Our goal is to help construction contractors build more profitable businesses. What we talk about applies to all branches of construction: remodeling to new home construction, landscaping to framing, handyman to pool maintenance, and everything in-between.
It doesn’t matter what construction field you work in; business is business. Let me share a few notes we’ve received:
I have been reading blogs on your website. I have purchased your book markup and profit and a couple other items. One question that I have is it seems to me that you can talk about new construction and it’s hard for me to understand putting it into context of a handyman business. Is this just for new construction?
Another note:
I am a one man painting contractor with a small list of freelancers that I draw on as needed. I often wonder if the classes you offer would be helpful to a sub like me… or are they geared specifically to the general contractor/builder trade?
I can understand why they ask. Most training that’s available for a construction business focuses on production, and that’s different for a handyman or specialty contractor than it is for a remodeling contractor. We talk about business and that won’t vary much no matter what type of work you’re producing.
Running a Handyman Business
For the most part, a handyman business should be run the same as any remodeling, specialty, or new home construction business.
There are a few differences. It’s more difficult to make a profit on handyman work if you only have one truck doing jobs. You’ll spend more time driving between jobs and discussing projects that might or might not happen. The jobs are also smaller, which means fewer billable hours in a day or week.
When it comes to handyman work, just like every other construction-related business, you need to know your costs so you can calculate the correct labor rate and/or the correct markup. In many ways, handyman work is similar to service work for specialty contractors. We discuss pricing handyman and service work here, including the pros and cons of time and material pricing versus upfront quotes.
Working as a Specialty Contractor
Generally, a specialty contractor is one that specializes in one or two disciplines or trades. You might do window and door installations or replacements. You might be a drywall specialist, or both drywall and insulation. Electricians, plumbers, painters, landscapers are all specialty contractors, the list of specialty trades is as long as my arm.
Staying with two disciplines means you have a targeted focus for marketing and advertising, but your volume will be generally less than a general contractor.
Specialty contractors can work for general contractors, for home or building owners directly and even for other specialty contractors as and when needed. Depending on the trade, your work can range from new home construction to remodeling to service work all in the same week.
Business Is the Same in Every Trade
Regardless of your trade, there is only one reason to be in business, and that is to provide a service and make a profit doing it. That happens when you are paid enough by your client to cover all the costs incurred by that job, as well as its share of overhead (which includes your salary) and a reasonable profit.
Regardless of your trade, you need to make a profit for long-term business stability. Your salary isn’t part of the job cost and it doesn’t come out of profit. If you’re the business owner, your salary is an overhead expense.
You need to be able to estimate the cost of the work you’ll do to develop the appropriate price. You need to communicate clearly and often with your clients and put all agreements in writing.
It’s best to stick to tried and proven approaches to business that will make you money. Remember, you aren’t in business to be different. Business is business and if you start trying to do things differently, you just might head down the wrong road and that’s usually an expensive trip. Don’t take that trip unless you can afford to travel.
Each branch of construction (remodeling or renovation, new home construction, specialty, commercial, and handyman) has its own nuances, but the business practices are and should be the same. So, when we write about business, you can apply it to any trade and you’ll be right most of the time.
The knowledge and experience Michael Stone gained in his 60+ years in construction has helped thousands of contractors improve their businesses and their lives. He is the author of the books Markup & Profit Revisited, Profitable Sales, and Estimating Construction Profitably, and is available for one-on-one consultations.
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