Any one on here from the West Virginia area? I have wanted to start a handy man service and was wondering what some of the labor rates may be around my area.
Thanks.
Webby.
Edited 2/16/2007 6:23 pm ET by webby
Any one on here from the West Virginia area? I have wanted to start a handy man service and was wondering what some of the labor rates may be around my area.
Thanks.
Webby.
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Replies
Maybe call some others in the Yellow Pages and ask what they charge? Rates here (Chicagoland) vary greatly. I've seen a guy with a truck charge around $50/hr. Some of the franchise outfits are $89/hr or higher.
Some pointers, my 2c worth, in no particular order:
You will be amazed at how much the customers appreciate those last two items. That's what gets you more repeat business and referrals.
Good luck. Let me know how it works out.
PS. If you don't already have one, buy a van.
Pete Duffy, Handyman
Pete had some good things to say. I run my biz like a handyman service but as the name implies I stick to one trade and do a couple jobs as a GC each year.
West Virginia ? What's the median cost of a home and income in your area?
Here it's around $290K and $55k Conservably. The going rate for someone with skills is $45 - $70 and the plumbers make more. The first two #'s have a lot to do with what the market will pay. Get a flexible part-time gig to supplement your income since you'll be hard pressed to work 600 billable hrs. your first year in biz. Out of 8760 24/7 hrs in a year it may not seam like much but its a start. Reinvest 10% of what you make to market your self AFTER you put 15% in savings (pay your future-self first). 'Hope that was helpful.
Best to you and yours, Chris.
Some say I know too much? Can you ever?
I took your advice and looked at a WV commerce website. For my county, the median home price as of the 2000 census was about 88, 000. The median income was about 34,000. Thanks again for the good advice, and to everyone. I will continue to plan and researc my goal for the future.
Webby
In addition to the bathroom and kitchen and basement remodeliing I've been doing, I also do quite a bit of "handyman" type services.I've been charging an $80 service call fee and that includes 1 hour. Each additional hour costs them $65.If the "jobs" grow to start being closer to a full day or a couple days, I usually will just work at a flat rate of $55-60 p/hour.It's important to specify that first hour as a "service call fee" or something similar, that way if you only take 43 minutes to finish something you are not getting N&Dimed.Getting into folk's homes and helping them with their small problems will usually lead them asking about larger tasks, plus it gives you another audience to show off the real work promotional cards and allows you to build a large (satisfied) cliental list fast.You have to have a lot more stuff than the average carpenter and it helps to be a good problem solver.Work quick and be clean.I just got a referral for a huge basement job for the sister in law of a client that I've done numberous odd jobs for over the last year - could be a great job and yet another great client. This particular client - I've probably done close to $3300 in work of various jobs, from caulking tubs to drywall repair to new sinks to tile repair.Nice work to fill in the down times.I'm in the Metro Detroit area working mainly in the western suburbs.JulianJT
labor rate is like selling a used car. what the value. The value is one dollar more than you can screw somebody out of.If they have happy paying $2000 for a car then the value is 2001 if they are not happy at $2000 then its $1999its like labor, some place will pay $100 a hour and other $20 a hour, it all depend on how much you can screwed them. Its a hard fact but if they wont pay 100 then it 99, and keeps going down till they happy.Oh I paid $99 a hour, he screwd me, but I only paid $98 what a deal.
I never advertise, charge for or break out an hourly rate. It's an ugly business if you do.
I inform customers that the figures used to calculate my bill (typically a fixed price with caveats for hidden conditions, etc) are comparable to other trade professionals they deal with; the auto mechanic, the plumber, the HVAC guys, the electrician...all these guys are all in the $75-$125 range in my area PLUS a trip charge ($25), PLUS a helper if they travel in pairs - and the helper just stands and watches for most small jobs and he's getting paid just the same - PLUS a 2 hour minimum just for showing up.
The minute you charge an hourly rate you become a commodity - and commodities are bought and sold at the lowest possible price.
-Norm
excellent post!
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About 8 years ago, I was working for myself as a handyman/remodeler in Martin County, Kentucky, which borders West Virginia. The area was very economically depressed and people didn't have a lot of extra money to spend on their homes. At the time, you were lucky to get $10 an hour. Also, most people didn't seem to care about whether or not you were licenced or insured, they just wanted to go with whoever gave them the cheapest price. Therefore, most jobs were being done by people with questionable credentials.
I found it impossible to operate in this enviroment and moved to Northeast Tennessee near Johnson City. Although it is not as much as was quoted for Chicago, I now make $30 to $35 an hour. Being that the cost of living here is pretty cheap, this is plenty to give me a good standard of living. Also, I don't have to compete with many "fly by night" operations because most people here want to deal with a professional who is licenced by the state and is insured.
I'm not saying you should move to persue your dream, but depending on where you live in West Virginia and the state of the economy there, don't expect to make as much as you would in other markets.
When I've got a honey-do list that's a page and a half long, I'm not about to take the time to put a number on such a varied list of tasks - if I did, I'd probably put it in too low. So for a quantity of varied tasks or for a simple project or repair that can be done within a few hours - the initial service fee and theh additional hourly rate applies.If I'm dealing with a simple 1-process, 1-area project that I figure will take me 5-8 hours, then I will give them one number with no explanation of what that number involves except to do the job right with the end result as I've described.I realize that alot of guys won't get off their couch for less than 5 hours of billing at $65 an hour, but I just started out two years ago and although I have 3-4 great basements and a few kitchens and a few baths under my belt, doing a few handyman jobs here and there is a great way to spread the word.On anything larger than a day - I'm a firm believer in giving them a fixed number bid - I believe that most clients would rather have a set large scary number up front than an unknown number that is scary because it's unknown.Plus, working hourly puts you into a bit of a adversarial relationship - if on the job, your phone rings and you answer it - or just are pondering your next move there's the potential for your client to wonder if they are getting their value every minute and every hour. Also - you invariably will hear the phrase - "I don't even make that much!".And, for the record - I am incorporated, licensed and fully insured.Regards,Julian
whenever possible I like to quote flat rate If I'm having a bad day or a tool decides to act up why should they pay more if my tools , techniques and experience let me knock it out quick then why should the customer benefit ?
Why are not you a commodity as soon as you decide to work for $$$???
having a set price just makes you a set price commodity...
I don't feel safe in this world no more I don't want to die in a nuclear war I want to sail away to a distant shore and make like an ape man
I would argue that you become a commodity when you let the customer treat you like one.
If your customer dictates that your rate is the primary differentiator between you and the other guys, well, you may as well start lowering your prices today because you are a commodity.
My customers are buying the intangibles; my time & travel to purchase materials, protection of flooring and furniture so nothing gets damaged while working in their home, clean-up and disposal/recycling of all debris...by using 'per project pricing' they're paying much more than any hourly rate I could quote them and still hope to get the business.
I have, on occasion, hired my competition when I needed help to get a job done. Guys have shown up without tools, walked into houses with muddy boots on, started painting jobs without drop clothes (and washed brushes in the kitchen sink!)...the level of 'talent' is ridiculous. But these are the guys I was lumped in with when the customer focuses on an hourly rate discussion.
-Norm
Well IMO Excellence, Knowledge, skill, Consideration, Professionalism, Courtesy, etc. etc. are the commodities we have that are so rare and justify our rate.
it is really just the semantics of how it is sold to the customer.I don't feel safe in this world no more I don't want to die in a nuclear war I want to sail away to a distant shore and make like an ape man
http://www.hometechonline.com/handyman/default.htm
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Do you feel the time lines given and the prices charged are accurate?
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yes pretty much.
one thing you have to realize is that in every price is figured in your "Service call" charge as well as a certain contingency for unforeseen circumstances.
anyone doing handyman stuff has to charge for ALL his time and effort or he will be driving and fiddling his days away for free.
I don't feel safe in this world no more I don't want to die in a nuclear war I want to sail away to a distant shore and make like an ape man
Thanks every one. All good advice. This is something I would like to do in the future I have been thinking about it for a couple years now.
That is something I didn't think about, the median income and home prices. I will research that. I have lived here for twenty plus years, and I suspicion that it could be a tough market, because I doubt that the income level in general of WV is very high comaratively. Secondly family and friends are big here, most people seem to know a relative they can depend on for free. Thirdly, as a weak and humorous indicator, One of the most popular tool stores around here is Harbour Freight. It seems that people aren't overly brand conscious and don't want to pay much, for various things.
I will eventually start part time at first. I am hopeing to work it into full time. My overwhelming motivation is to work for myself, and the independence and flexibility that comes with it. I have never been great with traditional work environs, I find it really confining. So I am looking at doing this for myself.
Webby
Often the chamber of commerce will have labor rates for an area.
You are concerned that your community may not be able to support your busines. Is there an area nearby that has a significant amount of second homes? Sometimes second home owners can be a great business. When you own a home that is 100+ miles from your primary residence a trusted local person can be priceless. Treat those people right and your name will get around. To round out the slower times you could offer an annual package where you do a walk through every two weeks when the owners are not there. This allows you to be the first in contact with the owner when a situation arises. This could also include things like "closing" the house for the off season, opening/cleaning for the season. Best of luck.
I think it's probably pretty well known around here I don't like the idea of setting a rate based on what you hear the "going rate" is and I instead think you rate should be designed based on what your costs and earning goals really are.
My suggestion is to get and read the book How Much Should I Charge?: Pricing Basics for Making Money Doing What You LoveView Image and maybe work out rate with the help of my Capacity Based Markup Worksheet (also known as the " PILAO" Worksheet). See how that number then relates to those numbers you are hearing as far as what the "going rate" is and then make you decision as to whether this is a business you should venture into or not.
one note to think about too when working with PILAO Worksheet particular to the Handyman business is that ratio of billable hours to actual hours worked is very different from what we think a more typical contractor might have. Whereas most typical contractors are around 85% efficient a Handyman has a lot more in common with a service contractor who have efficiency ratios of around 60-75%. That's what drives their rates up.
View Image
Again thanks to everyone for the good suggestions. Some I had never even thought of .
Webby