Cash In On Home Repair Business

Hello everyone.

Today I just want to take a few minutes and write about why I am doing this blog, and why I wrote the book Handyman to Businessman: How to start a Handyman Business.

I started blogging about this subject because for several years my husband and I operated a handyman business. We learned a great deal in the years we had this business and I want to help share what we learned. I also blog because I want people who are either thinking about starting such a business or have already started a handyman business to realize that this is a real business.

What do I mean about this being a real business? It is the type of business that almost anyone can enter into without a lot of upfront cost. This alone has its good and bad points, and its the bad points that cause problems for this industry as a whole.

Because it is so easy to enter, you have a lot of fly by night people starting handyman businesses. These people are the ones who go around and do shoddy work and/ or just plain scam people. This will then get reported on the news and its another black eye to the industry. What you do not hear about are all the good people out there doing good work and providing a much needed service.

Everyone needs to realize that this business needs to be treated as a real business. You need a legal structure, you need a separate bank account, you need to give great, and I mean great, customer service. You need to take this business seriously. If you do, then you can make money doing this. If you do not, then you will just end up giving everyone else in the industry another black eye.

That is why I wrote the book. (see link on the right) It will give you step by step instructions on how to get started and what it takes to have a great handyman business. Get the book, if you do not get mine then get someone else's, but be sure that is gives you straight talk about the industry, not just how to fix this and that. You need to know that this will take work, a lot of work, and you need to be prepare to spend the time to really build a great business.

Hope this helps. Until next time.

Hello again,

This will be a short post. In case you did not hear Congress passed a bill extending tax credits for home buyers. How does this help people who are starting a handyman business? People selling will want to fix little things to make the home more appealing. Buyers may want to make changes after they buy. Get out there and let your community know you can help.

Here is a link to an article that explains the tax credit a little more. http://www.builderonline.com/legislation/breaking-news-congress-extends-expands-housing-tax-credit.aspx?cid=BLDR091105002

I hope this helps. Until next time.

Hello again,

Today I would like to chat about getting more customers by promoting going "green". When you start your handyman business keeping busy in the winter months can be a challenge. I have given some ideas in the past about ways to get customers in the winter. Today I want to expand into the green area.

I am sure most of you have heard about the stimulus package that Congress passed earlier this year. Inside that stimulus was money for homeowners to make upgrades to their home (and businesses) to make them more energy efficient.

So how can a small business owner get a piece of this money. One program is for homeowners who want to upgrade doors, windows, appliances and insulation. The homeowner will receive a rebate if they replace their old with new more energy efficient items. This is where you come in. If you offer or can get into doing some of this work then you have a way to keep busy all year long.

Start by educating your self on what is available in your state and the rules that apply. Then go out an educate your customers. Here is a link to some information that can get you started

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=tax_credits.tx_index

This is only a start, you will need to be sure you understand the ins and outs of the program to be sure your customers receive their rebates.

I hope this helps. Until next time.

Hello,

Yesterday I wrote about why using verbal contracts when you start your handyman business is not a very good idea. Today lets talk about why using a written contract is a good idea and some things that I think should be included. Remember, I am not an attorney and I am not giving out legal advise. I am just giving examples of what we did, you should talk with your own legal adviser about your specific needs.

When a customer would contact us and ask us for a price to install something, I would sometimes give them a ball park figure over the phone. I would preference it with the fact that this figure was on a guess and we could not give a firm price until we check out the job. Even small jobs like replacing a light fixture or ceiling fan can turn into problems and you do not want to commit until you actually see what you will be facing.

So after we would go out and look at the job, then we would either give them a written estimate on the spot, if it was something fairly simple or we would have to mail them the estimate if it was more complicated. Either way, we also put our price and terms in writing. If the customer wanted the job done while we were there, we would still make out a written estimate and have them sign it before we would begin work.

Our estimates would include things like, price for labor, if any material was needed beyond the normal stuff, and a disclaimer that if we run into any hidden problems that there maybe additional charges.

Why did we have a disclaimer for hidden problems? Even for simple jobs like replacing a light fixture, until you actually remove the fixture you can not be 100% sure that there is not a hidden problem and the job will take longer than you first thought.

Our estimates were not complicated and I created them on my computer using Quick Books. The guys also had some generic forms that they could use in the field. These forms were purchased from an office supply store and were in duplicates. One went to the customer and one was our copy. The customer had to sign the form before we started work. If I mailed them an estimate I would state that by scheduling the job the customer agrees to the terms of the estimate.

My estimates also included a sentence about payment. I did very little billing. Most jobs were paid the same day we did the job. Exceptions to this would be if we were doing a large job, like finishing a basement, then payment would be in stages.

Depending on the type of jobs you do a simple estimate made on your computer or by hand at the job site may work just fine for you. If you are doing more complicated work, like additions to homes, then you will probably need a more formal, in-depth contract.

I hope this helps. Until next time.

Hello again,

Today I would like to chat about contracts. Not an exciting subject, however, when you start a handyman business you will need to decide how you will handle giving people estimates. Will you use verbal agreements or more formal contracts?

I am not a lawyer and I am not giving you advise, however it has been our experience that going by a verbal agreement, no matter who the customer is, is not a good idea. Even if the job is small, doing work by verbal agreement can lead to big head aches. It only took one bad experience going on verbal agreement with a friend to realize not matter what, always put the main points of your job in writing. Even if it was a small job I always made sure that I would send a written agreement to the customer.

The problem with verbal agreements is that people have short memories. And if there is a problem with the job, that will really lead to head aches. Also if the job really got out of hand and one party wanted to take the other party to court, without something in writing it would be very hard to prove anything.

While you may not need a long, formal contract, you do need something. How much detail should you include? We will discuss this issue in the next post.

Until next time.