Handyman Startup

When I first heard the saying “work smarter, not harder,” it stunned me. I just sat there slack-jawed and confused while the guy that said it casually got up and walked away.

It happened in a college class, and ever since that moment I’ve been trying to figure out what it actually means.

I remember this experience because I felt dumb – like a Neanderthal, banging stones together while everyone else is driving flying cars.

I now had a big question looming over my head…”How does somebody actually work smarter instead of harder?”

Whatever the answer was, I wanted to do that.

But I didn’t realize until much later that [continue reading…]

In this tutorial, you will learn how to remove your existing bathtub and install a new bathtub step by step.

You’ll learn how to remove your old alcove bathtub, how to choose a new bathtub, and how to hook up the plumbing and install your new bathtub WITHOUT having to access the plumbing from underneath. [continue reading…]

In this article, you’re going to learn how to install marble countertops in your bathroom. This same process will also work for Granite countertops as well.

Marble countertops are actually pretty easy to install when compared to other high-quality countertop options. Tile countertops are far more difficult and time-consuming to install, harder to clean, and usually don’t look as good.

But, marble countertops look amazing, can be installed with basic tools, and are surprisingly affordable if you install them yourself.

The key is to find pre-fabricated marble countertops, which are found at most tile and stone stores. The cost for a pref-fabbed slab will typically range from $200 (if it has defects) to $500 if it’s in perfect condition. Of course, it can get more expensive than that.

So, without further ado, here’s how to install marble countertops in your bathroom, step-by-step. [continue reading…]

I don’t know of a better time in history to be a professional handyman or contractor.

Our economy is growing.

Our society is becoming less and less handy.

Houses are getting more complex.

And people are outsourcing more of their lives every day in an attempt to do more, have more, and be more.

It used to be uncommon to hire a housecleaner. It was something only wealthy families did. Now it’s normal for a middle-class family to hire not only a housecleaner, but to hire mobile dog groomers, carpet cleaners, painters, lawn care services, dog walkers, nannies, and of course, a handyman.

Basically, there has never been such a high demand for our services. But the interesting thing is that as an industry, we are relatively unsophisticated. [continue reading…]

As a pro handyman I’ve completed lots of fence repairs of all kinds.

Here I’m going to show you exactly how to repair a broken wood fence post with the fastest and most effective method invented so far.

How do you know if your wood fence post is broken?

If your fence is leaning or moving several inches when the wind blows, it’s likely that you have at least one broken fence post. You can also go up to the fence post and push on it with your hand. If the fence moves more than an inch either way, it’s probably broken.

In some cases the concrete footing is just loose, but that is rare. Nine times out of ten the fence post is broken. You can easily find out by digging down a couple of inches until you see the concrete footing that holds the fence post.

In the image below, you can see a fence post that is not broken sitting in the concrete footing.

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If you’ve been in business for a while, you’ll eventually approach a “glass ceiling” with your income, where no matter how hard you work, growing your income seems impossible.

This usually happens when your schedule is as full as you can handle, and you’re pretty sure your pricing is as high as it can go.

You may start to think that the only way to make more money is to work longer hours or hire employees. And if you’re like many pro handymen, you don’t want the headache of managing employees. [continue reading…]

Maybe this is the year you finally start that business.

Or maybe it’s the year you’re going to take your business seriously so you can maximize its potential and make more money.

Regardless of your current situation or goals, it’s easy to be optimistic during this time of year. You’ve got almost a full 12 months ahead of you, after all.

And that’s great. Optimism is a good thing. It makes you happier, and being happy can boost creativity and productivity and lead to more money and even a longer life.

Unfortunately, optimism also creeps into our minds in another area—our motivation. Since we are so motivated right now about achieving our goals, and they all seem so doable, we tend to think we’ll always be this motivated.

“This year’s going to be different,” we tell ourselves, “I can feel it.”

But is it really? If so, why? What will you do differently this year that will lead to different results? Seriously, stop and answer that question.

I don’t mean to be a downer, but let’s get real for a second because until we do, NOTHING IS GOING TO CHANGE.
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Do you ever feel like your schedule could be more efficient? Like you have too much downtime in between jobs or you’re spending too much time driving around and visiting customers?

Or, are you having a hard time accurately estimating how long jobs will take, and having scheduling problems as a result? Maybe a repair takes longer than expected and throws off your entire schedule. Or, are jobs that take less time than expected leaving gaps in your day?

If you’re like most pro handymen, the answer is…YES. And here’s the deal – Scheduling mistakes with your handyman business can cost you thousands of dollars per month. No, not just a few hundred dollars…thousands. [continue reading…]

In this article I’m going to share the #1 biggest pricing mistake nearly all new service pros make.

So last week my brother mentioned he was thinking of starting a lawn care business.

Naturally, just like anybody who’s never started a business, he has certain beliefs and ideas on how to get one going. Some of them really good, and others will guarantee he loses money.

One thing he said in particular that really popped out to me was that the way he figured it, he could charge just a little less than the other lawn care companies, and as a result, get a flood customers to jumpstart his business.

Basically, he was going to use low prices as his primary marketing strategy.

Now, I love my brother. He’s a great guy and he’s one of the smarter people I know. But dammit, this is one of the dumbest ways to approach business! [continue reading…]