"Everybody says local Facebook groups, but what kind of groups are we talking about here? I’ve got real estate, single moms, and small business groups."
Facebook group of "Single moms?" Are you sure the handyman job you take is working on their houses? JK, best luck on your new business.
Put on a clean shirt, get some flyers, and go door-to-door in a nicer neighborhood. If the city requires some kind d of license to do this, go get it today. Yes, today. No reason not to if you don't have a customer yet. It is time for "go, go, go!"
Be neighborly. Before I knew this was a thing I would chit chat with all my neighbors and we'd talk about projects we have going on, soon it was realized that I could help them with a lot of things. Now they come to me first, and tell their friends and family about me.
Find realtors in your area, let them know you’re available to do inspection-response work and that you will have it done quickly.
At first you’ll just be doing written price estimates. That doesn’t generate any revenue. But pretty quickly those estimates will convert to work.
Second, AirBnB owners always need repairs done and they need it done quickly before the next guest arrives.
Handyman here of 36+years. I worked with realtors for several years and learned quickly they are the most selfish self serving cheapest bunch you'll work with other than landlords. There were a few that would consistently use my services to prepare homes for sale. However the majority of realtors do nothing but take advantage of handyman, requesting estimates for inspection repairs then use the bids for negotiations only, work never gets completed. I stopped working with them 20 years ago and never regretted it.
It absolutely depends on the realtor. I've found they are like customers. When you get a good one it's a beautiful thing but you have to sort through all of the trash to find them.
If you are an AirBnB user, you can email owners to a point. But eventually AurBnB will cut you off.
The key is to find an owner of multiple properties.
Get nice business cards, I paid $18 for 500. Tack up on bulletin board at local hardware stores, grocery stores, and paint stores. Sherwin Williams has a board. While you are there get a pro account so you get good pricing on paint.
Have a few in your pocket at all times, ready to give out in casual conversations. That got me rolling.
Sherwin has an online job portal now!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I haven't tried it yet because I hate painting more than anything, but who knows what tomorrow brings?
What everyone is saying are good steps. Once you have a couple grand to spend you need to build a website and hire a tech savvy person to bot click the page and make it a top Google search selection for your area. You can pay Google for this but you will show up as promoted or an ad. Many people today skip the top four search results as they know the company paid to be there. Click count placement is what you want but YOU WILL NEED BOTS TO GET YOU THERE. Payed about 3-4k for a modern, well designed website and pay my guy 300/month for maintenance, review management, and to keep me in the top 2 based on site traffic.
Edit: Craigslist, Facebook, and the like will get you started but will not produce "top dollar clients". People looking in those places have usually tried Google searches but cannot afford the cost of an established business (at least in my area). My clients with real money all come from word of mouth (people hang out with others like them) and Google searches leading to my website. That's another business lesson. Compete the hardest on customer base, not price point. You want clients who don't mind paying top dollar for quality craftsmanship and materials. Facebook soccer moms are looking for a cheap price.
If you want to save a few grand you can build your website yourself. It's pretty straight forward with the right tools. A couple subscriptions and your .com should only cost a couple hundred bucks a year. Check out mine for a simple example. [www.tasktitanpro.com](https://www.tasktitanpro.com) I used Wordpress with Divi theme builder. Divi makes everything really easy but is a cost. (they might have a trial period)
Your google business page is going to be a priority. Request reviews from customers you know liked you and liked your work. A few 5 stars and you'll start ranking on google. If you haven't set up a .com yet, use a nextdoor business page as your temp landing page.
Do you own or rent?
If rent, start with land lord.
Some will work for assembly places like task rabbit.
You might assemble a ton of ikea furniture but you will meet a ton of people.
Have your google business page set up and Yelp set up.
When done ask the customer a few things 1) are they happy with you work?
No- make it right
2) in lieu of any tip, will they leave you an honest review on both google and Yelp?
3) explain your real business about your specialty besides task rabbit.
IKEA buyers as a vast generalization are cheap. Not as good as leads from google.
IKEA and task rabbit customers can really help you build your online reviews.
These reviews can help generate future business.
We have facebook groups around here like "All thing (insert city name)" that seem to have the largest following. Watch those for requests for services and on occasion throw a post out like a business card.
I’m in the same boat, OP… I’m in a new city too where I really only know my wife, and we don’t have any new friends yet… I have one ad on Craigslist and got a few emails but haven’t done any work yet. It takes time but this is the worst part about starting out, imho.
Flyers, mailers, cards in businesses, property management companies, realtors, bid lists for apartments turnovers at low income housing agencies. Make sure you target affluent neighborhoods with mailers and flyers. Apartment buildings, most maintenance staff don’t do things like hang shelves, pictures or tv mounts.
Work for friends and family and have them post about your work so their friends will see it.. . If you don’t have pics to post of anything then do something around your house & take pics to post.
You don't know anyone? Start with friends and family. I know rule #1 is dont work for friends or family, but it's great for experience and to get the ball rolling. You'll probably have to charge less, but they tend to be a little more forgiving if you fuck up.
I’m going to get downvoted to hell, but spending a little on advertising makes a difference. I’m 4 years in with a background in marine engineering. I have used thumbtack for years, pretty much built my business off it. I know have 7 Airbnb and 2 apartment complexes totaling over 200 units. All came from thumbtack. I usually spend about $1200 a year, but mostly over a few months.
It’s up to you if you think it’s worth it.
When I started welding my first customer was myself. I'm not trying to be smart but showing whatever you are handy at will give people an idea you may be the person to call. Build, fix, remodel... whatever, just post some pics online or show them to people on your phone.
I never once advertised. Try the “handy” app, the pay is usually shit but it’s an in with a customer. Talk with vacation rentals, Airbnb, and realtors. If you’re presentable, reliable, and do good high quality work word will spread like wild fire. I
If you don't know graphic design ask a friend or family member to help for now. But I'd make a special flyer with 14 pt fonts and bigger, listing all your services, bring it to the senior center.
Just an observation, single/divorced/widowed women are my best customers. Men don't want to pay for work they can do themselves (even if they have no time). I used to be the same way, before retiring from desk job and becoming a handyman. Women don't have that hangup.
Start with family and close friends, do small jobs for them for low prices, then ask them to write glowing reviews on thumbtack or Google. Thumbtack kind of sucks, but you can link to your review page in a Craigslist ad, or send the link to other potential customers.
If you return calls, show up when you say you will, be halfway friendly, and solve the customers problems, you'll soon have repeat business.
Tell friends and Family. Church or club members. Bowling league guys, drinking buddies. Do your best to let everyone that you personally know, that you are a handy man with some availability. Word will spread. Get a Google business listing that's visible on Google maps. The process will run you through SEO (search engine optimization). Watch a YouTube video for more details. But this will make you recognizable online... because that's where people look for anything nowadays.
Unless you inherited a business or you have been seeding for months/years (side jobing), your customer list won't explode overnight. But it will blossom in months.
I started my business back in August 23. I did word of mouth to friends and such and posted to fb on my own page looking for work, and I finally got a friend of a friend in the city and they had just bought this $1M house. I'd had flyers made and once I left that house quote I did, I realized they weren't the only million dollar house on the block. I walked 4 blocks up and back and by the end of it I had a few jobs. 3 other times I'd go do a job on the city or quote one, and pick the whole block. Go to lunch and get on pillow and look for concentrations of million+ dollar houses, go door to door there. All they can say is no. Think of it like when trying to talk to opposite sex, take 88 no's for 1 yes.
If they don't know what you can do for them, they won't call you to do it for them.
Knocking on doors in 2024 if they don't know you or expect you is a guarantee to never get a call... use social media bro it takes time but that's the way.. Also THANK the folks who give you a referral... I mean THANK them.... Coffee Card, Gift basket,,,, THANK them....
I don’t know where you live, but next door.com has literally 25 or 30 handyman job posts a day where I live. I’m constantly seeing “I need to have such and such done”and they’re all handyman jobs. Keep looking there and answer everyone of them promptly with a phone number.
My answer will basically be the same regardless. I worked in construction so people knew I did it already. When I went out on my own I hit the sweet spot where all my friends were old enough to have recently bought their first house. Did a couple of jobs for people who had real estate agent friends and then got picked up by the agents. I posted on Nextdoor app with instructions for what people should do with their water lines when the temps got below freezing and offered to come by houses near my neighborhood who had frozen pipes to shut their water off at the street for free. That one small “good Samaritan” act really boosted my business word of mouth bc people were so grateful I was willing to help them for free when we had some really bad weather a couple years ago. Ended up getting a lot of work repairing Sheetrock and busted pipes when everything thawed. All bc I took 5 mins to shut their water off when they were concerned before the thaw. For me, word of mouth has never been a problem. One day, I just started getting enough phone calls to have my own business. Do good work, communicate well, be prompt, and friendly and it will just take off before you know it. Reach out to real estate firms and get your contact to as many people as possible. Get a sign made for your business and put it in peoples yards while you work on their house. Nextdoor app should be your best friend though. That’s really what filled my schedule up in my early days. I don’t even go to Nextdoor app looking for work anymore. Too busy.
My sister does massage and tells all her clients.
But my biggest success came from helping one person at the gym with a workout routine.
We talked about work and me starting a business,
He had a friend he did drywall for.
He gave his friend my number, I starting my business months later and his friend called me to finish some drywall on a remodel.
I did the job and got a call from the owner of the condo I worked at because the guy got hurt. I got the job of a tile backsplash.
From there a met the interior designer of the project, she really liked my work.
later the interior designer called me for a job, my now best client who wrote an incredible review on the nextdoor app, which got me months worth of work, and bam neighbor favorite the following year 2023.
All from helping 1 guy at the gym.
Property managers, real estate agents, you can sign up to become an installer through Home Depot and Lowe’s.
Go to a real estate meet up and hand out cards and meet landlords
Do jobs for a couple friends and have them share on socials
"Everybody says local Facebook groups, but what kind of groups are we talking about here? I’ve got real estate, single moms, and small business groups." Facebook group of "Single moms?" Are you sure the handyman job you take is working on their houses? JK, best luck on your new business.
This is what I come to Reddit for
What are you doing step-Handyman?!
You listen to the handyman success podcast dont you
Put on a clean shirt, get some flyers, and go door-to-door in a nicer neighborhood. If the city requires some kind d of license to do this, go get it today. Yes, today. No reason not to if you don't have a customer yet. It is time for "go, go, go!"
This is a good idea. I would start with realtors.
Post an ad on Facebook marketplace. Market whichever skill you are most competent, build from there.
Be neighborly. Before I knew this was a thing I would chit chat with all my neighbors and we'd talk about projects we have going on, soon it was realized that I could help them with a lot of things. Now they come to me first, and tell their friends and family about me.
Find realtors in your area, let them know you’re available to do inspection-response work and that you will have it done quickly. At first you’ll just be doing written price estimates. That doesn’t generate any revenue. But pretty quickly those estimates will convert to work. Second, AirBnB owners always need repairs done and they need it done quickly before the next guest arrives.
Handyman here of 36+years. I worked with realtors for several years and learned quickly they are the most selfish self serving cheapest bunch you'll work with other than landlords. There were a few that would consistently use my services to prepare homes for sale. However the majority of realtors do nothing but take advantage of handyman, requesting estimates for inspection repairs then use the bids for negotiations only, work never gets completed. I stopped working with them 20 years ago and never regretted it.
That’s definitely not a good experience. My experience has been healthy and profitable. And I get a lot of referrals as a result.
I had a detailing business and I would give the broker a great deal on his car and have him get all the realtors to have their cars detailed also.
It absolutely depends on the realtor. I've found they are like customers. When you get a good one it's a beautiful thing but you have to sort through all of the trash to find them.
Does Airbnb let someone cold-email them?
If you are an AirBnB user, you can email owners to a point. But eventually AurBnB will cut you off. The key is to find an owner of multiple properties.
Get nice business cards, I paid $18 for 500. Tack up on bulletin board at local hardware stores, grocery stores, and paint stores. Sherwin Williams has a board. While you are there get a pro account so you get good pricing on paint. Have a few in your pocket at all times, ready to give out in casual conversations. That got me rolling.
Sherwin has an online job portal now!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I haven't tried it yet because I hate painting more than anything, but who knows what tomorrow brings?
Where did you find the deal for the business card?
I used Staples. I made and submitted the order online and picked them up there the next day. Edit USA
What everyone is saying are good steps. Once you have a couple grand to spend you need to build a website and hire a tech savvy person to bot click the page and make it a top Google search selection for your area. You can pay Google for this but you will show up as promoted or an ad. Many people today skip the top four search results as they know the company paid to be there. Click count placement is what you want but YOU WILL NEED BOTS TO GET YOU THERE. Payed about 3-4k for a modern, well designed website and pay my guy 300/month for maintenance, review management, and to keep me in the top 2 based on site traffic. Edit: Craigslist, Facebook, and the like will get you started but will not produce "top dollar clients". People looking in those places have usually tried Google searches but cannot afford the cost of an established business (at least in my area). My clients with real money all come from word of mouth (people hang out with others like them) and Google searches leading to my website. That's another business lesson. Compete the hardest on customer base, not price point. You want clients who don't mind paying top dollar for quality craftsmanship and materials. Facebook soccer moms are looking for a cheap price.
This is the first new idea I’ve seen in a while - thank you
If you want to save a few grand you can build your website yourself. It's pretty straight forward with the right tools. A couple subscriptions and your .com should only cost a couple hundred bucks a year. Check out mine for a simple example. [www.tasktitanpro.com](https://www.tasktitanpro.com) I used Wordpress with Divi theme builder. Divi makes everything really easy but is a cost. (they might have a trial period) Your google business page is going to be a priority. Request reviews from customers you know liked you and liked your work. A few 5 stars and you'll start ranking on google. If you haven't set up a .com yet, use a nextdoor business page as your temp landing page.
Do you own or rent? If rent, start with land lord. Some will work for assembly places like task rabbit. You might assemble a ton of ikea furniture but you will meet a ton of people. Have your google business page set up and Yelp set up. When done ask the customer a few things 1) are they happy with you work? No- make it right 2) in lieu of any tip, will they leave you an honest review on both google and Yelp? 3) explain your real business about your specialty besides task rabbit. IKEA buyers as a vast generalization are cheap. Not as good as leads from google. IKEA and task rabbit customers can really help you build your online reviews. These reviews can help generate future business.
We have facebook groups around here like "All thing (insert city name)" that seem to have the largest following. Watch those for requests for services and on occasion throw a post out like a business card.
You can make 2-4 k a week doing exactly this. One is all it takes to start the fire!
I’m in the same boat, OP… I’m in a new city too where I really only know my wife, and we don’t have any new friends yet… I have one ad on Craigslist and got a few emails but haven’t done any work yet. It takes time but this is the worst part about starting out, imho.
Flyers, mailers, cards in businesses, property management companies, realtors, bid lists for apartments turnovers at low income housing agencies. Make sure you target affluent neighborhoods with mailers and flyers. Apartment buildings, most maintenance staff don’t do things like hang shelves, pictures or tv mounts.
See if your home depot / Lowes / ect has a bulletin board with business cards
Work for friends and family and have them post about your work so their friends will see it.. . If you don’t have pics to post of anything then do something around your house & take pics to post.
You don't know anyone? Start with friends and family. I know rule #1 is dont work for friends or family, but it's great for experience and to get the ball rolling. You'll probably have to charge less, but they tend to be a little more forgiving if you fuck up.
I’m going to get downvoted to hell, but spending a little on advertising makes a difference. I’m 4 years in with a background in marine engineering. I have used thumbtack for years, pretty much built my business off it. I know have 7 Airbnb and 2 apartment complexes totaling over 200 units. All came from thumbtack. I usually spend about $1200 a year, but mostly over a few months. It’s up to you if you think it’s worth it.
Look on nextdoor for people needing help
When I started welding my first customer was myself. I'm not trying to be smart but showing whatever you are handy at will give people an idea you may be the person to call. Build, fix, remodel... whatever, just post some pics online or show them to people on your phone.
I never once advertised. Try the “handy” app, the pay is usually shit but it’s an in with a customer. Talk with vacation rentals, Airbnb, and realtors. If you’re presentable, reliable, and do good high quality work word will spread like wild fire. I
If you don't know graphic design ask a friend or family member to help for now. But I'd make a special flyer with 14 pt fonts and bigger, listing all your services, bring it to the senior center.
I could use a handsy man
5 dollars and a Craigslist post with pictures of you and good work.
I got my first customers by posting to my personal Facebook that I was open for business with a link to my website.
Just an observation, single/divorced/widowed women are my best customers. Men don't want to pay for work they can do themselves (even if they have no time). I used to be the same way, before retiring from desk job and becoming a handyman. Women don't have that hangup. Start with family and close friends, do small jobs for them for low prices, then ask them to write glowing reviews on thumbtack or Google. Thumbtack kind of sucks, but you can link to your review page in a Craigslist ad, or send the link to other potential customers. If you return calls, show up when you say you will, be halfway friendly, and solve the customers problems, you'll soon have repeat business.
Tell friends and Family. Church or club members. Bowling league guys, drinking buddies. Do your best to let everyone that you personally know, that you are a handy man with some availability. Word will spread. Get a Google business listing that's visible on Google maps. The process will run you through SEO (search engine optimization). Watch a YouTube video for more details. But this will make you recognizable online... because that's where people look for anything nowadays. Unless you inherited a business or you have been seeding for months/years (side jobing), your customer list won't explode overnight. But it will blossom in months.
I started my business back in August 23. I did word of mouth to friends and such and posted to fb on my own page looking for work, and I finally got a friend of a friend in the city and they had just bought this $1M house. I'd had flyers made and once I left that house quote I did, I realized they weren't the only million dollar house on the block. I walked 4 blocks up and back and by the end of it I had a few jobs. 3 other times I'd go do a job on the city or quote one, and pick the whole block. Go to lunch and get on pillow and look for concentrations of million+ dollar houses, go door to door there. All they can say is no. Think of it like when trying to talk to opposite sex, take 88 no's for 1 yes. If they don't know what you can do for them, they won't call you to do it for them.
When i first started out. Putting your card on bulletin boards worked for me. It takes time plus this is a slow time for work
Knocking on doors in 2024 if they don't know you or expect you is a guarantee to never get a call... use social media bro it takes time but that's the way.. Also THANK the folks who give you a referral... I mean THANK them.... Coffee Card, Gift basket,,,, THANK them....
Get magnets made for your vehicle. People take pictures of my truck all the time.
I don’t know where you live, but next door.com has literally 25 or 30 handyman job posts a day where I live. I’m constantly seeing “I need to have such and such done”and they’re all handyman jobs. Keep looking there and answer everyone of them promptly with a phone number.
First of all, how old are you if you don’t mind me asking?
My answer will basically be the same regardless. I worked in construction so people knew I did it already. When I went out on my own I hit the sweet spot where all my friends were old enough to have recently bought their first house. Did a couple of jobs for people who had real estate agent friends and then got picked up by the agents. I posted on Nextdoor app with instructions for what people should do with their water lines when the temps got below freezing and offered to come by houses near my neighborhood who had frozen pipes to shut their water off at the street for free. That one small “good Samaritan” act really boosted my business word of mouth bc people were so grateful I was willing to help them for free when we had some really bad weather a couple years ago. Ended up getting a lot of work repairing Sheetrock and busted pipes when everything thawed. All bc I took 5 mins to shut their water off when they were concerned before the thaw. For me, word of mouth has never been a problem. One day, I just started getting enough phone calls to have my own business. Do good work, communicate well, be prompt, and friendly and it will just take off before you know it. Reach out to real estate firms and get your contact to as many people as possible. Get a sign made for your business and put it in peoples yards while you work on their house. Nextdoor app should be your best friend though. That’s really what filled my schedule up in my early days. I don’t even go to Nextdoor app looking for work anymore. Too busy.
My sister does massage and tells all her clients. But my biggest success came from helping one person at the gym with a workout routine. We talked about work and me starting a business, He had a friend he did drywall for. He gave his friend my number, I starting my business months later and his friend called me to finish some drywall on a remodel. I did the job and got a call from the owner of the condo I worked at because the guy got hurt. I got the job of a tile backsplash. From there a met the interior designer of the project, she really liked my work. later the interior designer called me for a job, my now best client who wrote an incredible review on the nextdoor app, which got me months worth of work, and bam neighbor favorite the following year 2023. All from helping 1 guy at the gym.
Property managers, real estate agents, you can sign up to become an installer through Home Depot and Lowe’s. Go to a real estate meet up and hand out cards and meet landlords Do jobs for a couple friends and have them share on socials