Being able to do various jobs around the house is a very good skill to have, and there is even the potential to make the most of your talents and make some money. As a lot of people either don’t have the time or skills to do odd maintenance jobs around the house, hiring someone else to do it for them is a great convenience, which means offering your services for a fee could lead to a comfortable, successful career as a self-employed handyman.
However, below are some of the key things you need to think about before you decide to try out this business venture.
Variety of Work
If you’re an individual who hates the thought of doing the same thing day-in and day-out at work, a job like this could be better suited to you. Manual labor can be more varied than office work, particularly if you’re doing odd jobs as a handyman. One day you might be putting up shelves in a client’s home office, and that same afternoon you could be painting a garden fence. If you are looking for a job that can offer you a bit more variety during your working day, becoming a handyman could be the perfect role for you.
Emergency Calls
As a handyman, people will rely on you to help them with maintenance jobs in their homes, and a lot of the time you may find that you’re getting emergency calls from clients that need your help urgently. This isn’t technically a bad thing, but if you already have scheduled jobs that day you might find yourself facing a difficult choice – do you turn down this job? Or do you risk irritating another client by pushing pack their scheduled slot? Furthermore, if a lot of your work does appear to be emergency call-outs rather than scheduled jobs, are you willing to work unsociable and late hours to get the jobs done?
Freedom
Being self-employed does come with certain freedoms, such as deciding what rates you want to charge for your services, what hours you want to work, when you take your annual holidays, and so forth. It’s this kind of flexibility that attracts a lot of people to the idea of being self-employed, and it also means that you get to choose what kind of jobs you want to do as a handyman. For example, if you don’t want to do gardening work, you can decline those jobs.
Keeping Your Business up and Running
While being self-employed has many benefits, you must also keep in mind that there will be additional tasks you will need to do other than just your handyman work that will help keep you in business. You will need to make sure you have the right policy that covers handyman insurance needs before you start working for clients. This ensures that if you do run into problems while on a job, you won’t risk your business finances as a result.
You Will Be Managing Yourself
You will be responsible for managing your business accounts, promoting yourself, and so on. At least when you work for someone else, you’re not responsible for the business management side of things.
If you’re a motivated individual and has exceptional DIY talents amongst other home maintenance expertise, setting yourself up as the local handyman could be a good business venture for you. Just make sure you’re taking time to consider the pros and cons before you get started.