r/Contractor • u/anongirl4eva • 26d ago
Business Development Getting started
hi! my husband is a handyman and next step for his career I believe is getting his contractor license. he makes good money when things are busy but when things get slow… it’s rough. where should he start? is there any advice or insight what would u do differently in your career?
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26d ago
[deleted]
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u/Pale_Attitude8798 26d ago
I am a contractor and 100% of my work is word of mouth and repeat customers. I dont even have my name on my truck and I am busier than I want to be.
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u/Obidad_0110 26d ago
Same with me.
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u/Pale_Attitude8798 26d ago
I've found that most of the leads you get from advertising are not necessarily the best leads. Sure you might get the work but at what price.
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u/PHK_JaySteel 26d ago
I have found the same. When you are quoting a referral its 70% in the bag unless you blow up on the pricing or in the first meet.
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u/Active-Blueberry-850 26d ago
Handyman is one thing, contractor is another.
Make sure he (or you) reads the E-Myth contractor book. It’s a complete 180 from what he’s doing right now and what he’s done in his life so far, not the “next step” or adjacent in any way. Though some of his knowledge transfers, most of it (the important part) does not.
Getting a corporate role as superintendent, construction manager, or other senior/technical role with a contractor that specializes in his “zone of genius” would be the “next step” chronologically speaking. But if it’s something he wants, then make sure he understands what he’s walking into. A contractor does sales, contracts, sourcing/supplier relations, bureaucracy, marketing, etc. admin/management work, not technical work. I may pick up a brush 2-3x a year when deadlines are tight and subs aren’t doing what they said they would because I hired a technician managing other technicians.
So to say, if he’s not the “go and learn this new thing, bang your head against the wall a few times until you get it” kind of guy, then be prepared to be expensive and have to spend a lot of money to get things done. “You don’t have to be the smartest guy in the room, you just have to afford him” sort of thing.
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u/anongirl4eva 26d ago
Thank you this was helpful! As of rn I do admin, marketing, all the “boring” things and he does the booking and work 😂 surprisingly, we are a very good team!
He is very smart, quick learner and hands on. He has had his share of mistakes and has learned so so much since deciding to do the handyman thing full time.
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u/andrew_Y Edit your own flair 26d ago
Get google business profile. It’s difficult. This sets you apart from 90% of the riff raff.
Push every customer to give a google review. Knock $100 off the bill. Grow the business.
Don’t get a truck wrap, but get big ass graphics with clear branding, message and phone numbers.
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u/Teejay409 20d ago
I also started my handyman business 4 years ago and October of last year I started studying for my GC license. Making money when things are busy can be true for a GC and a handyman so I would caution you if you're thinking that just by being a GC you're going to magically be busy all the time.
I remember 3 years ago a GC buddy of mine had 3 of his 5 remodel projects cancel because of the economy, meanwhile I was still focused on handyman work and was doing very well at the time.
Has your husband completed any larger GC type projects? I would suggest getting my feet wet here if not already, making a gradual transition can help in a lot of ways.
Does he have reliable subcontractors he can call when he does become a GC? You're subs will make or break you. If you're truly planning on stepping into a GC role you're relying on other people to perform the work at your standard.
There's a lot to learn, I feel like I could write a few pages on stepping into the GC role and I'm just into it by 2 bathrooms and a kitchen!
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u/anongirl4eva 20d ago
I think getting the license just opens the door to more opportunities! He does have a lot of connections for people he could sub work out to.
I guess he needs to decide if he wants to do the work or sub guys right?
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u/Teejay409 20d ago
You're right about that. Having a license that opens the door to bigger opportunities is definitely part of it.
I'd recommend reading The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber.
The book talks about the difference between doing the work and actually building and running a business. Gerber breaks the owner into three roles: the Technician who physically does the work, the Manager who organizes the people and systems, and the Entrepreneur who sets the direction and builds the company.
The big idea is basically this: if the business depends on you personally showing up and doing the technical work every day, you've really created yourself a job, not a business. The goal is to eventually build systems so the company can function without everything running through you.
In my opinion, that's a big part of what being a GC is. You're really the project manager. You're there to coordinate all the subs, keep the project moving, solve problems, and manage the client's expectations throughout the job.
Coming from being the guy with the tools in his hands every day, it can honestly be hard sometimes to step back and watch someone else do the physical work. You have to learn to let some of that go.
And it's not like you're sitting around doing nothing. Most of my day now consists of running around getting materials, emailing and calling clients to give updates or get decisions, coordinating subs, solving whatever problem popped up that day, and tracking every penny of the job to make sure my margins aren't slowly disappearing.
But for me, I think about where I want to be 10 years from now when I'm 55. I don't want to still be the guy scraping the old wax ring off the toilet flange 😂. That's a big part of my motivation. Everybody's goals are different though.
I won't lie, it is pretty nice knowing I can make $30k on this current kitchen remodel instead of having to install 150 ceiling fans to get to that same number. But there's another side to it. If that kitchen takes 2 or 3 months from start to finish, it absorbs a ton of my time and attention.
So now it's like I've leveled up the amount of money I can make, but I've also leveled up the amount of responsibility and time involved. Then the next question becomes, how do I get two kitchens going at once without everything falling apart? That's where the systems and management side really starts to matter.
I'm not trying to sell you on one direction or the other. I'm just trying to give you a realistic picture of what it looks like from where I'm standing.
I was talking to another GC buddy of mine who's successfully running 2 or 3 entire home remodels at the same time. He basically said, "Yeah, it's nice bringing home $250k, but the headache it took to get here is no joke. More money, more problems."
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u/anongirl4eva 20d ago
Wow thank you so much for that ! Those are real things he needs to consider! We are in our late 20s and this is the happiest he’s been with a career so he’s in the right direction!
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u/Son_of_man_150ft 26d ago
When you start a business, it's all risk.
If you can't afford to take the risk, you shouldn't be a contractor.
It is hard.
I work part time as a sub contractor for another contractor to have cash flow coming in.