How to Start a Handyman Business

Who a handyman business suits and what the days are like

A handyman business does small repair, maintenance and installation jobs that are too minor for a specialist contractor: hanging doors and shelves, patching walls, assembling furniture, fixing fences, replacing faucets and fittings where permitted, sealing bathtubs, mounting televisions, minor carpentry and painting. It suits practical people with broad skills, a clean driving record, and the patience to work in other people's homes.

A typical day is three or four jobs with driving between them. Around the hands-on work you answer calls and messages, look at photos to quote, visit a supplier, deal with a job that turned out bigger than described, send invoices and clean up. The physical side is real: ladders, lifting and kneeling. So is the customer side. People judge you on turning up when you said you would, protecting their floors and explaining the price before you begin.

• Good fit: you have done this work for years, for an employer or on your own property, and friends already ask you to fix things.
• Poor fit: you dislike quoting, or you want to do large renovations, which is a contractor business with different licensing and insurance.
• Starting on the side: evenings and weekends work for household customers. Commercial customers usually want weekday hours.

How to start a handyman business in 10 steps

1. Find out what you may legally do. Before anything else, check with your state or national contractor licensing body and your city or county office. Ask which work needs a trade license (electrical, plumbing, gas and heating often do), whether there is a limit on job size or value for unlicensed work, and whether you need a handyman or home improvement registration. This decides your service list.
2. Ask the people who would hire you. Speak to ten to fifteen homeowners, landlords, rental agents and shop or cafe owners nearby. Ask what small jobs are waiting, who they call now, what they paid last time and what went wrong. Landlords and property managers often have a list of unfinished jobs.
3. Do five to ten paid test jobs. Use the tools you own and take only work you are confident in. Charge a fair price. Time everything, including travel and trips for materials. Note which jobs were profitable, which were requested most and which you would refuse next time.
4. Choose your services and area. Pick a short list of jobs and a travel radius. A narrow area cuts unpaid driving. You can also specialize: rental turnovers for landlords, small jobs for older homeowners, furniture assembly and mounting, or maintenance for shops and offices.
5. Set your pricing. Work out an hourly rate from the income you need, your yearly costs and the hours you can bill. Billable hours are fewer than working hours because of travel and quoting. Then decide a minimum charge per visit and fixed prices for common jobs. The break-even calculator shows how many jobs a month cover your costs.
6. Plan your costs. Go through the categories in the section below and separate what you need on day one from what can wait.
7. Get insured and registered. Arrange general liability insurance and confirm your vehicle policy covers business use. Register the business and any required license, and ask an accountant how to handle tax on labor and materials.
8. Set up simple paperwork. Use a written quote that states the scope, the price, what is excluded, who supplies materials and when payment is due. Take photos before and after. Accept card and bank payments.
9. Win the first regular customers. Tell every test customer you are open for business and ask for a review and one referral. Create a free business listing on the main map and search services. Introduce yourself to rental agents, property managers and local tradespeople who turn down small jobs. Join neighborhood groups where people ask for recommendations.
10. Formalize and grow carefully. When your calendar is full two or three weeks ahead, raise prices before you hire. Then consider a company structure, a helper for two-person jobs, and maintenance agreements with commercial clients.

How should you charge: by the hour, by the job or by the day?

Most handyman businesses use more than one method. This table helps you match the method to the job.

As an illustration only: say you want to bill 25 hours a week and you find that travel, quoting and admin take another 15. Your hourly rate must pay for all 40 hours, plus fuel, insurance and tools. The markup calculator helps you price materials, and the profit margin calculator checks what is left on each job.

What does it cost to start a handyman business?

If you already own tools and a suitable vehicle, opening costs can be modest. Prices vary by region, so get your own quotes. Total them in the startup cost calculator.

• Vehicle: a van or truck, or fitting out the one you have, plus fuel, maintenance, parking and business-use insurance.
• Tools: hand tools, cordless power tools, ladders, a vacuum and dust sheets. Rent specialist tools until a job type repeats often enough to justify buying.
• Consumables and stock: fixings, sealants, fillers, blades and common spare parts.
• Safety equipment: eye and ear protection, gloves, dust masks, knee pads and a first aid kit.
• Insurance: general liability, tool cover, and employer cover if you take on staff.
• Licenses and registration: business registration and any trade or contractor registration required locally.
• Admin: a phone plan, quoting and invoicing software, card payment fees and an accountant.
• Marketing: vehicle signage, business cards, workwear and a simple website.

Licensing, insurance and legal points to check locally

Rules for repair work are set locally and differ widely, so do not rely on what applies in another state or country. Ask the contractor licensing board or equivalent, the city or county office, an insurance broker and an accountant.

• Trade licensing: which tasks are reserved for licensed electricians, plumbers, gas fitters or builders, and any limit on job value for unlicensed work.
• Permits: which jobs need a building permit or inspection, and who must apply.
• Advertising: whether you must show a license or registration number, and what you may call yourself.
• Hazardous materials: rules for working with lead paint, asbestos and waste disposal, especially in older buildings.
• Insurance: what liability cover customers and property managers expect, and whether your policy excludes any work you plan to do.
• Tax: whether sales tax or VAT applies to labor, materials or both.
• Business form: whether to start as a sole proprietorship or form an LLC or local equivalent.
• Helpers: the rules on employees versus subcontractors before you bring anyone onto a job.

Common mistakes in a handyman business

• Pricing only the time on site. Unpaid driving and supplier runs can take a large part of the day.
• No minimum charge. A ten-minute fix across town loses money without one.
• Quoting from a text message. Ask for photos and measurements, and state that the price may change if the job differs from the description.
• Taking jobs beyond your skills or license. One failed repair costs more in rework and reputation than the job paid.
• Vague scope. "Fix the bathroom" leads to disputes. List each task.
• Slow replies. Many customers hire the first reliable person who answers. Set a time each day to return calls.
• Buying tools for jobs you have not sold. Let demand decide what you buy.

What to do this week

1. Call or visit the website of your contractor licensing body and write down what you may and may not do without a trade license.
2. List the fifteen jobs you can do well today with the tools you own.
3. Talk to five homeowners and three landlords or shop owners about the small jobs they have waiting.
4. Book two paid jobs and time every part of them, including travel.
5. Ask an insurance broker for a liability quote.

Once the test jobs show there is steady demand, put your numbers into a short plan. Fonda's business plan covers market, costs and pricing in 10 chapters with sources, and you can read example plans first. For related options in your area, see these local service business ideas.