Thread: Questions about Handyman Business

Originally Posted by mc-phillips

Hi all,
Apologies if this isn't the best location for this post.
My partner and I are looking at the possibility of a handyman business. He loves the work and is sick of commuting, plus it would give us greater flexibility of where we could live than his current line of work, which is quite restrictive.
I have been trying to look in to it and am currently shying away from the franchise idea after some of what I have read, but have come up against a wall when trying to find information on what is required to be a handyman in respect of insurances, licenses/registrations etc and what limitations there are (besides the obvious plumbing, electrical and gas fitting restrictions).

Would greatly appreciate if anyone could point me in the right direction to find information for working/starting a business as a handyman in Victoria, or who I can contact to get more information.

Cheers.
M & C

Contact the Victorian equivalent of NSW Dept Fair Trading which administers licensing of trades. Also get yourself a good accountant and /or financial adviser.

The hardest part is drumming up enough clients to make a living, it takes time.
Thats the advantage of the franchise, that gets done for you..at a cost.

If vic is like nsw them there will be $ limits on works before a license is required .i.e $1100 inc material in nsw. there should be website from vic fair trading etc which lists exact requirements.

Look into hia,mba or equivalent etc for insurance services, being a handyman is probably classified under building maintenance for insurance purposes.

You would need public liability at a minimum, income protection is handy when your self employed and often required if you don't qualify for workcover(sole traders usually don't),life,tpd,trauma are others to consider,then there's long service and super contributions.

As rwbuild mentioned see an accountant as they may help working out rates to cover all your expenses plus a profit.

good luck.

How much work is there?
Will depend on the area you want to work and your skills. You will also need to have the tools to do the job or hire them.

You can not do work above $5000 without being registered.

Take out public liability insurance as a minimum.

I work part time as a handyman, most of my jobs are from referrals, and previous clients. I have an ad in the local paper and get one - three calls a week.

Originally Posted by Handyjack

Take out public liability insurance as a minimum.

Most defininately. No public liability can ruin you on your first job.
I started my self-employment as a handyman and that led to other businesses that supported my family for many years.

A few pointers.
The jobs he will be asked to quote on will be the jobs the tradies don't want because they're too small to be worthwhile...on the whole.

Unlike say a painter who needs tools for all kinds of painting, a handyman needs tools, and the skills to use them all but the restricted trades. Concreting, painting, carpentry, rubbish removal, gardening etc etc

You can steer inquiries towards the type of jobs he's equipped to handle by mentioning them in your ad in the local paper.

Double check this is still correct but you needn't register a business name if you trade under your real name. eg Joe Bloggs Handyman Services.

It will take a year or more before he can replace his regular income on any kind of a regular basis. Is there another income to live on in the meantime?

Especially at the start, make sure every customer is 110% happy with the job. Even if that means putting in an extra day to make it happen. The customer will have forgotten how much the job cost long before he forgets how good the job was done. That's what brings referrals.

Always show up for a quote on time.
Never park his vehicle in the driveway. Always the street.
Put quotes in writing detailing what you will do at what cost and when he will start and finish.
Always clean up after the job is done, including the mess that was already there when he started.
Many people view a handyman as a cheaper option than a tradie, but will still expect the job to be as good as a pro.

Would you agree with these points Handyjack?

Jim

Hi everyone, thanks so much for your replies. Reading them has been very helpful, especially as until now the only things I could come across were several years old and I knew there had been some changes!!

Public liability is already on the agenda I actually have a company under my name and have done a lot of the related research because of that and also running market stands, so already knew I had to put that on the list!
He's already registered as a sole trader due to our business that I predominantly work on for him while he's tied up doing our house renovations. So that brings in the main income. The handyman work would be more for his enjoyment and a bit of 'extra' income. He loves doing this type of work and is very good at it - a bit of a perfectionist to say the least, which is why I'm comfortable with his ability to be a good handyman!
Thankfully as a result of this he has a vast array of tools or access to them via family - to the point I am starting to run out of things I can buy him for christmas, birthday etc!!

Thankfully we're in a position that if we proceeded with it, we wouldn't need to rely on a franchise to bring in the $$s as I really don't think that would work for our personalities!

And yes, as a sole trader, you don't need to register a separate business name unless it is different to your legal name. They recently changed things to make it that business names are now registered in ALL states instead of just the one state, which I think is a good thing!

Any suggestions for vehicles from those of you who do this type of thing? I was reading a bit of a discussion about utes vs vans but it was only a few people discussing, so not a very broad array of opinions and also a few years old.

M & C

Originally Posted by mc-phillips

Any suggestions for vehicles from those of you who do this type of thing? I was reading a bit of a discussion about utes vs vans but it was only a few people discussing, so not a very broad array of opinions and also a few years old.

For me, an easy question.
First choice = Van
Second third and fourth, also = Van. Plus a trailer.

I started off with a ute but quickly discovered the security issues with tools, materials etc in the back.
Plus a full length rack was rather pricey at the time.
I bought a panel van then traded that for a forward control, Hiace type of van.

Much much better. A full length roof rack was also invaluable and there's a HUGE area for signwriting.
A decent trailer covers all the times you need to pick something up that won't go in a van such as mulch, a round bale, some gravel etc, or to carry something like a cement mixer.

I miss my van something chronic to this day.

Jim

Thanks Jim, I was thinking van would be best as well, especially with the improvements in driving technology these days, they're safer than they once were! Not to mention, like you said, the security factor.

I hadn't actually thought about the signwriting! That's a really good point.

We're keeping our eye out for a trailer currently anyway. We borrow my partner's brother's one when we need (in fact, it spends more time here! lol), but really want to get our own regardless.

I agree with all of what Grandad-5 says.

When it comes to vehicle most handymen have a van. The only time this will become a problem is if you are working in an area where parking is difficult and you need to enter a carpark with restricted headroom. Many carparks have a maximum vehicle height of 2.1m. Most vans will exceed this - and that is without a roof rack.