Cash In On Home Repair Business

Hello again,

For most of us in the country, the weather is turning colder, the days are getting shorter, and old man winter is creepy in. What does this have to do with your business? When you start a handyman business your keeping busy in the winter can be a challenged. So what can you do to keep the phone ringing?

In my last post I wrote about a possible service you could subscribe to as one way to possible obtain business. But that will cost you money and you are placing your leads into someone else’s hand.

My suggestion is to take a look at what service you are currently offering and see what you can add that would give you business in the winter time.

For instance, if in your area people have fireplaces, cleaning chimneys is something you can look into offering. Also hanging Christmas lights might be a service people are willing to hire out. Water heaters repairs/replacements always seem to pick up for us.

Water heaters will tend to go out more in the winter than in the summer. When the temperature drops outside the water coming into homes will be colder and can cause a water heater to stop working properly. Electric water heaters are easier to learn how to fix than gas water heaters. In an electric water heater the main part is the element, and that is what heats the water. We would charge around $65.00 plus material to replace an element.

If the water heater needed to be replace our charge was $225.00 plus material to replace an electric water heater. Gas water heaters were more.

Some municipalities may require a permit to replace a water heater, so if this is a service you are considering, make sure you find out what the requirements are in your area.

You could also offer to do a winter check of someone home. This is where you would go into a home and make suggestions about what the owner can do to help reduce energy cost and possible catch a potential problem before it becomes a big problem. You could charge a nominal fee for doing this, with the hopes of getting some work.

You could also offer a package, where for a certain price you will come out and do things like, clean clothes dryer’s vents, clean drain hole and pain on refrigerators, caulk around windows, doors, sinks, tubs, showers. Clean exhaust fans and range hood fans blades, making sure they are working properly. Check the attic vents to make sure they are fine. Leaf blowing is also something people need to do.

I bet if you walk through your own home and make a list of things that need to be completed, you can find many ideas for jobs that you can do that will not cost you much to offer, but may add nicely to your bottom line, and help keep you busy this winter.

Until next time.

Hello again,

Yesterday I received an email from a company called ServicMagic.com. Some of you might be familiar with this business. When you start a handyman business getting established in the community can take some time. This company may be a way to receive referrals to potential customers that you might not have had access to.

First, I do not have any kind of relationship with Service Magic. Several years ago we did sign up for their service to obtain leads, used it for a couple of months, and then dropped it.

What they do is they have a list of people who offer handyman services, or does some type of home repair, including landscapers, inspectors, painters, movers etc. When a potential customers goes to their website and answers a few questions about what the customer is looking to have completed, Service Magic will contact someone in the customers area that provides the service, give the company the customers information, then it’s up to you to follow up with the customer.

The service is free (I do believe) to potential customers, however the people receiving the leads are charged a monthly fee, based on which level they choose to belong to.

Like I said earlier, we did subscribe to their service and we did receive leads. Most of the leads were tire kickers, people thinking about doing some work; however these tire kickers if approached correctly can become good customers. I will admit we did not spend the time to really try and convert these people into customers. This was an error on our part. We were pretty busy at the time and made the mistake of not following up properly. Learn from our mistake.

Service Magic also offers helpful tips for business owners to help them get customers.

Since we have not used them for quite some time, I am not endorsing or saying not to try the company. When you start a handyman business, getting customers can be a challenged and this might be a way to generate more leads. You will have to decide if the cost and the leads you receive are worth your money and time.

Until next time.

Hello again,

We just finished up a 7 part series outlining the steps to take when you want to start a handyman business. Today I would like to talk about what type of tools do you really need to start a handyman business?

The tools that you will need will vary somewhat depending on the type of handyman work you will be doing. There are basic tools that everyone who start a handyman business will need to have. Some of these include: hammer, screwdrivers, tape measure, crescent wrench (small, medium, and large), channel-lock pliers, utility knife, regular pliers, needle nose pliers, extension cord, saw horses, level, crowbars. This is not an exclusive list, but it gives you a good start.

I would also suggest that you invest is a good cordless power tool combination kit. When doing smaller jobs, these tools will be much easier to use and carry with you, rather than a corded tools. You will want to look for a kit that includes a drill, reciprocating saw, circular say and maybe a flashlight. This kit will cost some money, however having the correct tools is essential for your handyman business.

You will also want to have a small ladder, something around 4 foot. You do not want to have to borrow a ladder from your customer. You may also want to have a camera, calculator and estimates sheets with you at all times. You never know when you will be on the job and a customer will ask for a price to do more work for them. Always be prepared to give an estimate.

Why would you want to have a camera with you? If your customers give you permission, taking before and after pictures of jobs is always a good ideal. You can then use those pictures to show other potential customers. Pictures will also help you possibly remember things when you are doing estimates such as replacing kitchen cabinets.

There are some specialty tools that you may want to pick up. Such tools may include, electrical tester, wire strippers, a 10" portable table saw, sliding compound miter saw, portable belt sander, and possibly a set wrecking bars. These are tools that you may not need when you first start your handyman business, however they maybe items you want to add to your tool arsenal as times go on you and you are ask to take on different types of jobs.

One thing you want to be careful of is not to get caught up in all the fancy gadgets that are available. It is easy to go into a hardware store and see all the cool tools that there is and want to purchase the latest and greatest gadget. Ask yourself these basic questions before you make a purchase: Will this new tool be needed in the next couple of weeks? Will this new tool really assist me in doing a job, better or more efficiently? Will I use this tool more than once? Can I rent this tool if I will only be using it once in the next several months? Will this tool help me expand the services I offer. If the answer is yes to most of these questions, then making the purchase maybe warranted.

Remember, when you start your handyman business you want to make sure you have the tools you need to do the jobs you will be doing, however, you do not want to being buying tools that you do not really need.

Until next time.

Hello all,

We have gone through the basics of starting a handyman business. The final step would be to start thinking about how you will exit your handyman business. What, wait a minute, we just started our business why would someone already be thinking about exiting the business?

The reason is this, you probably do not want to work forever. At some point in time, whether by choice or not, you will want to stop working. If you start planning for that day sooner, rather than later, you will not be forced to make rash decisions.

How does someone exit their own business? You can sell the business to someone else, or you can just close the doors. Do not make the assumption that because you are a service business you have nothing to sell. Yes you will have tools and maybe a work vehicle that you can sell. You also have your customer list, and that list is a gold mine for a new owner.

When you start, keep you end goal in mind. How do you want to exit from your handyman business?

Until next time.