When you start your handyman business there are a lot of things that you should do. However there are also a lot of things that you should not do. Starting a handyman business should be something that you truly want to do, not something that you are just going to play around with. Customers will know the difference. Now there is nothing wrong with starting your business part time, just be sure to take is as seriously as if it was your full time business.
Do not make the mistake of appearing unprofessional. Make sure that you give your customer the piece of mind in knowing that you are not a fly by night operation. Handyman businesses are at the top of the list for rip off businesses so you need to make sure you do everything you can to make sure your potential customers do not have that impression of your business.
Do not tell your customer that you only accept cash. This will send up red flags that maybe you are not a real business. Real businesses take checks. You may not be able to accept credit cards when you first start out, but you need to accept checks.
Do not do work on verbal estimates. This is for your protection as well as the customers. When you do a job based only on a verbal you are leaving yourself open for all kinds of problems. Some problems that may crop up are what was agreed on that you would complete. The total payment due by the customer. Who was going to purchase the material. These are just the tip of the iceberg of what can happen when you do work on verbal agreements. Always put it in writing, even if you hand it to them the day you do the job, make sure they read it and have them sign that they agree to all the terms.
We learned this lesson the hard way. When we were first starting out, my husband went out and did a bid on replacing a ceiling fan. It was a small job and the customer seem very reasonable so they agreed on a price. When we went back to install the fan the customer handed my husband a new ceiling brace and a remote control to install also. When the customer was told there were extra charges for the ceiling brace, but we would do the remote for free, the customer became angry and said they talked about the brace. Well since we did not have anything in writing we had to install the brace also. (Or walk away and leave a very upset customer which we did not want to have). Always put everything in writing.
Do not demand payment in full upfront before you begin any work. This will be a huge flag that you may not be a legitimate company. It is ok to get some money upfront for material, depending on the job. Just do not collect the entire amount upfront.
Do be sure to start collecting references as soon as you begin your handyman business. Try and do a few jobs for some friends when you are first starting out and have them give you a reference, (if you did a good job). People are getting wiser and are asking more and more for references. Start early on getting references for your business.