Facts You Should Know:
Business name: You are free to choose a name that suits you.
Location: California is the most suitable location for starting a handyman business. There are no licensing requirements for handymen in California. Hence, your Handyman Business Planning becomes easier there.
Revenue: The US Bureau of Labor Statistics says handymen businesses may earn $25,000 to $75,000 at an entry-level level. So, we’ll be moving with that projection for now.
No of employees: You may consider recruiting at least 12 employees. It’s the befitting size for a small LLC based in California.
Products offered: Into Handyman Business Planning for the first time? In this phase, it is better to start as a service aggregator.
You may choose from a range of services. For instance, plumbing, electrical work, and carpentry will be primary on the list. However, you may add more services based on local needs.
Mission and Vision of the Business
- Mission: A suitable mission for an entry-level handyman firm may be “providing quality-focused services to meet customer pain points.” Your mission statement may include “all round customers satisfaction through customized handymen services.”
- Vision: The service industry of California and, for that matter, the whole of the US is buzzing. Now’s your chance to leverage better service quality and professionalism. In 3 years, you may aim to position your business as one of California’s top handymen services agencies.
Scope of the Business
Zip Recruiter’s data reveals exciting stats that will get entrepreneurs on their feet. To begin with, you may earn $29,000 to $75,500 as a pro handyman here.
Moreover, handymen make $25 per hour on average. As a professional service company, you may customize client projects by having expert handymen in your legion. That way, you may charge higher than individual service providers.
Handyman Market in the US
The market is ripe for new entrants in the handyman business sector of the US. Firstly, handyman businesses offer more revenue now than ever. You may expect a threshold revenue of $25000 from your entry-level business annually.
Secondly, the market value of this business is also growing by leaps and bounds. Before 2024 ends, the market will be worth $4.7 billion.
Moreover, emerging businesses have no skirmish motives, as the market is vast. So, the prospect is equally enormous.
In addition, the handyman market will be worth USD 1.65 billion by 2032.
To sum up, entrepreneurs can easily indulge in Handyman Business Planning now.
Products/Services Offered
The first step of your Handyman Business Planning is sorting the services you’ll offer.
Here’s a list of the prospective services that you consider and why.
Best Products (in Bullet Points)
- Painting and staining services.
- Wall repair and drywall maintenance.
- Plumbing
- Electrical work (at domestic and small-scale commercial level)
- Basic carpentry for home decor
- Tiling and miscellaneous other services
Big names like Handyman Connection, Mt Handyman, Diem Home Services, and others also offer exterior handyman services. However, you may need a solid network to handle miscellaneous liabilities if you include external services in the list.
The standard external services are gutter cleaning, pressure cleaning of homes and vehicles, and installation/repair services.
However, there are more straightforward external services, too. You may take up projects like yard maintenance, fence repair, etc.
Cash Cows of Your Handyman Business
The choice of services is the key to a successful Handyman Business Planning. Like all businesses, you will have some sure winners in your arsenal.
For instance, a multi-service aggregator model will be beneficial for start-ups.
The demand for plumbing and electrical work is high across the US. Meanwhile, the requirements for carpentry and painting services are also increasing.
Hence, I recommend investing in these four areas.
Licensing for Your Business
The parameters to register your handymen in a state may vary from others. However, we plan to expand our business in California.
Here, we don’t have additional licensing requirements. So, getting along with your Handyman Business Planning won’t be an issue.
However, the business will eventually spread. So, a synopsis of the leading licensing requirements in the states concerned may help.
To license a handyman business/get a franchisee, you have to:
- Pass any trade or business exam. Passing a legal exam also works.
- You also need at least two years of working experience as a handyman.
- Insurance proof is mandatory.
- Every state has some minimum educational qualification requirements. While hiring associates, ensure that they have the necessary certificates.
- You must register your brand under the state labor department.
So far as the minimum licensing parameters are concerned. However, your net licensing cost may vary. It depends on the number and nature of services you are offering.
Wherever exams are mandatory, you’ll have to pay something between $200 to $350 as exam fees. That’s not all.
A license processing fee is also applied. It is between $100 to $200.
Now, it’s time to register your business (brand).
First and foremost, you need an Employee Identification Number. It is also known as the tax identification number.
This number is needed while opening a business account in the bank.
When you submit the licensing docs, you’ll need this number again. You even need the number to file tax returns.
Target market in the US
In the US, homeowners and professionals book handymen mostly. The US has over 86 million owned homes.
So, you have a vast target market at your disposal.
But that’s barely half of the handyman business target market.
There are 88.4 million professionals in the US. They comprise 59.8% of the net workforce, too. Most of them need professional handymen for miscellaneous activities.
Set the Right Pricing Strategy
To get a head start, doing the basics won’t help only. You must go around precisely measuring how your business may succeed.
First, you need the right pricing plan. Smooth onboarding of the business depends on wisely setting your product prices.
I recommend using a competitive pricing strategy; your prices should be on par with industry standards.
To begin with, check the prices that competitors offer. It will give you a clear idea of where to position your prices.
Then, note the standard and miscellaneous expenses in your daily operations. In addition, you’ll have to leverage considerable funds for marketing and promotions.
Two common pricing models are popular in the service industry.
I suggest charging customers hourly. However, it will be slightly tricky for aggregated services. Since the service charges of all work are unique, charging an hourly fee will be challenging.
In the same vein, the fixed price model is easier. There will be a standard rate card under this model. The customer must pay separately for the services received.
I’ve seen that charging hourly rates is better for some services. Whereas others can have fixed rates. For instance, carpentry may have variable hourly rates. The quality of work and skills needed in carpentry differ each time. So, the hourly charges will also be different.
That’s why a flexible charging policy is the best for the service business.
Challenges Faced by Handyman Businesses
There are various challenges in the service industry. I’ve tried to incorporate the most viable challenges to handyman services.
The most arduous part of your Handyman Business Planning will be setting the target customer base.
There are ample individual handymen in business, alongside service agencies. So, customers will be spoilt for choice.
The average customer loyalty will be equally low as the switching costs are lower.
Unless you think of a sure differentiator, it isn’t easy to thrive in the market.
The next big challenge is finding skilled craftsmen and laborers.
There is a sufficient supply of them. But the frisking nature of laborers is a challenge that all handyman businesses face here.
Financing Options
As I said in other articles, a bank loan is the most viable option for an entry-level business. But all loans may not suit you. The credits that are tailored for handyman business planning are:
- Credit lines
- SBA loans
- LLC business loans
Main Takeaways
- Aggregator businesses are most successful in the handyman business.
- It would help if you also had some exceptions USPs to make your business stand out
- The market is huge
- And so is the competition
- On top of that, the customers are not loyal at all
Conclusion
You must also be passionate about the business for successful Handyman Business Planning. To many, it may seem like an abstract business idea. However, we have already seen that the handyman business market is growing exponentially. It will grow more in the next 7 to 8 years, touchwood.
To start a handyman business, you have two easy options that I talked about. Firstly, consider opening your agency. There, you will be the direct employer. Secondly, you may apply for a franchise. There are several bug brands in the business. Franchise ownership will be more accessible. However, the chances of disruptive growth are higher in individual businesses.
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