8 “Handy” tips to help you build your Handyman Business

One of the most asked questions about entrepreneurship is “how do you become successful”? Of course, the steps towards success varies depending on the individual from, strategies, skills, and even networks. Everyone has their own anecdotes, formulas, and stories however, the one thing we can all agree upon is consistency and hard work. I’ve created a list of tips that will help you get started with building your Handyman business, as well as maintain it.

Down time

Hopefully you created a business plan that covered down time for the weeks and or days where you may not have a job. Budget your finances accordingly to prepare for the slow periods in your business. Use this time to market to new clients and follow up with existing clients.

Quality of Work

The Handyman service business is a referral based business. You want to ensure that your quality of work is always up to par, as well as your customer service. Always put your best foot forward. Focus on what you do know, perfect it, then learn a new task. Repeat!

Set the expectations

Give realistic turns times upfront for jobs to set the expectations with customers. While it may ring true that you “can’t please everybody”, it is always a good idea to set the tone with customers at the beginning of the process to ensure that turn times, quality of work and any other information is communicated effectively.

Never sell rate

My old supervisor used to tell us sales people “Never sell rate sell service”. Why? We worked in an industry where from a competitive stand point, our prices were higher than most companies however, our customer service and products were by far, more superior than our competitors. Don’t get caught up in negotiating prices. Set a firm price and sell the quality of service. Your customers should understand that your labor and time is worth the expense.

Put it in writing

Create invoices for quotes, also, whatever job you decide to complete, put every detail in writing as a paper trail. You never want to find yourself in a situation where a verbal communication, is miscommunicated, or the customer reneges on an agreed task, payment amount, ect. What may be helpful is to create templates to email to customers, so that you aren’t having to recreate emails over and over again.

Expand your knowledge

You’re never “too old” or “too young” to learn anything. The more you know in this business can actually be a great advantage. You can take on more jobs, and earn more money. Research online courses to update your knowledge. Online courses are great for working adults, and allow you the flexibility to take classes at your leisure while expanding your knowledge.

Keep in touch

Here’s a “pro tip”: follow up with your customers after you’ve completed jobs. Ask how things are going, and if the customers are satisfied with the work performed. A follow up is also a great opportunity to ask for additional services to be completed, and even a referral. Don’t be afraid to ask for referrals!

Thank you

Send out thank you emails, cards, e-cards, or better yet, dial up your customer thanking them for allowing you to fulfill their handyman needs. A “thank you” can go a long way. That extra personalized touch enhances the customer experience and puts you a step above the competition.

As a Handyman, your business is unique as its a referral based business that relies heavily on quality of service as well as referrals. Building a service based business requires individuals to "think outside of the box" at times. Look for opportunities to learn new skills, perfect your craft and add more services, to grow your income. Speaking of completed tasks, be sure to put requests and completed work in writing to protect yourself and keep a paper trail of all the work completed. Get into the habit of communicating with your clients before, during and after the work you've performed is completed. This method allows you to gain feedback, while staying connected to clients.