It's About Time for an Update I Suppose

Well, after two long years of silence, it’s time to bring a little life to this blog again.  Though this blog doesn’t attract a ton of readers, it is apparent that there are several people out there considering this line of work, or who are already in this line of work who drop in for a visit from time to time.  After receiving a few emails from inquiring minds wanting to know if I am still in this business and how it is going, I have decided to make it a priority to provide a long overdue update.

Yes, Jason’s Services is still very much open for business, and business is going as well as I could ever have hoped.  Things have been a little slow since the end of October, but this is more by my own intentional doing as opposed to business dropping off against my hopes.  To tell you the truth, I have been attempting to slow down for well over a year now.  In my attempt to slow down, I pulled my advertising out of our local paper at the end of October 2012.  In the early days, pulling my advertising was enough to slow things down when I desired some time off.  But after three years in business, pulling my advertising no longer guarantees me time off.  Though it is a good problem to have, I have developed a strong base of customers who use me as there go-to guy for most of their household to-do list.  Well, these customers don’t rely on the newspaper for finding me; they have my contact information elsewhere.  And while I have picked up a few new customers here and there through word of mouth, a phone book listing and some internet exposure, for the most part I have stayed busy with projects for my established customers.  It is only recently that my phone has slowed down enough to allow me to take some time off in order to accomplish a few things at home that need to be accomplished.  

Regarding income, things are pretty much the same as my last post.  If I recall correctly, 2012’s taxable income was pretty much the same as 2011 (around $36,000).  Because of my recent slowdown, and because some other out of the ordinary things in 2013, I think our taxable income will be quite a bit less this year (I am guessing $25000 -$28000).  

Some of my readers who are considering going into this business may find it discouraging that my business does not seem to be growing and that it is even decreasing, but keep in mind that I am the one who is holding this business back.  If I was willing to advertise a little more and work 50 hours a week 50 weeks out of the year, then I could realistically earn $70,000 in a year.  But as it is, most of the time I am pretty content to work at a slower pace and earn a little less.  While it is sometimes unavoidable, I just don’t enjoy my work when I am working at a crazy pace.   Sure, it’s kind of cool when your earn $7000 - $8000 in month (not uncommon during the summer months), but when I am working that hard and earning that kind of money, I find that I have some inner need to spend money on things I typically don’t desire and things I don’t really need.  I think the psychology behind this is that I am attempting to justify all my hard work by purchasing something tangible to replace the satisfaction that I normally have in my work when things operating at a more reasonable pace.  You see, when things are operating at a reasonable and steady pace, my satisfaction comes directly from my work.  I have time to enjoy my work and enjoy the results of a job well done.  During these times, I have no inner need to spend money just for the sake of spending money.  But when I am backed up with several jobs and I am racing to keep up, I don’t have time to really enjoy my work as I normally do.  So I think that in order to compensate for the lack of satisfaction I have during these busy times, I attempt to find that satisfaction by spending some of the money I worked so hard for.   Unfortunately, spending my money on things I don’t really need is nowhere near as satisfying as being able to work at more relaxed pace and find true pleasure in the work I am doing.   So yes, the potential to earn $70,000 a year is certainly there, but what is the point in that if you don’t break out in songs of joy several times throughout the day because you know that you must be the happiest man in the world?

2011 in Review

After a year and one half as a handyman, I must say that I really enjoy what I do. I love the freedom, I love the customer interaction, and I love to fix things, build things and make things better. I make a decent living (according to my needs and desired standard of living), and I often have an valid reason to purchase the cool new tools that keep popping up on the market. I realize that many would not find the work I do satisfying and enjoyable, but for me, I can't think of a better way to earn a living.


According to my wife's accounting, it looks like we will be paying taxes on approximately $36,000 for 2011. Actual labor income was between $45,000 and $50,000, but once expenses are deducted (mileage, tool purchases, cell phone, advertising and other business related necessities) $36,000 is what we show for profit.


I realize that $36,000 is not a considered a great income in this world, but it more that covers my families needs and it is certainly a lot more that I could ever hope to make by working for any employer in our area. Unless you have a very useful degree and skill, you will be a very lucky person if you can find anything paying over $9.00 per hour in this part of Oklahoma. So when that is considered, I feel I am quite blessed to earn what I did this past year.


In addition to my actual taxable earnings, there are a whole lot of perks that go with this line of work that make it worth much more that the $36,000 cash income. For instance, I started out the year fairly slow, meaning that for most of January, I didn't have to get out in the cold very often, but instead was able to stay home and take it easy with the family. Just the same, because I recently needed a large amount of time to finish a personal project on the house we are living in, I simply took my ad out of the paper which caused business to slow enough to give me that needed time. To me, this ability to work in time off, is a very valuable perk (To be honest and fair I need to say that it can be really hard to work in time off during the busy months.)


Other perks of this line of work include:


1. My family can come to work with me when I need their help.
2. I can take phone calls from my family at virtually all times.
2. My jobs change on a daily (or at least weekly) basis.
3. Most jobs provide me the satisfaction of visual and tangible results at the end.
4. I can works as long or as short of day as I like (usually long during summer months and short during winter months).
5. I get to purchase and use a whole lot of neat tools, and then get to deduct the purchase from my taxes.


There are other perks I could probably list, but this is enough for now to illustrate the point that this job is much more valuable than the $36,000 in cash income.


Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of days that I get tire and weary of my work (this is usually when I am foolishly trying to work too many long days in a row). But fortunately, those days are few and far between. Most days on the job, I find myself filled with joy and thankfulness to the creator of the universe for allowing me to earn my living in this way.


Below are some pictures and brief descriptions from some of my various projects in 2011.

Floor Repair -Payless Shoes - Stillwater
Customer Cost - $300 ($280 Labor/$20 Materials)

Damage Before Repair

Though it was only four tiles that needed replaced, I estimated the job at eight hours labor. I had never messed with commercial tile (or any tile for that matter) so I didn't really know what I was in for. I figured that eight hours would be more time than needed, but estimated eight hours just to be safe. Turns out that it took me right at eight hours for the job. Removing the old tiles and glue was not an easy task. In addition, I had to chip away at some raised portion of concrete that was causing the damage. Then, I had to apply a skim coat (basically a new layer of floor to attach the new tiles to) and let it dry (couple of hours). Next I had to apply the glue and let it dry to touch (30 minutes to 1 hour). Finally I laid the new tiles and cleaned up. Before I knew it, a full day was used.

Tiles Chipped Away
(Note: removing commercial tile and glue is not fun or easy)

Skim Coat Applied

Glue Applied

New Tiles in Place

Water Damage Repair
Christoper and Banks - Stillwater OK
Customer Cost - $638 ($575 Labor/$63 Materials)


Damage Before Repair

A water pipe broke overhead causing water to leak down through the restroom ceiling. The water took the path of least resistance and mainly passed through the joint tape. The damage looked rough, but the repair was simply a matter of removing damaged joint tape and loose paint and then applying new joint tape and joint compound. I then finished the job by repainting the entire restroom. I estimated for two day labor, and the estimate proved right on the mark.

After Repair

Pillar Repair

Customer Cost $280-$300 (can't remember exactly)

Pillar Before Repair

 

The footing supporting this pillar sunk several inches in the ground.  This caused the pillar to lose it's supporting ability.  This also caused the pillar to come loose and fall down.  In addition to this, the base of the existing pillar had about an inch of wood rot.

Sunken Pillar

 To repair, I simply built a form around the sunken footing and poured more concrete in order to raise the footing a few inches higher than its original height.  Next, I cut off the rotted portion of the pillar.  Then, I jacked the over hang it was supporting up just a little and set the post in place.  I then secured the pillar to the overhand and footing.  I finished the project by installing some decorative trim around the bottom.

The job was fairly straight forward and simple, but it still cost the customer nearly $300 because the job required a return trip (concrete had to set up before installing pillar).

 Finished Pillar

Arbor Construction

Customer Cost - $675 ($420 Labor/$245 Materials)

Fortunately for me, this customer did not ask for an estimate.  She knew my rates and just ask me to build something similar to a drawing she gave me.  I would have underestimated this job.  In my head, I figured it wouldn't take more than eight hours, but by time it was complete I had over one and one half days invested.  

Materials for this project were not cheap.  Due to the look my customer desired, I recommend that she use cedar.  Unfortunately, cedar currently cost 2.5 - 3 times as much as regular treated lumber.

Arbor Under Construction

 

Arbor Complete

Japanese Style Fence

Customer Cost - $780 ($580 Labor/$200 Material)

One of my regular customers apparently has more confidence in me that I have in myself.  This became evident when she handed me a drawing she made of a fence she wanted built.  She didn't ask me if I thought I "could" do it, she simply said that she wanted it done.  The straight parts of the job didn't concern me, I knew I could handle that, but the angle part I was a little concerned about (actually it was a compound angle).  Though my process was probably not the same that Tom Silva (probably the greatest and most knowledgeable  carpenter in the country who is featured on This Old House) would have used, the end result was acceptable and pleasing to the customer (which is all that really matters).

 Completed Fence

Shed Residing

Customer Cost $2500 ($1650 Labor/ $850 Material)

The jobs I enjoy most are jobs that provide drastic before and after results.  The following is one such job.  The couple I am working for had a previous "handyman" that apparently was either a real moron or simply a real loser who took complete advantage of his customers inability to adequately inspect his work upon completion. This joker built a storage shed (the framing is not "too" bad), and then sided it with OSB (the sheet board that is made up of many splintery fiber glued together.  

When OSB is used correctly, it serves it purpose well, but it is NEVER to be used for any application in which it will be directly exposed to the ellements.  If you are building just a temporay (as in something that will last less then a yeart) shelter and need to get by cheap, then that's different.  But if you are building something you want to last for several years, do not use OSB where it will be directly in contact with the elements.  I will deteriorate quickly.

Well, because of this guys con job (I am assuming he pocketed the extra money he should of used for a real siding product) I got called too reside the building. 

Building's Prior Condition

Build After Residing and Painting

 

I really went above and beyond what I was originally planning with this job.  I could have gotten by without installing the soffit and fascia, but I really wanted to trim the building up nice.  Once it's all said and done, I am glad I put in the extra work.

One Year!

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!).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Still At It!

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.

Week Five Recap

Typically, I would not consider myself a fickle person. My emotions are pretty constant, and I am usually continuously confident regarding the decisions that I make. However, with that said, I must be honest and admit that my emotions have been a little bit up and down regarding my decision to go full time as a "handyman."

Most of the time I am pretty confident and very happy about my decision. But, let me go several days in a row with no work, and I start to doubt my decision. This is the situation I was in when my doubts reached a climax last Tuesday (July 20th). With the exception of a few small jobs, I had been almost eight days without any significant work. This situation would not have been so bad if it were not for the fact that I had just spent $80 to advertise in our local paper. The ad started on Sunday, and as of Tuesday, I had not received a single call. In addition to this, a guttering estimate I prepared was rejected that same day for being too high. Now, take these facts and add them to the fact that my wife's hours were being cut way back at her job, and you ended up with a man who was starting to be overcome with doubt. With the safety net of my wife's hours disappearing, and with the phone not ringing, I was starting to already consider the possibility that I might have to once again become an employee to someone else.

Fortunately, this season of doubt didn't last long. Though I sat in it for the better part of the day, I was eventually reminded of some important things (These "important things" were in regards to my faith. While I am in no way ashamed of this these things, I make a point not to mention them here. If you look at my profile, you will see another blog spot of mine that is devoted to the topic). And after this reminder, everything was once again well. While these "important things" didn't guarantee me success as a handyman, they did guarantee that everything would workout for our eventual good.

It was the following day (Wednesday, July 21st) that everything began to get busy. The day started with a call from a lady wanting me to paint her bathroom. However, before I could leave for that job, I got my first call and job from the newspaper ad. The job involved weed-eating a fence line. After returning home from these two jobs, I found an email from the guy I gave the gutter estimate to. He sent the email to let me know that he wanted me to do the guttering after all. He also mentioned that he needed me to move another load of books (I mentioned this guy in my last post). I moved the books on Thursday and bought the materials for the guttering job. When I returned home, I received my second call and job from the newspaper add. The call was from an 80 year old man who was frustrated because the area around his mail box was ugly. He didn't ask about rates, he only said "come fix it."

I left Friday morning to install the guttering. As I was installing the guttering, the man I was working for introduced me to his brother-in-law. His brother-in-law gave me his phone number and address and ask me to stop by at some point to look over some work he was needing done.

I finished the guttering a little after 1 pm. I then went to look at the mail box situation. The mail box was simply a little patch of ground, surrounded by a sidewalk and curb that was filled with lava rock and some kind of evergreen growth. It was also full of weeds. The customer simply let me know that he wanted it all cleaned out and that he wanted new sod laid down. Just as before, price seemed to be the least of his concern. Shortly after starting the mail box project, I received my 3rd call and job from the news paper add. This job involved repairing some doors at a rental property.

On Saturday, I finished the sod job. Having never once discussed price, I was a little nervous about presenting my bill. The total came to $220. Materials cost $45, and the other $175 was for five hours of labor. There was no need to be nervous. When I presented the bill, they only seemed to be concerned that all my expenses were covered. After writing the check, they took me out to show me a flower bed that the wife wanted cleared out at a later time. The husband also inquired as to whether or not I mowed lawns. He then let me know that if the "kid" taking care of their yard ever quit, I would be the first person he would call.

This is a picture during the project after the old stuff was cleaned out.

After

I left the "mail box" job to meet with the customer at the rental property. We agreed on a price, and I went back later that evening to complete that job. I then took Sunday off.

Today, I went to clear out the flower bed. While there, I got my fourth call and job from the newspaper add. This call was from a real estate company who had a rental that needed some junk cleared out of the back yard. After finishing the flowerbed, I went to look at the job. After agreeing on a price, I went home, cleaned out my truck and loaded up my family so that we could all work on the job together. The job paid $100, and with all of us working together, we had it finished in just over an hour.

While I'm sure I am likely to have seasons of doubt again, today I feel like the most blessed man alive. I am absolutely loving what I do, and I am getting paid to do it. I can get started early, or I can sleep in a little and get started late. If the job allows, I can take my family with me. This all seems too good to be true.

Week Five Total: $602.50 ($25 mowing, $80 painting, $100 fence-line clearing, $35 hauling, $122.50 gutter install, $175 sod job, $65 door repairs)

14 Day Recap (7/4 - 7/18)

Note: I started writing this a while back; however, I am just now getting around to publishing it.

Though I have made a little bit of money, the last fourteen days have been fairly slow. Thankfully, the fence job was large enough to push my past 14 day earnings into a livable range. However, with out the fence job, things would have been depressingly slow.

I am not worried, but I do get antsy. I like to go from one job to another without down time in between. In reality, I should be thankful. Up until now, I am at least averaging what I would be making if I was still working at Atwoods (a farm and garden store I worked at). At Atwoods I made $8.50 and hour and I worked 32.5 hours per week (When I started out I was working 43-45 hours per week; however, do to slow business, my hours were cut way back.). So, as long as I earn at least $276.25 (32.5 x $8.50), I can feel confident that I did the right thing in quiting.

I recently printed off another 2oo fliers. However, do to the heat, I have not passed very many out. Trying to get your name out with fliers is a lot of time consuming work. Because of this, I decided to test the waters by advertising in our local paper. I can get a 28 day ad for $80. Three days a week the ad will appear as a 21/2"x 11/2" ad in the "service directory." And for the other four days it will appears as a typical line ad. If I just break even on the ad I'll be happy. But hopefully it will have good enough results to really get things started.

On Tuesday, July 13th, I was getting ready to walk out the door to pass out fliers when the phone rang. It was a potential customer who owned a publishing company. They had several boxes of journals and other paper materials that they needed to have disposed. The lady I talked to said that she thought it would be one pickup load worth or stuff. Since I could dispose of the paper for free at our recycle center, and because I figured I could do it in less than a hour, I said that I could do it for $35. However, as I later arrived at the storage center and met the ladies husband, I discovered it was going to be several pickup loads. I didn't know how the man would feel paying $35 per load for several loads, but he thought nothing of it. He just appeared glad to have found someone available to help him. In total I hauled three loads. Since then the man has asked me to give him a quote for installing some gutters on his office. Also, he has mentioned that he hopes to take advantage of my service while I am not too busy. He seems to think that it won't be long until I have more work then I can handle. Since this man really hasn't seen the quality of my work, I am pretty sure that his belief that I will soon busy is not based on my work quality but rather his belief that there is a strong demand for the type of service that I offer.

Last 14 day totals = $675 ($485 fence job, $50 mowing (two lawns), $105 moving boxes and$35 for yard work)