Can i start a handyman business

Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Small Business Business Ideas. By Alyssa Gregory. Learn about our editorial policies. Most handymen are terrible marketers, and by putting a little extra effort into your marketing, you can make a killing. The fact that you are reading this website puts you way ahead of the pack.

Your goal in this step is to figure out which marketing methods will be most effective and have the highest ROI return on investment. Or, you can simply download this free handyman marketing report where I share the most effective method for attracting high-paying customers.

That only works if you are either undercharging or have been in business for several years. If you enjoy working with your hands and helping people, the handyman business can be fun, fulfilling, and profitable.

However, to be successful, you must be self-motivated. Just like running any business, it requires you to manage yourself. In most states, all you need is a local business license to offer home repairs, which is easy to obtain.

Although not technically required , I also recommend the following at a minimum :. Of course, make sure you follow the steps above and invest an hour to two learning the laws in your state. I finally have an idea now of what to focus on and how to proceed and will be reading your blog a lot more this week. Glad you have found it useful. I definitely agree that the majority of books out there leave out a lot of critical info.

Good luck with your business. Dan, hi my name is Matthew Cooper and im in the beginning stages of starting a handyman business in nc. If you specialize in a field that requires a specific license usually plumbing, electrical, or HVAC in most states then you can make more money.

However, that requires getting a license and in many states that process can take a few years. If you want to get started now, I would read up on the laws in your state and see what you are actually allowed to do. Dan, i have been reading your blog but my question to you is. I am in Virginia. Is it better to license as a cotractor and do any kind of contractual work or better to be licensed as a handyman. I am an IT person but can do many other things and i was looking into licensing as a Contractor with a Class A and taking all the trainings.

What do you think. If you want to do bigger jobs then I would get a contractors license. Hi Dan, I used your audio-book over the past few days and had a similar business years ago, and your advice is great! I am now in Australia, and have been stuck at a desk for 7 years, doing something different, and tired of it now — i live in a costal city that is growing quickly, has heaps of fli-in-fly-out workers residing here so dad is off on site 28 days out of 37 , and thinking of getting started with a handyman business next year.

Any ideas on how I can promote my handyman business as a handyman offering electrical services, not and electrical contractor offering handyman services??

I think that depends on how soon you want to start your business. As far as promoting yourself as a handyman who does electrical services, that is no problem. So, depending on which marketing method you are using to promote your business, you would simply call yourself a handyman and mention the services you specialize in.

I am a cabinetmaker looking to start up a handyman business and wondering what licensees I have to have? Dan, Thank you so much for the information that I was not aware of. I just figured I just do a little home work to see what would be all involved pursuing this endeavor. So I am so glad I came across your site. I just retired, and over the years my elderly neighbors would ask me to fix this or that for them and now I am thinking about starting a handy man business in my local area.

Thanks again, Paul. Hi Dan. I have a quick question. When you say no Plumbing or electrical, does that mean serious stuff or can I not work on a toilet or change a receptacle? Thank you. I think it means none at all, but this is a gray area. There is no clear law that lists exactly what you can and cannot do. Thank you so much for the information!! Steps you will want to take to start your handyman business.

Home ownership comes with an endless list of things to fix, improve and put together, and finding the time to get it all done is a common challenge for homeowners.

Hi Dan, Thanks for the blog. I was wondering what are the painpoints of starting a handyman business. Ideally how does someone market themselves other than a website? We even have free business plan templates to make the task much easier for you. Insurance is always on a case-by-case scenario. If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, then you probably should consider getting insurance. There are many benefits to starting an LLC or S Corporation, but Sole Proprietorship provides almost no protection for your or any of your assets if a legal issue arises.

After that, go ahead and get your contractor or handyman license if required by your region. As far as training, handyman is a pretty general field, and most people learn by doing rather than attending formal classes. If you are unsure of what services to offer, go to Craigslist or a similar website and look at the most common services. Check if you know how to do these things. If not, learn and begin to offer them to increase your revenues. It can be a hassle, but online invoicing software such as InvoiceBerry lets you do it in a breeze.

You should get a credit card app so that your customers can pay you by credit card. With Evernote, note taking is easy, and it even syncs with your other devices. However, this brings with it some dangers, and is not recommended. If you are charging by the job, that usually means that the job is larger, such as mounting wall TVs or installing a ceiling fan or. It is recommended, however, that you decide first what kind of jobs you plan on doing, and then working on buying the tools that will be needed to do those jobs.

A word of warning to new handymen. You see, most handymen are very lax about the marketing side of their business. They take the jobs that come their way, from whatever customer requests their services, hoping that the word will spread about their services.

That is not a particularly good marketing strategy—no passivity ever is—but it is one practiced by many. When they do get around to enacting some marketing, they do it based on the lowest cost, or the lowest effort, and more than not fail or find few good results. Because people are interested in updating their homes, they are willing to accept more old school methods, such as putting up flyers, handing out business cards, and even going door to door.

One would be to go ahead and do some handy work for friends or neighbors, either for free or at a discounted price, and ask for referrals after the successful completion of the job. This will allow you to have testimonials that you can have in person in a folder you keep with you or you can put it up on your website. Beyond that, you can also network at different types of events, locations that you are sure your target market will be. This may be cost-prohibitive to some for example, if my target market is retired generation in affluent neighborhoods, their events might be too expensive to attend.