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.