Friend wants to become a handyman/odd job man

[geek84]

Good Morning

A friend of mine seems to have a gift from an early age of repairing/fixing things and the other day he suggested that he was thinking of becoming a handyman or an odd job man. He can do a whole host of things such as: putting up shelves, putting together flat pack furniture, tiling, laminate flooring, fixing curtains/blinds, fixing faulty toilets, painting, building and repairing fences, guttering, gardening.
However, to get a ‘feel’ of the work and reassure himself that he will not be the only odd job man in the region, he would like to meet up either face to face or online with other individuals who are already doing this type of work and thus to discuss the pros and cons of doing this type of work.

Is anybody aware of any such places where odd job/handymen meet up/socialise to discuss the type of work they do?

Finally, my friend is not very computer literate, which is the reason why I am writing the post for him!!

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thank You.

 

[Myfordman]

There is certainly a demand for people who will take on odd jobs as more and more householders are completely incapable of doing practical things these days.

Being computer illiterate might be a problem. Most people are going to turn to the interweb to find solutions to their needs.
As a minimum he needs to drive a mobile phone, communicate by email and take card payments on his phone.
Getting established will be the key. Using Soshul Mejia is possibly essential ans the modern version of word or mouth as well as keeping an eye on websites like streetlife where local people are asking for "who can fit a door" "Who can replace a fence panel" etc

 

[RobinBHM]

Get him signed up to nextdoor, its just taken over from streetlife.

He needs a clearly defined range of services and a USP. IE gutters cleaned £50 semi etc.

There are lots of jobs that most trades cant be bothered with, that good handman services can mop up. 3 or 4 jobs a day at £50 or so sokn makes a fair income

A local handyman to me did a advertorial in one of local A5 free mags, he only does small jobs up to a day or so max so he keeps a short leadtime. Always wears a polo shirt with a logo, jobs priced before starting, invoice on completion, quick response on phone and a quick reply even if its a job he cant do.

 

[banjerbill]

Having been a handyman for ten years after I was widowed and gave up an office job I hated I would say its very spiritually rewarding but he won't get rich. He will be asked to do tradesman jobs but for labourers money. Also invoicing and self employed tax were a real pain to me and I suspect if he doesn't have computer skills he will struggle. There are also quite a few others out there competing for the work, so building a customer base won't be as easy as you might think. I was single and mortgage free so kept my head above water but didn't make a fortune. Its fun but not that lucrative.

Bill

 

[sunnybob]

Very risky business to take on.
He should look for other paid work in my opinion.
the biggest worry is actually getting paid for what he does.
the second biggest worry is getting insurance for when he makes a mistake and floods a house out or shorts the household electrics with £1000s worth of damage.

 

[Keithie]

^ what sunnybob said is spot on imo. Folk can be strange about paying and suing these days.

 

[pcb1962]

the second biggest worry is getting insurance for when he makes a mistake and floods a house out or shorts the household electrics with £1000s worth of damage.

It would appear that it's no problem at all getting insurance: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=handyman+insurance

 

[sunnybob]

have you followed it through and come up with an actual cost though.

 

[Keithie]

and guess what happens to the premium (if you can even get a policy) after you've had to make a few claims ...