How to Start a Handyman Business

Are you looking to start a handyman business?

Whether you have expertise in plumbing, electrician, or landscaping, make sure to ponder over your expertise, license, pricing, and marketing to improve the chances of your success in this profession.

Here’s how…

Choose What You Can Offer:

First of all, assess your skills to determine which handyman services you can offer. Simply put, you have to choose the services you hold expertise in.

You might be thinking that if you can do everything. Well, the straightforward answer is NO. In fact, you can earn more profits by offering a limited range of services. Sometimes, it can lead to more profit when you work according to your specialization.

• For instance, you can’t do plumbing, electrical, or HVAC work without having a license in your state. This limits your services, yet you still get more business than you could possibly handle.
• You can also ponder over other handyman-like service businesses out there such as lawn care, garage door repair, locksmiths, home security installers, and mason. These are specific services and can be profitable.
• As a handyman, you can have a much wider range of offerings that will go across several businesses, but it is better if you get started by offering you are specialized in and grow from there.

The point is here to create a list of all of the possible services you can offer.

Get to Know the Handyman Laws in Your State:

Many handymen do this mistake. They start their business without opting for the required license first. It is important to get familiar with the contracting laws in your state. Keep in mind that these laws generally vary from state to state. You need to find out the services requiring you to have a license. Also, find out what license you require to provide the services you want to offer.

In some states, it is important to have a license even for any sort of electrical, plumbing, or HVAC work. Some might not allow you to do jobs over $1,000 without having a contractor’s license.

The point is here to know the handyman laws of your state by visiting your state’s contractors’ board website.

Study the Market for Your Services:

Before you start your handyman business, ponder over this: one of the common blunders that handymen make is that they don’t know if there is a market for their services.

Imagine you live in an area where there’s a handyman at every nook and corner, leading to stiff competition. If, on the other hand, there is not a handyman for miles, you can have a great opportunity to set up a profitable business.

The key takeaway is here to understand the availability of handyman services in your area.

Know Your Right Customers:

Keep in mind that not everyone is your ideal customer.

For example, if you don’t understand this concept, you might be forced to lower your prices to win contracts or do the job out of your expertise, and basically serving everyone. This way, you could end up getting negative reviews.

Therefore, you need to focus on a particular type of customer. Your services might not be suitable for everyone looking for a handyman.

Some clients look for the lowest prices while others can happily pay higher rates as long as you deliver good service. Some clients are located 50 miles away, while others are located near you. Some look for high-quality services while others just want the job gets done

While you can make a profit with all of these clients, it is important to decide on the kind of service you want to offer. Focusing on an ideal customer will have a positive impact on your job satisfaction and your profit as a handyman.

Choosing the target customer is important for any business. And the occupation of a handyman is no exception.

If you focus on the right customers you actually enjoy working for and who are willing to pay the right rates for your services, you will get more profit and love your job. Plus, you can get more referrals and repeat business.

But if you try to work for everyone, you might face a lot of struggle and lose your peace of mind.

By doing homework on your ideal customers who can get benefit most from your service and who you actually want to work for, you can improve the chances of getting success as a handyman.

Consider The Budget to Start a Business:

Well, we are not talking about any huge business loans here.

Luckily, you can start your business as a handyman at cheap costs, especially if you have your own tools. Besides, you can add more items as you start getting contracts.

Expect to invest about $2,000-$4,000 to start your handyman business.

How Much to Charge?

This point is all about setting your price.

It might be surprising, but it is quite common for a handyman to make a handsome income while offering basic handyman services. Some handyman can earn up to $200 per hour.

The handyman profession can be lucrative if you do it properly. Having a good hold on the financial side is important—especially when it comes to setting your handyman prices.

Determining how much to charge can be challenging for a new handyman.

Here you need to understand a lot of things while setting up prices for your new handyman business. Consider things like your experience, efficiency, reputation, and professionalism.

Above all, you need to consider the level of your profit. However, it can be quite challenging if you are not sure about your skills and abilities to get started.

You don’t need to rely on guesswork or choose the rate approved by your near and dear ones. You don’t need to undercharge or leave money on the table either.

Here is a great formula to determine the rate of your service per hour.

You need to account for the following things:

• Monthly living expenses: (say it is 5,000 per month)
• Business expenses such as taxes, rent, phone bills, and licensing fees (say it is 1,200 per month)
• Monthly Billable hours (say it is 128 hours)
• Total taxes such as state income tax, federal income, and self-employed income tax ( say it is 30%)

Here is how you can find your hourly rate:

$5,000/[128 *(1-.3)] + $1,200/128 = $65.18/hour

So, you need to charge at least $65 per hour.

Create a Marketing Strategy:

Marketing is the heart and soul of any business. At this point, you must be aware of your key services, ideal customers, and pricing.

In this step, you need to market them; you need to reach them to your potential customers. Good thing is that handyman services are always in demand. Bad news: there are many handymen out there to compete with.

That’s why a solid marketing plan is important.

While you can consider newspaper ad or billboard marketing, opting for online marketing is practical and affordable. You can submit your business in local online business directories and create a Google profile for your business. In fact, building a website for your business is quite affordable.

Online marketing matters because most customers search for handyman services on their Internet-enabled phone or PC.

LAST NOTE:

So you must have understood how to start a handyman business off on the right foot and maximize your chances of success as well. What do you think? Let us know by commenting below! For more information and handyman services Contact us now.