Do you know how to maintain and repair just about everything on the inside and outside of your house? If so, you might want to think about launching a handyman business so that you can help others take care of their homes, too.
There are more than 1 million handymen working all across the country right now. Some are employed by property management companies and handle home repairs and maintenance for them, while others offer handyman services on their own outside of their regular jobs here and there.
But if you want to make the most of your specialized skills, you should strongly consider opening up your very own handyman business. You can generate a steady income by doing this and get the satisfaction of helping other people in the process.
Check out the steps you’ll need to take to get your new business off the ground below.
Come Up With a Name for Your Business
What are you going to call your business? That’s one of the first questions you should ask yourself when you decide to open one up.
Technically, you could wait until later on in the process to come up with a name if you’re having trouble landing on something you love. But the sooner you can come up with a name, the better. It’ll make your business feel real to you.
Sit down and brainstorm a bunch of potential business names with your closest family members and friends. See which ones you think might work well for your business and go with the one that you like the most in the end.
Your business name should spell out exactly what your company is going to provide while also sticking in people’s minds from the moment they first hear it. You don’t want to get too cutesy with your business name and come up with something that goes over people’s heads.
Obtain Your Business License and Sign Up for Business Insurance
Once you’re able to come up with a name for your handyman business, you should make it official. You can get your hands on a business license for it and register it within your city or town.
Every city and town handles business licenses a little bit differently. But more often than not, the only thing you’ll need to do to register your business and get your business license is fill out some basic paperwork.
A business license will show those who live in your community that they can trust your business. They won’t have to worry about working with a fly-by-night company when they see your business license.
Outside of obtaining a business license, you should also sign up for business insurance for your company at this time. A good insurance policy will protect both your business and the homes that you work on when you’re providing handyman services.
You’re going to have a tough time convincing people to hire you to work on their homes without business insurance. It’s a good idea to get insurance for your business as soon as it’s registered.
Figure Out Which Areas Your Business Will Service
How far are you going to be willing to travel to provide handyman services to homeowners? This is yet another question that you’ll want to ask yourself when you’re laying the groundwork for your business.
Some handymen work exclusively in their communities and won’t drive even 15 or 20 minutes away to make repairs in homes. Others are more than happy to drive an hour or two to deliver handyman services if it means making a little extra money.
You should clearly define your service area so that you know who to market your handyman business to. Pull out a map and write down some of the specific cities and towns that you’re going to cater to when you start offering services.
Generate a List of Handyman Services Your Company Will Provide
Handymen are expected to be able to do a little bit of everything around a home. From fixing plumbing problems to cleaning out gutters, there’s a good chance that you’re going to field calls from people who want you to take on a number of tasks.
That being said, it’s still smart to generate a list of handyman services that you’re planning to provide so that people can see everything you’re able to do when they visit your website (more on that in a minute!).
Some of the most common handyman services include:
- Tile installation
- Interior and exterior painting
- Electrical wiring repair
- Flooring installation
- Pressure washing
You should offer each and every one of these services. You should also think about offering more specialized services like garage door broken spring repair. The more services you offer, the more business you’re going to get.
Invest in a Truck for Your Business
If you already own a pickup truck that you’re planning on using as part of your handyman business, you won’t have to worry about buying another one. But if you aren’t a pickup truck owner, now is the time to invest in one.
You do not need to run out and buy a brand-new truck on behalf of your business. New pickup trucks can cost $50,000 in many cases and even more than that if you get one with all the bells and whistles.
Instead, invest in a used pickup truck that will get you to the places you need to be without a problem. It should also have more than enough room to store everything you’ll need to provide handyman services.
Your used pickup truck doesn’t have to look nice when you first buy it. You should think about putting a vehicle wrap on it anyway that allows you to market your business while you’re driving around to different jobs.
Start Buying the Tools You’ll Need to Run Your Business
To be a successful handyman, you need to have tools. Lots and lots of tools!
When everything is all said and done, you’ll probably end up spending tens of thousands of dollars on these tools. But there is no getting around buying them since you’ll need to have them in your truck to make repairs and do maintenance in homes.
The good thing is that you don’t have to buy every tool you’ll ever need at once. You should start off with the basics and build on your tool collection from there.
You may want to invest in storage space to store all your tools when you’re not using them, too. The last thing you want is for your tools to get stolen out of your truck and stop you from running your business for a few days or even weeks while you work on recouping your losses.
Think About How Much Your Business Will Charge for Handyman Services
The goal for your handyman business will obviously be to bring in as much money as you possibly can. It’s why it’s extremely important for you to devote a lot of time to thinking about how much your business will charge customers.
On average, handyman services cost anywhere from $100 to $300 per hour. But the prices for these services tend to vary depending on:
- The specific services that are being offered
- The location where the services are being rendered
- The experience level of the handyman performing the services
Crunch the numbers to see how much you’ll need to charge your customers to begin turning a profit. Take a look at how much some of your competitors are charging to gauge how much you can get away with charging without putting your business out of people’s price range.
Set Up a Website for Your Business
After you’ve ironed out all the small details that make up your business, you’ll be so close to opening your business and getting things going. But before you get started, you’re going to need to create a website for your handyman business to make it legit.
Believe it or not, almost 50% of small businesses are still operating without a website in 2019. That’s pretty incredible when you consider how important digital marketing is to the success of a company.
Bring a web designer on board to help you create your website from scratch. Fill it with things like:
- Information about your history as a handyman
- A list of some of the handyman services you can provide
- Details about your pricing model
- A blog filled with useful info about handyman services
- Contact info for your company
Consider working with an SEO company as well to ensure that you get lots of eyes on your website once it goes live. Your website is going to play an important role in your company’s success.
Market Your Business to Those in Your Community
Your website is going to serve as your best marketing tool when you’re trying to market your handyman business to the masses. But it shouldn’t be the only tool you use to market your business.
There are so many other effective ways to market a new business and draw attention to it. Outside of setting up a website, you should also:
- Create social media accounts for your business and connect with customers on Facebook, Instagram, etc.
- Utilize email marketing to stay in touch with customers who call on you for your services
- Sponsor local events to build up brand recognition for your business
Marketing your handyman company is going to be a never-ending adventure. No matter how big your company might get, you’re always going to have to continue to find ways to market it to people.
Hire an Accountant to Lend a Hand With Your Business Taxes
As long as your marketing plan for your business is on point and you’re able to deliver great handyman services to those who call on you when your business launches, it shouldn’t be too long before you’re making money.
And you know what that means, right? It also won’t be too long before Uncle Sam is banging on your front door and asking for his cut of your profits in the form of taxes.
If you’ve never owned a small business before, you might not be familiar with how to pay taxes based on business income. Rather than trying to learn how to do it on the fly, call on an accountant to help you out.
An accountant can tell you everything you need to know about paying the IRS. They can also speak with you about which expenses you can deduct from your taxes so that you can keep more of the money you’re making.
Allow Your Business to Grow Organically Over Time
Your business is not going to be an overnight success. It’s going to take months and, in many cases, even years to grow into what you want it to become.
But slowly, it will start to transform into the kind of business that you knew it could be. Before long, you’ll be hiring other employees to help you out, investing in more trucks, and adding to your tools so that you’re able to offer more handyman services.
It’ll also become even more profitable than you could have ever expected if you play your cards right and use the tips found here. You’ll wonder why you didn’t decide to start a handyman business much sooner.
Get Your Handyman Business Up and Running
There is room for at least one handyman business in every community, if not more. Homeowners could always use a hand maintaining and repairing the various things that they have scattered throughout their homes.
If you’re a handy person who knows all about taking on home repairs, why not use your skills to start your own business? There is a potential to make lots of money doing it while also doing something that you enjoy every day.
Just make sure you take the right steps when you’re in the process of starting your business. Read our blog to find more articles on getting a business up and running in no time.
