In reply to mr2s2000elise :
Thank you kindly, I sincerely appreciate it.
In reply to mr2s2000elise :
Thank you kindly, I sincerely appreciate it.
Appleseed said:In reply to daeman :
If you pursue this, I have faith in you. You are asking all the right questions.
Thanks mate, very much appreciate your confidence in me. I'm trying to ask and learn what I can and get a bit of a plan together before I throw myself in the deep end.
Daeman,
My sis lives on the gold coast. We were in Canberra for about 2 years (11 years ago), and am in Auckland once a year. I didn't know if you are doing it there, or looking stateside. But since I do lots of business in SE Asia, and outside of USA, I will say one thing that I think is pretty universal.
Always look at a customer long term. People who try to get short term rich, on one deal, never really make it. Get in it for the long haul, have a goal, have integrity, you will be fine!
If most of these guys used common sense, and a long term vision, they would all do fine, instead of fizzling out, and you wouldn't have "bad contractor" stories to tell at a dinner table...
Good luck
daeman said:californiamilleghia said:Do Honest work , admit if you screwed up and eat it , do not try and hide the screw-ups
Save money for the slow times ,
Do not play your radio LOUD , or even at all if the owner is there ,
Make sure the $$$$ is there , if they are a slow pay at the start its probably not going to get any better ,
Be proud of your work ,
Thats all I have now , if you enjoy doing this kind of work you will have a busy life :)
That's all very fair and sound advice. Alot of tradies seem to forget they're in other people's homes and businesses at times....
And yeah, there's always going to be times where it's just better to walk away from a job/potential job.
That's the point I was going to bring up, not just from a handyman direction, but from a small business direction in general.
One of the hardest things to learn is when to fire a customer, but it's also one of the most important. 80-90% of your problems will come from 5-10% of your customers. Learn to fire them. Learning how not to "hire" them as customers is even better. Note that valid feedback and good ideas don't make a customer bad, random complaining about stupid things does.
Before I became the locksmith of my facility, I was what they euphemistically called a "maintenance mechanic". Which loosely translates to "professional handyman".
So I get to be a federal employee and wander around the buildings fixing stuff. I do the same thing now but specialize in just doors and locks.
If you have a desire for stable employment/regular paychecks/low stress, take a look at government work.
In reply to WonkoTheSane (FS) :
That's great advice really, a lot of companies fall into the rut of accepting every job they can, even the bad ones.
What ends up happening is they either overbook and piss off everyone or they end up working on the crappy job and missing out on the better jobs.
It's very important to have a b.s detector. I have a guy that is well known in the local town, good guy and all and I did a little 3 day job for him. Pretty much a nightmare because he would set us up to fail so he could look good to, I'm assuming, his wife. His ego is ginormous and I made him look kinda stupid right out of the gate, nothing huge and I wasn't mean about it or even really harped on it but it was enough for his fragile ego.
He has called me a handful of times to do a fairly huge project, several months if work but I'm not touching it with a 10 foot pole. More importantly though is no one else will touch it either. Shows my gut reaction is good.
mr2s2000elise said:Daeman,
My sis lives on the gold coast. We were in Canberra for about 2 years (11 years ago), and am in Auckland once a year. I didn't know if you are doing it there, or looking stateside. But since I do lots of business in SE Asia, and outside of USA, I will say one thing that I think is pretty universal.
Always look at a customer long term. People who try to get short term rich, on one deal, never really make it. Get in it for the long haul, have a goal, have integrity, you will be fine!
If most of these guys used common sense, and a long term vision, they would all do fine, instead of fizzling out, and you wouldn't have "bad contractor" stories to tell at a dinner table...
Good luck
Setting up here, no intentions of moving states side any time soon. Though an extended road trip holiday there is on my bucket list.
I'm down towards the new south wales/ victorian boarder. How's your sister enjoying the gold coast?
I agree, it's definitely not a get rich quick scheme. I figure it'll be more a slow burn to be honest, but if I do it right and try not to be everything to everyone, I should be able to make it into a bit of a lifestyle job over time.
In some ways I'm thankful for the "bad guys" it helps the honest and proficient ones look better hahaha.
Thank you
WonkoTheSane (FS) said:daeman said:californiamilleghia said:Do Honest work , admit if you screwed up and eat it , do not try and hide the screw-ups
Save money for the slow times ,
Do not play your radio LOUD , or even at all if the owner is there ,
Make sure the $$$$ is there , if they are a slow pay at the start its probably not going to get any better ,
Be proud of your work ,
Thats all I have now , if you enjoy doing this kind of work you will have a busy life :)
That's all very fair and sound advice. Alot of tradies seem to forget they're in other people's homes and businesses at times....
And yeah, there's always going to be times where it's just better to walk away from a job/potential job.
That's the point I was going to bring up, not just from a handyman direction, but from a small business direction in general.
One of the hardest things to learn is when to fire a customer, but it's also one of the most important. 80-90% of your problems will come from 5-10% of your customers. Learn to fire them. Learning how not to "hire" them as customers is even better. Note that valid feedback and good ideas don't make a customer bad, random complaining about stupid things does.
Cheers, appreciate hearing that. Clem, the old maintenance guy who I've been talking with has said very similar.
Basically he said if it doesn't feel right from the get go, walk away. Obviously it was a little more in depth than that, but that was the overtone.
The biggest problem will be identifying those "problem jobs/ customers" in the early days untill I get my bullE36 M3 meter better tuned.
Constructive criticism and feedback is something that you can learn from. But some people just can't be pleased and will find fault in anything.
In reply to KyAllroad (Jeremy) (Forum Supporter) :
Thanks for the insight. Due to where I am, government opportunities will probably be scarce, but agree, worth keeping an ear out for. I have met a guy who was contracted out by the department of public housing and he seemed to be doing ok out of it. The only draw back to that is the tennants.... Public housing attracts some of the roughest, shadiest characters you're ever likely to meet haha.
Antihero (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to WonkoTheSane (FS) :
That's great advice really, a lot of companies fall into the rut of accepting every job they can, even the bad ones.
What ends up happening is they either overbook and piss off everyone or they end up working on the crappy job and missing out on the better jobs.
It's very important to have a b.s detector. I have a guy that is well known in the local town, good guy and all and I did a little 3 day job for him. Pretty much a nightmare because he would set us up to fail so he could look good to, I'm assuming, his wife. His ego is ginormous and I made him look kinda stupid right out of the gate, nothing huge and I wasn't mean about it or even really harped on it but it was enough for his fragile ego.
He has called me a handful of times to do a fairly huge project, several months if work but I'm not touching it with a 10 foot pole. More importantly though is no one else will touch it either. Shows my gut reaction is good.
Without blowing my own horn to much here.... Due to a few decisions my partner an I made over the last few years, I should be able to avoid that trap. With no mortgage, the pressure to squeeze for every last job and dollar is substantially less. I don't think I would have been game to tray and start a business from scratch with a large mortgage hanging over our head.
Customer reputation is almost as important as the workers in a small town isn't it! Seems like every town has a couple of customers who end up more or less blacklisted by any of the local contractors.
Again,thank you for the examples and anecdotes.
Ok, so far it's looking like done right, this is an avenue worth pursuing for me.
I have a few immediate things I have to look at because a job has fallen into my lap.
I'll need to come up with a business name so I can get it registered for invoicing and taxation purposes.
I'll also look at adding an additional number for my phone service so I can keep work and personal separate.
I need to look I to business cards, the hardware guy has said he'll host them and hand them out.
I'm sure there's a few other things too, but I'll keep thinking and see what comes to me
In reply to daeman :
Sounds like you are doing very well and not needing every dollar is a great thing, congrats!
Yeah it is, and it's really not worth it working for them. I regret every time I do.
You are welcome
I'm not in the handyman business, but I have been in the building service industry for 20 years and self-employed for 15 of those. We sell and install automatic and commercial pedestrian doors and hardware. We do a lot of work in medical buildings as well as some industrial and retail.
My suggestions:
1. Don't be in a race to be the cheapest. That is a battle the national chains and service companies usually win. Beat them on quality, not price. You will make as much or more and work less. Yes, you will probably have to be pretty reasonable initially to get some recognition and get your foot in the door, but don't be scared to be the upper end of the price range. The people you want to work for will be willing to pay for quality and the people that won't pay for top quality work, you don't want to work for.
2. Hire an accountant to do your tax filings. It's worth the peace of mind and the backup when the "man" wants to do an audit. I honestly believe that having a CPA do my tax filings has saved me from being audited over the years. In 15 years I've had 2 and came out of both of them with a smile on my face.
3. Be willing to do the jobs that other people don't want to and charge accordingly. Most big companies want to do the cream work, in and out fast. Do the harder stuff that takes a little more time. By being a one-stop-shop, you will not only get the easy work but you will get all of it.
4. Be the best in your industry in your region. And I do mean the best in all respects. Best work quality, best dressed, best personality, best smile, best behavior. When you pull up to the job they should know who you are before you even get out of the truck. Act like a professional and command professional prices. Act like a fly by night and you will get paid accordingly.
5. Drive a decent truck. It doesn't have to be the newest or the fanciest, but it should be well cared for and clean. Personally, I think it should look like a work truck, not a bro-dozer but that's just me. I run 10-year-old+ high mileage trucks as service vehicles. They are clean and have our signage on the side.
6. And probably the most important. Communicate. Not just the good news, but the bad as well. 95% of your customers are reasonable people that just want to know you are interested in their problem and doing your best to take care of it. They do not want to be left in the dark wondering. The 5% that are unreasonable you hopefully already weeded out by not being the cheapest.
That's all I have for now. Good luck.
The only advertising I did really was the door magnets when we first started out.
I used: Reliable, Experienced, Better. As a slogan. Got a ton of work from that when we first started out actually because it catches your eye and engages you.
daeman said:Ok, so far it's looking like done right, this is an avenue worth pursuing for me.
I have a few immediate things I have to look at because a job has fallen into my lap.
I'll need to come up with a business name so I can get it registered for invoicing and taxation purposes.
I'll also look at adding an additional number for my phone service so I can keep work and personal separate.
Google voice. Free if you have a Google account, and you can use it on the same device you're already carrying. A good way to get started out cheaply, then you can forward or port the number when you need a truly standalone company phone.
I need to look I to business cards, the hardware guy has said he'll host them and hand them out.
Look online. You can usually find 100 basic cards in the $10-20 range delivered. Not sure about where you are, but I imagine it's the same.
I'm sure there's a few other things too, but I'll keep thinking and see what comes to me
Funny. I need some stuff done before we sell, like redo the bathroom tile, maybe put another one in upstairs, so I was like "oh, I'll see where dude is located and maybe-- oh. Scratch that." Water doesn't even drain the same way here.
At one point, I was in charge of a couple of hundred homes that had gone through foreclosure. Since we had serviced the loans, we ended up getting them ready to sell. The lender paid, but we acted as their agent. I hired many maintenance guys.
Look & act professionally. Be punctual. COMMUNICATE - if its going sideways, I need to know sooner rather than later. Under promise, but over deliver. Provide reasonably detailed invoices - not every board and screw, but enough to see where the money is going. Be willing and able to produce references.
Finally (and I don't know what its like over the water), be licensed, bonded, and insured. There were several so-called Maintenance Professionals who approached me for work but could provide none of those. Seriously? No. Absolutely not. You're not a business. You're a cowboy with a truck.
At the start of the thread I mentioned this was something that was kind of evolving organically..... This morning when I replied to some of you I was actually on my way out the door..... I had an unrelated conversation with a lady the other day whilst trying to get hold of her husband, unbeknownst to me, he had passed away last year. I felt terrible, apologized profusely on several occasions but we got chatting about a few different things. Eventually the question that always seems to come up around these parts entered the conversation... "What do you do for work" I told her I'd recently taken on a maintenance and groundskeeping role with a local hotel, and considering dipping my toe in the world of property maintenance...
Do you paint? She asked quick as a shot. Yes, of course, why do you ask? Was my response. A bit more discussion later and I arranged a time to duck out and take a look at what she needed done... That was yesterday afternoon. She was happy with my rate, my proposed scope of work and how I was going to go about it, so this morning I headed out to get down to business. I had an entryway doorset and sidelights to sand, fill, prep and paint.
About an hour in she comes up to me and queries wether or not I've got any electrical knowledge. Yes, but I'm not a licensed electrician, so anything outside of changing over existing outlets and switches is not really something I'd be happy doing. She tells me she needs to swap a couple of light fixtures. No problem, I've got my circut tester here, so long as we can isolate the circus and I can varify that they're safe, consider it done.
So I got the painting done, she was impressed. Got the lights sorted, again, very happy. Then I got asked to fix a toilet seat and also a storage box/seat... Done and done.
All up I billed out 8 hours plus consumables and have been asked back tomorrow to do some more paint and possibly some minor repairs.... She also said anything that needs doing between now and sale I'll be her first port of call.
I know it's only one client, but apparently E36 M3 just got kind of real....
Meanwhile, damn I'm glad I took some extra equipment with me and not just paint gear
In reply to Antihero (Forum Supporter) :
Thank you, hopefully that didn't come off as a humble brag or worse.. just figured it was worth including in terms of having enough breathing space to not having to take on some of the... "Undesirable"... Customers.
Totally understand, I have no doubt I'll get caught out here or there, but that's part and parcel and I'll just have to chalk it up to experience.
In reply to Toyman01 (Moderately Supportive Dude) :
Thanks for all the pointers, greatly appreciated mate! You've given me some very sound advice for which I'm really grateful. I'll do my best to try and absorb it all and put it into practice going forward.
My partner will sort the book keeping for the most part, but I'll take on board the bit about the value of an accountant.
Again, thanks heaps!
In reply to Antihero (Forum Supporter) :
Prior to toyman and yourself mentioning it, I hadn't even thought of vehicle signage.... Which is pretty dumb given how many times I've approached guys with signed vehicles if they do something I need.
That's a solid slogan, I might need to borrow it at least in part haha.
In reply to RevRico :
Cheers for the heads up on google voice, I'll check it out. Otherwise I've got a dual sim phone and could add an extra sim to my account for about $10p/m.
Yes, vistaprint has something cheap like that and a bunch of templates and designs on hand.
Was the last bit quoted because it's inevitable that I'll think of more stuff?
Cheers rico
In reply to P3PPY :
Appreciate the thought all the same mate hahaha. I mean, I'd be willing to come and help you.... But the flight costs would be a killer. Good luck with your work and sale, hope it all goes well.
In reply to CJ (FS) :
Totally agree regarding punctuality and communication!! I hate, and I mean HATE being kept waiting if I've been promised a time but it comes and goes and I haven't heard anything. Things happen and I'm reasonable... But a message or phonecall makes all the difference. Yeah, I definitely want to make sure I build up some solid references... We all have to start somewhere though. Today was a good step in that direction, as is my current work doing maintenance for a local motel.
Regulations here for maintenance/handymen are fairly lax , but insurance, and being a registered business for taxation and invoicing purposes are givens. There's been a bit of chatter about tightening up the sector and I'll make sure I'm at the front of the curve re any licencing or qualifications rather than being left out in the cold.
Thank you
In reply to daeman :
Congrats on launching the new buisiness :)
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