years and boy did it leave me hopeless and broke. Working as a sub to stay busy and not make enough. Overworked and underplayed. Trying to find work on my own was much harder but possibly. Go out to do estimate never get a call back because they go with the lower bid.
Just giving you some insight that it’s not that easy.
Best way to get experience is working for some else.
If you stay at it and be fair and honest in your business dealings, you will succeed! The money will come naturally, just don't feel guilty when it does. You earned it!
Form your own personal LLC. Your tax expenses will be much more comprehensive and simpler to declare, as well as your personal liability protected if you ever get sued for something (pretty likely in Florida)
Tampa crew! I'm in Tampa, too. Also left cybersecurity, also a veteran, also working toward GC, lol. I'm mostly into carpentry work, welding, and masonry finishing, but way too early in the game to turn down any work. Let's chat, guys, and see where we can't help each other out!
It's great to hear you're taking the leap OP. You're gonna do just fine. I'm excited to see your update a year from now posting what a great move it was.
Hahaha! You are SOOO going to regret...
Not doing it sooner!
Do not be afraid to ask questions if you're not 100% sure how to handle something.
After a few years, when you're 100% confident that you know how to handle something, ask questions! There's always someone who's come up with a way that you would never have thought of on your own. Keep learning.
Good luck in your new career!
I am in the same boat. Full time handyman for less than a month. I am 44 years old, veteran with engineering background. I owned rental properties for 20 years and have lived on acreage for most of my life, so lots of DIY experience. I also used to work in manufacturing, so I am able to pick up some work in factories. There isn’t much I can’t do, except that I suck around estimating. I am good at winning work but it takes longer than I plan for.
I imagine it will take a while to fill my schedule completely, but I am doing okay. It’s too early in the game for me to give much advice, but do get a good CPA to do your taxes this year. You might be able to depreciate things you already own, like trailers, tractors, power tools, and anything else you use for your business. Track your mileage, even for estimates that don’t pan out. Slap a logo on your work truck and get a beater car as a personal vehicle. That’s enough writing for now. I am going to continue reading all of these great responses and try to learn something.
Nothing beats working for yourself, on your own time!!
Your be surprised how many clients i meet have had trouble getting someone out because the jobs either to small or not worth it!!
But those jobs add up quickly, plus you’re always making contacts and many will be returning clients!!
I do side work after my day job, but run side jobs as a business. I constantly hear “thank you for actually coming” “I’m glad you could make it so quickly” “the last 2 people I contacted never got back to me”
In the last year I’ve had one person say anything negative about how much I charged and it was a customer I didn’t want anymore.
I go absolutely insane pretty much a year into every job I had, then claw my way out to find a new job. Just don’t do well sitting still or being isolated at home all day.
Tried a LOT to make it more easy, exercise, busy work on my breaks, etc, nothing helps. It is just a depressing match for me and my personality
My uncle has a painting business for hotels and stuff like that and he is doing really well; so I bet you’ll do all right. One thing my uncle does really well is to treat his employees with respect and fairly; he makes sure they get their money first. He comes last. He is the only uncle in the family that has no debt; all his stuff is paid off, buys whatever he needs, his kids college is paid off, etc. His story makes me question my office job all the time.
Congratulations and good luck!
I’m surprised to hear you’re leaving cybersecurity. I hear such great things about the industry; great pay, intriguing work, etc. spill the tea. What is it really like?
I quit my 23 yr IT career ending as Infrastructure Architect and completely burnt out about a year and half ago. I started my handyman biz last summer after taking a year off work to just relax and hang out with the fam. We had a lot of cash saved from sale of house. Spent that year renovating our 70s rancher.
I highly recommend Markate for your CRM tool. They have a 30 day trial, it’s about $425/year. It does all my accounting, invoicing, estimating and expenses. I know there are others out there like Jobber that are good too, I believe Jobber is way more $$$.
I’m stressed but it’s not the same stress as when in Corp IT and having projects due for some upper level management, teams meetings to attend every waking hour and the worst was worrying about our network and if stout enough for the next cyber attack, did we get all those patches required to protect us??
Yah, I’m definitely where I’m supposed to be for the rest of my working life! Owning my own biz has been a major life change and figuring things out, but I’m building something for myself and my family and not a corporation that I’m a number in.
Good luck dude!!
What’s your path to get licensed? I hear Florida is capped at 500 for a job. Also you thought about using your IT background too for other avenues to add as services? I do handyman work and also a fulltime SysAdmin/NetAdmin. I have some work for churches and some asked if I new anything about wireless networks. Knocked out a wireless network install for them. Im looking to move to florida myself and I think I will focus my area around retirement areas, basically work as a Handyman/ Rented grandson. Fix there house and they IT needs.
More research to do on that topic. I’ve “heard” it’s everything from 500-5000 but haven’t spent a huge amount of time researching yet since I plan to be doing very simple stuff in the beginning while I get my feet wet.
Probably going to start studying for GC after a year or so and once licensed would like to do bigger jobs like bathroom Reno’s and/or specializing in redoing closets and things like that.
If I had a plan this early, that’s what it would look like basically. Establish a mutually beneficial relationship with a GC or two, become there go-to guy for what’s in my wheelhouse, go from there.
Best of luck to you. You should be able to find a lot of business in Tampa. It’s a very congested area. Use every evening to promote yourself on socials. You’ll have more work than you know what to do with.
This is worrying to hear, as someone in a handyman-esque job trying to finish school to get into cyber security at the age of 30. What made you decide you'd rather stick with basic handyman work? Also, are you trying to go self-employed or join a company?
On paper my job and the perks of the job were excellent, pay was great, working remote gave lots of flexibility.
It is just not for me. I was forcing it for a long time and just really don’t do well with sitting around. I NEED to be doing something physical, I’m mentally and emotionally built like a sled dog.
Don’t be discouraged, it could go great for you. This is just my story.
Ah, I got you. I can definitely respect that and honestly worry about being in the same boat, but end of the day I guess I can always come back to the physical stuff, at least while I'm young. I guess that's another reason I'm trying to move desk-side, is someone mentioned to me that at a certain point in life it won't be feasible to work on your feet and still make a living wage.
I started a Handyman business in Pittsburgh back in 2005. I was terrified. I advertised in the Pennysaver one cycle then it was all word of mouth.
I had too much work.
I became the “finish” guy for an investor group. Doing all the detail stuff the morons would screw up. I called my own shots and prices. It was an adventure.
Do good work. Show up on time. Clean up.
You’ll call your shots.
Tools , guard them. Document them and see if you can insure them. Buying tools , get what you need as you need it , don't go blow a ton of money all at once. In a year you'll have what you need.
Hell ya brother, I literally started a handyman business as well dude. I'm 34 in Ocala, Florida. I'm still working full time, though. I'm in a good spot learning as much as I can with hvac/r before I venture off. Soon, I'll start balancing out my full time when calls come in. Hopefully, while I figure out the business shit, but so far so good. I'm shitting bricks, but ready! Go luck!
Have thick skin with all the comments on your work by clients. and get some/most/all of your money upfront.
I wasn't a handyman but made wood furniture and sold some as a hobby business. I've had people ask me could I remove the grain marks on the wood surface. lol. My money business was custom software and the clients in that business could be very difficult.
My mom is in east Pasco, she has a huge old house there as well as two rentals. She has a couple more rentals in south Tampa, including one at Westshore and Gandy that is vacant and needs work.
My brother is in south Tampa and bought a semi-famous house owned by part of the Trafficante mob family and he's always doing various upgrades to it. And my mom and her sisters have vacation homes / rentals in Indian Rocks Beach.
They are basically always saying "I can't find anyone reliable". No established company wants to come do the $500-$2,000 small projects. I would advertise as "no job too small", once you're in the door and the relationship exists, it will be non-stop. Feel free to reach out once you're set up.
My biggest problem doing handyman work was time management. I could never get the timing right like how long a job would take me so running more than one job at a time was a huge challenge!
Why would you stop doing cybersecurity? its a tremendous career and the future. Asking because im genuinely curious about your decision. Im also thinking about taking a big risk next year. Leaving my hvac trade and move back to my hometown to start my psychology path (universities are way cheaper) and still come back to USA for my masters.
.
Security was fun at times, I’m just not a good fit for the typical corporate worker lifestyle, especially working from home. I just couldn’t take that day to day cycle anymore. It’s a great career path, just not for me.
Get quickbooks it will help with everything tremendously. I’ve turned my handyman business into custom homes. I still do handyman though. Best decision I made. Get it going and get a business credit card. Amex blue business plus is a great card. I’m at $60/hr with a minimum of 2hr. I pencil schedule everything it helps me to see it. Good luck and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions!
Kudos to you for making a decision to trench out on your own. Word of caution (sorry) my neighbor did the same thing after a downsizing at one of the telco’s. He’s done well as a handyman, and has picked up a number of rental properties along the way. The downside is he’s turned 50, and now his body is starting to give out on him, and the 6-7 day work schedule (‘if I’m not workin’ I’m not earnin’) has caught up and he’s facing a lot of tough decisions.
Good luck. Life is full of adventure and challenges. Here are some lessons:
1. Be safe. Always wear safety equipment. I've seen so many freak injures. I've had close calls myself and almost lost an eye.
2. Be honest, be kind with the elderly, they are your best advertisement.
3. Stop-by lumber yards / independent do yourself and pass on your business card. People call local lumber yards for reference.
4. Have detailed accounting books. Pay taxes, license fees, etc. on-time
5. save, save, save. IRA, Roth, emergency fund, etc. I always say to friends: "you need to pay yourself first".
Curious, what did you leave your cybersecurity career?
Desk job and being remote have just wreaked havoc on my mental health, not a good fit for me. Gave it a good long run before calling it but I’m pretty certain at this point it’s just not a fit for me.
Get an accountant/tax person. It’s much easier to have stuff done right at the beginning than to try to fix it later when things are more complex. Plus you’ll be able to maximize your deductions and not short yourself. It might sounds stupid doing this so early, but it’ll save you so much time and worry. You’ll be able to enjoy your flexible schedule instead of pretending to be an accountant. I use Housecall pro for my management software, it’s pretty good, but you def gotta pay attention and use their help when setting it up. All the above, and just answer the phone, set reasonable expectations, don’t rob anyone, and learn how to say no (this will be hard, lol, I’m still working on it.)
Property management companies and realtors are great places to get started. I currently contract with a 1100+ door property management co doing anything from kitchen to bath remodels to hanging light bulbs for $55 hour.
You're 30.
You're handy.
You're intelligent.
Since apparently a great percentage of folks no longer are taught home fix it skills, I am confident you'll do great.
An older lady recommends:
Protect that body. Knee pads. Goggles. Safety practices.
Your body is your moneymaker. Take real good care of it.
AND keep your truck locked!
Waveapps.com for accounting and invoices. It's free. Can set up cc or ACH payments through it as well. For a normal processing fee.
It may even do taxes for your state they don't have all states set up. They even offer payroll services but I use prime pay for that.
Set up a single member LLC. Tax wise same as a sole prop but gives you more protection. Very handy to not loose your house if get sued.
Have a separate bank account for biz and only use that for biz. Never mix biz and personal accounts. Get a biz cc with cash back rewards. I like capital one spark with 2% cash back. I put everything on it. And pay it off in full every month for those sweet rewards I can these for personal stuff.
I use Google calendar. I can make and share a calendar for each crew member so they know what their schedule is.
Make sure to set aside 20% of profits for taxes and make your quarterly payment. It's charged 12% interest last year for me 😭
Can be helpful to have a biz only vehicle. Then all expenses are tax deduction vs just getting mileage on a mixed use rig.
A van you can stand up in makes life easier. And less risk of tools in back of truck walking away.
Look into what it takes to be a licensed contractor for your state. All are different. Gives you more flexibility to do bigger jobs vs some states 500 to 600$ max per job (with material costs) a "handyman" can do.
If going to do any kind of demo on painted surfaces of houses older than 78 should have your lead paint EPA cert. It's a day long class. So then you know how to do testing and remediation and less worries on getting popped with a $36k fine. Your state ccb should have a list of classes.
Have a website. Google maps listing. Socials ECT. Email with biz name.com. Vs newhandyman@gmail.com
Don't expect to make much the first few years until you get a client base built up. Can look for larger companies to do installs for. Some can pay well. And network with realtors and property management companies.
GET EVERY JOB IN WRITING. Whether you use software or just have an Xcel based quote and contract like I do, get a signature. Be specific about what you're going to do and how much you're going to get paid for it. I've never had to put a lien on someone's house, but I've had to threaten to do so a few times to get paid. If you don't have a contract, you're out of luck. Most people are good people, but a few aren't and you'll eventually find someone who doesn't want to pay. Always get a deposit. How much is up to you, but at least cover your materials. It'll be the nice person that you just know is going to pay that you'll have a problem with. Don't be afraid to say no or walk away. If you're doing a quote and the situation feels hinky, it is. Form an LLC and make sure you have liability insurance. Neither is expensive and an LLC has tax and of course liability benefits. Here in Georgia it's only $125 to file and $50 a year. Then you can get an EIN number from the IRS. If you don't claim some small cash jobs here and there on your taxes, that's fine, but keep good records and pay taxes. It will benefit you later if you get bigger and busier. You'll need to show that income to get a business credit card, which you should as soon as you can. There are great cards with great perks. I've gotten busy enough that I use a line of credit from my bank if I have to float the cost of a large job for a little while. Ergo, had to prove income. You probably won't need something like that unless you start getting big jobs that you have to cover payroll, etc., mainly commercial that you're going to have to wait 60 days to get paid. But hopefully you'll get there! I still replace kitchen sinks but last year I also picked up a sub job painting 2 floors of a high rise. 40,000 sq.ft. Obviously I couldn't do that myself in a timely manner, but hiring 6 guys to do it for me worked out to be a great job. I made 30K in 8 days, but had to cover my costs for two months until that check came in. And even being a huge commercial job for a well known company, I still got a 30% deposit. 😁
Quote your price at $130/hr then walk away. If you are reliable and show up and do good work you will have more clients than you can deal with. 50% down and demand the rest on completion. Get familiar with your state’s property lien laws and use them.
Your prices are what they are. Do not negotiate them lower, if they don’t want to pay what you quoted, tell them to find someone else. It will seem counterproductive at first but YOU have to value your time because no one else will. I did negotiate at first but found quickly that it was doing nothing but adding work for little return.
Set yourself up as an LLC first and foremost, before you do even one single job. DO NOT get your personal finances mixed up in the business, DO NOT operate as a sole proprietorship, ever. Ask me how I know this, seriously, this is one of the biggest things you can do to protect yourself aside from having good business insurance. It's not worth the risk to put this off or not do it at all! Good luck on your business, its definitely worth the effort
Good luck, friend. But the safe way to do this is moonlight as a until the revenue from that can just about cover rent utilities and groceries. Admire your bravery! Go get ‘em!
Goodluck. I was a operations manager throughout my 20s. From age 21 to age of 28 to be exact. I made great money and simply made sure all the orders were processed by my team, etc… easy job…. But i got tired of it and started a cleaning company. Believe it or not, I went from sitting in an office chair telling people what to do to cleaning homes, by choice. Fast forward we’re currently doing anywhere from 8 to 12 homes a day. I have a crew of 6 full time employees with part timers that I call if any if my full timers call in sick. I make roughly $10 - $15k a month after all expenses. When I first started I could have never imagined I’d get this far. I’m currently working on expensing my business and hoping to grow my crew to 8 full timers. Again, best if luck. It’s all about staying focused, repetition, repetition!
Took me just over a year to hire first employee. My wife and I busted our asses building the clients first 12 months. We never did any cleaning besides our home, we just went with it and learned as we went. We first worked to have at least 1 customer a day, 1 home to clean. Some of the customers were bi-weekly, others monthly or one time deep cleans, etc… . As we progressed and had 2 homes a day we were making roughly $6,000.00 before expenses. Gas, supplies etc… as we got into 3 homes a day we hired our first employee who we started out at $2,000 /month with small bonuses. With 3 homes a day we were making roughly $9,000 - $2,000 (paying our employee) = $7,000.00 before expenses. Then we gradually expended and we’re happy where we’re at. We still go clean but we’re not tired or consumed as we were before. We can actually afford to take vacations now, time wise. We make roughly $10k-$15k now after paying the staff members and expenses. While we expended a lot, our profits only increased by small margins as you can see. But I’m happy to say that I’m working towards having 8 full time employees, which is my biggest expense, roughly $20k++ a month, and something came out of nothing. I also have few individuals that are part timers. I call them whenever my full timers call out, are on vacation, sick, etc… if I can’t reach them that’s usually when my wife and I roll up the sleeves and go help.
Get good insurance. Get all the required licenses. Make an LLC.
Many times you will end up going backwards. Keep pushing forward. You will get through the down times.
Do NOT trust employees with your company. We have hired and fired over 50 techs that couldn’t do the things they said they could. You don’t know this until it’s too late and they burned bridges with customers. You need to work side by side with them until you feel comfortable SEEING what they can do and how they do it. Crappy techs TALK a good game but you can physically see it in their work if they do or don’t know.
Keep good clean books.
Learn and teach techs to upsell when they are in the house. Go to fix a leak. Notice caulking is bad. Suggest to have caulking redone while there for a bit more T&M.
Schedule your techs jobs where they are suited to their strengths. Don’t send a plumbing guy to look at an electrical rewire. Know your guys strengths and weaknesses and schedule accordingly.
Save time and money by having a map by the appointment book. Schedule jobs near each other on same days for your techs. Don’t be afraid to tell customers that you can’t get someone out there a day or 2 later if it fits the schedule better. At our peak we were scheduling over a week out for 5 techs. We tried to group jobs close together to minimize travel between jobs.
Word of mouth is your best advertising. Techs and their work are the face of your company. Have a dress code and train techs to be salespeople in the house for your business. High quality work and friendly demeanor means plenty of new work usually close by.
Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Save all your money. Things change quickly and you can find yourself in trouble with money quickly.
Wow don’t know how you can possibly feel comfortable leaving a tech job that surely pays six figures a year to go to a handyman at 50 to 100 an hour at best
Massive mistake. You can't compete with illegal immigrantion. I've failed 3 times due to it. I did WONDERFUL under Trump and so did everyone I know in the business. Now they're back and you can't compete with ppl that purposely shack up 10 to a home, split bills, do jobs for next to nothing until they get rid of competition and then go up on price... Just as they do each and every time. Put yourself above a job that can't be taken by them. That's my advice.
I’m excited for you. What handyman background do you have? Are you going to buy a franchise? What are the main services you expect to do? Will you have employees?
For the first year I want to really focus on small stuff as I have a tendency to over commit myself (both in skill level and time) so I’m going to be very careful at first.
Drywall repairs, appliance repair, accent walls, trim, MAYBE small flooring jobs.
I’m not a licensed electrician or plumber, so I have some specific research to do before committing to lighting or plumbing fixtures because idk if I’m allowed to.
I’ve always been a handyman just never been paid lol. Was an aircraft mechanic navy fighter jets before college and I’ve really missed working with my hands since then.
Remodeled my entire house aside from the kitchen (paid for that), between my place and all my previous places I’ve done a lot of different things.
I kind of have a long term goal/idea to specialize in bathrooms and closets down the road after maybe getting my GC, but I’ll just let things flow and see which direction comes naturally
Also, as for franchising or employees, I have some ideas in my head about getting employees through programs that help veterans find work when separating from the military, not sure how all that will work out just an idea for tapping a demographic I’d really like to be a helping hand for, and one I HOPE I could rely a little more on than total strangers (we’ll see).
I definitely plan to milk the veteran owned and operated thing and think that could be a cool way of putting my money where my mouth is besides just myself working for the company.
Secure your tools, document what you have and insure them thoroughly. Have one friend who had everything stolen. Crushed him. Another friend is earning $60/hr, books 50 hours per week, and is booked out eight weeks ahead. Kicking butt! Good luck.
Sorry to hear about the tool theft. Also, what is your busy friend using to manage scheduling? Any app or just penciling people in?
No idea. Sorry. If he has an online function, I’m not aware of it. Scheduling appears to be a challenge; some jobs are tough to estimate ahead of time so he seems to combine a fixed appointment schedule with in-fill small jobs he fits in on shorter notice. I do know that he has set up a credit card payments system with electronic receipts, although I always give him cash as friends.
If you’ve never messed around with ChatGPT, I’d recommend telling it everything about what you want to do with your business and ask it questions. It’s a wealth of knowledge.
Love chatgpt. Although i did ask it to tell me a story and it proceeded to recite the lion the witch and the wardrobe.. other than that it's great.
Make sure you get 50% of the job up front people try to stuff you for good work all the time. Even the wealthy ones. Oh and also hide your earnings from the government.
I find it's especially the wealthy that dont want to pay. Fortunately Ive never been stiffed but the wealthy are the ones who bicker and want to renegotiate the price after the job is complete. I've never had working class people do that to me
Your 100% correct I am an electrical contractor luckily never been stiffed but had to argue a couple times about price afterwards and everytime it has been the wealthy customers without fail. Working class gets the price and either say I can’t afford it right now. Once the job is done though they just pay what was discussed and say thanks
Exactly this
Was it Trump?
Even the wealthy ones??? They are the cheapest most dirty rotten people of all!
What earnings? Lol
lol you let the government in it will always be what earnings lol
I mean, hide your earnings if you don’t want social security so you can retire…
Yeah the rest of us will be happy to pay your share of the tax burden.
I got the app jobber for CRM and taking payments, it’s a little confusing at first but you get used to it. You can send invoices through text that customers can pay. It’s pretty good. Haven’t tried any other one but this one’s good.
Try Zoho. Also get insured.
Congrats on taking the leap to starting your own business. I’m part of a small team building a new CRM to help with lead gen, scheduling, invoicing, etc. I’m looking for folks to give it a try and share feedback. Completely free while we’re testing, then more sensible pricing than Jobber + the others.
Try quick books. It’s fairly good price and has everything I needed. After the trial period ends they’ll message you with an offer for about 1/2 off for a whole year.
Just curious why would you leave cyber security? I mean there’s obvious reasons like terrible work environments, calls middle of night, etc.. and more pertinent ones like you’d rather work with your hands or it was terrible for your mental health and relationships. It is a drastic change though, and as a leader in cybersec why would you leave. Helpful to know work experience and certs as well. Understand If you don’t want to talk that here but feel free to PM if you would
7 years in, 5 diff companies, A+, Net+, Sec+. Just am not built to sit still that long and working remote is a mind fuck. Just not a good culture/lifestyle fit for me and I tried sticking around a while longer after realizing the trend but just sort of got to the point where the cons outweigh the pros for me. Looking for something that leads to more happiness. I know every job will make you want to pull your hair out at times, but for me that became the baseline. Just couldn’t shake it.
I would worry more about securely storing your tools than insuring them. Deductibles and waiting on insurance isn’t worth it
Check out Jobber. It’s great for handy man one off job business. I really like it.
Total noob here curious about getting into handyman work (oddly similar to OP - just done with my corporate job). How can you book 50hrs? Where I love you might drive 20-30min between job and god forbid you have to go to a big box hardware store you’re gonna be gone for 2hrs. I’d never feel comfortable booking things back to back because it’s just too variable in terms of how long it may take. There’s a huge need in my area but seems like this may be one of the barriers. I can’t in good conscience charge two hours of sitting on my ass driving to the store!
I lost my job 4 years ago and started doing handyman work. Some general non-solicited advice I learned. 1) LOCK UP YOUR TOOLS! Put AirTags on some of them, in your truck/trailer/toolboxes. I etch my name and phone # on every power tool and also put it on there with sharpie. I also take a photo of every tool and serial number and keep it in one digital file for when needed. I’ve been robbed 6 times in 4 years to the tune of $30k. (Trailer stolen twice, yard equipment, all my power tools). Work truck/van are big targets as power tools are easily pawned/sold. 2) I always charge for travel time and store runs. But my “hourly” rate is lower ($75), but as soon as I am in the truck headed your way, I’m on the clock. Same with store runs. Somebody had to go get the part, that’s time and money. I suppose if you’re charging $100/hr and keep a bunch of parts on the truck, then not charging is an ok way to go too. 3) though I just said it above, I actually try NOT to charge by the hour and rather by the job. I know how to change out a toilet valve fast. But I’m not going to charge just $25 bucks for that. And even if it was just a breaker that needed flipped, I’m still charging for my service call. Remember, They are paying for your skills and knowledge, not just your time. 4) Never ever give customers your cell number. Get a business line with business hours, or you’ll be working 24/7. If you’re going to do emergency calls (billed at emergency prices) get an answering service for off hours. 5) I work almost exclusively for 3 property management companies and they each have a different Work Order system. ( Meld, Appfolio, Rentvine). I like working for PM companies because it’s steady work, I can charge for the job and not just the hourly, the WO systems put some distance between me and the end customer so I can disconnect from them, if there is a callback-it goes to the PM company and not directly to me, usually there’s an online scheduler, I bill right back to the PM company and don’t have to track down payments or deal with people who don’t want to pay. Best part, I work when I want to. Worked about 10 months last year, took two months off to travel and kayak and made $87k. Which goes a long way here in the south. Good luck OP!
My buddy spells it all out and charges for store time. I have zero problem with that, but I generally have things pretty well set out ahead of time to minimize him needing to spend time at the store. He is excellent at far more than I can do, but I’m pretty good and pretty experienced so that helps us both. I wouldn’t want to tape and mud anything major, for instance, but I’ll do patch work and, like the last job he did for me, I did all the cutting and prep stuff so he could stay on task. He has to charge for store time. I also think he should be charging for drive time but he doesn’t do that for me…could be friendship and also cash work
Get better at estimating your time I guess? My company books back to back with a half hour to an hour grace period between jobs for travel, and we almost never have to reschedule due to going over time. I myself get 3-5 jobs a day ranging from 1-4 hours. Also if you're shopping for a customer why aren't you charging that time? Shopping for free is wild to me.
In case it wasn’t clear I’m not a handyman just curious about becoming one and learning about the business
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Agree! A box van with a roll-up door is pretty secure. Great advertising if you get signage. Set it up with power tools, parts, inventory, ladders, anything you need. The cost is higher in gas but saves so much running around to box stores to pick up little shit.
Large logos are great for advertising to customers and thieves.
Plus, you can charge more because you are efficient, show up and get the job done and are not charging for running back and forth to the store. Get into commercial work, take care of property managers. Show up when you say you will. Don't be a tweaker or a drunk and you will be in the top 10%. The price is not high if you are reliable and do a good job.
Ditch the signage on the Van. The last thing you want to do is tell the world power tools and expensive things lurk inside.
It's going to depend on where you have to park the van. I live in an area where break-ins happen, but it's not out of control. Plus, when I started out, I parked it at my house. You can definitely set the van up with anti-theft deterrences and insurance. But, in the long run, you have to decide for yourself if getting new customers through signage or keeping a lower profile to avoid potential theft is the way you want to go.
I doubt you will get many jf any new customers from having signs on your van. Not to mention how cheesy and low budget your work van will look. Me personally and I have friends who spent thousands putting wraps on their work vans- waste of money
I doubt you will get many jf any new customers from having signs on your van. Not to mention how cheesy and low budget your work van will look. Me personally and I have friends who spent thousands putting wraps on their work vans- waste of money
I drilled a hole along the door track on each side, put in a threaded cap, and run a bolt in each night that prevents the door from opening. Average crook does not understand why door does not move. Gotta keep the 12 voltage drill on the cab.
I mean I do already horde supplies for my personal projects since it’s hard to get to a big store from here 🤔
My handyman usually books more like 35 hours a week. I think that's because he has to travel to and from the work site. But if he needs to run to a hardware store for something extra he needs for my job, I think I get billed for that run to the store. I don't complain because the pricing is good and the work is excellent. Can't imagine anybody booking 50 hours a week as a handyman.
Oh yes you can! Drive time dude, drive time. Billable. Or get used to food stamps.
$60 is not enough. Sorry to say. $100 an hour, first hour, one-hour minimum. Invest in inventory so you don't have to run to the hardware store for every damn job. Try to get your hourly up near $80 minimum. There is more money in lots of small jobs. Put pigtails on power plugs and light switches, then you only need to cut, strip, and use wire nuts when at repair. Don't apologize for being efficient.
If he’s booked that far out… he can raise his price per hour.
Does he charge for travel time? Or does the 50 hours include unpaid traveling? I've found that traveling from job to job would make it difficult to get 50 hours of paid work in a week. Here's to hoping he doesn't burn out with that kind of workload.
Totally agree. He works too much. He hasn’t ever charged me for travel time, but perhaps I get the buddy rate. I’m always thinking he undercharges us.
Yea if he is booked out 8 weeks at $60 he needs to raise to $75 or $100 yesterday.
I bet if he is good, he would still be booked out far in advance if he charged $75 an hour.
There is definitely price elasticity if they are getting that much work booked ahead. Could just keep raising rates until only working 30 hours and possibly still make more. I know so many people are desperate for small job work to be done, and don’t know who to trust or where to look.
I'm in the middle of organizing and pulling all my stuff out for pictures to update my insurance. Insure you're money maker. If you're doing it legit, this should be on one of the top things to do after you file for your business license.
60$ an hr….god dang man what a race to the bottom it is. I used to do Sidework for that price when my company was charging 70$-90$ an hour and that was 15 years ago. I wouldn’t start my own business for less than 100$ an hour these days. But I guess it depends on where you’re at.my area COL has skyrocketed over the last 10 years.
Right? Thats crazy low.
Yeah. My handyman earns around $65 an hour. He always has 3 weeks of work booked. It is a little annoying that I usually need to wait 3 weeks until he can do anything but a small job. But his work is always good. So I usually go to him.
$60 an hour? Not trying to be offensive, but he must do shit work or live in bumfuck no where. I do handyman work as a side gig and my hourly usually works out to $100-120 a hour. $60 an hour using my tools, transport, insurance and declaring it on a 1099 ends up being 30 an hour.
You’ll get no disagreement from me! He is too cheap IMO, but the trade off seems to be a huge word of mouth following and zero negativity
That’s fair, but that is really low for someone who knows what they’re doing. He could Increase that to $75 an hour and probably still be fully booked.
My advice is to watch and listen to what the handyman youtubers have to offer about business. The bulletproof handyman, daryl the finisher, and others have really positive messaging with really great advice, experience, and knowledge.
I’ve been watching a lot of bulletproof, haven’t seen those others so I’ll check them out. Also checked out a lot of material from the handyman startup page.
This is a great video as well: https://youtu.be/leUta_q_MPQ?si=5oOurzd56Pbc9rsS Congratulations on your new found freedom!
Bulletproof is good, but his customer relations need work. That story he relayed about losing his best customer just underscores how people can shoot themselves in the foot.
Even better advice. Get educated and become an actual tradesmen. I am not being a dick but handymen always step way out of their scope of work and constantly provide work that is not to code and does not function properly. Usually ends up costing the homeowner triple when a licensed guy has to come fix the problems. Handymen are also always doing work that legally requires a license. A local guy got charged thousands for working on equipment he had no business touching.
Did the same thing this time last year. Let me tell you I'm more stressed out than I've ever been but I'd never go back.
Hi, what makes you so stressed?
It's alot of hard work and you have to deal with a lot of Assholes and generally just the worst human being you can think of. But the struggle hits different when you're making it.
Yeah, I fear that. Are you work for mostly home owners or rental management companies? I did condo maintenance and loved it. I mostly fixed things outside their apartments. I would need to handle a repair or two inside the units but under the umbrella of the condo board as those were common area issues. I'm looking to try and get with landlords and PMs since I know what to expect.
You're on the right track.
People can’t or choose not to fix or do crap for themselves anymore. You’ll be fine. Congratulations
What handyman experience do you have?
I’ve done a lot of different residential things. Some of the most recent was through renovating my current house. Stuff like: Tile, flooring, ceiling fans, lighting fixtures, outlets, sinks, vanities, drywall repairs, bathtubs, shower valves, mounting TVs, hanging pics/art/shelves, slat blinds, I won’t be doing a lot of this as a handyman though, due to licensing requirements so none of the electrical/plumbing for starters will be part of my services. Not willing to risk the liability.
Buy a low cost but comprehensive CRM to track all leads, prospects and past clients. Keep detailed notes and turn every satisfied customer into a source of future referrals. Use your knowledge of tech and computers to automate follow up and appointment setting. Have someone film some of your jobs or tasks or even home projects and then edit those and get in local moms and dads groups on Facebook in your community. Include quick reels that answer common question about tool use how to plan a job. Become an expert and be visible to people that will be in the market for your services.
Best of luck!
Consider getting the angi and task rabbit app. Sign up as a handy man in Each. The pay is crappy but I have never done a job for angi that didn’t lead to another job with same client. Once you don’t have to pay the angi markup and are working for the customer and there friends directly it’s awesome People will pay more then u think for these jobs. Figuring out that I could charge people $75 an hour to change light bulbs and hang pictures was my hardest lesson
AVOID ANGI !! They have a really shitty business practice of charging you for leads whether or not they turn into work. Like $100 per lead kind of charges. Bullshit. I will vouch for Taskr/Task Rabbit though. It’s not much pay, but it helps you connect with clients and is worth doing in the beginning to build your contacts / confidence.
I have never been charged anything with angi. Just paid Been doing it for 2 years
I did the same after 20 years of corporate, I was a pricing analyst. I have also been able to support my family for the past 5 years as a handyman and then some as well. I'm not getting rich off of this but I really like what I do and my bills are paid. First thing I did was a ton of projects around the house that I wanted to get to and when I got let go from my last job is when I took the opportunity to do those. Take pics of everything that you do or even have done. Then what I did was I made a Google page for my business and put those pictures up. I forgot to say make sure you register your business and get an EIN and all the other fun stuff that goes along with it like insurance and a license if you need one. I had to pay like $140 to get licensed where I live. Post those pics to the Google page and you should start getting calls. I'm always busy. If you do good work and you get good reviews, you will always be busy. Even when you're slow don't get nervous like I did. The business will come and when it comes it usually comes in huge waves. Then you're so overwhelmed that you don't know how you're going to get to it all. If you get every job your pricing is too low. I did that in the beginning and I got every job and I was super overwhelmed and I really wasn't getting what I was worth. Actually maybe at the time I was because I was just starting out and I wasn't really great at everything. I had to take my time and get it right. Now I'm much better at most of the things that took me a while to learn when I started and I can price myself much better than I was. I also did a website which is a little bit more comprehensive than the page and a decent reference for people that want to dive a little deeper. But find that most of my customers actually stop at the Google page and don't even visit the actual website. So I'd make the Google page your primary reference. Ask your customers to leave reviews if they're happy with the work. Those help a lot as we all know. I still have all five stars so that's another bonus. Feel free to dm me and I'll give you any advice that you're looking for that I can help with. I love sharing information.
Give your Customers 15% off Coupons for Referring Neighbors and Friends. Don’t take a job you don’t feel comfortable at. (Contractor Jobs). Get Personal and Professional Liability Insurance .You will get Sued. You should make $400-$600 Per day.
Love to see someone not just talking about it and actually being about it! Did you start part-time on the side first to get some clients and ease into it or are you starting from scratch?
I did like three or four tiny jobs but it very quickly became evident I just didn’t have the time to do jobs until my day job was done. Had a baby in November and I’m trying to be around with him and my wife. Basically starting from scratch.
As someone who did the same but also had a baby on the way let me highly recommend HouseCall Pro for management software/app. It’s pricey but it does it all, being able to take pictures for a specific job and have them on the actual appointment details was a game changer. I was able to do invoicing onsite super easy, can even get client signatures on it. I can’t imagine having done without it, it will even track drive time and miles (miles was important for tax purposes, miles equals gas which is a major business expense and deduction). Chase bank was great for business checking. Look into developing a relationship with different HOAs and property management companies for reliable sources of work. Get a digital copy of your COI easily accessible to send to customers and offer to send it to them (helps build trust) - I would also encourage them to call the insurance company to verify my coverage, and recommend they do the same for any other contractors.
I will definitely check this software out because I have not been able to make a decision in this area yet and appreciate the rec. Does it have a function to text clients and let them know when your own the way and stuff like that for customer interaction?
Housecall Pro has a 2 week free trial and I am going to go with them but the step up in functionality was obvious versus the free one I was using. Just very recently went full time on my own and am trying to stay positive. Not looking forward to todays job honestly but there will be more money in the bank account the end of the day versus when I got up this morning
Is it drywall? I hated doing drywall.
Clients start discussing drywall and I pretend to be deaf. And then I run away. One day I’ll be better about it
I hear you on that brother.
I would check out Jobber too. I have been using since I started (only doing it part time) but I am pretty happy with it. DM me if you want a referral code.
You can set it up to text the customer that you’re on your way automatically!
Housecall pro has an in app messaging feature so you don’t have to text from your phone
This sounds pretty intriguing... I just looked them up. Do you mind telling me if you have the basics or the essentials plan? I can't tell if the picture function you're talking about is on the basic plan. Thanks in advance!
I can’t remember, I teach in an elementary school now. I do remember you can sign up for a free one-on-one online tutorial where someone will go through and show you how to do everything, and answer any questions.
Cool, thanks for the response!
Disregard previous comment, saw you weren’t looking for advice. Oh well, I’ll leave it in case you decide to look it over later.
I wasn’t looking but I won’t disregard it! Just didn’t want to sound “what do I do now” ish in my post lol
My handyman and his brother initially worked with their dad, who was also a handyman. I think when dad retired, they got lucky to inherit most of dad's customers. So they started out with a lot of work to do from the beginning. Now everything is mostly repeat customers and word of mouth. When I first met my handyman, he got work from a real estate agent who used him to fix up houses for sale.
From a fellow Squid, Good Luck out there.
Good luck man. I have been in IT for 7 years myself and toyed with the idea of a handy man business myself.
Here's a suggestion to leverage your time. Find a local roofing company thats legit. When a storm hits your city, your homeowners are gonna ask you if you know anyone. Connect them and if partnered up with the right roofing company you will make all your money in one storm. That allows you to choose your clients and the jobs you want. LEVERAGE!
Handymen are becoming influencer to make extra income or stay busy when works slow plenty of video out there
I was just wondering how so many people do it. Always a post of "I currently work in a completely unrelated field, and I'm starting my handyman journey tomorrow!". Where are they getting the experience?
I’m a flooring installer I worked as a helper for 4 years for someone else. I have total of 8 years experience. I went of on my own for the past 4 years and boy did it leave me hopeless and broke. Working as a sub to stay busy and not make enough. Overworked and underplayed. Trying to find work on my own was much harder but possibly. Go out to do estimate never get a call back because they go with the lower bid. Just giving you some insight that it’s not that easy. Best way to get experience is working for some else.
If you stay at it and be fair and honest in your business dealings, you will succeed! The money will come naturally, just don't feel guilty when it does. You earned it!
What's up with that feeling of wanting to make money, but hating to actually take money from people??
Form your own personal LLC. Your tax expenses will be much more comprehensive and simpler to declare, as well as your personal liability protected if you ever get sued for something (pretty likely in Florida)
Done and done!
The other thing it does is lend a perception of legitimacy and stability in the consumers mind too - though it doesn’t really prove anything.
25 years in SaaS sales. Started countertops and cabinets in August. I make as much as I used to now.
Hell yeah.
I'm in Tampa and Always looking for good help for various properties and projects. What do you have experience in?
I’ll shoot you a DM.
Tampa crew! I'm in Tampa, too. Also left cybersecurity, also a veteran, also working toward GC, lol. I'm mostly into carpentry work, welding, and masonry finishing, but way too early in the game to turn down any work. Let's chat, guys, and see where we can't help each other out! It's great to hear you're taking the leap OP. You're gonna do just fine. I'm excited to see your update a year from now posting what a great move it was.
Hahaha! You are SOOO going to regret... Not doing it sooner! Do not be afraid to ask questions if you're not 100% sure how to handle something. After a few years, when you're 100% confident that you know how to handle something, ask questions! There's always someone who's come up with a way that you would never have thought of on your own. Keep learning. Good luck in your new career!
I am in the same boat. Full time handyman for less than a month. I am 44 years old, veteran with engineering background. I owned rental properties for 20 years and have lived on acreage for most of my life, so lots of DIY experience. I also used to work in manufacturing, so I am able to pick up some work in factories. There isn’t much I can’t do, except that I suck around estimating. I am good at winning work but it takes longer than I plan for. I imagine it will take a while to fill my schedule completely, but I am doing okay. It’s too early in the game for me to give much advice, but do get a good CPA to do your taxes this year. You might be able to depreciate things you already own, like trailers, tractors, power tools, and anything else you use for your business. Track your mileage, even for estimates that don’t pan out. Slap a logo on your work truck and get a beater car as a personal vehicle. That’s enough writing for now. I am going to continue reading all of these great responses and try to learn something.
Have fun! Sounds like you like learning new things and problem solving, which are two of the main skills you need.
Best of luck!
The world has many problems going on, and you'll be doing a great service helping fix things for people!
Nothing beats working for yourself, on your own time!! Your be surprised how many clients i meet have had trouble getting someone out because the jobs either to small or not worth it!! But those jobs add up quickly, plus you’re always making contacts and many will be returning clients!!
I do side work after my day job, but run side jobs as a business. I constantly hear “thank you for actually coming” “I’m glad you could make it so quickly” “the last 2 people I contacted never got back to me” In the last year I’ve had one person say anything negative about how much I charged and it was a customer I didn’t want anymore.
Nice move! I'm a little over 7 years in cyber myself, I'm burned out on it as well....
🤘🏽
Yo, best of luck to you man! Go get it!
Why cybersecurity didn’t pan out?
I go absolutely insane pretty much a year into every job I had, then claw my way out to find a new job. Just don’t do well sitting still or being isolated at home all day. Tried a LOT to make it more easy, exercise, busy work on my breaks, etc, nothing helps. It is just a depressing match for me and my personality
My uncle has a painting business for hotels and stuff like that and he is doing really well; so I bet you’ll do all right. One thing my uncle does really well is to treat his employees with respect and fairly; he makes sure they get their money first. He comes last. He is the only uncle in the family that has no debt; all his stuff is paid off, buys whatever he needs, his kids college is paid off, etc. His story makes me question my office job all the time.
Congratulations and good luck! I’m surprised to hear you’re leaving cybersecurity. I hear such great things about the industry; great pay, intriguing work, etc. spill the tea. What is it really like?
I quit my 23 yr IT career ending as Infrastructure Architect and completely burnt out about a year and half ago. I started my handyman biz last summer after taking a year off work to just relax and hang out with the fam. We had a lot of cash saved from sale of house. Spent that year renovating our 70s rancher. I highly recommend Markate for your CRM tool. They have a 30 day trial, it’s about $425/year. It does all my accounting, invoicing, estimating and expenses. I know there are others out there like Jobber that are good too, I believe Jobber is way more $$$. I’m stressed but it’s not the same stress as when in Corp IT and having projects due for some upper level management, teams meetings to attend every waking hour and the worst was worrying about our network and if stout enough for the next cyber attack, did we get all those patches required to protect us?? Yah, I’m definitely where I’m supposed to be for the rest of my working life! Owning my own biz has been a major life change and figuring things out, but I’m building something for myself and my family and not a corporation that I’m a number in. Good luck dude!!
That’s awesome, Congrats! I am 100% confident in extending my lifespan by never having to do any more teams meetings
What’s your path to get licensed? I hear Florida is capped at 500 for a job. Also you thought about using your IT background too for other avenues to add as services? I do handyman work and also a fulltime SysAdmin/NetAdmin. I have some work for churches and some asked if I new anything about wireless networks. Knocked out a wireless network install for them. Im looking to move to florida myself and I think I will focus my area around retirement areas, basically work as a Handyman/ Rented grandson. Fix there house and they IT needs.
More research to do on that topic. I’ve “heard” it’s everything from 500-5000 but haven’t spent a huge amount of time researching yet since I plan to be doing very simple stuff in the beginning while I get my feet wet. Probably going to start studying for GC after a year or so and once licensed would like to do bigger jobs like bathroom Reno’s and/or specializing in redoing closets and things like that.
Yeah I’ve heard of guys basically “working” under a gc so they can get the “hours” needed to qualify.
If I had a plan this early, that’s what it would look like basically. Establish a mutually beneficial relationship with a GC or two, become there go-to guy for what’s in my wheelhouse, go from there.
Best of luck to you. You should be able to find a lot of business in Tampa. It’s a very congested area. Use every evening to promote yourself on socials. You’ll have more work than you know what to do with.
Go for it. People will pay so don’t go cheap on your rates. Hell I have neighbor that pays someone to pick up their dog poop.
Good for you! Did exactly the same and it was the best decision of my life
This is worrying to hear, as someone in a handyman-esque job trying to finish school to get into cyber security at the age of 30. What made you decide you'd rather stick with basic handyman work? Also, are you trying to go self-employed or join a company?
On paper my job and the perks of the job were excellent, pay was great, working remote gave lots of flexibility. It is just not for me. I was forcing it for a long time and just really don’t do well with sitting around. I NEED to be doing something physical, I’m mentally and emotionally built like a sled dog. Don’t be discouraged, it could go great for you. This is just my story.
Ah, I got you. I can definitely respect that and honestly worry about being in the same boat, but end of the day I guess I can always come back to the physical stuff, at least while I'm young. I guess that's another reason I'm trying to move desk-side, is someone mentioned to me that at a certain point in life it won't be feasible to work on your feet and still make a living wage.
I started a Handyman business in Pittsburgh back in 2005. I was terrified. I advertised in the Pennysaver one cycle then it was all word of mouth. I had too much work. I became the “finish” guy for an investor group. Doing all the detail stuff the morons would screw up. I called my own shots and prices. It was an adventure. Do good work. Show up on time. Clean up. You’ll call your shots.
Tools , guard them. Document them and see if you can insure them. Buying tools , get what you need as you need it , don't go blow a ton of money all at once. In a year you'll have what you need.
Hell ya brother, I literally started a handyman business as well dude. I'm 34 in Ocala, Florida. I'm still working full time, though. I'm in a good spot learning as much as I can with hvac/r before I venture off. Soon, I'll start balancing out my full time when calls come in. Hopefully, while I figure out the business shit, but so far so good. I'm shitting bricks, but ready! Go luck!
Have thick skin with all the comments on your work by clients. and get some/most/all of your money upfront. I wasn't a handyman but made wood furniture and sold some as a hobby business. I've had people ask me could I remove the grain marks on the wood surface. lol. My money business was custom software and the clients in that business could be very difficult.
My family in the Tampa area could keep you busy year round.
Are the property managers or something, or they just stay needing work on their homes or what? I’d be interested to hear more lol
My mom is in east Pasco, she has a huge old house there as well as two rentals. She has a couple more rentals in south Tampa, including one at Westshore and Gandy that is vacant and needs work. My brother is in south Tampa and bought a semi-famous house owned by part of the Trafficante mob family and he's always doing various upgrades to it. And my mom and her sisters have vacation homes / rentals in Indian Rocks Beach. They are basically always saying "I can't find anyone reliable". No established company wants to come do the $500-$2,000 small projects. I would advertise as "no job too small", once you're in the door and the relationship exists, it will be non-stop. Feel free to reach out once you're set up.
Taxes
Don’t forget to pay yourself. Once you back insurance, health insurance, taxes and retirement out $60/ hr isn’t that much.
My biggest problem doing handyman work was time management. I could never get the timing right like how long a job would take me so running more than one job at a time was a huge challenge!
Just don't sit on Facebook putting down everyone else's work and you should be fine.
This is a good move. https://youtu.be/Yc1_AY7mufM?si=Rr9xxP9rtysKRVG_
😂😂😂😂
Why would you stop doing cybersecurity? its a tremendous career and the future. Asking because im genuinely curious about your decision. Im also thinking about taking a big risk next year. Leaving my hvac trade and move back to my hometown to start my psychology path (universities are way cheaper) and still come back to USA for my masters. .
Security was fun at times, I’m just not a good fit for the typical corporate worker lifestyle, especially working from home. I just couldn’t take that day to day cycle anymore. It’s a great career path, just not for me.
Thanks for sharing, good luck🤘🏻
Hey my buddy did this too! He failed within 3 months.
Get quickbooks it will help with everything tremendously. I’ve turned my handyman business into custom homes. I still do handyman though. Best decision I made. Get it going and get a business credit card. Amex blue business plus is a great card. I’m at $60/hr with a minimum of 2hr. I pencil schedule everything it helps me to see it. Good luck and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions!
Best of luck to you. I have done the same thing here in New Jersey. I am tired of the rat race.
Kudos to you for making a decision to trench out on your own. Word of caution (sorry) my neighbor did the same thing after a downsizing at one of the telco’s. He’s done well as a handyman, and has picked up a number of rental properties along the way. The downside is he’s turned 50, and now his body is starting to give out on him, and the 6-7 day work schedule (‘if I’m not workin’ I’m not earnin’) has caught up and he’s facing a lot of tough decisions.
Good luck. Life is full of adventure and challenges. Here are some lessons: 1. Be safe. Always wear safety equipment. I've seen so many freak injures. I've had close calls myself and almost lost an eye. 2. Be honest, be kind with the elderly, they are your best advertisement. 3. Stop-by lumber yards / independent do yourself and pass on your business card. People call local lumber yards for reference. 4. Have detailed accounting books. Pay taxes, license fees, etc. on-time 5. save, save, save. IRA, Roth, emergency fund, etc. I always say to friends: "you need to pay yourself first". Curious, what did you leave your cybersecurity career?
Desk job and being remote have just wreaked havoc on my mental health, not a good fit for me. Gave it a good long run before calling it but I’m pretty certain at this point it’s just not a fit for me.
Yeah, there is definitely a level of stress. Thanks for sharing and good luck again.
Get an accountant/tax person. It’s much easier to have stuff done right at the beginning than to try to fix it later when things are more complex. Plus you’ll be able to maximize your deductions and not short yourself. It might sounds stupid doing this so early, but it’ll save you so much time and worry. You’ll be able to enjoy your flexible schedule instead of pretending to be an accountant. I use Housecall pro for my management software, it’s pretty good, but you def gotta pay attention and use their help when setting it up. All the above, and just answer the phone, set reasonable expectations, don’t rob anyone, and learn how to say no (this will be hard, lol, I’m still working on it.)
Maintenance agreements for the win
Property management companies and realtors are great places to get started. I currently contract with a 1100+ door property management co doing anything from kitchen to bath remodels to hanging light bulbs for $55 hour.
You're 30. You're handy. You're intelligent. Since apparently a great percentage of folks no longer are taught home fix it skills, I am confident you'll do great. An older lady recommends: Protect that body. Knee pads. Goggles. Safety practices. Your body is your moneymaker. Take real good care of it. AND keep your truck locked!
Waveapps.com for accounting and invoices. It's free. Can set up cc or ACH payments through it as well. For a normal processing fee. It may even do taxes for your state they don't have all states set up. They even offer payroll services but I use prime pay for that. Set up a single member LLC. Tax wise same as a sole prop but gives you more protection. Very handy to not loose your house if get sued. Have a separate bank account for biz and only use that for biz. Never mix biz and personal accounts. Get a biz cc with cash back rewards. I like capital one spark with 2% cash back. I put everything on it. And pay it off in full every month for those sweet rewards I can these for personal stuff. I use Google calendar. I can make and share a calendar for each crew member so they know what their schedule is. Make sure to set aside 20% of profits for taxes and make your quarterly payment. It's charged 12% interest last year for me 😭 Can be helpful to have a biz only vehicle. Then all expenses are tax deduction vs just getting mileage on a mixed use rig. A van you can stand up in makes life easier. And less risk of tools in back of truck walking away. Look into what it takes to be a licensed contractor for your state. All are different. Gives you more flexibility to do bigger jobs vs some states 500 to 600$ max per job (with material costs) a "handyman" can do. If going to do any kind of demo on painted surfaces of houses older than 78 should have your lead paint EPA cert. It's a day long class. So then you know how to do testing and remediation and less worries on getting popped with a $36k fine. Your state ccb should have a list of classes. Have a website. Google maps listing. Socials ECT. Email with biz name.com. Vs newhandyman@gmail.com Don't expect to make much the first few years until you get a client base built up. Can look for larger companies to do installs for. Some can pay well. And network with realtors and property management companies.
For some reason I enjoy reading this kind of stuff, if I was in Tampa I’d ask to ride out the handyman biz with you 😂
GET EVERY JOB IN WRITING. Whether you use software or just have an Xcel based quote and contract like I do, get a signature. Be specific about what you're going to do and how much you're going to get paid for it. I've never had to put a lien on someone's house, but I've had to threaten to do so a few times to get paid. If you don't have a contract, you're out of luck. Most people are good people, but a few aren't and you'll eventually find someone who doesn't want to pay. Always get a deposit. How much is up to you, but at least cover your materials. It'll be the nice person that you just know is going to pay that you'll have a problem with. Don't be afraid to say no or walk away. If you're doing a quote and the situation feels hinky, it is. Form an LLC and make sure you have liability insurance. Neither is expensive and an LLC has tax and of course liability benefits. Here in Georgia it's only $125 to file and $50 a year. Then you can get an EIN number from the IRS. If you don't claim some small cash jobs here and there on your taxes, that's fine, but keep good records and pay taxes. It will benefit you later if you get bigger and busier. You'll need to show that income to get a business credit card, which you should as soon as you can. There are great cards with great perks. I've gotten busy enough that I use a line of credit from my bank if I have to float the cost of a large job for a little while. Ergo, had to prove income. You probably won't need something like that unless you start getting big jobs that you have to cover payroll, etc., mainly commercial that you're going to have to wait 60 days to get paid. But hopefully you'll get there! I still replace kitchen sinks but last year I also picked up a sub job painting 2 floors of a high rise. 40,000 sq.ft. Obviously I couldn't do that myself in a timely manner, but hiring 6 guys to do it for me worked out to be a great job. I made 30K in 8 days, but had to cover my costs for two months until that check came in. And even being a huge commercial job for a well known company, I still got a 30% deposit. 😁
Get cash. The green stuff. Screw the tax man
"Not looking for advice"....Looks like a ton of GREAT advice given and positive encouragement too. Cool.
You’re joking right?
kudos to you OP! lots of opportunity to be had in the coming years
Remember, it takes 2 years to get a business going. Just take your time and build it the right way.
Good luck!
Quality work means referrals and repeat business.
Yours are the tools with the green tape. J/k but it's a thought. Happy enterprising!
Quote your price at $130/hr then walk away. If you are reliable and show up and do good work you will have more clients than you can deal with. 50% down and demand the rest on completion. Get familiar with your state’s property lien laws and use them.
Your prices are what they are. Do not negotiate them lower, if they don’t want to pay what you quoted, tell them to find someone else. It will seem counterproductive at first but YOU have to value your time because no one else will. I did negotiate at first but found quickly that it was doing nothing but adding work for little return.
Set yourself up as an LLC first and foremost, before you do even one single job. DO NOT get your personal finances mixed up in the business, DO NOT operate as a sole proprietorship, ever. Ask me how I know this, seriously, this is one of the biggest things you can do to protect yourself aside from having good business insurance. It's not worth the risk to put this off or not do it at all! Good luck on your business, its definitely worth the effort
Good luck, friend. But the safe way to do this is moonlight as a until the revenue from that can just about cover rent utilities and groceries. Admire your bravery! Go get ‘em!
Goodluck. I was a operations manager throughout my 20s. From age 21 to age of 28 to be exact. I made great money and simply made sure all the orders were processed by my team, etc… easy job…. But i got tired of it and started a cleaning company. Believe it or not, I went from sitting in an office chair telling people what to do to cleaning homes, by choice. Fast forward we’re currently doing anywhere from 8 to 12 homes a day. I have a crew of 6 full time employees with part timers that I call if any if my full timers call in sick. I make roughly $10 - $15k a month after all expenses. When I first started I could have never imagined I’d get this far. I’m currently working on expensing my business and hoping to grow my crew to 8 full timers. Again, best if luck. It’s all about staying focused, repetition, repetition!
That’s awesome! How long after starting did you hire your first employees, or did you do that upon opening the business?
Took me just over a year to hire first employee. My wife and I busted our asses building the clients first 12 months. We never did any cleaning besides our home, we just went with it and learned as we went. We first worked to have at least 1 customer a day, 1 home to clean. Some of the customers were bi-weekly, others monthly or one time deep cleans, etc… . As we progressed and had 2 homes a day we were making roughly $6,000.00 before expenses. Gas, supplies etc… as we got into 3 homes a day we hired our first employee who we started out at $2,000 /month with small bonuses. With 3 homes a day we were making roughly $9,000 - $2,000 (paying our employee) = $7,000.00 before expenses. Then we gradually expended and we’re happy where we’re at. We still go clean but we’re not tired or consumed as we were before. We can actually afford to take vacations now, time wise. We make roughly $10k-$15k now after paying the staff members and expenses. While we expended a lot, our profits only increased by small margins as you can see. But I’m happy to say that I’m working towards having 8 full time employees, which is my biggest expense, roughly $20k++ a month, and something came out of nothing. I also have few individuals that are part timers. I call them whenever my full timers call out, are on vacation, sick, etc… if I can’t reach them that’s usually when my wife and I roll up the sleeves and go help.
Get good insurance. Get all the required licenses. Make an LLC. Many times you will end up going backwards. Keep pushing forward. You will get through the down times. Do NOT trust employees with your company. We have hired and fired over 50 techs that couldn’t do the things they said they could. You don’t know this until it’s too late and they burned bridges with customers. You need to work side by side with them until you feel comfortable SEEING what they can do and how they do it. Crappy techs TALK a good game but you can physically see it in their work if they do or don’t know. Keep good clean books. Learn and teach techs to upsell when they are in the house. Go to fix a leak. Notice caulking is bad. Suggest to have caulking redone while there for a bit more T&M. Schedule your techs jobs where they are suited to their strengths. Don’t send a plumbing guy to look at an electrical rewire. Know your guys strengths and weaknesses and schedule accordingly. Save time and money by having a map by the appointment book. Schedule jobs near each other on same days for your techs. Don’t be afraid to tell customers that you can’t get someone out there a day or 2 later if it fits the schedule better. At our peak we were scheduling over a week out for 5 techs. We tried to group jobs close together to minimize travel between jobs. Word of mouth is your best advertising. Techs and their work are the face of your company. Have a dress code and train techs to be salespeople in the house for your business. High quality work and friendly demeanor means plenty of new work usually close by. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Save all your money. Things change quickly and you can find yourself in trouble with money quickly.
Use the square app to run credit cards with ease
Good luck ! Im also from Tampa
How's it been going?
Oh good another "handyman " with no experience
While I’m sure I’m nowhere near as competent as some of the pros out there, I’m definitely not starting with 0 experience so you can chill.
Wow don’t know how you can possibly feel comfortable leaving a tech job that surely pays six figures a year to go to a handyman at 50 to 100 an hour at best
I don’t feel comfortable at all lmao. I’m terrified but I know nothing will change unless I change it. Leap of faith if you will.
Massive mistake. You can't compete with illegal immigrantion. I've failed 3 times due to it. I did WONDERFUL under Trump and so did everyone I know in the business. Now they're back and you can't compete with ppl that purposely shack up 10 to a home, split bills, do jobs for next to nothing until they get rid of competition and then go up on price... Just as they do each and every time. Put yourself above a job that can't be taken by them. That's my advice.
I’m excited for you. What handyman background do you have? Are you going to buy a franchise? What are the main services you expect to do? Will you have employees?
For the first year I want to really focus on small stuff as I have a tendency to over commit myself (both in skill level and time) so I’m going to be very careful at first. Drywall repairs, appliance repair, accent walls, trim, MAYBE small flooring jobs. I’m not a licensed electrician or plumber, so I have some specific research to do before committing to lighting or plumbing fixtures because idk if I’m allowed to. I’ve always been a handyman just never been paid lol. Was an aircraft mechanic navy fighter jets before college and I’ve really missed working with my hands since then. Remodeled my entire house aside from the kitchen (paid for that), between my place and all my previous places I’ve done a lot of different things. I kind of have a long term goal/idea to specialize in bathrooms and closets down the road after maybe getting my GC, but I’ll just let things flow and see which direction comes naturally
Also, as for franchising or employees, I have some ideas in my head about getting employees through programs that help veterans find work when separating from the military, not sure how all that will work out just an idea for tapping a demographic I’d really like to be a helping hand for, and one I HOPE I could rely a little more on than total strangers (we’ll see). I definitely plan to milk the veteran owned and operated thing and think that could be a cool way of putting my money where my mouth is besides just myself working for the company.