Within six months of starting my business, I was stung by the contractors’ board and ticketed for contracting without a handyman license. [continue reading…]
Since starting my handyman business I’ve made it a habit to pay attention to service providers that I hire. What do I like? What do I hate? What do I love?
Then, I take what I like and apply it to my business.
Outside of reading several books a month, this has proved to be the the best strategy for improving my business. Like what I learned from eating mexican food one day.
Recently, I had an awesome customer experience that gave me some insight into the art of soliciting reviews.
I don’t know about you, but I often find it awkward to ask my customers to do something like leave a review. However, this experience changed that for me and I think it will help you as well.
Here’s what happened.
After spending nearly two weeks struggling with a technical issue while making some upgrades to my online marketing, I finally decided to hire some help. I found a guy online and within a matter of an hour of working with him, my problem was solved. He literally saved me days of fruitless labor. He also went above and beyond with the service he provided. It was a great experience.
Yet, even after this experience, I wasn’t rushing to give him a review. In fact, it wouldn’t have even crossed my mind if he hadn’t mentioned it. Which, leads to the first obvious rule of getting reviews – you have to ask for them!
But, just asking for a review isn’t always effective. Equally important is HOW you ask, which this guy did very well.
Here’s how it went down. [continue reading…]
Starting a handyman business is an exciting time! But, just like anything else, there are some not so fun tasks required to establish a legitimate, legal business. Obtaining the necessarily licenses is one of them.
This is often frustrating, confusing, and boring. It’s even boring to write about!
But…it’s necessary.
I’m going to attempt to make this process easy for you. Maybe even fun (if that’s possible). At the very least, I’ll save you some time, and maybe even some cash while helping you avoid legal issues down the road.
The process may take a couple of days, but you’ll be glad you did it once your finished. [continue reading…]
They say you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, yet everybody does.
We are humans. We can’t help it. It’s deeply rooted in our psychology.
When we see a man laying on the sidewalk with dirty ripped up clothes, long matted hair, and holes in his shoes, we have no doubt he is a bum. When we see a woman dressed in scrubs with a stethoscope around her neck, we assume she’s a Dr.
We are programmed to make snap-judgements of people before getting to know them. And, this doesn’t just apply to people. It also applies to your business. Especially your business.
You aren’t the only handyman service in town, and in an effort to filter through options and determine which handyman to call, your customers will make lightning quick judgements about your business based on how it looks.
What will they see?
If you want to maximize your chances of success, you’re going to want to put a lot of thought into this. Most handymen don’t, which is something you can use to your advantage.
One very simple and effective way to improve your image in the customers eyes is to have a professional logo. [continue reading…]
Are you looking to start a handyman business but are worried there might be too much competition? If so, you’re not alone.
This is a common concern for anybody getting started in a new business. Nobody wants to jump head first into a market that is already saturated with competitors.
Recently, I received an e-mail from one of my readers stating this very concern. Here’s what she wrote:
Hello Dan,
I am looking to start handyman or shall I say Handy lady services in my area. I am just feeling stuck in a dead end job and really don’t enjoy it. But my interest are supporting and helping people and I am more hands on fixing things DIY and mechanically minded. I guess I just don’t have the courage to just get and do what I enjoy. Your post etc are encouraging. I feel because there are a few handyman services in my area that there is no market for me. I understand that I have to find a niche for what I can do. Any advice would be super. Have a great day.
Others have asked this same question so I decided to share my thoughts in this article. [continue reading…]
As an established handyman business owner, I’m constantly getting cold-called by services offering to “get me to the top of google search.” They also say things like “we are only going to work with one handyman in your area” or “we are a partner of Google.”
They are selling SEO services.
Fortunately, I know how internet marketing works and I don’t fall for this valueless money-pit of a scam.
But, it’s obviously working on other people, otherwise there wouldn’t be hundreds of these companies popping up and continuing to call me and other small business owners.
I’m writing this article for two reasons. One, to save you from making the mistake of paying for cheap, spammy, SEO services. And secondly (and more selfishly), to reduce the effectiveness of these cold-calls so maybe my phone will stop ringing with them!
In this article, I’ll explain what SEO is in case you don’t know. Then, I’ll discuss why you shouldn’t pay for it and what to do instead. [continue reading…]
Buying leads can be a great way to grow your handyman business fast, especially if you are just getting started.
Not only does it get you in front of customers immediately, it allows you to piggyback on the trust of a more established company.
But, just like anything else, if not done properly it can end up costing you much more money than it’s worth. It’s pretty obvious that if you don’t turn leads into actual customers, it’s not going to help your business much. In fact, it’s going to hurt it.
I successfully used paid leads to help grow my handyman business, and in this article, I’m going to share six of the best tips and strategies I learned in the process. [continue reading…]
As if Amazon didn’t have enough products to sell already, they are now in the business of selling services. That’s right, you can now hire a handyman, or offer your handyman services through Amazon Home Services.
What does this mean for handymen and other service providers? Should you partner up with the internet giant to grow your business?
In this article, I’m going to explain what Amazon Home Services is and what it means to you – the service provider. [continue reading…]
While enjoying a delicious meal at a Mexican place with my wife I learned a valuable marketing lesson.
The food was damn good. I’m talking about delicious nachos and the best molcajate I’ve ever tried. Well, it was the only Molcajete I’ve ever had, but it blew my mind! (See the picture)
Yet, the place was pretty much empty. This concerned me because this place could shut down, which would mean no more Molcajete for me.
Not good.
This gave me the desire to help them out. I figured that if I tried to give them marketing advice, they’d just smile, say thanks, and not take it. So instead, I helped them in a way they couldn’t refuse.
I decided to do something I never do and gave them a great online review. I downloaded the Yelp app to my iPhone, took a picture of my food, and left a 5 star review raving about my experience.
This is when I learned a valuable marketing lesson. [continue reading…]
Some people say that what you don’t know can’t hurt you. I’ll go ahead and call BS on that one.
Often, it’s the things that you don’t know that can hurt you the most. At least I find this to be true when it comes to business.
I’ll explain.
When I first started my handyman business, I did a lot of things right. I spent gratuitous amounts of time making sure I looked professional and on marketing my services. I also made a strong effort to provide great customer service, do what I said I’d do, and always provide quality work.
This focus on marketing, quality, professionalism, and service is what led to my success as a handyman.
However, I also did a couple of things completely wrong.
For example, dropping a customer’s brand new 50″ TV on the ground and shattering the corner was a clear mistake. Answering the phone and showing up to contractor board sting operation was another experience I’d like to take back.
Yet, neither of these two mistakes ended up costing me all that much money. My biggest mistake ended up costing much, much more. Over $50K in my first year in fact. [continue reading…]
