Hey The Handyman, after 20 years in the bar business in Texas and working 70, 80, 90hr+ weeks, I moved to a little island off the coast of Florida and opened a handyman/home repair business 2 years ago. I appreciate everything you share on your channels and I personally thank you for doing this and making life easier/more profitable for us. You rock sir.
I agree. I meet people everyday, they are all potential clients. there is abundance to all who serve others. you get what you are worth. if you ask, you have to believe what you are saying and allow to receive it. in God we Pray.
@@MH3GL we’re on the northeast side of the state. Lots of work to do but no major tragedies. Thank you though; I hope the folks down south get things figured outZ
Hey Handyman, appreciating your videos. Started my renovation and construction services business about 8 months ago. Been enjoying both channels and the tips. Always impressed by your large amount of knowledge. Makes me think I need to go back to school! Still working at 1am here but it’s worth it
My best friend owns a successful cell tower construction business. Every once in a while envy rears its ugly head. Then I remember he's hustling every minute and works through every trip we take our families on. I'm happy for him because he loves it. It also reminds me how lucky I am to get paid vacation. Your advice for folks to leverage their extra time is great. Less stress and they can get a feel for the long hours of being an entrepreneur. Thanks for the great content!
I've became sober after coming back to the Lord Jesus Christ. I was ruled by the alcohol, drugs and wickedness. I am a changed man with a clear vision of life, living for God. The gift of salvation is free.
I make 100k/yr with benefits, love the work, but hate the company as it is run by bobble heads. I do my handyman business on the side and enjoy every minute. 5 years to retirement and can focus on my business full time. Your channel keeps me focused, although I do daydream of up and walking away sooner. Cheers and Merry Christmas.
Keeping your job may be the best, although so many factors to consider. Keep up the good work. Three more years! You are your own super hero keeping this up. Might consider your health and strength so the handyman work wouldnt be so hard on your body.
You’re 10000% right I stopped doing a lot of small handyman jobs cause there are 50 people that will mount a tv or hang a Ceiling fan for 30$ not worth it at that point I live in San Antonio I love Texas but I get what you’re saying
I really needed change. Carrying a BS in Computer Science I can tell you this is a blessing. I'm not afraid of pushing the elements. Your advice is very good.
I try to just learn new skills all the time to keep it fresh. That’s why I watch THE BEST home improvement AND home improvement business ,RU-vid channel in the WORLD
Don’t let the negativity and condescending attitude in this video hold you back. No job is secure if you want to be your own boss go for it or you’ll regret it for the rest of your life
Amen brother! Been doing this self- employed thing in the building industry 21 yrs. and nobody understands the 60 hr work weeks. I'm on the clock every hour of every day. I can't help but over book myself to make sure I don't run out of things to do, so I can never seem to get anything done and though I make really good money, I don't ever get a chance to spend it and there's no time for vacations or sick days. All the overhead debt that goes along with it and the hours of off-site organization, planning, and paperwork that no one else sees is exhausting. That 5 hours of work done at someone's house has another extra hour of "administative" work attached to it. And it definitely feels like a hamster wheel.
Nice comment mr. RU-vidr. It's not you versus me. It's me vs me. And it's you versus you. The potential is what's important. The only person holding me back is me. Etc.
Hey handyman, I am also a handyman for about 3 years now. I started using the apps about the time the pandemic started. I was working full time at warehouse inventory and various other jobs but I was working part time as a handyman on the apps. I decided to work as a full time independent self employed handyman at the end of December 2019. I live in the area of Texas where there are an infinite amount of Manuels. I just want to defend this area since it is tough but it can be done. I pride myself in my quality and precision. Yes I am a bit on the pricey side for this area(by the Mexican border) but I fix a lot of the lower priced labor's mistakes or poor quality work. Back to the point of your video I relate to the stress and doubts that you talk about. Thank you for your videos!
love it man....i'm slow right now and that is a big anxiety. 2 kids, christmas, anniversary in january LOL....always keep several months of pay back but want to keep growing brother
I live in the Dallas/Irving area. It is one of the biggest contractor areas and is 95% latino. There are 20 or more day workers throughout the day at home depot. I charge $75-$100 per hour on repairs and $50/hr. for a helper. The cheap people won't hire me but my clientele is the higher class neighborhoods. Professional presentation and experience with proper marketing/branding was key.
I'm thinking of starting up around Houston. I feel like professional appearance is key and I think naturally I project that quality so I don't think that's the problem. I wear decent clothes. Not wrinkled. I speak proper English (for Texas). Have all my teeth etc. What tip on marketing and branding would you say is the most important? Thanks in advance.
The grass is always greener next door. It's different kind of cat that does what we do, we are usually the guy who worked harder then everyone else and were disgruntled when someone else got the promotion. We wanted to be the boss.......truth is even though I'm my own boss, every time I ring a doorbell I'm meeting my new boss.
I was in a dead in job four years ago... I have always been a horrible employee... I blame my entrepreneurial parents for teaching me how to always think of ways to do things better and improve the process... I was in a middle Management position working 70 to 75 hours a week and little to show for it because I was an exempt employee. I finally decided that if I was going to have stress in my life it might as well be because it my stress. All the points you made in this video are spot on. I know a few folks who are unhappy in their 40 hour jobs and they look at me an say,” You have the good life, no boss to answer to, work when you want to and no employees to worry about.” While those are partially true, they don’t see the hours I spend awake trying to figure out how to increase my marketing presence, managing the business budget and just perfecting my skills. Some people are made for working the 9-5. And there is nothing wrong with that. I am not, but I also don’t look at running a business as job. This business is my third child, I am raising and nurturing it to grow. This stuff is not for faint of heart. As always Handyman, great video, great insight and thank you for helping those who listen/watch. Oh and you might consider throwing a spike strip out in front of your house...
The salary and benefits package is a good point thank you for bringing that up. Working towards financial Independence so I can work side projects without the stressors you talk about
I think the truest thing you said was “getting into the skilled trades may be fun on the weekend.” I found that to be true. Recently I was thinking about switching back into being a handy man. But recently we’ve been remodeling our house. Moving walls. Removing and installing new subfloor. And rewiring the top 1/2 of the house. It’s great I know how to do pretty much all the work. But I realized I don’t want to be a handy man long term. I just want to dress up and play cowboy on the weekends occasionally
I have to say your exactly correct with everything that you talk about. I myself have ran my home improvement buisness exactly the way you do. Everyome listening and Watching can learn alot from your Videos. In another 5 yrs this type of work will be in very high demand do to lack of skilled tradesman. I have been in buisness for 21 yrs and never once have had to look for work. My previous customers have turned into my salesman they are your best at growing your buisness. I have made over 300k a yr. For the past 5 yrs working by myself. That is 7 days a wk 10 to 16 hr days i have seen the needs for this line of work grow 10 fold in recent yrs. Bring trade schools back we need to start a trade school program for General home repair and improvement. Keep up the good work and edjucation Your doing a great job
I don't HATE my job, I hate the PAY, I'm a maintenance supervisor. HVAC certified AC tech, Im always fixing air conditioners, swapping out AC condensers, fur-down evap coils, brutal plumbing repairs, constant dangerous electrical repairs, repairing ALL appliances and moving refrigerators and washer machines up and down 4 flights of stairs, being on call and dealing with floods at 2 AM, being outside all day when its freezing cold out, and dying here in Texas during the summer when its 103 with 80% humidity outside. You have to know how to fix EVERYTHING!!!! Drywall, paint, change out heavy-ass water heaters. You have to be very very good at all trades and very fast. There is only one problem.....THE PAY SUCKS. IT ABSOLUTELY SUCKS. For all the skill you have and how hard you work? If you dont believe me, go on Craigslist and look at companies Ads......looking to hire a maintenance man, then look at the job's "Duties Include" list. Its about 25 skills you MUST have. Man its a total scam these companies are putting maintenance guys through. Now they are getting rid of Valet Trash services and making maintenance staff do it.....with no extra pay. That's right, gather trash from 400 doors every morning, every day of the week and bring it to the compactor. Also pool maintenance..Im CPO certified, so instead of paying the pool company to do it, they make me do it....no extra pay. They just pocket the savings of $3000 or more per month and dont give you a damn dime. They just add it to your job description. Its a total crook mentality. You will be broke all the time but you are going to work your ASS OFF!!! You will get paid..maybe $23 an hour. Most maintenance techs get $16 to $18 an hour. You will never be allowed to work more than 40 hours a week. But they want everything done in 8 hours per day. They burn you out, and then just find somebody else. Im done. I'm starting my own home repair business and I dont care what happens, I will be paid for what I am worth. I would rather make a little less working for myself than to be a slave in corporate hell picking up garbage and dog shit all day.
Long time viewer, first time commentator... my favorite video so far... I've been an employee, supervisor, self-employed and employer.... love the message in this video! P.S. keep poking those haters in every video 😆
I’m self employed also, but 90% of the work I do is for a contractor, it’s nice because he does the leg work and I only have to worry about doing the labor. I need to renew my license though so I can start more stuff on my own and not be dependent on someone else...great video!
I love the people that say "You own your own business that must be great".. Work for yourself.... And I just roll my eyes. They do not get the 80-100 hour work week, and the late nights and early mornings. I do most of my work out of my basement and can work ANY hours I want. To own your own successful business takes a lot of time and energy. Many people just thinks it happens magically over night. I can easily see why many businesses fail. It is hard disciplined work.
seems like so many people hop around from job to job.... .... thats why i'm always packin. anxiety of work running out. Vacation with family because you can afford to. Thanks for this.
Pretty much the reason I haven't quit my day job. My day job doing custom cabinets is 40hrs mon-thurs, for my area non self employed skilled trades I would say I am making above the average pay wise. It allows me to cherry pick what side jobs I take which is pretty nice, and I can work as want but I don't have to take jobs to survive because my day job, I am doing a right, so all my side jobs is just gravy money for me. I don't feel like the woodshop/cabinet building side of my side business I could sustain my self full time mostly because of the logistics of a small shop and building cabinets you need space. So to go full time I would have to concentrate fully on handyman side of my business, I have a bunch of reservations about doing that. So I am just going to truck on like this till my boss either finally decides to retire or if he dies or something.
Very thing wears on the body the older you get , most people need to stop crying , an be thankful you can still do as you want . Enjoy all of it . If the body hurts that means your doing something right . There’s no easy way around that .
Sage advice from someone who knows. I concur with your advice Handyman. If you work labor jobs, you better work your fanny off early and bank it. As a 53 yo guy who works with his hands, my body is letting me know my time is coming to an end doing my regular job and will need to transition to the "easy life" doing Handyman stuff 😁 and managing my rentals. Thank goodness my wife and I have always, I mean ALWAYS, saved and lived under our means. Oh, and a 40 hour work week is PART TIME.
great video my friend me and you are about the same age. I do agree things are different in todays market. this next generation has it eazy with all the tec at there disposal your right. I have a 40 hour and I work the weekends remodeling, handyman work. cant wait for your Christmas video did I here your dressing up at Santa for that video or better yet Santa's helper you have to I bet it would go virial.
Good news for the self employed, If you are incorporated you can save 20% on your income tax with the new QBI deduction that was implemented last year. Look into it if you file an LLC,S Corp or C Corp tax return.
A very good friend of my dad who was also a very successful business man always said. Before you leave a “40 hour” job for self employment you should be able to live on the income from self employment for 6-12 months before quit your 40 hour job. He recommended putting all your pay from the “40 hour” job into a savings account for that year.
" A family of five was carjacked in their driveway. That's why I'm always packing". That's awesome! you have the right to defend your family. Here in Canada, our current Government is actively taking that right away. PS. I highly support your choice to get out of the city. I did in 2016 and someone got murdered right on our street maybe a week after moving...
You never had that right, defend yourself or family and catch a charge, battle that out in court over 2 years. Personally I don't care I would rather be judged by 12 than carried by six.
I really liked this video. I’m working for a contractor currently and I love the work. I want to know more. I want to do bigger jobs(especially with wood - like framing). I want to use a wider variety of tools. I want to make more money. I just don’t know how to get to that point. THAT’s what I need to know! What do I need to KNOW to get started, what do I need to HAVE to get started and how much time do I need to PUT IN to keep things rolling? I work with guys that have been doing this kind of work for over a decade and they’re sick of it. But they also don’t make much money, which I think is what is destroying their job satisfaction. After a few years worth of being paid what I make now(or maybe even less time), I’LL be sick of it too.
understand what you are saying i tore a muscle but being self employed I have o keep going no sick days working for yourself. Man I am the Boss of myself and still a cheap sake lol.
Handyman I am also a handyman. 31 years old. Just moved from construction sales to starting my own company. Having a blast and starting to pick up some serious business. I told my wife she’d laugh watching your videos. We are a lot alike. Also I support your gun toting and workshop beer drinking. Salutations from Nashville Tennessee brother
Within 25 miles of me, there are probably 2 dozen handymen. I'm only "worried" about one. He, like me, shows up on time, is sober and respectful, and knows what the f*** he's doing. I say "worried" because there's so much work for the two of us... and the other 22 guys are making half of it- I swear at least 50% of my calls are to fix some other b-hole's mistake. Point is, I made 6 figures this year with handyman work full time. I don't count my hours, I'm not militant about breaks and whatnot, I go there I get it done I move on, and I refuse any job I have to drive for more than half an hour to get to which in California is not very far. My main concern is hitting my monthly goal which is roughly 2.5 times what my previous month expenses were (both business and personal). That formulas been working out pretty well so far...
Sounds like you don't have much too worry about. W so many 'Ner do wells' attempting their hand at this type of work, there's enough of 'em screwing things up that'll keep you employed!😆
Here a suggestion. Maybe you could talk about tool trailer and tool box security? Apartment work always worries me because I cant see my truck. I'm so worried my truck box is going to get broken into. But I dont want huge locks so it looks like I'm carrying $10,000 worth of tools in it.
Yeah I know in Milwaukee while the contractors are up on ladders or inside working, the thieves are running away w anything not bolted down. Unfortunately there're usually out of town contractors and didn't realize how bad it is in the city.
Yo hanyman, i tried to watch 'The End' and 'More of the end' vids and it kept saying " this is video is private" and wouldt let me virw it. WHAT THE HECK. pulling brown liquor out the bottle is a must watch !!!!
Heath care is great. I quit from health care and went full time Handy man. it all depends on what you are looking for. Yes they had great pay and great benefits. But you gotta bend down for those big guys out there in that field. it is not the same as it used to be ten years ago in healthcare
So true about Texas. I live in Texas and it blows me away how cheap people do things here. I think people don’t like to actually make a profit here on labor. They will sell stuff cheaper than it costs just to buy material.
Working 80hrs a week because we don't want to work 40 for someone else. Biggest stressors for me is never having enough work lined up. Always worried the work will stop coming, I have been blessed and been at it solo for 15yrs.
This is a great video. I have been self employed since I was 18 and I am almost 30. I have saved up very little liquid money but have quite a few assets (that I can sell and basically not work for a few years) I have worked way too much and have missed out on life. I am ready to go work for a company and have more free time and make a tiny bit less money.
I agree with everything you said, one thing you didn't mention though is the "benefits package" of being self employed. When self employed you get a company truck, company tools, company cell phone, company computer/printer, and you get to write of a portion of your housing expenses. All expenses that you would have whether self employed or not. Obviously you have to make the money to pay for those things, but at the end of the day my $60k is much different than an employee's $60k, because they have to use theirs to make a car payment, cell phone payment, vehicle insurance payment, vehicle fuel, maintenance and repair costs, tax preparation, etc.
I'm working on a construction services business and some of this is very relevant and helpful to me. I chose an untapped niche where I can make $100-300/hr, extremely easy, repetitive work, no employees to manage, etc. There are major concerns and stresses for me but at least I know I can sink or swim based on my own merits.
I love my job, fortunately. Unfortunately, my job is in the process of shutting down shop, so I'm off to look for something else. It's going to be tough to give all that up. And by shutting down shop, I don't mean going out of business, I mean out-sourcing to other parts of the world. That said, there is still a big market locally for the physical side of my job ( which I know how to do, but currently don't do ) and I have considered moving over to that side of things. But I'm not sure of the pay scale differences. Honestly, not even 100% sure what I'll be doing when they leave, other than looking for work. I'm not super worried, I do have skills, I won't be out of work long, but I may not make as much as I used to. I already made some adjustments in my life, I got a cheaper place to live now, and I've been putting the money I'm not spending aside just in case there's a pro-longed period of unemployment after. We'll see what happens.
I’ll keep my 40 hr full time along with the handyman business on the side. Works out just fine for me. 25 years vested with 401k with benefits. Happy holidays Handyman
Roughly 60% of the US makes less than $60 000 per year. I have an engineering degree and I work $15 per hour loading garage doors into trucks. That is why I want to be self-employed.
My experience with texas is theres always a lower class person that will do the work for 10-15/hr. There are expensive customers but they are few and far in between in my experience
Man I'm a painter and drywall repair guy and I can't find any business this winter I've had to work for some other companies this winter do you have any advice for finding work in Winter.
This used to stress me too, just keep grinding you will have clients you like and they may have more work, keep in contact with them, they are a fountain of work to be had.
I’m currently researching something I can do online on my laptop, because I’m 50 and have been in 8 car accidents “none my fault” two of which I was hit by a drunk driver, I’m soar every day and I can’t do this much longer. Now if I can find legitimate jobs that 8 can do online.
Most of my coworkers at my previous job had their own business full time but decided the security, less hours and better benefits of a corporate job were better than self employment. I myself oscillate between periods of self employment and working for a corp. I am never going to tell someone self employment is the better route because for many it isn't. Working for someone else isn't necessarily better either. This is an apples and oranges comparison and the type that is best for someone really just depends on their own dispositions, needs, desires and tolerances.
I could never make more than $50k/yr at a 9-5. I had a mortgage, a car payment, and 2 kids. I had to make the jump to self employment. I'm looking at rentals now. Would like you to talk more about how you plan to manage 5 rentals.
WJ the Home Builder hire a leasing agent to do credit and background checks, showing, etc. it’ll cost about $500-$1000. Then have the tenet call/email you with any problems and learn how to do your own maintenance. Property managers suck. Spend about $500 to have a lawyer write up a good lease. You can buy property management ‘paper work’ packets. Mine came in a 3 ring binder for $300. It has a hundred different policies like pet deposit, letter of non payment, entry for maintenance, etc.
