Making a Good First Impression

As a Handyman Business owner your customer base is your business. Without your customers you would have no work. 

As you start your business you are going to meet a lot of potential customers. You want to make a good first impression on each customer that you meet. On a first visit to a new customers home or business follow this simple checklist to ensure a good impression.

• Make sure to have business cards handy. I like to give one to a new customer as soon as I walk in the door. Seeing that you have a business card that looks professional kind of pre-qualifies you as a professional and it also puts the customer at ease because they will think you perceive you as someone of value and service.
• Make sure you appearance is up to snuff. Everyone will realize that as a Handyman you are bound to get dirty during the course of your work, but you should still be wearing clothes that are free of rips and tears. And make sure you are well groomed. 
• Have a tape measure and something to write with and on. 
• Check your shoes for mud or dirt and if needed use shoe covers or remove your shoes before entering their home.
• Actively listen to what your customer needs from you and then explain to them how you can be of value to them. Its not all about the cost, its also about perceived value. 
• Be interested in helping your customer and not just their wallet. The more value you add to the relationship the more money you will eventually make. Its a simple principal that has been proven true time and time again.

 

Ideas for making more cash for your Handyman Business in the Fall

Here are some easy ways to make money with your Handyman Business in the Fall Season.

1. Clean out Some Gutters! There are tons of people out there who need their gutters cleaned every fall. Make sure to do a good job and clean up any messes you have made and they will call you back annually. Plus, when you are there cleaning the gutters you can explain to your customer that you are also an awesome Handyman.
2. Advertise home weatherproofing. The extent to which you weatherproof a home depends on where you live. It can be as simple as wrapping exterior water lines. 
3. Start working on a marketing campaign to hang Christmas lights. This is a big business. I know of a few companies that do this exclusively during the winter. You would be surprised how much someone would pay you to do this.
4. Offer to clean some hard to reach windows. Diversity is one of the best things about the Handyman business. You can do anything you'd like. And hey, if someone is willing to pay you to clean hard to reach windows, take advantage of a few easy bucks.
5. Look for opportunities. If you see a house that has gutters overflowing with leaves, leave a flyer on the door explaining how you can help.

Make a Price Sheet for Quick Bids for Your Handyman Business

No matter what type of work you plan on doing in your handyman business, you will want to have a listed price for jobs under $500 to avoid having to go do bids for small projects. You are going to be very busy doing work and running your business, so your time will be very valuable.

I have a large list of prices for common jobs handy so I can quickly quote a price over the phone or in person. It save you time and it makes you look more professional if you can quickly quote prices to customers.

Make sure every item on your list is accurate. There is no worse feeling that doing a job only to realize that you have underbid and made little or no profit. Material prices change rapidly in the current market place, so you will want to update your list frequently.

For ease of access I organize my list by category (i.e plumbing, electrical, carpentry, painting, etc)

I have an extensive pricing sheet that comes with the eBook "Start and Run a Successful Handyman Business" You can find a link on the blog to purchase it for $9.

Coming up with an Hourly Rate for Your Handyman Business

One of the first questions a potential customer will ask you is what is your hourly rate. You need to have you answer ready before you speak with your first customer.

There are a few ways to come up with an hourly rate. In the beginning you may want to call other Handymen in your area and find out what they are charging. Prices around my area ( San Francisco Bay Area in California) range from $25 an hour (way to low) to $125.00 per hour (too high to quote as an hourly rate). I can show how to make $125 and hour or more using a few techniques that add perceived value to your business. (There is complete details about this subject in the Handyman Success eBook available through this website)

When I am asked that question my response is "I don't work by the hour, I work by the job". Its best to stick with that once you are experienced enough to know what jobs cost to do.

If you are more comfortable working hourly (which will be the case for many people in the beginning), you should price yourself somewhere in the mid price range of what you survey other businesses hourly rates. You don't want to start out low in the beginning because you will have a very hard time raising rates to those same customers later.

Why is Social Media Important to Your Handyman Business?

Social Media is something that is at the forefront of lots of people's minds. Statistics show that 31 percent of smartphone users generally check a social media site before they even get out of bed in the morning.  With a captive audience like that you would be a fool not to use Social Media to your advantage.

The main forms of social media that I use in the businesses that I own are Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and Pinterest. There are many more than those, but those are all popular one and a good place to start.

How to use social media to market your Handyman Business:

Use Twitter to build a following and post industry advice and specials you may be offering

Use a Facebook Fan Page to post industry specific articles, advertisement, special promotions, and job site photos.

Use Linkedin to network with other business professionals in your community,

Use Pintrest to Pin Pictures and descriptions of recent projects you've done and possible promotions.

Cheap Promotions for Your Handyman Business

There a lots of inexpensive ways to promote your handyman business. Here are a few of my favorites.
By far the best is a website. It sounds expensive, but with all the technology available today it is really cheap and easy. You can register a domain name for as little as $.99 at godaddy.com, register.com, or bluehost.com.  The all have simple website design tools and you can have a fully function website within a few hours. Hosting is about $8.00 a month. You will use this site to drive traffic from Yelp, Yahoo Local, and Google after you have reviews posted in these locations.

Yard Signs - These are great, they get business, an they are cheap. You can get some really inexpensive ones from Vista Print. www.vistaprint.com

Magnetic Business Cards - These look just like your business cards except they are magnets. I have literally seen magnets that I gave out 10 years ago still on a customers fridge. That's a pretty good bang for your buck. You can also stick them on things like garbage disposals and water heaters so they know to call you if they have an issue.

Niche Market Idea for a Handyman Business

There are many niche markets you can enter as a handyman. One of the most profitable is catering to local real estate agents. If you can lock in a few agents that have lots of homes listed you have found a gold mine.

The common jobs they want you to do are:

House Clean Outs

Hauling

Changing Locks

Installing Signs

Securing the Property

Small Repairs

Installing Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Repairing Fences

I have found its fairly easy to market to real estate agents because their signs and cards are everywhere. A personal email works best.

The Best Vehicle For a Handyman Business

When you are first starting out in the Handyman Business, you can use just about any vehicle that you have. That being said, its easier to function with a truck or a van. Both vehicles have their advantages.

A truck is nice because of the bed. You can easily haul large items, and you have plenty of room for tools and supplies. The downside to a truck is that unless you have a toolbox or a shell installed all of you tools are left unsecured and will be exposed to the weather. If you plan on doing any type of hauling for your business, a truck is a good choice.

Vans have many advantages as well. The main benefit is that you can lock up all of your stuff easily with a van. Also, if you live in an area with a lot of foul weather you will benefit from your tools being sheltered at all times.

Don't let the fact that you don't have a truck or van stop you from starting up right away. With a little planning and ingenuity you can make any vehicle work for you. There is a handyman company in Portland that does everything with a bicycle and he is doing it successfully! If he can run his business on a bike, you can surely run your with any vehicle you have available.

5 Low Cost Advertising Stragities for your Handyman Business

1. Flyers - Flyers are a lot of work to distribute, but when you are trying to build a customer base from nothing they work fairly well. Keep them simple with just your name, phone number, maybe email, and information about the services you offer.
2. Craigslist - You can advertise your new business for free on craigslist. The quality of leads craigslist produces varies, but it is free.
3. Newspaper Ads - I would only place a small classified ad in your local papers business and services directory. Other types of ads cost to much and don't produce much better results.
4. Yelp - Get your business listed on Yelp as quickly as you can. Its free and Yelp is a great source for business.
5. Website - You can try a free website or you can spend a little money and have one designed and optimized. Once your site is online you just have to pay the hosting fees and maintain it. You can get hosting for about $8 a month.

Tips for Pre Screeing Customers on the Phone

You don't want just any customers, you want exceptional customers that pay their bills quickly and won't nickle and dime you on each job you do. I offer free estimates but if a customer specifically ask for a "free written estimate," that raises a red flag for me. I have learned over the years that approximately 80 percent of customers that ask specifically for a "free written estimate" want a few things but normally they will not hire you to do the job. They either want multiple written bids for their home owners insurance so they can get the money and do it themselves or have a friend do it or they want a written bid to negotiate with another contractor on price. I don't want to waste my time on dead end leads so I will normally let these calls go. 

Building a Buzz for Your New Business

Once your established and have lots of satisfied customers you will naturally have your name buzzing around your local community. But, how do you get there?

One way to start the buzz is to create a brand for yourself and your business. You can do many different things to create your brand but they all must be tied to your company's logo or core values in someway.  You can use social media, craigslist, yard signs, flyers, truck magnets and decals,  and business cards to do this for very little money.  If your doing a job, ask your customer if you can display a yard sign for a few days. Have plenty of business cards available at all times and hand them out to everyone you meet. You don't have to be pushy, just tell them you have a Handyman Business and if they need a Handyman then you would appreciate a chance to earn their business. 

A Handyman Business has the potential to bring in big profits, but people have to know who you are and what you do in order for that to happen.

Establishing a Minimum Service Charge for Your Business

As a Handyman your are a valuable business person in your community and you should be compensated as one. Early on in your business you should establish a minimum service charge for any work that you do.  Only you can decide what your minimum service charge will be. Keep in mind all of the expenses associated with doing the work you do. You have to pay for advertising, promotional materials, company shirts, company vehicles, fuel, insurance, licensing fees, cell phone, etc. so you need to make sure that every time you are doing a job you are being compensated for not only your labor but all that goes into running a Handyman Business.

A guideline to establish a minimum service charge for your Handyman Business would be 2 hours of your hourly rate plus any overhead that you need to be compensated for. The eBook "How to Start and Run a Successful Handyman Business" goes into this in a little more detail.

Unit Cost Makes Bidding Small Jobs Easy

    After you have been in the Handyman business a while, you are going to know about what it cost to do simple everyday jobs. You should record your cost and labor associated with the jobs you complete so you can build a database of what your Handyman jobs cost. This will eventually allow you to save time and money by quoting small jobs over the phone instead of having to travel to the job site.

    After you quote a price over the phone be sure to tell your customer that any deferral from the norm may result in additional charges. That way you are covered if the job is different than described.

Start Your Business Part Time

One of the great things about the Handyman business it's very easy to start part time while you still work at your full time job. I know working during your time off may not seem too appealing to some, but it is an investment of your time to get your business up and running smoothly while you still have a steady income.

Another nice thing about starting your business while your still employed is that if you do make a few bidding errors initially, you won't be in trouble financially. It will also enable you to bank some of your profits before you take the plunge full time. Once you have your business running full time and are no longer working your regular job, you will really appreciate that savings that you built up. A solid savings account is invaluable if you find yourself in lean periods.

Once you reach the point where you can replace your income, then it's your choice to either go full time or keep it part time. There are advantages for both options, but in my opinion the self employed lifestyle is hard to beat. The flexible hours, freedom to do the jobs you chose, and the relationships you build more that make up for the absence of a steady paycheck.

Utilizing other Contractors as a Business Source

Believe it or not other more established Handymen and Contractors are one of your best sources for new business. Established businesses that have been doing well for years normally have more than enough work to go around. If you can get in their good graces and prove yourself to be a valuable asset to their business they will never want to let you go.

One reason that you can be such a valuable resource to others in the industry is because as an independent business owner you are able to legitimately work for them without all the hassle and expense of workman's compensation insurance and payroll taxes. They will normally want to pay you as a 1099 Independent Contractor. Paying you like this allows them to write your earnings off on their taxes  and all business owners want as many tax breaks as possible. 

Some examples of leads to go after would be Painters who need dry-rot repaired, Plumbers who need drywall repaired after doing their work, and other Handymen like yourself who have too many jobs. They are all out there, I know from experience. 



If you don't know any other Handymen or Contractors you can get to know them through Networking Groups, Your Local Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, and other local meet up organizations. 

Using Special Offers to Get in Front of New Customers

There is a technique that I used in the past that worked very well for getting new customers. What I would do was advertise a special item with an unbelievable offering (i.e. Security Door Supplied and Installed for $99, Smoke Detector Batteries Replaced for Free, etc) just to get in front of customers so I could sell myself. On these jobs you are not going to make much money (at the time they had a Security Door Special at Home Depot for $48, so I make a tiny amount on that one) but its one of the most effective ways to get your foot in the door. 

     If you show up on time, do a good job, clean up, act polite, and show a real interest in serving your customer there is a great chance they are going to have you come back and do more work. Good reliable service people in this industry are hard to find and people are always happy when they find a jewel. Not only are they going to have you back but they are going to tell their friends and neighbors about you. Each new customer you convert is worth thousands and sometimes tens of thousands of dollars in revenue. 

Top 5 Reasons to Start a Handyman Business

1. It has very low start up cost. You can start the business with tools and the vehicle that you already have and upgrade from there.
2. You can earn as you learn. You don't have to know a lot in the beginning. Just make sure to only take on jobs you are comfortable with.
3. Handymen are in demand. If you do quality work and provide a good service to customers the word will spread quickly. You will have more work than you know what to do with.
4. You can run the business out of your home. This is a low overhead business. All the materials you need can be billed to your customer. 
5. Its fun! You get to do a variety of work and meet lots of people. You make a lot of friends in this business.