Well, one full year is out of the way, and it looks like my business is going to survive. It's amazing to think that a year ago at this time I was wondering if I would make it long term or not. Today the only thing I wonder is whether or not I can keep up with everything. While the winter was a little slow, since the middle of February until now, I have been pretty much busy nonstop. At first it was exciting to be booked for a full week at a time, but now I am starting to find it overwhelming. As I sit here tonight, I have a good two weeks of work lined with out any sign of things slowing down.
Currently, most of my work is outdoor work. This would not be bad except that it has been at least 105 degrees (107 has been the norm) for the past 3 weeks (I think we may have had one day that it failed to reach 100.). And quite frankly, it's not much fun. I used to think that my $35 was high, but when I am out working in this weather, I am convinced that my customers are getting a bargain.
It's really funny how this business runs in cycles. I can go for weeks with out doing a certain kind of job, and the next thing you know, I will find myself doing that same kind of job over and over. Right now, major property cleanups (not junk, but rather weeds, vines and other natural growth that has gone out of control) and fence installs are keeping me busy. In the past two weeks I have had two large scale cleanup jobs and two fence installs. And next week I start another major job that involves both cleaning natural debris and installing a fence in the newly cleared area.
To show another example of business running in cycles: a few weeks ago, I did five or six junk hauls in one week. This would not be interesting except for the fact that I had gone several weeks without a single request for junk hauling. This is only a couple of examples, if I were to go back through all my records, I could share several instances in which this happens.
Before starting this business, I had a strong belief that if a man would be dependable, honest, friendly and do good work, then that man would be in high demand. This belief is finally starting to show itself correct. While I surprisingly don't get a lot of word of mouth business, I do have a very strong repeat customer base. I believe it is safe to say that currently, over half of my business comes from repeat customers. The remaining business come from advertising of some sort.
I very thankful that I chose to advertise in the local paper. With out that advertisement, it would have been a very slow road. The adverting price has recently increased to $95 a month (it used to be $80); however, it is still money well spent. My business currently generates about $5500 to $6500 in labor charges per month. The newspaper ad is really the source of this income. Even though I have a great base of repeat business, it was through the newspaper ad that my steady customers originally found me. For this reason, I have no real need to spend any additional money on advertising. I do plan to eventually invest in some nice polo style shirts with my business named embroidered in front as well as some magnetic signage for my truck; however, this is more for the purpose of presenting a professional appearance rather than the purpose of attracting new business.
If I were willing to take on the responsibility of having an employee, I could advertise more and take on more business; but at the moment, I really don't want that headache. The greatest benefit of being in business for myself is the freedom and flexibility it offers. I am afraid that having an employee would cause me to loose some of that flexibility. Not only would I have the responsibility of staying in contact with my customers, but I would also have the responsibility of staying in contact with the employee and keeping him informed to everything that was scheduled. In addition to loosing flexibility, there would also be the additional burden of paperwork. Anyway, by time you pay the employee, pay his employment taxes, and pay for workers compensation, I really can't see an employee adding much to profits. Now if I could hire a guy for $8.50 per hour and bill him out at $35 per hour, it might be profitable; however, I could not in good conscience pay a guy so little for the work I do. I bust my hump everyday, and I would expect my employee to do the same. Anyone who is willing to give that amount of effort is worth being paid a decent, livable wage. Unfortunately, paying a liveable wage and all other employee expenses would likely cost more than it would add. So for now, it's just my poor wife who gets drafted when I need a second hand. She's a good worker and she's quite affordable. I can get a good days work out of her with the simple promise of taking her out for dinner (can't beat that!).
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Blogging!
I just read through my blog postings from beginning to end and realized that it is neat to have a written record of some of the jobs I have done and how they went. Though I realize that few visitors make it to my blog, it's at least a good way for me to keep a record of what life as a handyman is like. For this reason, I hope to be a little more consistent with updates to this blog.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Gate Pictures
A while back, I got a call from a customer who ask me to rebuild some damaged gates. After looking at the gates he wanted rebuilt, I was at first a little bit intimidated. However, I decided to give it a shot anyway. Once all was said and done, they turned out pretty well.
I meant to take pictures, but forgot. Fortunately, he recently called me back for an additional project, so I was able to get the pictures after all.
I estimated the gates at $300 labor plus materials (materials were a little over $100). The customer thought that was fair. The gates took about nine hours to build (someone with a nice work shop could build them a lot faster, but working with limited space really slows you down). I thought I estimated pretty well, however, when I went to hang them, they decided to be difficult. Because of this, I spent an addition couple hours hanging the gates that I didn't anticipate.
I meant to take pictures, but forgot. Fortunately, he recently called me back for an additional project, so I was able to get the pictures after all.
Front View
Back View
I estimated the gates at $300 labor plus materials (materials were a little over $100). The customer thought that was fair. The gates took about nine hours to build (someone with a nice work shop could build them a lot faster, but working with limited space really slows you down). I thought I estimated pretty well, however, when I went to hang them, they decided to be difficult. Because of this, I spent an addition couple hours hanging the gates that I didn't anticipate.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Flower Bed Before/After Pictures
Some jobs are done are simply for the money. For example, when I am removing leaves for customers, it's not because I love the work. Leaf removal is hard, dirty work that doesn't provide me with much satisfaction (but it does provide me with lungs full of dust, dirty clothes, and a sore body). The only real positive thing about leaf removal is the fact that I get paid for it. Other jobs that fall into this category are gutter clean outs and sometimes (depending on the situation) lawn mowing. Apart from the pay, there is not much I like about these jobs either. Fortunately though, those kind of jobs currently only make up less than 50% of what I do. Thankfully, the larger percentage of what I do are jobs that I really enjoy.
The jobs I enjoy most are jobs in which I get to see visible results at the end. I an very happy anytime I get to repair something or make something nicer. It's for this reason that I get satisfaction and enjoyment even from jobs such as cleaning out a flower bed. Though the work can be a bit tedious, it can also offer visible satisfaction at the end. Here are some pictures from a customers flower bed I cleaned out last summer.
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
I was called to give an estimate for this job just a few months after I went full time. I honestly had no idea how to estimate the cost. I really couldn't tell if it would take 5 hours or even maybe 10. To me it looked like a lengthy job, but I really wasn't sure. Finally, I made the customer an offer. I told them that I would work for my rate ($35/hour) up to $225. I told the customer that if the job took less than $225 of labor, then they would only be billed for the amount I worked. But if it took longer, then they wouldn't have to pay anything above $225. The customer thought this was fair.
When I went to do the job the next day, I was surprised at how fast the job went. The entire job was completed in 3.5 hours. The final bill for the customer was for $135 (this included a debris disposal charge). I guess she was happy with the price because when I received the check, it was made out for $165. I assumed that the extra was a bonus, but looking back on it, I guess it possibly could have been a mistake on her part.
The jobs I enjoy most are jobs in which I get to see visible results at the end. I an very happy anytime I get to repair something or make something nicer. It's for this reason that I get satisfaction and enjoyment even from jobs such as cleaning out a flower bed. Though the work can be a bit tedious, it can also offer visible satisfaction at the end. Here are some pictures from a customers flower bed I cleaned out last summer.
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
I was called to give an estimate for this job just a few months after I went full time. I honestly had no idea how to estimate the cost. I really couldn't tell if it would take 5 hours or even maybe 10. To me it looked like a lengthy job, but I really wasn't sure. Finally, I made the customer an offer. I told them that I would work for my rate ($35/hour) up to $225. I told the customer that if the job took less than $225 of labor, then they would only be billed for the amount I worked. But if it took longer, then they wouldn't have to pay anything above $225. The customer thought this was fair.
When I went to do the job the next day, I was surprised at how fast the job went. The entire job was completed in 3.5 hours. The final bill for the customer was for $135 (this included a debris disposal charge). I guess she was happy with the price because when I received the check, it was made out for $165. I assumed that the extra was a bonus, but looking back on it, I guess it possibly could have been a mistake on her part.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
One of Those Days
Good grief!
It was supposed to be a simple door install. I was simply replacing an interior door that a dog destroyed. The customer had the replacement door on hand. All I had to do was line up to two doors and transfer the hinge and handle locations. Next, I would simply chisel out the hinge settings, attached the hinges then rehang the door before drilling out the handle hole. However, after chiseling out the hinge settings, things didn't go so well.
After I reattached the hinges, I went to hang the door. When I did, I discovered that the new door was just a little wider than previous door. Because of this, the door wouldn't close. To make the door fit I needed to shave off 1/8 of an inch. While I have a lot of tools at my disposal, I really don't have a good way of shaving a door down. My only real option was to use my skil saw. To do this, I would simply place a straight edge at the right location and run my skil saw next to it so that it would shave off the right amount. This works well if you have a good solid straight edge, the only problem was that mine wasn't a good solid straight edge. Because of this, as I ran my saw against it, it flexed. This flex allowed my saw to go way off course causing me to effectively ruin the door.
Fortunately, it was only a $28 door. Also, it was fortunate that Lowes was just a couple blocks away. The whole project should have only taken two hours, however, after two hours, I was basically starting all over.
I was much more careful shaving the door the second time. However, I was to conservative in my cutting and didn't cut off enough. Because of this, the door was still too tight. However, it wasn't tight enough to justify using the table saw again. I thought I could fix the problem by setting the hinges a little deeper and by using my grinder/sander to shave off the little extra necessary. Finally, after MANY trips of taking the door in and out to try it out, it eventually fit, but not until another 3 and 1/2 hours had passed.
So, today I was paid $70 (I estimated it as a 2 hour job). Take away $31 for the door (including tax) and I am left with $39. Let's now subtract $5 for fuel and I still have $34. The government will want 15% of this ($5.10) leaving me with $28.90. I will now divide my $28.90 by 5.5 which is the number of hours I was at the job site and find that I made a total of $5.25 per hour.
It's good to be self employed :)
Actually it is really good to be self employed. When things like today happen, I just count is as learning. When I consider the fact that many people spend thousand of dollars for a degree that they may or may not use, I realize that eating the cost of a $30 door isn't so bad so long as I learned something along the way.
It was supposed to be a simple door install. I was simply replacing an interior door that a dog destroyed. The customer had the replacement door on hand. All I had to do was line up to two doors and transfer the hinge and handle locations. Next, I would simply chisel out the hinge settings, attached the hinges then rehang the door before drilling out the handle hole. However, after chiseling out the hinge settings, things didn't go so well.
After I reattached the hinges, I went to hang the door. When I did, I discovered that the new door was just a little wider than previous door. Because of this, the door wouldn't close. To make the door fit I needed to shave off 1/8 of an inch. While I have a lot of tools at my disposal, I really don't have a good way of shaving a door down. My only real option was to use my skil saw. To do this, I would simply place a straight edge at the right location and run my skil saw next to it so that it would shave off the right amount. This works well if you have a good solid straight edge, the only problem was that mine wasn't a good solid straight edge. Because of this, as I ran my saw against it, it flexed. This flex allowed my saw to go way off course causing me to effectively ruin the door.
Fortunately, it was only a $28 door. Also, it was fortunate that Lowes was just a couple blocks away. The whole project should have only taken two hours, however, after two hours, I was basically starting all over.
I was much more careful shaving the door the second time. However, I was to conservative in my cutting and didn't cut off enough. Because of this, the door was still too tight. However, it wasn't tight enough to justify using the table saw again. I thought I could fix the problem by setting the hinges a little deeper and by using my grinder/sander to shave off the little extra necessary. Finally, after MANY trips of taking the door in and out to try it out, it eventually fit, but not until another 3 and 1/2 hours had passed.
So, today I was paid $70 (I estimated it as a 2 hour job). Take away $31 for the door (including tax) and I am left with $39. Let's now subtract $5 for fuel and I still have $34. The government will want 15% of this ($5.10) leaving me with $28.90. I will now divide my $28.90 by 5.5 which is the number of hours I was at the job site and find that I made a total of $5.25 per hour.
It's good to be self employed :)
Actually it is really good to be self employed. When things like today happen, I just count is as learning. When I consider the fact that many people spend thousand of dollars for a degree that they may or may not use, I realize that eating the cost of a $30 door isn't so bad so long as I learned something along the way.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Seven Months and Counting
Well it's been nearly seven months since starting this endeavor, and with these seven months behind I can say that for me it is hard to imagine a better way of making a living. Though this line of work can be stressful (when a project is not going as expected, or when I have too many customers lined up at once), hard (digging post holes or mowing in 100 degree weather), and aggravating (most customers are great, but their are a few that can drive you nuts), it is also a lot of fun.
I love the fact that the work I do changes on nearly a day to day basis. I am quite sure that if I had to do any one thing day after day I would get tired of it quick. But as things are, as soon as I get sick of doing one thing, a new type of job will present itself. Over the past six months I have...
Removed Leaves - labor intensive and dirty work
Cleaned Gutters - Some times this is very easy work, but other times it is a very slow process. If the pitch of the roof is not too steep and the gutters are not packed with "muck" and do not have leaf guard, then you can just walk along the roof with a leaf blower and blow them clean. However, if they are full of decomposed "muck," then you have to scoop it out by hand foot by foot. If the pitch of the roof is too steep to safely walk on, you then have to do this by ladder which means constantly climbing up and down to move it a couple feet at a time (makes my knees hurt). And then to make matters worse, some times you have to remove leaf guard to get to the "muck."
Laid Sod
Poured Concrete - A very small section
Painted
Hauled Trash
Plugged Rodent Holes
Installed Gutters
Installed a Dead Bolt and a Peep Hole in a Door
Installed Light Fixtures
Installed Mini-Blinds
Replaces Electrical Outlets
Repaired Fascia -the trim along the roof line of a house
Installed Window Screen
Repaired a Riding Mower
Replaced a Rotted Bathroom Floor - As I was removing the old floor, I accidentally cut through a water pipe. Water went everywhere (this is one of those stressful moments I referred to earlier). Fortunately, it was a copper pipe, and I was able to repair it myself. I will certainly be more careful with my sawzall in the future.
Installed and Repaired Fences - three new installs and several repairs.
Weeded Flower beds
Mowed Lawns
Trimmed Trees
Trimmed Shrubs
Repaired a Rotted Soffit - the wood on the underside of a roof
Installed a TV Antenna
So as you can see, the work I do varies quite a bit. For me, this is a very good thing. The constant change keeps the job interesting. I have recently considered investing in better equipment and going heavily into lawn care this next spring. However, the more I think about it, the less I like the idea. Though I think it would be good to have work that is constant throughout the summer, I am not sure that I could handle doing the same thing day after day. I will wait a few more months before deciding on this.
It is really interesting the way business comes. It's either busy or it's not. Once the phone starts ringing for work it seems to then continue for several weeks straight. But all of a sudden, business will go completely dead and remain that way for a few weeks. After a couple of weeks, the phone will start ringing and I will be busy again. It's a really interesting thing. It's as if everyone gets in the mood to get something done at the same time.
I used to fret during the slow times, but now I am starting to just enjoy them as a perk of the job. Do to the fact that my families living expenses are low, I can usually make enough in a busy week to carry us for a full month. Because of this, I can handle a sudden slow down.
Business drastically dropped off during the holidays. Slowly it is picking back up. I must admit though, that I don't mind things being slow during the cold. As long as I have a little money in the bank, I am quite content to be home where it is nice and warm. Just the same, the cold weather also affects my customers actions. For if my recollection is correct, I have yet to have a call for work on a really cold day. Fine with me :)
While I doubt I will ever make a ton of money doing this, I do believe that I should be able to make a decent living while remaining free from the bondage of a time clock. If you are considering going into such a business as this, then my advice is simplify your life and make your living expenses as low as possible. By doing so, you can survive the lean times. If you have lots of monthly bills and have no discipline to save during the good times, then this type of up and down work could be very stressful.
I love the fact that the work I do changes on nearly a day to day basis. I am quite sure that if I had to do any one thing day after day I would get tired of it quick. But as things are, as soon as I get sick of doing one thing, a new type of job will present itself. Over the past six months I have...
Removed Leaves - labor intensive and dirty work
Cleaned Gutters - Some times this is very easy work, but other times it is a very slow process. If the pitch of the roof is not too steep and the gutters are not packed with "muck" and do not have leaf guard, then you can just walk along the roof with a leaf blower and blow them clean. However, if they are full of decomposed "muck," then you have to scoop it out by hand foot by foot. If the pitch of the roof is too steep to safely walk on, you then have to do this by ladder which means constantly climbing up and down to move it a couple feet at a time (makes my knees hurt). And then to make matters worse, some times you have to remove leaf guard to get to the "muck."
Laid Sod
Poured Concrete - A very small section
Painted
Hauled Trash
Plugged Rodent Holes
Installed Gutters
Installed a Dead Bolt and a Peep Hole in a Door
Installed Light Fixtures
Installed Mini-Blinds
Replaces Electrical Outlets
Repaired Fascia -the trim along the roof line of a house
Installed Window Screen
Repaired a Riding Mower
Replaced a Rotted Bathroom Floor - As I was removing the old floor, I accidentally cut through a water pipe. Water went everywhere (this is one of those stressful moments I referred to earlier). Fortunately, it was a copper pipe, and I was able to repair it myself. I will certainly be more careful with my sawzall in the future.
Installed and Repaired Fences - three new installs and several repairs.
Weeded Flower beds
Mowed Lawns
Trimmed Trees
Trimmed Shrubs
Repaired a Rotted Soffit - the wood on the underside of a roof
Installed a TV Antenna
So as you can see, the work I do varies quite a bit. For me, this is a very good thing. The constant change keeps the job interesting. I have recently considered investing in better equipment and going heavily into lawn care this next spring. However, the more I think about it, the less I like the idea. Though I think it would be good to have work that is constant throughout the summer, I am not sure that I could handle doing the same thing day after day. I will wait a few more months before deciding on this.
It is really interesting the way business comes. It's either busy or it's not. Once the phone starts ringing for work it seems to then continue for several weeks straight. But all of a sudden, business will go completely dead and remain that way for a few weeks. After a couple of weeks, the phone will start ringing and I will be busy again. It's a really interesting thing. It's as if everyone gets in the mood to get something done at the same time.
I used to fret during the slow times, but now I am starting to just enjoy them as a perk of the job. Do to the fact that my families living expenses are low, I can usually make enough in a busy week to carry us for a full month. Because of this, I can handle a sudden slow down.
Business drastically dropped off during the holidays. Slowly it is picking back up. I must admit though, that I don't mind things being slow during the cold. As long as I have a little money in the bank, I am quite content to be home where it is nice and warm. Just the same, the cold weather also affects my customers actions. For if my recollection is correct, I have yet to have a call for work on a really cold day. Fine with me :)
While I doubt I will ever make a ton of money doing this, I do believe that I should be able to make a decent living while remaining free from the bondage of a time clock. If you are considering going into such a business as this, then my advice is simplify your life and make your living expenses as low as possible. By doing so, you can survive the lean times. If you have lots of monthly bills and have no discipline to save during the good times, then this type of up and down work could be very stressful.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)