My husband has ALWAYS had to work outside the county where we live and at age 55, he is tired of the long drives and even longer hours...

He is seriously considering starting a handyman type business in our area. He has worked on electrical systems in HUGE plants with power lines such as 440 and all that...and he has done all sorts of repair work on machinery...and all kinds of carpentry work...he worked in maintenance in a large steel plant that made nuclear power stuff a long time ago and then in a large aircraft maintenance plant...

I have already checked about what kind of license he would need to work in our county and the state and he could get a type of subcontractor's license...

I have a lot of inexpensive advertising ideas since I have been a reporter 20 years...

We thought about advertising that he could fix all kinds of minor problems and install lots of things that the bigger contractors are too busy to do...such as install ceiling fans people buy at Wal-Mart; work on lawn mowers; install screen doors and storm doors; install additional electrical outlets; replace rotten wood on porches, steps, etc. and just general kinds of things like that.

We would need to check and see what kind of bond or insurance he would need.

Do any of you do that type handyman type work??? what are some of the problems you've encourntered?

Our main thing would be loosing health insurance AGAIN....and it is just too expensive to pay $550 a month for it....how do you manage that?

Any thoughts would be appreciated!!!

He could earn less money because there wouldn't be the expense of driving his truck back and forth (one hour each way) out of the county for gas, tires, etc.

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), May 18, 2000

Answers

Suzy, this is what my hubby plans on doing in a few years, also. He has been in maintaince with large companies for several years. One of the things we have found from past experience is have good liability insurance also! Keep good records! If your hubby charges so much an hour, charge everyone that same price , even if they are your best friend! Do a regular billing system, & start out with rules--so much an hour--pay the first of the month --$30.00 service charge for bad checks--have your business rules printed for anyone who has questions! (these are just examples)--we have found the most problems we have had, is finding out who pays their bills & who doesn't! They may have money for beer & cigs --but no money to pay you! If you have a business you are a professional--& treat your business as one! Don't discount your work! Keep good records for taxes, besure to deduct what ever you can as business expenses. As you can tell I have owned my own businesses for over 30 plus years. You are never appreciated by the people in your own area! Everyone else will think you are great--but most of the locals will hire someone they don't know! I use to have a small beauty salon in a small town--& the locals traveled several miles to go to someone in a large town who knew the upto date styles---what they didn't know was I traveled all over the usa on week ends & charged those big town girls to learn from me! As I said, no matter what your business your are taken for granted in your own area! You may find your hubby has more business not next to home! There are lots of small jobs that people need help with--we have found people expected my hubby to work for FREE! So, we had to set prices & stick to them no matter who he worked for! I billed everyone the same--even if it was our next door neighbor--it was our living! If he was going to help them --he said so--if they were hireing him it was another story! We also do estimates for a job & ask for materials to be paid for up front---have learned that the hard way also! Can even ask for percentage of the job to be paid for up front--so much as the job is being done & remainded due at finish of job! I know we will NEVER USE OUR MONEY FOR SUPPLIES UP FRONT AGAIN! We have our clients sign a contract when we both agree on job & price etc. Then if you ever have to take them to court to get paid you have something in writting--if it is not in writting you can never collect!!!!! If there is any thing to learn my hubby & I have learned it all the hard way!!!!! We don't make the same mistakes twice anymore! Best wishes! Insurance is a business expense, deductable--I also posted on you thread about insurance! Sonda in Ks.

-- Sonda (sgbruce@birch.net), May 18, 2000.

Hey Suzie, I don't know the legal/licence/insurance aspect of the handyman business, but I can tell you that in some areas of the country (Westchester, Cty. NY) the demand is HUGE! I was house cleaning a while back and a 'weekend' couple needed some shelves installed in closets-they paid my 17 yr old son, $25 an hour! Plus dinner! I would have done it myself! As hard as it is for us to believe, there really are people in the world who don't know how/or won't/ change a light bulb! So if you are close to a affluent/yuppie/new money area go for it! They have the money, and they can't wait to spend it!

-- Kathy (catfish@bestweb.net), May 18, 2000.

Suzy, I am always looking for someone who can do simple carpentry and fix things for me and it's tough to find a reliable, intelligent person. I went over to the Senior Center and asked who they would recommend and they gave me the name of a retired professor who advertises once a month in the senior center newsletter. He advertises, "Husband for hire!" Then there is some cute text about the useful things he can do. I called him and right away he told me he was booked for three weeks. When he found out where my land is, he flat out declined to drive that far! There's a guy who is doing very well!

My brother was a dentist but he noticed his neighbors did not like to mow their lawns. he started a lawn mowing business and told me that he made more money cutting grass than he did filling teeth!

Perhpas your husband could start his business on week-ends and keep his regular job until he has developed some steady, reliable customers.

-- Elizabeth Petofi (tengri@cstone.net), May 19, 2000.

Get paid for travel time and costs. Either charge for it straight out, or set your prices to take it into account, but take it into account somehow - it's more than you would think more often than you'd realise.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), May 19, 2000.

Thanks guys we're going over all these ideas right now!!!

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), May 19, 2000.

have a standard contract written up detailing when payment is due, finance charges, how disputes will be handled, etc. then make sure you go over it with the customer line by line. We have a construction business and you wouldn't believe how many people sign a contract without ever reading it (and ours is in plain english, not legal-eze!) and then claim they didn't know they had to pay on a monthly basis, or whatever. we have so many clauses in our contract that have customer's names attached to them (just in our minds, of course) because of things we learned the hard way. working for yourself is way more work than you'd ever imagine but the rewards are worth it. just don't ever let yourself get behind in the paperwork...you'll never get caught up! good luck!

-- kristen (kbhansen@msn.com), May 19, 2000.

Check out the books: "Small Time Operator", "Guerilla Marketing" and "Running a One Person Business". All very helpful.

-- Anne (HealthyTouch1@hjotmail.com), May 20, 2000.

This is what I've been doing for the last (let me calculate here!) 17 years. e-mail direct and I'll try to give you some thoughts based upon my experience, both good and bad. GL!

-- Brad (homefixer@SacoRiver.net), May 20, 2000.

Suzy,I've been a handyman for 20 years. If your gonna sub-contract to a contractor, you need license,insurance,bond.Hardly worth it.but,if thats all the work there is,do it. I work with customers.Regular people. One on one. I get $25.00 per hr.,1 hr minimum and 15 minute increments after that.I carry my own personal health insurance to satisfy the customer, so if I get hurt,thy're off the hook. But,one snag.Personal insurance dosen't cover if you get hurt while on a job. So,if I can drive myself to the hospital,I tell them I was helping a friend.If the customer has to drive me to the hospital,they tell em' the same thing.It sucks,but I'm not gonna pay a small fortune just to work. Licence : you don't need one. Handymen fix things and occaisonally build things too.You don't need a license for miantainence!So,what do you do??Maintainence!! The customer is the owner/builder,so they get any permits they need.Rare!Pull down all the blinds & lock the doors to keep nosey inspectors away. If,and I mean If a permit is needed,the owner/builder is there for the inspection.You follow behind quietly taking notes.You're just a friend and maybe you'll do the same type of work on your house and you want to do it right the 1st time.Get it??Then when the inspector leaves,you've taken any notes needed to finish the job up.Are you with me???The homeowner/builder wants to save money and do it himself ,or just save money,and thats why he hired you.Because you can do it all!!And he can help!! I let any customer watch and learn if they want,be the gofer,laborer,grunt,clean-up,anything they want!! I work alone,no employees,no hassles.If you want it done right,do it yourself. Parts : customer pays for the parts.they give me cash,or signed blank checks,or their credit cards.Yes,I use other peoples cards.I'm buying their parts.The smaller stores could care less,long as the card's good. What ever price I can get,thats what it costs the customer.No mark-up.If I gotta use my cash or card,I tack on 5%. My hands getting tired from typing,so call me in the evenings if you want more info. 208-879-4851 Dan.

-- Dan Urban (lyndadan@cyberhighway.net), May 20, 2000.