Well, it is probably obvious by my lack of post that the newness of all this has finally worn off. Yes, I still enjoy what I do, but slowly it is becoming normal life versus something I want to sit down and write about all the time.
The news paper add was a pretty good investment. For the first four weeks it ran, it generated a little over $3000 in labor. Because of the results, I decided to run it an additional four weeks. So far the results haven't been quite as good, but it is still a worthwhile investment. When time allows, I will try to build a web site, or possibly look into having one built. I don't know if it will generate much business, but I think it's worth a try. Eventually, I expect word of mouth to keep me busy, but so far that is not the case. Up until now, all of my business has been generated from advertising of some sort.
I am finally getting comfortable with telling people my rate. At first I had a really hard time telling people that I worked at $35 per hour. Though I could see the need to work at that price, it just seemed like a really high price to pay. However, I am glad that I stuck with it. For I can now truly see that it is the price I need to work toward to really stay in business. If my rates were only $20 per hour, I wouldn't have room to buy new tools and cover my down time, expense and pay my self a decent wage. However, $35 per hour make this possible. There are people in town doing what I do who work for $20 per hour and even a little less. But I honestly don't know how that can really make it. There is just too much down time, drive time, and little expenses that eat into your profits.
It is possible that I am the most expensive handyman in my area, but so far, I don't think it has cost me much work. Many customers don't even ask a price. They just say come fix this. If a customer calls and I can tell that they are price conscious, I will tell them my rate and explain that that is what I have to charge in order to provide my service to them. Must customers seem to understand this. If a job sounds as if it is going to take several hours, I will try to look at it and give an estimate. But if it sounds as if it is a small job, I tell the customer that I can't come and give an estimate first.
It's funny how this business works. For the past four week I have been quite busy. But this week, the phone has been nearly silent. It rang today for the first time. It was a customer who needed her lawn mowed. While setting up a time to mow, she also let me know that she would soon be needing me to do a lot of little projects around her house. Later this evening, I recieved another call from a customer wanting me to give them an estimate to install 344 feet of chain link fence. If I get that job, it should be nearly a weeks worth of work. Well see what happens.
Actually, it has been quite nice to have a slow week. It has allowed to rest my body a little and get a few things done that I need to get done. I pulled a muscle in my back almost two weeks ago. However, it hasn't fully recovered because I couldn't rest it completely. This slow time is helping.
Though my add says nothing about hauling and property cleanup, I have received several calls from customers asking me to haul stuff away. So far I have just used my truck for doing this, but seeing the potential for this kind of work, I recently invested in a 16 foot trailer. Though the trailer is a little long for daily use, it should be good for hauling big loads when needed.
Well, I guess that's it for now.
