Cheers for the Video clip! Forgive me for chiming in, I am interested in your opinion. Have you tried - Fiyiden Seyatthew Blaster (google it)? It is a smashing one of a kind guide for starting a laptop repair business without the normal expense. Ive heard some super things about it and my old buddy Taylor finally got astronomical success with it.
Before the last recession I had 15-20 guys working for me. Guys would come and go. Now I just do it by myself and I make about the same amount of money in the end. With a lot less headaches.....
Lot of good talking points in this vid, can not disagree with any of them. I would like to see you buy a house and flip it or rent it and video the process.
Man, your dead right. There's definitely a recession on the way. As max Kaiser said: every boom sowes the seeds for a bust! Never spend more than you can pay back. What I do is...When I do a handyman nixer, (cash work) I pump it back into buying tools that can improve my abilities to get more work & make more money. My advice to anyone starting out is...do the work on your home first. If your happy with it, then so is a future client.
@@shedlife1783 I can see the recession coming in. I was a tool shop where I live. It's one of these shops that's being there for over 70/80 years. Same family run it. Well known in Ireland. Anyways there about 2 weeks ago I was in there & one of the owners said to me, there's definitely a recession on the way son. How do you know? I said. Well, my sales are dropping exactly like the 2008 crash & the tradesmen that come in here tell me it's only a matter of months. Look around, my shop is full of people wearing suits & buying tools!! And? I said. The middle class are buying the tools needed, going into RU-vid, learning how it do the work in there homes & calling in the tradesmen to do the qualified work like plumbing & electrics. That's never happened! He said. So treat your home as a practice. & fleece the people that haven't heard of RU-vid. 😂😂😂😂
@@codycevering2733 good man cody. Delighted for you. Treat your early work as your apprenticeship but don't tell your clients that. Bullshit your way in the door, do an excellent job & as time passes, your experience will improve, so will your clientele & so will the size of your wallet
@@hyland1984 great advice, thank you. I just knocked out my third side job of the week. Cool thing is, I started the week with no side work at all. I must be doing something right because word of mouth is working great so far.
I loved the recession, gas was back to a decent price, airline tickets were cheap as hell, companies were bending over backwards to keep your business, housing was affordable
About 5 years ago I started to focus on 55+ and aging in place renovations. A lot of older people are making their home assessable as they age. They don't want to move so they are putting money in to their homes that make life easier as they get older.
I was a, and still am a union glazier in NYC and Jersey. The recession ten years ago, brought me back to my roots as a handyman. I didn’t work from 2009-2014 in the commercial glass market. I did get back in to continue contributing to my pension, but every time an assignment ends, I jump back in to the business I love, and earn much more money at. Handyman Ed. As for the party that wants to give everything for free? I think we all know nothing is free, it’s about looking at our neighbors, and how they’re paying about half what we are for healthcare and prescription drugs, AND covering 100% of their citizens, unlike us, who have anywhere from 30-70 million middle class folks with no healthcare at all. I’m not looking to start a debate, and won’t respond, just putting in my two cents as a guy with 54 years on this earth.
Good points 👍🏼 I have a lot of older clients and I do the same they will always need you especially widows take care of them and they will call. Keep it up handyman love the vids and appreciate you taking the time to make them.
Love this video! As a handyman with a degree in Economics... yes I do use it that degree everyday (this is a market like any other!), I agree we are due for a downturn/recession at worst, most likely a slowdown in the next 12 to 16 months, and there will be some politicking behind a portion of it. What I am doing to help my business prepare is looking much like you Handyman, at the Baby Boomers and trying to position myself as their goto guy in the area I serve. I also divide up my total income into several different account (using the "Profit First for Contractors" methodology). This helps me not overspend now, and put money aside for taxes, my salary, profits and "oh crap fund." Keeping a business a float during a recession is all about cutting expenses, I am making extra payments on my trailer and truck. If you have credit card debt, get out of it as quickly as you can, while it is raining money, pay off all the big expenses so that when the money dries up you don't have those large fixed costs to worry about. Thanks for posting this video, as always a lot of great info!
I’m your age and I went through the same experience in 2007 and 2008. it is tempting out of mostly pride to want to get bigger but what saves me every time is to think back about all those general contractors who had crews they let go at that time and became a one-man show. It is so much better to be in a position where you can pick and choose who you want to work with for customers instead of being in a position where you feel obligated to keep feeding this machine that you’ve built.
Will be looking forward to the just starting out videos, because that’s exactly where I’m at right now. 27 years of construction experience working for family and some production builders and now trying to do it on my own.
Thanks for all you do with this channel! Im a union blacksmith by trade and staying very busy at it. Part of baby step 2 was get a side hustle so in Wisconsin I got a contractors license and was able to secure a deal with a pm company doing move out renovations. As I am new to this field of running my own business your insight and honesty have been such an asset. Keep up the good work!
Save, save, save, then when the market crashes buy up the good real estate and focus on passive income. Make the money you worked hard for now work for you.
I was just getting into the handyman businesses in 2010. The guy who gave me most of my work had jumped out of house building when he saw the signs, but now he’s back into building big again. He may retire when the next recession hits.
Living below your means. Save as much as possible, perform as many of your own repairs (home/auto), because nobody is looking out for you. Keep an eye on multiple articles regarding the economy and most keep mentioning an upcoming storm. This is what got me through 2008.
So much mad knowledge dropped in this video!!! A fantastic way of preparing for the future!! Really laying a foundation for being able to weather the next round of Economic Change!!! I very much think the next downturn will be a bad one. Very much preparing for it!! Until da next one Dirty Jersey out!!!
Great subject. Wealth destruction occurs with inflation, deflation or reset. The question becomes 'what can i do with my profits to preserve my wealth?' metal is one option
Please make the video for all of the guys just starting! I’m working hourly for a construction company making minimum wage! I want to make some extra money doing handyman work on the side
Very sobering video HM. I've always kept it simple with my work. I do get friviless with purchasing some tools I could actually do with out but when the money is coming in, it is easy to justify the purchase. I've had some of my few "well healed" customers say the same thing about the future economy. Here in Hawai'i, I see property sales going down some but the builders are still pumping out house after house. In 2007/8, the glut of houses seemed to last forever. Hate to see it coming but it is always going up and down. The good thing is, if you cover your ass as you mentioned, the economy WILL come back. It always comes back eventually. At 70 years of age, have seen it before, just like a yoyo.
Great Vid! Been following you for a while, love the content and this one led me to make my first comment ever. I have a slightly different take on targeting the aging community, but this has just been my experience, so everybody else take with a grain of salt. You and I are roughly the same age and I've been in the business as a home remodeler about as long, so similar backgrounds. I just left the business because the area I was in (Cape Cod, not afraid to name it!) has changed over the past decade or so from a vacation destination to retirement land. Many young families moved out and were replaced with 'fixed income' retirees, which meant, yes, they did have stable income from prior investments, but they also became much more value-oriented in their bidding process. We went from a strictly word-of-mouth company, getting all of our jobs based solely on referrals, to having to compete with three, four, sometimes five other bids, often coming down to a very small price discrepancy. I've found it was the younger families, still trying to keep up with the Jones's mentality, that even though their jobs might take a temporary hit, they tended to still continue to spend on the large projects banking on the fact that they still had plenty of earning years behind them, and that things would eventually get better. And if the wife was used to a certain lifestyle that always helped, too. But the older crowd, forget it. True, they did love the great customer service and special attention, but they were the quickest to pull the fixed-income card. Still a lot of money to be made in this business, even on a slow economy if you're not too big. It supported my wife, four kids and several employees, but just something to think about and only wanted to offer an alternative perspective from one person that's living it. Anyway, love watching your stuff!
If they're living on Cape Cod their "fixed incomes" are probably in the millions. Meaning, they're simply tight with money. Play their game. Hook their attention by offering money saving frugal alternatives first, vs dropping your price after you realize it just sent them shopping for more quotes. Do this only to get your foot in the door & earn their trust. So they can see your good work. Then they'll loosen their purse strings, pretty sure. Just my 2 cents. I know many disagree with under-quoting but sometimes it's worth the gamble if you can read people well enough.
In 04-06 I did 2 of my last builds, both BIG custom jobs! After that, but began years before, the market was toast! Fortunately, I had experience in commercial glass, and did a couple years of school renovations! After that, I had a friend who wanted to buy these Really cheap house's, renovate, & rent. So for the last decade, that's what I've been doing, with the added benefit of maintenance work that comes from these houses. Then I got another friend involved in the same thing, so, I'm able to work when I want, or not, if that's my choice. I'm semi retired these days. I had rough framed homes for over 25 yrs before the bubble burst. But, I have been doing everything in the trades for over 45 yrs. Always doing side jobs. Best advice I could give someone new, starting handyman services, Customer Service is King! Do a great job, even if it costs you a few bucks to do so! I still get calls from people I did jobs for, over 15 Yrs ago.
Hey man, I have been watching your channel aggressively the last 3 months. I have an MBA in finance, worked on Wall Street, however, because of a move to the west coast, and a shitty divorce, I an now a, "Handy Man." Go figure?? I constantly echo to guys out here in WA state what you are saying...that is, "No tree grows straight to the Sun." That's an old business saying...what it means is what you are saying....all business is cyclical. I just say a Speck Build down the road for me that is being listed at, $625,000, where the average home sale is $375,000. Yes, we are due for a correction in housing prices. I do exactly what you are doing, market to older Baby Boomers, and try to provide as much value to the dollar as I can, because, as you said, the housing market will correct itself, it always does. I lived through the 2007-2009 period as a homeowner, luckily, my home was paid off in cash....but it was ugly, seeing friends and neighbors lose their jobs and their homes. Hopefully, the next correction will be a bit more gentle, but who knows. I REALLY appreciate this upload, guys in the trades live in the, "Here and now," because they live from paycheck to paycheck...I do not want to be one of those guys...save, save, save.....and save some more. We only have one life, and hence, one chance not to be paupers....Peace.
I do agree with you. I am also self employed single worker. And again I see the easy money coming and it gets tempting. I tried to raise my prices a little bit every year because I know when I started 12 years ago I was wait to cheep. Unfortunately I do not have the extra income that you do to put much money away so I have not been able to do so. But I have also thought to do the same as you. Perhaps it's the RU-vid money. Or perhaps it is my lack of self discipline to do so. I have recently book purchased a new car. A Honda. To cut back on my fuel expenses. I know you had a ram. My 2011 was becoming a money pit and way too coarsely and fuel. My 2nd truck is A 94 F350. And it is a tank. But I know it will need replacing in the future as well. And although I do care to listen to the politics a little more than you, you are right I cannot listen to the news that is it's very depressing. Thank you again and I enjoy your videos
Just “Discovered” your two RU-vid channels in the last week. I’m a new subscriber, thumbs upper, and first time commenter. My comment is“You have better content than HGTV, DIY and CNBC COMBINED!!!!!! You are AWESOME!!
To the guys starting out: get a financial advisor. Tell them your retirement goal. Follow it. If you are also looking for a home....buy a dump. There are still a ton of foreclosures on the market. Buy what you feel comfortable fixing/updating! Above all else....call a financial advisor and put money away!
Around 2005, someone told me that the top of any real estate boom came when people started to invest in rental properties located hundreds of miles from where they lived. A year later I read an article in Fortune magazine uncritically highlighting the then spreading boom in just this type of 'investment.' So when local property sharpies start telling you there is little risk in renting to skanks just out of prison on the wrong coast, get ready to bail....
Wise words. Remember, the great depression had an unemployment rate of 25%. There were still plenty of people with jobs and money. I'm just starting out but I think I'll spend some time trying to build relationships with these folks (as you have recommended in past videos). I know there are plenty of them around here. Also remember that in a deflationary period (recession/depression) both wages and prices drop. Your income will likely drop but if prices drop faster, you are winning. The trick is to be valuable (have something that people want/need) and establish yourself before every unemployed Joe with a cordless drill wants your customers. Also be out of debt. Easier said than done but make it a priority. Your house buying idea is a good one when the prices drop. If you are in a position to take advantage of a downturn and are wise enough to act on it, you are in a small minority. I also recommend having some gold/silver. Not to get rich but for insurance. The only way they can keep the party going is 1) Lower interest rates. Denmark just offered the first negative interest rate mortgage, so....it's coming. 2) Print, Print, Print. This will make gold/silver go nuts and that can offset your other losses. ...Silver is stupid cheap right now.
I'm brand new to the channel and starting a handyman service right now. I have begun networking with realtors who need quick jobs done for clients or for their own investment properties. I really appreciate your advice on both channels. Since I was not in the business during the last recession, and can not speak from experience, would you agree with my estimation that a drop in housing costs can create work for handymen, due to investors buying up cheap properties that need work?
I came up throw trade ranks looking for way to invent some kind tool to help. You remember gator grip socket fit all. I bought it problem was it didn't work on deep bolt. In trades best tool so far is thermal heat gun with screen. Heat loss in homes, on cars it shows hot spots and cools spots that are blocked should have heat.
Those hd videos can be 3 minutes thanks for the new business video content great points. Know a guy scaled up on debt, got a big govt job, bid it wrong now in trouble because the monster wants to be fed and he has no revenue or cash flow
2008 same as any year banks closed off lending. Most bakeries and venders needed money to make payroll. The bakery I was at had reserve cash. Car loans are hurting banks don't want loan on high risk. From what I can see credit cards and addiction in shopping seems to be going on. Houses here in Idaho area are on fire they have them blind bidding and over a barrel.
Excellent advice... I hope people heed all that you say because you're dead-on right. About everything. Explain the 2007-2010 experience? Saw trouble coming many months (If not a few years) prior & planned well ahead of time, thankfully. And became an obsessive saver vs. spender. Also dedicatedly non-status conscious about the home I bought, my cheap car, vacations, etc. Money in the bank saved my butt. Many friends & acquaintances were not so lucky. Some lost almost everything, being financially over-extended, owning bigger than necessary homes, new cars; lots of expensive little luxuries that add up quickly. The recession forced me to make better & much needed changes in my life, albeit in an awful round-about way. If you have a job that pays you decent money, save as much as you comfortably can. It's true, savings are your life preserver.
Wow... this vid hit me hard. I’m a mechanical contractor making good money and my company pays my family’s insurance 100% but my dream is to go into business for myself. I feel like I cant make the leap right now. I have 3 kids and a wife who just got her Doctorate degree and looking for a management position. I figured I be able to start my own business in the next 2 years...damn. Great videos I really appreciate your content.
The Handyman Business I’ve been bringing in 50-60 hrs a week lately. Commercial construct on the east coast is a roller coaster. The OT is never guaranteed. You are right I would love to do work on the side but its hard with a work truck that has GPS. I will figure it out. I’m just happy to have this job and to live as comfortably as we do. Thanks for replying.
I've been in Land Surveying since 2001. Got laid off in November of 2008. I started doing jobs from Craigslist. I had a family of 5 at the time. Worked my tail off, paid rent, car payment, food, etc. Went on a few interviews, but I know my worth and I was making more from Craigslist than what I was offered. Eventually got back into Land Surveying in 2010. I wish I stayed self employed. I'm planning on doing self employment within the next 2 years or so. Thanks for your content. Yes, if you work hard for it, you can find work, regardless of the economy.
hard for new guys im stuck charging $25 an hour and some of my "customers" run me to the ground, dont let me take breaks. i mainly work for older folk i like them
Used to have several money market accounts, & some other assets w/ over $75k in a couple etc....back in the day. Than in 2010 got really ill & had to have couple surgeries. Years later w/ paying off the medical bills.....down several accounts & a butt load of money... Sucks when don’t have a “plan’ for medical issues etc...& can’t work, have bills, doctor bills, hospital bills, anesthetic bills(just walking into a hospital causes one to pay the person at the top, all the way down to the intern “watching” the surgery [fought that bill & won, didn’t have to pay it...was $2500]). Great vid, & as you always are telling ppl....NEVER TOO EARLY (LATE) to plan for the future & start putting money away👍🏻 Cheers✌🏼
The Handyman Business Yeah, had insurance, but still was expensive. The first surgery put me in hospital for 2 weeks, than PT, home care afterwards etc.... Ended up having to have 3 more different surgeries. As anyone knows walking through the ED (emergency dept) or hospital doors, they charge you for everything. Didn’t realize would get separate bills from the doctors & everyone else that helped with care. Thought would get 1 bill from the hospital, lol. Even w/ Ins. ended paying something like $40k. Imagine if DIDN’T have insurance😱
I am seeing a different trend in our company, We are chopping away at the seniority people. They need constant re-education with our newer developments but I came out of college with it already learned. I know I still go to conferences but I also earn a lot less which helps. Unfortunately though, Im seeing a lot of indian people on visas taking jobs now.
I don't know if you do this. But try sending out Christmas cards to customers. It's that extra little touch that keeps customers thinking about their customer service providers.
Bought my house 9 years ago for 115k. Currently comps selling for 250k. My area is going to tank when we hit a recession. I won’t sell cause recession will have almost no impact on myself. Definitely looking into buying rental houses when it drops
Why not take advantage of your current market & downsize anyway? Pocket the profit, stash it, & use it later to buy cheap real estate when the market tanks?
@Matt Lamb Yes, I see what you're saying & agree. You'd have to move to Podunkville to find a halfway decent family home under $175K. Or, anywhere in the US now. In this case, true, might as well stay put.
I’ve been in the building industry since the late 70s (actually the 60s bc I grew up in it).Ive seen several downturns (in 1980-1 mortgage rates approached 20%). All downturns suck but it’s the way of the world. That said, the last one was the worst by far because of ridiculous monetary policy, the leniency of lenders, and the willingness of Wall St to make sub-prime mortgages look like AAAA investment opportunities. Could it happen again? You bet. Contrary to popular belief nothing much has been put into place to stop a repeat, and sub-prime lending for both houses and autos is on the rise once again. However I think millennial kids who saw their families devastated by the downturn are far more gun-shy. And THAT said, they as a group are clueless about anything hands-on, leaving yet another huge future opportunity for the self-employed pro handyman. If you can fix things you will never starve.
With my current full-time job been there for 13 years... with the last three years I've been a part-time handyman I strongly believe that when shit hits the fan....the handyman will take over... Scoop up a nice rental and make a little profit
Speaking from what I've witnessed because I lived there for 40 years. Dallas Fort Worth is immune to recessions. It seems to keep booming no matter what. Housing is going full bonkers nuts there. There are so many opportunities for carpenters and trades there and there's plenty of room for everybody. The California wave is still going strong there. Waves and waves of Californians are moving there and they don't care what a house costs, they seem to pay the price. Big home builders are all there. Draw a 100 mile radius around DFW and there are houses going up everywhere. Also recessions don't stick around, so postion yourself for the next boom! Just saying what I've seen. take care.
The median home price in Dallas fort worth is only $242,000 Most of the Californians just sold there house for over $800,000. Prices are going up nicely though. Over 8 percent a year.
@@TheHandymanBusiness I wish I could get Amazon to ship one of the low cost splits to me in Hawai'i! I would put one in my house in a heartbeat! Unions have it tied up enough that the supplier don't want to sell me one. If they do, it is double plus what you would pay on the mainland.
@@TheHandymanBusiness Do have family in the Seattle area. I wonder how much shipping would be? I guess I'd better do this instead of watching your videos!! LOL Thanks HM
The Handyman Business love the talks but please lighten up on the south , I have lived north and south. You seem to have preconceived ideas about all southern.
Your "branding" is the referral business that he mentioned in this and so many of his other videos. A book a business is main focus. You may want to watch this video again. Hope this comment helps out.
People make lots of money going up and going down. I saw that first hand working for Kodak up and down but if Caught in the middle you get burned/ broke. Me I just did my first job ripping out wet basement carpet for a recession proof senior. I like the idea of doing under $30k handyman working off Craigslist videos. Also I thought you could do Home Depot videos understanding supplies they sell. Like the differences in materials. Washers screws masks. I used a fabric mask and my sweat I couldn’t breathe. Waste of money.
Going up a ladder is easier than coming down one Went from 6 mil year to 2 maybe Cut cut cut tough times Learned quite a bit Waiting for a turn around in 2007-10 Was brutal No you tube then youngsters Lots of 7 day weeks
Yo!! You’re hilarious. “When all these millennials that just spend money because they can’t screw in a lightbulb or reset a GFI outlet, they’ll just live without that outlet working!! xD they’ll be blowdrying their hair in the freakin’ backyard if all the outlets are out.”
7 to 10 k a month put away....... I must have missed something, I haven't seen that work here unless you referring to a good portion of Your earnings. (Spouse earning the life's expenses) I'm banging out extensions, dormers and 90k kitchens and I'm hard pressed to bank that when things are all paid and done. I'm getting the feeling.... 100k annual savings, ... I'd better start paying more attention
I routinely write myself $10,000 to $15,000 checks every month month that send off to Edward Jones to be invested. Right now I'm stuffing it into a money market account waiting for the market to crash. This is just my income not including my wifes income or our rental income. My rental income pays for all our expenses.
You mean like the brand new Tundra TRD Pro my soon to be ex wife bought yesterday. Silly just plain silly, she says she wants are girls to go to a private school but apparently she doesn’t plan on paying for it.
They are drag queens come read to children on how to be a drag queen. www.google.com/search?q=drag+queen+reading+hour&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=mLFGZ3NEHDSwpM%253A%252CqzBxzDpBa8OKfM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kQmEpHeX4tbLIbv2EcXjOcYIB4qtQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiw7s-oq_vjAhUWac0KHa32CxYQ9QEwEnoECAgQBg#imgrc=mLFGZ3NEHDSwpM:
A lot of good points, but when the hammer falls, i disagree it will be mostly millennials on the chopping block. By and large theyre doing twice the work for half (or less) of the pay. Execs will stay comfy, but the middle and upper management boomers and gen x'ers might be in for some early retirements
Just want to point out as someone working in tech (echoing op), senior manager get fired first. That's how tech companies operate. The real valuable employees are not managers pushing paper works. It is the engineers innovating and creating million dollar revenues for the company. A typical full stack with experience should have knowledge on data analyst job, manage work priorities, and break down hard problems. But to ask a senior manager to code, that is magnitude harder. Some of the manager haven't coded for decades. This actually ocured in 2008.
True, too. They cut the higher salaries first, usu older experienced employees, & dump the added workload on the younger employees. But, if the younger ones can't handle it, they're out the door too. Then the company profits & efficiency tumbles. Corps get greedy & shoot themselves in the foot.
