What Homeowners Should Know When something breaks at home, most people search for “a handyman.” What many homeowners don’t realize is that there’s a big difference between hiring an individual handyman and hiring a handyman service—and that difference directly affects reliability, safety, and overall experience. For decades, the handyman industry has been dominated by owner-operators. In fact, over 95% of the industry consists of individuals running one-person businesses. These professionals often bring valuable skill and experience, but the owner-operated model has limitations that make it hard to solve some of the most common homeowner complaints. Because a single handyman is responsible for everything—scheduling, communication, estimating, purchasing materials, performing the work, and handling follow-ups—there’s little room for consistency or accountability. Missed calls, delayed projects, unclear pricing, lack of insurance coverage, and limited availability are not usually a result of bad intentions; they’re a result of capacity. One person can only do so much. A handyman service operates differently. Instead of relying on one individual, a service provider builds systems around the work: trained technicians, scheduling support, customer service, quality standards, insurance, and guarantees. These systems directly address the core issues homeowners face—reliability, communication, safety, and follow-through—but they also cost money to operate. That’s why handyman services typically cost more than hiring an individual handyman. The higher price reflects investments in training, background checks, insurance, proper tools, customer support, and the ability to stand behind the work. For the homeowner, this often means faster response times, clearer expectations, professional accountability, and peace of mind if something goes wrong. In short, a handyman may fix the problem. A handyman service is designed to manage the entire experience. While the upfront cost may be higher, the added value comes in the form of reliability, protection, and long-term trust—benefits many homeowners find well worth the investment.

Disclaimer - I am thankful for everyone who’s part of this group for your collaboration to create a more sustainable and professional industry. “A rising tide lifts all boats” thank you. This was a comment I received on one of my posts. And I felt compelled to respond (normally I don’t, I understand being different in an industry than the norm causes an uproar. But I’m only looking for MY people who believe in this industry as much as I do) “You have no history in the trades. Revenue numbers mean nothing. How much debt are you in. A few poorly done jobs will collapse you. Everyone knows you are trying to sell coaching and everything other thing you can possibly sell but the truth is you haven’t accomplished anything except a catchy name. Actually build a profitable business then you can try to offer advice. Right now you are self promoting a sales company just like you said. No offense but you don’t have the experience in the trades to think you are some guru people should pay be you “ want” to build a 20 million dollar business.” And here was my response. The real me. “let’s talk about this. I grew up the son of a father who dedicated his life to the trades. Long nights, 7 days a week, supporting every part of the business himself. I have first hand experience in the life of a tradesman. One that built his entire business from repeat and referral clients. Made good money, but at the end was hit with the reality that he had built a job… not a business. My passion comes from that. Supporting others so they don’t have to go through the same struggles when they retire. With kids. With family. With bills. When their body gives out. And yes. I’m a for profit business, just like you. Your skill comes at a cost. Just like mine. I’m an asset to this industry, someone who can implement what I’m good at, in collaboration with what you’re good at and provide a positive platform for others to have opportunity. The reason the handyman trade is behind all others is the inability to accept change, and welcome collaboration.

I’m looking for recommendations on good places to get marketing design work done (brochures, flyers, literature, etc.). I recently tried working with a graphic designer/marketer from one of my networking groups. Her initial pricing was $300–$500 per design, which I agreed to. I then spent about an hour filling out a detailed brief explaining our company, goals, branding, and direction, followed by providing all images and draft text. I’m not a graphic designer—I just know what I like and don’t like. I expected the designer to take that information and turn it into something visually balanced and professional. Instead, I was told the text was “too much,” even though I clarified it was source content, not final copy. The first draft I received was honestly very poor and didn’t align with our brand at all. When I asked for revisions (most of the design needed changes), I was told it would cost an additional $175. There were no revision rounds included in the original price. Every designer I’ve worked with in the past has included at least 2–3 rounds of edits, so I ultimately canceled the project and was out the upfront cost. Now I’m looking for a better approach. I’ve used Hatch Wise and 99 Designs in the past for design contests—typically $300–$400—and you get dozens of designers submitting concepts, which I actually like. I’ve also heard Fiverr, and possibly places like Upwork or ClickUp or similar platforms, but I’d love real-world feedback. If anyone has had a good experience with a designer or platform, I’d really appreciate the recommendation. We’re expanding into commercial service and maintenance this year and want: - A professional brochure for that offering - A simple, clean warranty flyer to include in our presentation folders - And a few other updates to our flyers/brochures Nothing flashy—just polished, professional, and clearly better than what most competitors are handing out. Thanks in advance. I appreciate the help.

I’d love to get some feedback from the group on material markups, because this is an area I still wrestle with. For 30+ years in commercial roofing, we job-costed everything—labor, materials, equipment, rentals, overhead. If we wanted a 40% gross margin, we divided by 0.6. When we shifted into commercial repair work, that same system produced 60–70% margins, and it worked great. Eventually, that job costing evolved into flat-rate service pricing. Now that I’m on the handyman side, everything feels… different. Everyone talks in terms of markups, and I constantly hear that to hit a 60-70% gross margin you need to mark materials up 150%-250%. Conceptually, I understand the math—but practically, it feels strange compared to how I’ve always priced work in the past for commercial roofing. On top of that, in today’s world, customers are far more price-aware. With a quick Google search, most people already have a rough idea of what materials cost. That makes large material markups—200%, 300%, or more—feel especially challenging from a customer perception standpoint, even if the math technically works. I realize that most HVAC and plumbing companies have been bought out by private equity firms, and those PE companies are all marking up by 300% to 400% or more. That's why a lot of people tell me that the plumbing companies are charging $1,000 to $1,500 just to replace a toilet. It just seems odd to me to buy a $150 toilet at Home Depot and then turn around and charge $525 (a 350% markup) for the same thing the customer can buy at Home Depot for $150. Historically, I did the job costing, applied the margin we needed to the total cost, and moved on. With handyman work, material markup seems to carry much more emotional and psychological weight—for both contractors and customers. I’ve been kicking around a few ideas, like: · Pricing most work as labor-driven task items · Including a materials acquisition fee (pickup, sourcing, coordination) built into the price · Passing materials through at cost but charging an acquisition fee that scales with project size

I was on a consulting call with a client yesterday and walked through exactly how to build his pricing and before the call ended he had everything dialed in. Here is the breakdown OPEX - $8,203 Labor - $48/hr fully loaded, 70% utilized ($25/hr plus 30% labor burden assuming 112 billed hrs per week) $121/hr @ 112 billed hrs per month allows for OPEX and Labor to be covered. This doesn't account for any profit. 20% net margin on top Total Hourly Rate $147/hr