Laid Off? Need Additional Income?
Start A Handyman Business
If you consider yourself to be a handyman, then you should consider putting your skills to work, to earn additional income during these tough economic times, by starting a handyman business.
Although we use the terms handyman and handymen throughout this article, by no means are we excluding handy women. The terms handyman and handymen are not to be considered generic and they apply equally as well to women who are handy at home improvements and repairs.
There are two alternatives that the home handyman can consider and they are not mutually exclusive. In other words you can do one of the alternatives or both!
Handyman Service:
Even during tough economic times there are homeowners and small businesses who are looking to renovate. In many cases these individuals want to take advantage of the a bad economy to obtain excellent prices on material and labor costs.
I am not suggesting that you become a major home or business renovation service. But there are many people who do not know which end of a screwdriver to use. While this may sound ridiculous to a reasonably competent handyman, it is reality. There are many individuals who cannot change a light switch, install a ceiling fan or change a door knob. These people, pay exorbitant prices just to have these simple installation tasks performed.
Depending on your abilities and the projects that you enjoy, Table 1 presents some of the simple services that you can provide.
Table 1 - Simple Home Handyman Services |
- Change light switches and receptacles
- Change light fixtures
- Install ceiling fans
- Interior and/or exterior painting
- Wallpaper hanging and removal
- Repair and/or install new faucets in kitchens and bathrooms
- Replace kitchen and bathroom fixtures.
- Install new door hardware
- Install new doors - sliding, mirror, exterior
- Install paving bricks
- Patio construction
- Replace circuit breakers and fuses
- Installing weather strip
- Adding caps to chimneys and vent pipes
- Install new kitchen cabinets
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- Install bathroom vanities and cabinetry
- Backsplashes
- Install flooring - hardwood, laminate, ceramic tile, vinyl tile, vinyl sheets
- Refinish hardwood floors
- Repair holes in drywall
- Deck construction
- Deck cleaning
- Basement finishing
- Outdoor lighting
- Underground sprinklers
- Carpet removal
- Trimming doors for new carpeting
- Gutter repair and cleaning
- Installing a new range hood
- Install dishwashers and other major appliances.
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Once you have decided what services you want to perform you will want to advertise. There are numerous free and inexpensive advertising mediums as shown in Table 2.
Table 2 - Advertising Handyman Services |
Free Advertising |
- Grocery store bulletin boards. Your ad should have tear-off telephone numbers on the side or bottom. Use your computer and add color. There is an array of free handyman clip art available at msn.com.
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Figure 2 - Mold for concrete bench support |
- Visit local hardware stores (not big box) and see if you can leave some of your handyman business cards at the cash register. (Purchase some inexpensive plastic business card holders as shown in Figure 1).
If you are going to offer painting services, you can also
ask your local paint and wallpaper retailers if they will allow you to
place business cards at their cash register.
- Contact local seniors groups and churches. Seniors are a group that need the handyman services and are generally price conscious.
- Small business is an area that is often overlooked by handymen. If you are willing to work off hours, small businesses are often looking for someone to change light bulbs, ballasts in fixtures, painting and floor repair.
- Tell everyone you know about your new business and ask them to pass the word to everyone they know. Hand them a batch of business cards to pass out.
- Consider offering your services as a prize in a local charity auction. You could offer 4 hours of handyman services to the lucky bidder. It is great advertising, with no out of pocket expense to you!
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