With the recession still ever-present and while employment figures are starting to rise again, there are still hundreds of thousands of residents across the UK looking to start their own company as a route to bring in an income into the household.
A lot of people envision beginning to offer Handyman Services as a low cost and easy startup which can bring in work immediately. If you have a van and a toolbox of basic tools then it is possible to generate some work with some local advertising.
While it is possible to 'bootstrap' your way into starting as a local handyman it will be a lot easier if you have some funds which can be used while you get going, we'll inspect how these can be put to best use later.
What services does a handyman provide?
The majority of handyman companiess offer general household repairs both indoors and outside, they can be classed as a 'jack of all trades but master of none'. Knowing your abilities as a handyman is imperative so not to end up with time-consuming and costly errors to correct.
Whilst you may be willing to repair cupboard doors and attach dado rails you may think it better to keep away from other skilled jobs such as wallpapering and bathroom plumbing. Work involving electricity and gas should be steered clear from as you are expected to be qualified to operate in this environment.
Setting out a list of jobs you have undertaken previously and jobs you are willing to do will help you with advertising your handyman business.
How to advertise your Handyman Business
A lot of handymen who have been trading for many years will have a list of clients they do regular work for. As a newcomer to the industry this is something you can look forward to and wish for but to start with you will have to market your business to attract new customers.
Many handymen will try and focus on their home city. Local promotion mainly occurs in these ways:
Local Newspaper
An advert in the back of the local newspaper can attract phonecalls from people searching for a handyman that particular week.
Leaflet Delivery
Designing a leaflet and delivering it can be very cheap and bring in lots of jobs. You can target an exact area such as the more desirable area of town where residents have extra disposable income.
Car Sign writing
Having your vehicle sign written can be extremely inexpensive for a basic sign and attract enquiries on a continual basis, not just a single day a week similar to some of the methods above.
One more way that is becoming more popular to Handyman Companies is websites designed to attract clients looking for your services in your specific town. The excellent thing about having a website is it is created for people actively wanting your services (permission marketing) whereas the most other promotion methods are interruptive. Websites are cheap/free to get started and have very minimal recurring charges.
When you have finalised what work you will take on, then marketed those areas you should soon start receiving some business or at least some enquiries from prospects requesting you to give estimates.
Once you start getting enquiries you need to research getting business insurance, this should protect you incase you destroy a customer's home, or even worse injure someone.
As you have finished a few projects you need to look at reinvesting the profits into more advertising or more tools so you can improve the amount of jobs you are willing to complete. If you receive repeat enquiries for a specific area of expertise, maybe painting and decorating, it may be worth your while learning that craft in an evening class so you can then advertise it to your customers.
Good luck in starting your new Handyman Services Business.
