Handyman business in retirement, any experience?

I have been in business for over 20 years. From my point of view I am wondering why in the world would someone want to start a business after they retired. If you don't need the money there has to be something else that you can do to fill your time. Like mentioned people are mean and also weird. Working with the public has been getting increasingly more and more difficult, especially in the last few years. You have no idea what you are subjecting yourself to if you opt to go into business.

I was recently hired as an expert witness in a case where a handyman did a little wiring project that went drastically wrong. I got the first hand experience of watching the lawyers badger this poor guy. They hit him with questions like, are you an electrician, what is your electric contractor license number, are you qualified to do this type of work, what is the electric permit number? He of course sat there silent with a bewildered look on his face. I am telling you that you don't want to be that guy in that situation. I don't know how it worked out but it was a pretty significant fire with lots of widespread damage.

Like other posters have eluded to once you get all of the proper insurances (don't forget commercial vehicle insurance) and licensing in place it will be tough to part time it two days a week. you will need to work that much just to cover your operating expenses. The other side of this is that you will have to charge appropriately for your services because your high overhead cost. In other words you wont make it by charging the little old lady $20.00 to fix her screen door.

Just because you have done some of your own work and really enjoyed it I wouldn't assume that its a great business idea. There is a huge difference once you actually get into business doing it. When someone hires you they expect you to be the authority and an expert at what you are doing. You have to be efficient and have all of the proper tools to do the job. You might not even be any good at it and not even know it.

I like the idea of going to work for another handyman business like other posters have mentioned. It would give you the experience to see what the daily aspects of the business really involve. You wont have to worry about any of the nonsense at all. You can just focus on doing the actual work which you seem to enjoy without the stresses of the business side.
 
^ I agree with everything you have said. The work I do is more manual labor type of jobs. I do them because I like to stay in shape and look forward to helping an elder if I can.

I don't do it for the money and charge very little but is very rewarding. I hunt, fish, hike and work at the ranch about 320 days of the year. I only do a few jobs to fill in my time of enjoyment.
 
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Thanks for all the discussion. Good points all around.

Right now, I'm cooling my jets on the idea. I'm retired after all.
 
I think about doing something like this as a way to supplement and provide a bit more ‘fun’ money. I really enjoy doing this type of work. After having a dishwasher installed by Home Depot that had a hose fail, I’m a lot less interested in the idea. A pretty simple job that caused 80k of damage to clean up. We’re in the process of working with their insurance and so glad we didn’t hire a handyman to do the work!
 
street said:
^ I agree with everything you have said. The work I do is more manual labor type of jobs. I do them because I like to stay in shape and look forward to helping an elder if I can.

I don't do it for the money and charge very little but is very rewarding. I hunt, fish, hike and work at the ranch about 320 days of the year. I only do a few jobs to fill in my time of enjoyment.
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It's great that you are willing to help out an elder where you can. You should feel very fortunate that you are so blessed to have the means to not have to charge much for your work. The problem is that I can almost guarantee that there is someone in you your zip code who needs the work and the income. He probably has all of the required licensing, insurance, DOT card or whatever he needs to legally operate his business and of course the huge overhead that goes along with it. Above that he still needs to provide for his family and also buy ridiculously overpriced health insurance. He needs to charge a fair market rate for his services and more then likely still struggles a bit financially. When word gets out that Street's Handyman Service is doing the same work so he can stay in shape and get a little bit of fun, beer or gas money his potential customers contact you to save a few bucks. So by you doing something that you don't need to bother with is taking groceries off of some working stiffs dinner table.
 
427Vette said:
It's great that you are willing to help out an elder where you can. You should feel very fortunate that you are so blessed to have the means to not have to charge much for your work. The problem is that I can almost guarantee that there is someone in you your zip code who needs the work and the income. He probably has all of the required licensing, insurance, DOT card or whatever he needs to legally operate his business and of course the huge overhead that goes along with it. Above that he still needs to provide for his family and also buy ridiculously overpriced health insurance. He needs to charge a fair market rate for his services and more then likely still struggles a bit financially. When word gets out that Street's Handyman Service is doing the same work so he can stay in shape and get a little bit of fun, beer or gas money his potential customers contact you to save a few bucks. So by you doing something that you don't need to bother with is taking groceries off of some working stiffs dinner table.
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Very few if any in my area that do that type of work are licensed. When I look in my local paper under the 'Business & Services' section every single ad for handyman type services also has 'not a licensed contractor' included in their ad.
 
^ I'm not disagreeing at all, and what you said, makes perfect sense. In my area is very rural with an aging population these people need people to do small things for them.

For an example a large yard contractor will cut a lawn but the price is sometimes to much for these elderly people. Yes, it may take some work away from that guy but then again, he needs to adjust his price for these people, but they won't.

Tree trimming, hedge trimming etc. who are they going to get to help them. The contractor will but for a large price.

Painting a small building or home same thing.
 
427Vette said:
It's great that you are willing to help out an elder where you can. You should feel very fortunate that you are so blessed to have the means to not have to charge much for your work. The problem is that I can almost guarantee that there is someone in you your zip code who needs the work and the income. He probably has all of the required licensing, insurance, DOT card or whatever he needs to legally operate his business and of course the huge overhead that goes along with it. Above that he still needs to provide for his family and also buy ridiculously overpriced health insurance. He needs to charge a fair market rate for his services and more then likely still struggles a bit financially. When word gets out that Street's Handyman Service is doing the same work so he can stay in shape and get a little bit of fun, beer or gas money his potential customers contact you to save a few bucks. So by you doing something that you don't need to bother with is taking groceries off of some working stiffs dinner table.
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Just a question >> would you consider volunteer work, taking work away from others that may need the work? Just your thought on that, not trying to start any conflict. I you totally get what you are saying and not disagreeing.
 
Just remember that you have a lot of control over the jobs you do and the hours you work. If you are good and your rates are reasonable, as word of mouth spreads you may find yourself saying "no" a lot -- you hate to turn down work and disappoint people, but if you don't limit yourself you will probably hate it. Most of the handyman types I know who are good and fairly priced have more than enough work offered to them.
 
street said:
Just a question >> would you consider volunteer work, taking work away from others that may need the work? Just your thought on that, not trying to start any conflict. I you totally get what you are saying and not disagreeing.
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I think we understand each other. I too am not looking to start anything. I was just offering a point of view from my perspective as a business owner. it would be pretty tough to say that someone donating time would be stealing work away from a legitimate business.
 
427Vette said:
It's great that you are willing to help out an elder where you can. You should feel very fortunate that you are so blessed to have the means to not have to charge much for your work. The problem is that I can almost guarantee that there is someone in you your zip code who needs the work and the income. He probably has all of the required licensing, insurance, DOT card or whatever he needs to legally operate his business and of course the huge overhead that goes along with it. Above that he still needs to provide for his family and also buy ridiculously overpriced health insurance. He needs to charge a fair market rate for his services and more then likely still struggles a bit financially. When word gets out that Street's Handyman Service is doing the same work so he can stay in shape and get a little bit of fun, beer or gas money his potential customers contact you to save a few bucks. So by you doing something that you don't need to bother with is taking groceries off of some working stiffs dinner table.
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Sorry. I get your logic, but in this case I think it’s tempered with the reality, at least in my experience, that good contractors are not hurting for work. In my experience, it’s difficut to get them to come out for small jobs. Sure, street may be taking some money away from someone who would otherwise get paid for doing a particular job, but that person isn’t going to be a licensed, insured contractor with a good work reputation.

Then there is the other side of the equation. Some seniors can’t afford say $200 to change out a light switch. Yes, the licensed, insured guy dealing with overhead needs that much and probably deserves that much, but the person in need can’t pay it.

People I worked with volunteer to do taxes. Should they feel bad that a CPA lost business? No. The CPA wasn’t going to get that business anyway. Even the enrolled agent at H&R Block wasn’t going to get that business. All that would happen is that those people who need that help wouldn’t get it.
 
427Vette said:
I think we understand each other. I too am not looking to start anything. I was just offering a point of view from my perspective as a business owner. it would be pretty tough to say that someone donating time would be stealing work away from a legitimate business.
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Thanks Sir.
 
It is not a bad idea, and as having been a licensed contractor all my life, with all the tools (and scars) to prove it I considered it too. Instead bought an apartment that desperately needed renovation and took my time to redo it soup to nuts, new electric, plumbing, bath, kitchen. Hired subs where I needed it but as I wasn’t paying myself or having no employees taxes and insurance were mostly a non issue.

After 6 months rented out the place for a nice return, now working to convert a couple of properties to AirBnB’s which wife will manage and I just do the maintenance. Provided my return is about the same as investing, and these provide regular income I am happy and occupied!
 
JoeWras said:
This is what I'm seeing. I have two friends who do this, and both have more than enough work. No advertising required.

A lot of people out there need ceiling fans put up, light fixtures replaced, drywall holes fixed, etc. I love doing that stuff. Most people don't know how. This is perfect handy-person stuff. There's a huge market out there for this.
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Yep, I heard of a guy who works part time in his condo development while snowbirding-all word of mouth.

As to the physical nature of the work-specialize in not so physical jobs. A guy in FL goes by the name of "Mr. Grab bar". He must be quite busy since I have seen his ads for years. I bet he does not go into crawl spaces and attics!
 
What about doing volunteer work with little risk like Habitat for humanity? You get to do choose to do some work when it is convenient for you.
 
I thought about it at one time when I wasn't sure about our finances in retirement. My wife and I built a nice house in the mountains of N Georgia by ourselves and I have done all the addition construction and repairs on our present home so I have the skills. I decided not to bother once the savings insured our continuing lifestyle. I don't mind helping a friend with repairs but only as a Go-fer as in go for this and go for that as they do the actual repair. Their monkey their circus.


Cheers!
 
freetodream said:
What about doing volunteer work with little risk like Habitat for humanity? You get to do choose to do some work when it is convenient for you.
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I am doing that already, and it is satisfying an itch.

I actually like repair stuff and have found a non-profit that needs that kind of work. I spend one day a week. It is a long drive though. That stinks.

As for "stealing someone's work" for this volunteer gig... well, they can't afford pros to come out for stuff like replacing toilet flappers. Just not in their budget, so they rely on volunteers.
 
My neighbor though not retired has decided to do the handyman gig. Here is my advice:

1) Get contractors license
2) Get bonded
3) Liability insurance
4) Think of a catchy name
5) Get some swag (t-shirts & hats with said catchy name)
6) Spend time on Neighbor To Neighbor or whatever those sites are and get your name out.
7) Print business cards
8) Hand out some flyers locally

Give it a go.
 
I volunteer many hours through my life time and now while I'm retired. These people or organizations depend on these services a lot. If it takes work away from a contractor or business it is what it is. No one is trying to cheat them or take work away from them it comes down to economics for some that really can't afford the price of a business doing the job.
 
Not a handyman gig but the concept is similar without liability.



For fun I sell hand thrown pottery at the local monthly art fair in my town. My work isn't too shabby and I sell a few pieces to pay for my materials. Last night at the art fair I was approached by someone who was looking at one of my more artistic yet functional pieces. He was the second person who wanted me to design a large order. He was very interested but needed the piece to be a little larger. It was to be a Christmas gift to his customers and needed 50 of them. I didn't show a lot of enthusiasm since I wasn't interested in turning my hobby into a business but he liked what he saw and took my card and a color tri-fold to stay in touch and discuss costs. His cost would be between $2.5 to $3.5K. The downside is that now it becomes a business and not an artistic expression since I would just be making copies of an original design ad nauseam. I did something like this about 4 decades ago with my ex-wife making a variety of hand woven baskets that we sold in a popular art gallery in the N Ga mountains. We couldn't make them fast enough and it soon became work. So the choice was either double the price to try and slow down the sales while increasing the profit or just get out of the "rat race" all together. We chose the later. It just took all the fun out of it.


Sometimes it isn't about the money.


Cheers!
 
Badger said:
Not a handyman gig but the concept is similar without liability.



For fun I sell hand thrown pottery at the local monthly art fair in my town. My work isn't too shabby and I sell a few pieces to pay for my materials. Last night at the art fair I was approached by someone who was looking at one of my more artistic yet functional pieces. He was the second person who wanted me to design a large order. He was very interested but needed the piece to be a little larger. It was to be a Christmas gift to his customers and needed 50 of them. I didn't show a lot of enthusiasm since I wasn't interested in turning my hobby into a business but he liked what he saw and took my card and a color tri-fold to stay in touch and discuss costs. His cost would be between $2.5 to $3.5K. The downside is that now it becomes a business and not an artistic expression since I would just be making copies of an original design ad nauseam. I did something like this about 4 decades ago with my ex-wife making a variety of hand woven baskets that we sold in a popular art gallery in the N Ga mountains. We couldn't make them fast enough and it soon became work. So the choice was either double the price to try and slow down the sales while increasing the profit or just get out of the "rat race" all together. We chose the later. It just took all the fun out of it.


Sometimes it isn't about the money.


Cheers!
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You just described my dream retirement side hustle! I can hardly wait to have time to spend at the wheel again :) I can’t imagine ever doing it to make money, but would be nice to pay for supplies etc...
 
You could buy a really cheap fixer upper house in a good rental area and then slowly start to build a rental portfolio. I bet this would satisfy that handyman urge and fill up any spare time you might have. It would also likely be the least risk way to generate real money for your retirement as long as you don't start with some $800,000 money pit.
 
Landlording is not for me. But it is a great idea for someone else.

Right now, I've settled on my own home. Let's see how this goes. My back hurts already on the projects I started this week.

I think I may have just had a temporary delusion.
 
JoeWras said:
Thanks for all the discussion. Good points all around.

Right now, I'm cooling my jets on the idea. I'm retired after all.
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Right on! The way I myself deal with my occasional "handyman urges" is as follows: I own a few rental properties. Whenever there is a need for handyman service at one of them, I evaluate whether it is something I feel like tackling. If so, I'll go and do the job (one of the upsides is that I'm usually quite flexible on time/day, so the tenants love it!). If I don't feel like doing it or I feel it is beyond my abilities, then I bring in the "real" handyman. Alsol when I'm out of town, the call goes straight to the pro. Turns out that over the years, I have probably ended up doing 75% of all the maintenance/repairs myself.
 
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