While many skilled carpenters and electricians are afraid to branch out on their own, the demand has never been greater. People have less time to finish those little projects, and they don’t want to pay the high prices of having a store’s maintenance department come out.
Thankfully, this has opened up a strong business for handymen. If you have basic repair skills, you’re already ready to begin. Of course, the more training you have, the better money you will make and will be able to charge.
And it’s okay to start out learning as you go on projects as long as the client knows that you’re not fully skilled at the task. By the time you’re done, you will be… and you’ll have yet another accomplishment to add to your handyman resume.
How do you start
The easiest way to get started as a handyman is to get the word out. This doesn’t have to be an expensive, or even complicated advertisement, just something that reaches the audience that you think will need your services.
Think about posting a small sign or a few business cards at the local home improvement store. You might also want to post your cards at any of the smaller paint stores or home supplies shops around your neighborhood. Since the customers will already be ready to do some repairs because they’re buying the supplies, perhaps you can help them finish the project as well.
Start off your clients with a free estimate of the time and the cost of the materials and labor. This will let the client know that you are honest about your services and let them make any changes to the project.
You might even benefit from adding on additional smaller services for free.
Tools that you need
If you’re going to be fixing things, you’ll need to have the tools to do it. You can start out with the standard tool set and add to it as you find the need. You won’t need anything too complicated in most home projects, but that’s where your estimate will come in handy. You’ll be able to see if there are more tools that you will need to finish, and then factor the cost into your hourly rate.
You will also want to have the proper safety equipment (goggles, gloves) in order to keep yourself safe.
Another consideration for tools is a nice uniform to wear when you are performing the job. You might not be taken too seriously if you show up in jeans and a t-shirt. Look like the professional that you are.
Costs and earnings
While it’s true that the tools will be expensive, the advertising doesn’t have to be. As said before, buying only what you need at first will help keep the overall costs low.. and then you’ll have the tools for other jobs.
Earnings also vary depending on the skill level that you have. The more complicated the job, the more money that you should charge overall. But most handymen can expect to make anywhere from $10 to $25 per hour for smaller jobs, with a markup for larger projects.
While this doesn’t seem like a lot, the fact that you’re going to be cheaper than any ‘professional’ repair service will get you the numbers to make this business worth your time.
