On Monday, I took all of the lettering that my wife cut out and applied it to the back glass of my truck. It looked good, and we were both happy with the results. But that very same day, I decided that I really needed to have the camper shell back on my truck. As a result, the previous lettering work became useless. So, my good and loving wife had to do it all again. With all said and done (I still need to finish the sides), I must say that the results are pretty nice. If time is valuable to you, then you may be better off having the letters cutout and applied by a sign company. But if you time is not that valuable, then using contact paper and cutting the letters out yourself can be a very cost effective way of lettering your vehicle. We have a grand total of two dollars invested in the lettering that is on my truck.
This week has been rather slow. It has finally dawned on me that it is likely to take a whole lot of time and hard work until my phone begins to ring on a regular basis. I am very confident that there will be a huge demand for what I do once the word is out. However, getting word out is going to take a lot of work and possibly a lot of money. Up until this point, my only advertising has been through free online sites and 200 fliers I had made. While it was enough to get me started, it is apparent that it is going to take thousands of fliers and many others methods of advertising to really get my phone to start ringing.
From Sunday to Saturday, I made a grand total of $115. This included one garage door lock repair ($35) and three lawn jobs ($25, $25, $30). Just two weeks ago, I had no intentions of mowing lawns, however, I am finding that it is a pretty good way to earn some fast money. The lawns I do can be done in an hour or less (using only a basic push mower). And if you can manage to line them up on the same day (haven't really been able to do yet) then you can make a pretty good days work out of it. Though my last flier didn't say anything about mowing (it did say "yard work"), my next one will.
When I originally planned on starting this business, I thought that I would be taking on a lot of larger long term projects. However, I now hope that I can stay away from the long term projects and make a living on the small ones. I hope that I can focus more on small repairs, fixture installations (ceiling fans, faucets, etc.), and other short term projects. I didn't really plan on going this route until last week when I repaired the garage door lock. I found that I really liked just being in and out and on my way. Whether or not it will be possible to keep my schedule full with such work remains to be seen, but I certainly hope so.
Today, I am going to look at a gas grill that a customer can't get lit. Why someone reading my flier would think to call me concerning their gas grill is beyond me. However, in all truthfulness, it makes me happy that they did. I would love to eventually be known as the guy you call when you have a problem that you can't figure out. While I sincerely doubt that I will have any luck with the grill, there is a part of me that really looks forward to the challenge. Fortunately, because of the internet, I can take on a whole lot of things that would have been impossible years ago. Even if I am clueless about what I am being ask to do, I can get online and at least find a crash course on the subject.
My business is called Jason's Services. I am calling it this because I plan to eventually offer services that are outside the scope of typical handyman work. For example, I plan to eventually add windshield repair to my services as well as power-washing. Because of this, I thought that calling my business Jason's Services was the most fitting. My advertising will carry my business name and the slogan "A Handyman and More!."
Update: I went and looked at the grill. Since I am not real familiar with the mechanics of propane tanks, I was at first a little bit stumped. However, after a little bit of looking and fiddling, I was able to figure it out. It took less than 30 minutes. Since we never discussed rates on the on phone, I did not know how he would feel about my $25 minimum charge (actually, I am still developing my rate structure). However, he didn't flinch at all, and even gave me $30. He admitted that he wasn't very good at things around the house and that he would probably be calling me again. It is really legal to get paid for something you love doing?
The truck sign looks great. Sounds like things are going well. Keep up the good work. Also it is good to include the kids and let them work. This teaches them a lot. Have a good forth. Stay cool!
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