Looking for tips on how to start a handyman business? Consider this piece as the guide you have been looking for. A handyman business provides a variety of home repair services, depending on what customers want and their skill set. That may include repairs, maintenance, and both interior and exterior repairs. Although this kind of business is quite new, early birds are already making good money from the business. Let’s see how you can start your own handyman business too.
Tips on Starting a Handyman Business
1. Find out if there is a market for your service
This should be your first step when looking to start a handyman business. Determine if people actually need your kind of service. Even if you are very skilled at what you do, if there are no people to patronize you, you are definitely going to be frustrated soon. So check around your area to know if people need your service.
Also, make your research and find out if there are no many handymen around. If you live in an area where there is a handyman in every block, it will be unwise to set up a business in such an area. The competition may choke out your business. So what you are looking for is a comparatively low competition area.
2. Conduct competition research
It is advisable you don’t start your handyman business until you have done comprehensive market and competition research around your area. It’s not something difficult. You can Google “handyman” and the name of your town or city to find out how many people offering the same service in your area. Check to know what kind of service they offer, their kind of customers, their prices, and their geographical location.
All these will give you a good idea of what to expect and how you can beat them at what they do. Competition analysis will also help you determine if you will be serving the same customers as your competitors or you will be looking elsewhere.
3. Estimate the costs of starting the business
Fortunately, a handyman business is not the type that requires a lot of money to start, especially if you already have your own tools. In fact, you can start with a few tools while you gradually add more when your business starts gaining traction. But you still need to determine how much you will probably need to start the business.
Start from the cost of purchasing your tools, costs of getting your business registered, employees, office space, etc.
4. Create a business plan
This is the next step after figuring where you will be putting your money to make the business a reality. Creating a business plan is like getting a destination for a trip. Ask yourself critical questions concerning your business and note the answers to them. Some questions you can ask include:
- How much money will I need for the business?
- How much do I want to make?
- What kind of service will I offer?
- What kind of customers will I be servicing?
- How many hours will I be working in a week?
- Will I be employing staff to help?
Providing honest answers to these questions will help shape the future of your handyman business and help you achieve the best.
5. Get your business licensed
You will need to get the necessary permits and licenses that will allow you to open such a business in your state. While these requirements may differ by state, you can always walk to your State secretariat office to know what and what is required of you. However, keep in mind that you may need to apply for a contractor’s license, especially if you will be doing jobs that’s above $1000.
6. Get the necessary insurance
Getting insurance for your handyman business will be of great advantage to the business. It will protect you and your business in case of an emergency. Apart from this, it will help boost your marketing as you can advertise that your handyman business is “licensed and insured” in the state. A basic insurance policy should be around $850 for a whole year.
7. Purchase tool as needed
You may not need to buy all the tools you need starting out. You can always purchase them as you need them. Also, instead of purchasing new tools, since you are starting out on a budget, you can get used and functional tools. Most times, these used tools can serve you for many years to come without breaking down.
8. Advertise your business
Starting your handyman business on a budget? You don’t have to spend so much on adverts. You can leverage platforms like Craigslist and other free job listing sites to get customers. Some neighborhoods also do have specialized groups online where you can list your services and catch new clients for your business. A good example of them is Nextdoor.com.
You can also create your own website to help you further boost your advertising efforts. This is another cheap form of advertising – thanks to organic ranking through Google.
9. Join a third-party service provider
One of the biggest hurdles you will have to jump as a handyman is finding jobs. It can be very challenging. However, there are some ways you can overcome this too. Consider aligning yourself with a third-party service provider that offers brokerage services or allows you to list your services. Some of such providers include:
Once you’ve started getting hired for jobs, you’ll need to pay special attention to contracts and workflow management—especially as your business starts to pick up! Investing in construction scheduling software is a great way to easily manage contract workflows, improve efficiency, and definitively execute a particular project. Moreover, it can help you assess the risks involved with the project and make necessary adjustments to keep things running smoothly and make your client happy.
10. Hire an employee
A time will come that your hands will be full of jobs. To be on schedule and not disappoint your customers, you will need to consider hiring employees to help. The more people you have working with you, the more income you will also be able to make.
If you can’t afford to hire an employee now, you can consider getting an apprentice till the time you are able to raise enough capital to hire staff with different skill sets.
