Evaluating your Handyman Skills and Deciding What Services to Offer

Not all handymen provide the same services or even have the same skills.

So the first step to becoming a pro handyman is evaluating your skills and deciding on a list of handyman services you’ll provide.

If you’re reading this, I’m assuming that you are in fact handy. Handy in the sense that you are resourceful, good with your hands, and readily available to perform services on customers’ homes. These are the only absolute must-have qualifications in order to be a handyman.

However, you need many more skills in order to be a good handyman – the kind that can and does charge a premium. Believe it or not, not all self-employed handymen drive a beater truck and make fry cook wages. The good ones have learned how to leverage their skills to generate a six-figure income and continue to learn new skills.

In this article, I will show you how to evaluate your skills and decide what services to offer – the first step in the journey to owning a successful handyman business.

Step #1 – List your handyman skills.

This is an easy step. Take out a piece of paper and write down anything you know how to do around the house. List everything.

Do you know how to change an air filter on a central heating system? List it.

Can you change a light bulb? List it.

Can you hook up a TV? List it.

Even if something seems really simple, you’d be surprised what some people are willing to pay for. For example, one of my best clients regularly calls me to hang pictures. And I’ve been hired countless times to do things like assembling furniture from Ikea.

Hopefully, you have a nice long list and a small confidence boost.

Step #2 – List skills you would like to learn.

What services do you want to provide?  As you may have guessed, the more specialized you get with your services, the more you can charge. Door and window repair and installation is a good one because there is a lot of business out there. Anything that moves tends to need more service. Shelving and organization is another good little niche. Once you get really good at building and hanging shelves, you can make big bucks remodeling closets and garages.

I do recommend you specialize in something you are INTERESTED in. This will help motivate you to learn and advance your skills.

For my handyman business, I’ve chosen to offer “green” handyman services.  To be completely honest, I’m not a professional in this area….yet.  But, it’s something that I’m interested in and passionate about. I’ve centered my business model around being green and making energy-efficient upgrades to customers’ homes. I also offer a full range of other handyman services, too.

Step #3 – Do some research

Go see what other handymen in your area are advertising. Check out their websites to see if they have a list of services. Go to Craigslist and write down any services that you see mentioned often. These are probably going to be services that are in demand, otherwise, people would stop advertising them. However, don’t be afraid to be different. Offer a couple of unique services to test the waters. You may find that hidden gem that the masses haven’t seen yet.

To learn more about uncovering profitable services, listen to this podcast episode.

Step #4 – More research

Check with your state’s contractors board to see if you need any special licensing to offer certain services. I explain handyman licensing and laws in-depth in this article.

My state is a pretty strict state when it comes to contracting. I’m unable to provide plumbing, electrical, or HVAC services without a special license. I don’t want to put the time in to acquire these licenses, so I don’t offer those services. Also, I’m unable to bid on jobs over $1,000 without a general contractor’s license. This eliminates a lot of services from my list, unfortunately. I’d love to offer kitchen and bathroom remodels but I’ve never seen either cost less than a grand.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a license, I don’t and I have consistent work doing small jobs that range from $100 to $1,000. You can always work on getting a license while offering services that don’t require a license.

Step #5 – Make your final list

Take all the information that you’ve gathered in the steps above and decide which services you are going to offer. There is nothing wrong with just offering common handyman services. After all, that’s what most of us do. If you choose to specialize in something, you can and should offer a range of other services as well.

This exercise isn’t a trip to Disneyland, but it’s important.  The better you understand what you’re going to offer, the easier the rest of setting up your business will be. It will help you come up with a name for your handyman business and aid in the next step: Determining a Target Market.