Cash In On Home Repair Business

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.

Hello all,

OK so we have our business up and running and you are getting customers. Now what? When you start a handyman business you need to be thinking a couple of steps ahead. What I mean by this is you need to decide where you want to take your business. You need a plan.

In a perfect world everyone who starts a business will write a business plan before they start their business. However, lets face it, most people who want to start a handyman business want to get it up and running quickly. Since this is a relatively easy business to start, many people will not plan for the future. Do not make that mistake.

Once you have started to get customers and bring in some money, you need to really do some thinking about what direction do you want to take your business. You need to have an advertising budget, you need to have a cash flow plan. In its simplest form this is making sure you have enough cash on hand to get through the slow times. Other items you need to consider, will you expand the work you do? Will you hire employees?

All of this should be written down, even if all you do is hand write it, so that you have some idea of what you want to do. You do not want to get into a bind then have to make important decisions like these.

There are a lot of books written about business plans and you can find many at your local library. I suggest that you pick up a couple and go through them. They will give you some good ideas on what you need to included in your plan.

However, do not let this important step go to long without getting it completed. Your business survival depends on how well you plan for the future.

Until next time.

Hello everyone,

I am going to deviate from what I have been blogging about for this post. Today is the 8 Year anniversary of our country being attacked. First everyone should stop and take a moment to remember all of those that died that day. We should also take a moment to give thanks to all of those in our military that have served their country, and those that have died for their country.

I remember that day like it was yesterday, I was driving home from taking my oldest to preschool, I was pregnant with our youngest child when I first heard the news. I went home and turned on the news and could not believe what I was seeing and hearing. I am sure most people can tell exactly where they were when they heard the tragic news.

Regardless of your politically beliefs then and now, our military men and women deserve our gratitude and respect each and everyday.

While we can not stop others from hating us simply because we are Americans, we can, together, work toward making the world a better place. There is no better place to start than with yourself.

Until next time.

Hello again,

Well we have covered a lot of ground in our first 4 steps. Hopefully you have completed them all and are ready for the next step, getting customers. When you start a handyman business you will need customers. (Of course.) How do you go about finding customers?

There are a lot of free ways to generate customers. You can start with your family, friends and co-workers. Ask your neighbors. Make sure you have business cards and pass them out. Put up flyer's around town. Join your local area Chamber of Commerce. Get in touch with real estate agents and see if they ever need someone to help fix up homes that are being listed or just sold.

The best way to obtain customers is through referrals or word of mouth. People telling others about your business is the best way to obtain customers. If you give great service, getting people to refer business to you should not be to difficult.

If you put your thinking cap on, I am sure you can come up with a lot of different ways to generate leads for your handyman business.

Until next time.

Hello again,

Now that school has started again, I should have more time to spend posting to this blog.

If you have been following the steps I have been laying out, you should have decided that starting a handyman business is for you. Picked out a name for your handyman business, set up your entity and decided what services and prices you will charge.

Now you are set to start your handyman business. Not quite. You will need to get your insurance and licenses in place before you begin doing any handyman work.

What type of insurance might you need. Well you will need to make sure you have the correct coverage for the vehicle you will be using for business. You will also need to check into your states requirements about workers compensation. If you are going to be the only employee you may not need workers compensation, however if you have even one part time employee you need to make sure you are following your states requirements. You also may need to be bonded in some municipalities if you do certain types of jobs. Be sure to check all of this out, before you begin working.

Licenses that you may need include possible a business license, plumbers license and or electrical license depending on what is required of your state and local municipalities.

For example, because we installed water heaters we had to have one person licensed as a plumber with our county. Permit and inspections were required for this type of work and in order to get a permit you had to be licensed.

Every state and every municipality will be different so be sure to check this all out and have what you need before you start your handyman business.

Until next time.

Hello again,

I am assuming that you have picked out a name for your business and decided on how you will set up your handyman business. What's next? When you start your handyman business you will need to decide what services you will offer and set your prices.

What is a good way to figure this out? What services your handyman business will offer will depend on what you can fix. Most handyman are a jack of all trades, they do a little bit of everything. However if you are not familiar with replacing lights, then you can either learn how to do it, or just not offer that service.

Sit down and make a list of what services you initially plan to offer. I say initially because this list will probably change over time. Start with what you know how to do, then go ask people what they need. Ask you family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, landlords, ask to see what need their is, but is not being filled by your competitors.

After you have done this, do some research of your competitors. Call them. Ask questions like, how much do you charge for this? What services do you offer? Do you do free estimates? Do you charge a service fee? How do they respond? What do they do well when speaking to you? What can you improve on?

You can learn a lot from researching your competitors. Take the time do to the necessary work. Have a plan. Just because you maybe starting a small business, starting a handyman business is still a business. Make sure you do your homework.

Until next time.

Hello again,

So if you are still reading this, then I am assuming you have decided that starting a handyman business, or any business, is something you really want to do. That you are willing to do the things others are not willing to do and that you have decided what type of help you may need with running your handyman business.

If that is the case, lets move on to step 2, some of the nuts and bolts of beginning a business. You will need a name for your business. Something that gives people an idea of what it is that you do. It can be something catchy, but keep it short and simple if possible. it would be a good idea to include either the words handyman or home repair business or something similar. Just remember to keep it simple.

Next you need to decide how you will set up your business. What type of legal entity you will choose. This topic alone will take several post, or in reality an entire book to cover. I have posted on this topic before. To help you get started I suggest you go to your local library and get a book on the subject. Most libraries will have several books on this topic. You want to spend some time educating yourself on this topic. It would probably be a good idea to consult with an attorney and accountant before you decide anything. How you set yourself up is very important and you do not want to do it wrong.

I am neither an accountant or lawyer, but these are your basic choices when deciding on an entity. Sole proprietorship, corporation, sub chapter S corporation, LLC, partnership. Each has their pros and cons, so again you will probably want to consult with the professionals for help in deciding which one to choose.

Since this is a pretty heavy topic and if done correctly will take some work on your part (remember when you start a handyman business you must be willing to do what others are not) I will end this post on just this topic.

If you have any questions just post a comment or send me an email and I will get back to you. dcmense@centurytel.net

Until next time

Hello again,

So today lets start at the beginning. You want to start a handyman business, but what is the first step? Step one, start with yourself. I have blogged about this before, however staring with yourself really is the first step.

What do I mean by this? Whether you are starting a handyman business or any business, you are the ultimate factor that will determine if your handyman business succeeds or not. So step one, do you have what it takes to be a business owner? Are you willing to do things that others are not. Will you stick to your business when things get tough? Can you handle the ups and downs that a business will have? Ups and downs that will include how much you make each month.

If all you really want to do is fix things, then maybe you should consider getting someone to manage the business portion for you. A spouse or significant other is a good place to look. Ideally this person would be someone who would not want a huge salary if you are just starting out. This is really important, managing your business is just as important as the fixing part of your business.

Maybe you are just the opposite, you would rather do the managing and marketing of the business, and hire someone to do the fixing part of the business.

Once you decide what part of the business you will handle, then its time to move on to step 2, which I will talk about next.

Until then