I’ve been approached to join a regional handyman service (as a sub)under the aegis of a LARGE national chain.
They want to plaster my vehicle with their logo, and if I refuse, it may be a deal-breaker.
It’s a fledgling operation for them, they’ve been averaging between 2 and 13 jobs per month for the past year or two. Average job is 4 hours, with a 2-hour minimum. My cut would be somewhere between $21 and $35 per billable hour, depending on my ratio of closed sales. They provide the leads.
Most of my work is high-end trim, and driving a car with “handyman” all over it makes me wonder if I’d be taken seriously on my own jobs.
I don’t have a separate work vehicle, and don’t feel real comfortable driving around in a billboard. I’d rather not pull in to a restaurant or something with their logo all over it.
On the other hand, they’d be giving me an exclusive territory, and I understand that the advertising has the potential of growing their (and my) business.
Oh, yeah, and with the advertising I’d get between $100 and $250 a month for expenses, again based on my closing ratio.
And I really can’t afford to turn down work, even if it’s just a day a week right now, nor can I buy another vehicle.
Your thoughts, please.
Replies
Can you get one of those magnetic signs? Have it on when working for the man, remove it other times.
(Or better yet, how about one of those lit, roof-mount signs like you see for the pizza guy? <insert obnoxious smiley here>)
No, they want to do the whole nine yards... Paint the vehicle white, then do one of those vinyl graphic things that covers most of it.
It would be at their expense, but I'm really gritting my teeth at the prospect.
Post a photo of a similar truck ??
Disclosure: I am a consumer, not a professional.
From my side of the equation, I see no problem with the logo. I even have friends coming to church in a labeled vehicle; nobody there is bothered by it.
I certainly would not even give the vehicle a second look if you drove into a restaurant parking lot.
Now, if you are doing something on your own and you come with a vehicle containing a logo, I am going to wonder why my contract is not with the main company.
Just my opinion.
"Now, if you are doing something on your own and you come with a vehicle containing a logo, I am going to wonder why my contract is not with the main company"That's one of my concerns, along with the whole "handyman" image. Even this company's own research shows that "handyman" title evokes an idea of lesser quality.Not the image I want to present.
if you decide to later opt-out, will they pay to have your car repainted ?
..and of course, if the company ever gets a bad reputation, it becomes your bad reputation.
Self employed. If I put a sign on my vehicle, my auto insurance would not cover me. RIght now I have my truck as "business use". Even a magnetic sign would cause me to have to get commercial vehicle insurance @ aboout 5X what I now pay. Least that is what my insurance company said.BTW, I am also breaking a MD state law by not listing my company name and license number on my truck.
My estimate is 2-3x what I would pay if not logoed. My agent said if I did not have a permanent signage, I could get by with "artisan vehicle." License plates also run about twice what I pay for a non-commercial vehicle. 124770.8 in reply to 124770.6 Self employed. If I put a sign on my vehicle, my auto insurance would not cover me. RIght now I have my truck as "business use". Even a magnetic sign would cause me to have to get commercial vehicle insurance @ aboout 5X what I now pay. Least that is what my insurance company said.
I hadn't thought of the insurance angle. All the more reason to not do it.
Edited 9/23/2009 8:12 pm ET by Tomrocks21212
Interesting situation if you're on one of your jobs and a neighbor askes you to do something for them. Is it your job, or the corporations?
Hey Tomrocks,
This is what I heard...
"And I really can't afford to turn down work, even if it's just a day a week right now, nor can I buy another vehicle."
ok-1200 to 3000 grand a year for the logo...not too bad.
I do high end work as well...but I wouldn't have a problem showing up
with the advertising on my van...hey,I do handyman work as well-do you
need a handyman-do your friends. With well off boomers, it's quite likely a growth industry.
Could be a nice money maker for you...before I blew it off, I would do more research about the company, try to talk to someone who has done it for a few years...try goggle
You're in a position to negotiate the best possible deal for yourself-
If your insurance increases-will they help with that...well what about ???
what do you have to lose? the lettering on your vehicle??
If it all goes south, what would it cost to remove- 500.??750.
I'd give it some serious thought-
best of luck
silver
I'm wondering if he drives a car or a truck. I'm also wondering if hes an employee or a sub or self employed. All of these things might make a difference in how I would approach this offer.
"I'm wondering if he drives a car or a truck. I'm also wondering if hes an employee or a sub or self employed.All of these things might make a difference in how I would approach this offer."
I agree- I assumed a truck or van and self employed but I leart as an apprentice that assuming anything just makes as #### out of me.
It's a Grand Cherokee............ Not ideal, I know, but I sold my F-250 two years ago because it would sit for months at a time. As a sub, somebody else was responsible for materials, and if I had to get them for one of my own jobs, I could either rent a truck (rarely) or spend 50 bucks for a delivery, or cram the stuff into my tool trailer.
I left town for 6 months to trim couple of houses and do miscellaneous work for a former employer, everything I needed to carry fit inside.
I mostly do interior trim, a few decks here and there, and occasionally a kitchen or bath remodel, kinda want to stay in that niche if it's at all possible.
BTW, I talked to my insurance guy this morning and he said that permanent signage would bump me up into a commercial policy, at 2x plus what I'm paying now.
He didn't have a problem with magnetic signs, but anything beyond that is verboten under my current coverage.
I once read about a guy who had no name or logo on his work truck. When asked why he did not take advantage of this advertising space he replied"I had signs on my truck for awhile, but I figured out that all my worst customers were the ones who said" I saw you phone number on your truck..." Like him, I use customer referrals almost exclusively. It has worked for 31 years. I I
Now that's interesting...that's the same reason I don't use the yellow pages-folks who don't know anything about me calling me out of the blue for a quote.But I've been kickin' my arse cuz I don't have signage on my van...
I still think it's an advantage to get your name out there...silver
That's funny, and true. I don't even put a sign on my jobs because I don't want people bothering me about work. I tell people who ask that we're into private contracting, like private banking, heh, heh. Word of mouth is the only way to go.
Let me guess they are hiring you as a sub and you'll make wages? They're going to paint your vehicle and if you decide you don't like working with them you're stuck with their bill board on your truck? Not to mention the fact that they'll probably paint your truck with some cheap paint job that'll start to flake or peel in a couple of years and who'll repaint your vehicle then? My experience with Handy-man services was dismal (I worked with one for three weeks 18 years ago) and I found them to be nothing more than a schlocky contractor out to make a quick buck using the cheapest subs they could find (I guess that is why I didn't fit in).
To me $21.00 - $35.00 / hr. sounds way low to be billing your time out. After the first few jobs of driving all over the metro area you'll quickly burn through that $100.00 - $250.00 in expenses (don't ask me how I know this). And then there is the question of what type of work will you be doing? In my time with this genre of company I was asked to go all over the place to do stupid jobs like stapling vinyl soffit back on after a storm, clean out gutters on a 3 story house (I didn't even make enough to buy health insurance), wash windows, fix god awful roof leaks, etc. The real deal breaker for me was they'd have this book in the office that told them how much time it should take to do certain repairs. The sales person would give the client a quote (site unseen) and then call me up to go work on it. I'd drive an hour out to some suburb to look at the problem and just shrug when I saw a 6 hr. project that they told the client would take two hours (based on their book). Now I'd have to tell the client my assessment and they'd get all mad because they had to take the day off of work or something and was expecting to pay $100.00 or so and now I'm telling them it'll cost them 3 -4 times that. So they get on the phone and call the office and the sales person has to waste another 30 minutes of my time trying to work something out so they can make money (essentially for doing nothing) and I'm thinking in the back of my mind to call it a day and go have a beer because I really don't want to go down in their dank basement and and fix their windows.
I don't know maybe the company you're dealing with is okay. And if the owner is out there circulating around in the field too and seeing the work and actually knows something it might work out but beware.
Edited 9/24/2009 12:51 pm ET by ted
You will forever be classified as a handyman in the eyes of those clients who you work for under the aegis of that franchisor. And anyone who sees the handyman franchise logo on your vehicle will classify you in their mind the same way. None of them will ever hire you to do a full remod or trim-out; they'll call somebody they think of as a 'real' contractor.
Taking this handyman deal would be very risky for your future as a fine carpenter. Just like in the movie business where an actor can get 'type-cast' for life as the result of doing one movie. People remember first impressions 'way longer than they should.
I understand about work being scarce and you wanting to fill in idle hours, but if you want to do high-end trim work and build a solid business doing that, you can only do handyman jobs for people who already know you as a high-quality carp and are asking you to do them a favour.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....
Thanks. The "typecasting" thing loomed large in my mind, especially in combination with not much work to begin with. If I'm gonna sell my soul, I won't do it for cheap.
The day after our initial meeting, and several phone conversations, I thought I'd eaten something bad the night before. I went out today to do an estimate for them, and again my stomach was in knots. Decided that it was the situation, not the food. I don't get that feeling often, but when I've ignored it I was always sorry (bad client, Pandora's-Box-type-job, etc.).
So I did the estimate, came home, talked with the SO. She said if I didn't feel right about it, she was okay with me passing on it. Then said she was dead set against the vehicle decals anyway.
Took the estimate to the guy, told him I wasn't interested, and he seemed to be okay with it. Even told me some funny stories about his days in the field.
So it's done, and I'm glad.
And my stomach feels just fine right now. In fact, I'm gonna go grab a sandwich.
Thanks for the update. Congrats on reaching a decision.
Don't know the 'contract' specifics of the national 'handyman' chain you are dealing with. Met with one of them here.
They want me to supply truck and all tools
Go to given call ins and give detailed estimates
Perform all the work
Somehow the homeowner is to be responsible for all materials
Not clear how this is arranged other than wink wink
Warranty all my work for one year, they hold no responsibility at all
Oh yes - and get a 70-70% closing rate on contacts
For all that I get 50% of the total bill! I'm 1099'd!
Least they don't want me to paint my truck.
Biggest issue is are any jobs you get on your own in conflict with their non compete clause, and what does happen to that paint job if you leave them.
If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and doesn't pass the 'smell' test it's probably not right.
Let's not confuse the issue with facts!
your rate is too low to cover your overhead