TRIANGLE - LIKE FATHER LIKE SON IN THE BUILDING TRADES? UNFORTUNATELY - NO!
Triangle, North Carolina. Handsome Income From Handyman Business. When you hear a boom box blasting away with the latest and greatest in Mexican music can a home under construction be far away? Nope. But for the availability of good Mexican and Central American craftsmen and laborers in all the building trades in the Triangle I am not certain very much would get built. For many generations the son, or sons, of the father went into the same business he was in or, if he owned the business, took it over when he retired or died. Unfortunately, for the Most part that is no longer the case. I say unfortunately because there are so many building trades that pay a great deal of money for the skills the fathers used to pass along to their sons. Now, junior wants to go to college to learn to do something in the computer world which, quite often, pays less than he would make as a plumber, electrician, brick or stone mason, etc.
Dad or junior doesn’t have to a licensed builder or have a home remodeling business or be a licensed heating and air conditioning contractor or electrician or plumber or any of the other major contracting areas of the housing business to do well. A business in the area of home maintenance that combines aspects of many areas of the building and home servicing trades is that of a Handyman. Most people seem to think of a Handyman as a “jack of all trades, master of none.” Before you curl your lip at being a Handyman I suggest that if you have the skills to be one, especially a good one, you might want to give serious consideration to the income potential available by becoming one. The demand for Handyman and Handywomen services is booming because less and less people have the skills to handle the around the house demands of day to day living. Shop courses that used to be a standard part of many junior high and high schools have, for the most part, long since disappeared. Not only do most people not have the know how to do (properly) the carpentry, plumbing, electrical, painting and you name it things that need to be done around the home they, most often, don’t have the time to do them. When you pour more fuel on that fire by adding the number of unreliable products they buy and the poor workmanship of new and existing products - from toys to homes - you have a ready made industry just waiting to be taken advantage of by those who can. The general range of Handyman services includes everything from hanging shelves to installing light fixtures, replacing out of reach light bulbs, repairing bathroom tile, interior painting, repairing or replacing faucets, etc. Let me throw this one figure at you; the home improvement business (of which this is a part) is $200 billion a year business and growing.
Handyman services (in this day and age should it be Handyperson?) get a lot of business from property owners who either can’t find a general contractor willing to do the work or who have to get in line to avail themselves of the services of any home maintenance company or person known to be reliable. Too often a good Handyman gets a job that has been improperly done by other repair services or Handymen. Over-all, Handymen get the work that is too small to be profitable for a general contractor to accept. Speaking of that, the cost of having a general contracting business is such that many general contractors go from being a general contractor to offering Handyman services and doing far better in the process. A little homework will easily prove to you that a good Handyman can easily generate all the business he can handle and then some. The old saying that “what goes around comes around” applies to the Handyman business as well. Because so much business IS available the Handyman often needs to hire part or full-time help. At that time, he or she, has the same problems the general contractor does and that they may just have gotten out from under; namely - finding qualitied, dependable employees and handling the paperwork attendant to it.
The broader the experience and capabilities of a Handyman are the more flexible and “choosey” he can be as to the type of business he accepts. Quite often he will develop a list of clients, such as apartment or commercial building owners, that want him on a regular or perhaps even an exclusive basis. Many Handymen who would like to have a lot of business don’t have it because they don’t treat their services as a business or in a business like manner. First of all they don’t properly get the word out that they exist. They don’t have a business or company name, they don’t have a website, or business cards or do those things necessary to let the world know who and where they are and what they can do. In short, they ignore perhaps the first tenant of business which is - “it pays to advertise.” Another vary important thing they don’t do is purchase Worker’s Compensation and Liability Insurance. Any company or property owner with an ounce of sense will ask for proof of such coverage (a certificat of insurance). If they don’t they are opening the door to being liable for a Handyman’s medical expenses if he is hurt while working on their property. So, a word to the wise, if you decide to start a Handyman business get the necessary insurance coverages. As to advertising I have seen articles by four or five people with very successfull Handyman businesses that said they advertised in a local PennySaver newspaper and in a short period of time had an overflow of available business. Another that comes to mind was by a lady who worked up a very nice flyer of services she offered and put it in the mailboxes of 800 homes in her subdivision and surrounding subdivisions. She also had the good sense to look up the telephone numbers of those who had listed numbers and called the lady of the home during the afternoon or early evening to introduce herself. In three weeks she had all the business she could handle. As you can see, it doesn’t take a lot of advertising money to get underway just a little thought about where to effectively spend the money you do spend. As is the case in most instances, how good the business is and how good the business STAYS will depend on the capabilities of the person offering the services.
In North Carolina, to do a Handyman business you will need a business license that will cost you $10 to $100 annually. What a Handyman charges depends, of course, on the size of the area, the income levels of the area and the over-all demand for Handyman services. Charges per hour can range from $35 to $125. Obviously, you don’t charge as much to change light bulbs as you do to replace a faucet. These days there is usually a minimum charge that will range anywhere from $75 to $350 and a trip charge of $30 to $100. These charges don’t include replacement parts. Profit margins in the business range from 30 to 50%. Want to know what to charge? Make a small list of things (cleaning out gutters, replacing a faucet, changing furnace filters, replacing a light fixture and more extensive items) and call the different services in your phone book. Ask what they charge to do several of the items. Don’t just call the franchise names. You can quickly get a good idea of what your area charges and gets for the services you know how to provide.
If you think you would like to have a Handyman business just remember that experts in the field all say it is vitally important to be honest. If you are not licensed say so. Licensed or not, doing quality work and backing the work you do will have people knocking on your door in a hurry - or telling all their neighbors if you don’t! Word of mouth advertising is the most powerful advertising there is and can build you up or tear you down faster than you might imagine. What can you make as a Handyman? Estimates range from $20,000 a year for part time work to $100,000 or more if you do it full time.
Nuts and Bolts of the Business: Most are one person businesses and are home based. While very little inventory is needed you should have good tools - electric power tools, hammers, saws, screwdrivers, drills, etc. But what if you would rather have a franchise and associate with a well know name that has total experience in these matters? Are they available? There are many of them in about every niche of the business you can think of. Just in the Handyman frame of reference alone there are names such as: House Doctors, Handman Services, Handyman Connection, Maintenance Made Simple, Mr. Handyman, HomeTask, Handyman Brigade, ANDY OnCall, In Your Home, Spectrum Home Services, Handyman Matters and Home Task. Trying any or all of these with a .com after them will take you to their websites. Whether you need the services of a good Handyman for some jobs you need done or to get information about becoming a franchisee, checking out the websites of these companies can give you a good idea of who to call.
John Fish (919) 696-3474 Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com Website: www.JohnFish.com
