I was wondering if any of you fellas were in the “handyman” trade. You know, do all kinds of jobs for homeowners and small businesses that larger remodeling or contracting buisnesses don’t want to bother with.
I’m currently a programmer for a publishing company back in Baltimore. But 5 years ago, I was in between jobs and doing a lot of work around our home. I started getting requests from neighbors to do odds and ends … and pretty soon I had absolutely more work than I could handle. I did no advertising, just a good job, and the phone just rang all the time. I started out housepainting, but was able to pretty quickly move into repairs, built-in’s, trim carpentry, etc.
Now I look back on those days fondly, and am thinking of leaving my job and restarting the business. I’m pretty darn sure I could build a customer list again quickly.
I wonder if any of you might be willing to share any experiences. It just seems to me to be a perfect “niche” type business for a guy who wants to work solo…
Thanks, Dave
Replies
Dave,
I am not a handyman, but rather a handywoman. Working primarily in an area of the country where there are alot of vacation homes. Having over 20 years construction experience in the "city" I relocated to the outback of the USA, New Mexico. I began my business by contacting Real Estate companies who manage vacation rentals. their response was overwhelming. It seems that bigger companies are not interested in doing all these little jobs. What a market to tap into. From these contacts other leads have developed. Give folks good quality work, dependable and reliable, and I think you will fine the handyman business very enjoyable. To be able to work at something one enjoys is a blessing from the good Lord.
Just curious, do you use vans or pick-up trucks for your handyman business? I've got a Toyota short bed pickup but I'm leaning towards a van , maybe a chevy astro? Anyone have any feedback about using any of the minivans out there?
Thanks,
Dave
I have used a mini van, a pickup and a full sized van. I have done building maintenance work (I am a cabinetmaker) I find the full sized van works the best but the fuel economy ####. But none of the above is perfect.
I charge $65.00 for a service call that will give them 2 hours of my time starting from my shop or home. On bids I figure $35.00 an hour plus 20% plus materials. Personally I try to stay away from maintenance work. Hard to make good money and clients can be a pain. They want something for nothing.
Dave,
I started out in a Chrysler mini-van (the long version), because that's what I already owned. The Astro's rear doors are much better than the lift gate on the Chrysler, but both are too small in my book. Not enough space and not enough muscle to haul all of those tools and supplies. I always felt like the mini-van was over its head.
I switched to a full time van and you'll never get me to go back. I need one that's longer.
Rich Beckman
Regarding the van question. Full size extended is the only way to go. I have a 3/4 ton one now next time it will be a 1 ton. As to the hourly rates qouted I charge 55.00hr with a two hour min all materials are marked up on a graduated basis any where from 100% to 20% depending on cost. I will bid a job or do it at T&M depending on the job and client. I am booked out 3-4 weeks at a time.
Frank
Rich -
Looked to me like ya just needed to clean out the van you've got..........(-:
x
I live in Forest Hill which is just north of Baltimore. I started about 3 months ago as a handyman; I've had my MHIC # for about 5 years (25 years prior I had an architectural millwork shop). There's lots of stuff on the internet and on this site about handyman type work. I've advertised in the local papers under handyman and I continually get sucked into quoting larger jobs. I get some of the quoted jobs and make money, but I was hoping to be called out to do work at an hourly/daily rate. I figured I'd start out at the $25.00 - $35.00 rate to get my feet wet..........but it doesn't seem like the rate is an issue, they want a quote. Geeezzz.......Plumbers do it, Electricians do it, Appliance repairmen do it.............I can't quite seem to get it off the ground. Well, it's not "all or nothing".......soooo I'll keep pushing in that direction and maybe one day I'll have a long list of repeat customers who trust me enought to come to their house and work at an agreed upon hourly rate.....time will tell! jocobe
I work on L.I. ,N.Y. customers want quotes for jobs especially small handyman type jobs. The only jobs that you can get time and material payment on are the big trim jobs that are so intricate in nature that no one can even figure out the exact materials. Your best bet is to figure out the materials add ten to thirty percent(the customer does not count material pickup as working time so you have to make up the time lost by charging the markup as a supplier fee);figure the amount of time to do said job multiply by hourly rate;add these two figures together and add ten percent for profit.If you don't add the profit and the markup on materials you might as well go work for somebody. The hassle and headache of doing small handyman jobs is not worth an hourly rate in my book.
I have a BIL who does handyman work, he's booked weeks in advance and has to turn away jobs. Do a reasonable job for a reasonable price, and before you know it, you'll have to turn work away, too.
-- J.S.
I am not a handy man , but I have done many of their jobs. Until I listened on here from ones like Sonny, I never made any money at it really. I charged by the hour. Big mistake!!!!!! Relocking someones doors for example is a "must get done job". There is no one out there competing with that work normally. Bid at least 3 times the hourly rate plus double the lock price. Give it to them in a bid to furnish material and labor not separated. Take it or leave it . Thats how handy men make more than carpenters. Every body wants to be a carpenter, no one wants to do the little sh.. jobs. Thats where your money is at my friend. A big demand with no one suppying. Normally.
Tim Mooney
I have tried to do the "Handyman" thing for quite awhile. I get very few calls to come and do a list of small items. When I ran an ad to do smaller jobs I got a lot of tire kickers. Usually I get asked to do larger jobs.
There's no question that the key is to charge more than you think you should. Bidding the job is sometimes the better way to go. A lot of customers will accept a bid for $150 on a job that would take you a couple of hours, but they wouldn't be happy if you said "$75.00 an hour"
Although I have not managed to make much money yet, I certainly do enjoy doing the work. It's great fun when I spend a few hours in one home going through a long list of odds and ends.
Rich Beckman
The other side of the story;
I do all handyman type work and try very hard to avoid giving bids. I probably don't charge enough to make a lot of money, but I seem to screwmyself every time that I quote price. I tell them 35 an hour, and work to give them good value. If you are good at bids you can probably do much better, but I sure have not learned yet that almost everything takes longer than I think that it should. If you enjoy variety, and meeting lots of new people, "Handyman" can be a pretty cool job!! All the above is opinion only, and everybody has one.
DAN
People here are hesitent to agree to an hourly price for the stock of money is usually low. They need to know how much it will cost them. Put your self in the same position. If you had five hundred dollars to your name in the bank account , would you agree to hiring a hany man you didnt know for 35 an hour and not know how long he would be there drawing ????????????
On the other hand if you were to tell them that it would be 200 dollars , they would be thinking ;I can handle that .
Tim Mooney
I have a commercial contracting company and get asked to do handyman type work on commercial properties. Usually, most of these jobs are small and not really worth our time but we are not a company that refuses work or is not going to look for the possibility of a bigger job in the future. What I do is charge an hourly rate plus cost of materials, add a percentage for profit and overhead, but always give my clients an "amount not to exceed" quote. This way the Clint knows he/she wont spend any more than the quoted amount and is still getting an hourly rate and I feel comfortable in knowing I will likely not lose money on doing the job.