The housing industry is continually growing and a huge chunk of it has already fully recovered from the housing recession of 2008.
Having a home maintenance franchise or business today can be highly rewarding in this present market. Whether you’re a skilled carpenter, plumber, electrician or painter, most homeowners prefer to have a reliable go-to contractor for their home repair needs. Here are some tips on how to start your home repair business:
6 Steps to Starting Your Home Repair and Improvement Business
Step 1: Identify your handyman skillset.
You need to know if you’re cut out for this line of business. Simply because you know how to replace a busted light bulb or paint a front door doesn’t mean you already should dive into it. It doesn’t mean that just because you have brilliant business know-how that it already qualifies you for this industry.
There’s a lot more to consider. Your business’ long-term success will be determined by your motivation and your skills. Without the proper motivation, you will lose interest in it. On the other hand, without the skills, you are setting yourself up for failure. Handyman skills are at the very core of this business and you need sufficient knowledge of fixing things around the house if you want this to succeed.
Step 2: Know what services you can offer.
Once you have already identified what your skillsets are, you can then list down the services you can offer to your potential clients.
Are you more interested in home improvements and renovations? Are you more knowledgeable about plumbing and waterworks? Are you a good repairman? Or are you a better electrician than you are a painter?
Find out what you can do and list down the services you can offer that are related to your skillsets. If you want to be a well-rounded handyman, you can always educate yourself by studying the other aspects of home improvement.
Step 3: Do your research.
By “research,” we mean conducting a feasibility study to see how well your business will do. You have to find out what the market is like, who your potential customers are, what types of homes are in your service area, what issues are common, and other related concerns.
Step 4: Perform an inventory and list down the tools and equipment you will need.
Next is making an inventory of the tools and equipment you have on hand and the listing down other important tools that you will need based on the services you are going to provide.
You cannot make it in this line of business if you are ill-equipped to take on the different jobs that will come your way. Make a list and make the necessary purchases of tools that are needed to get the job done. Consider this as an investment and not an expense.
Step 5: Set-up shop.
Now that all of those are out of the way, it’s time to formally set-up shop. This phase will require a lot of legwork on your end. From thinking of a business name to taking care of legal documents, this is where you will get to really have a feel of running and owning a business.
Do not take this step lightly as this will help establish you as a legitimate business that potential clients can trust.
Step 6: Get the word out about your business and services.
Once you have everything in place, get the word out and advertise your services. Promote and market your business using the traditional way of marketing and making your presence felt online as well. But don’t limit yourself to just fliers and social media. Get creative with your marketing. How you market yourself will determine how much business you’ll get.
While starting a business is never an easy thing, with the right motivation and diligence, you can make it work for you.
