• Your AC unit’s filter ought to always be clean. A dirty AC filter really can use far more energy to work. It can also result in the system runs more than it ought to be needed. You have to make positive changes to filter every month.
• A reliable drill is probably the main tool that you’ll need for almost any redesigning work. An effective drill can provide lots of flexibility when installing screws.
• Do not underestimate the quantity of work that the project will demand.Come up with a complete set of tasks you must complete. You must also want to get an additional opinion to successfully overlooked something. You are going to reduce costs if you have the right concept of what must happen.
• Ensure all of the space at home whenever you decide to sell it off. For instance, your loved ones room or office needs to have furniture that suits accordingly. Potential customers can easier see themselves living there and put together ideas for the room.Homes that come with well defined spaces tend to be more attractive and make for faster sales.
• Make sure to take advantage of your outdoor area. It is possible to extend your backyard into an extension in the backyard. It’s the perfect location for entertaining outside or even just lounging out in the evening.
• Consider using a zebra, leopard, wall art or decorative pillow.
• You have to see how much paint your walls need before beginning any painting projects in your house. Do your homework and make contact with different stores to acquire prices in the supplies you are going to need.
• Try to use only natural materials when conducting any interior work towards your house. Natural building models like wood, ceramic or stone are usually preferable over synthetic alternatives. They are more durable and also look better. The original expense up-front for such materials might be more affordable with time mainly because they will probably need replacing often.
• Just about all supplies that happen to be employed in projects concerning renovations might tempt a thief.Keep the materials within a secure location when you’re no longer working on something. When the house being labored on is secure – all doors and windows set up and lockable – supplies can be stored inside. In the event the house is not secure, think about a storage container or unit that could be locked.
• It is possible to significantly improve your bathroom’s appearance and feel through giving it a whole new glaze. A whole new glaze can certainly make a classic and worn bathroom look brand-new. While new floors might be expensive, a bathroom can typically be glazed for only a few hundred dollars. This may create the amount of your home’s value during a limited budget.
• You will likely need a new roof if your ceiling is leaking. Allowing the leaking to continue can be very disastrous. Turn to a trusted professional when you can and possess them come watch your roof. Be certain these are experienced and well-qualified.
• Use analogous color scheme in the restful area of your residence. Rooms with analogous color patterns often feel more relaxing.
• Have you been seeking a cheap method to add elegance to your house? A terrific strategy to inexpensively add elegance is replacing your doorbell. This helps the visitor to acquire a different feel when entering your own home will notice.

When you are negligent while repairing your home you could  reduce its life. Consider the tips above you have learned here and use them to create a plan for your any kind of designing project.

Remember to be safe http://www.seasidecourier.com/online_features/home_improvement/safety-first-protect-yourself-during-diy-projects/article_3bd95099-bb30-59ec-bdce-a6f3a23fd8a0.html

The post Make The Home Imporvement Projects Easier By Using These Quick Tips appeared first on Local Handyman in Bromley and Lewisham.

Alter it should you not enjoy it. Your house is not ever likely to be perfect, but fixable defects should be repaired. Even several little alterations may make an impact to your own happiness. You can just change out your kitchen table and seats, or buy a couch that is more comfy.

Adding an add-on is an effective solution to expand living space. Even modest add-ons may put in a house and plenty of room and allow it to be feel a lot more open.

Add some enjoyment, asking accessions. Outside recreational gear including hot tub or a basketball court add enjoyment along with worth to your own property. Make sure to consult Best Powerflush in Balham for your hot tub specifications.

The level of light in your own home is going to make a splash in its feel. Distinct illumination options can let your house appear distinct.

Should section of your lawn turns into a garden, it may provide you with an incentive to remain in the home. Think about hiring a horticulture professional so you can nevertheless get the relaxation benefits of a house garden, if time is a problem, or should you be concerned with your abilities. A nice garden can cause you to feel while providing you with a healthier environment.

Reconstruct or modernize your residence’s outside. Replacing windows or altering your roof are fine strategies to change your property up. You’ll discover that every time you come back to your own house, you’ll experience a renewed awareness of understanding and pride.

Install a good maintenance system for your central heating system. Learn what advantages you can get with powerflush IN LONDON.

In case you spend lots of time in the residence, having a space you are going to allow you to remain more happy in the future. Developments is an investment in your well being furthermore substantially raising the total value of your property.

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Buying leads can be a great way to grow your handyman business fast, especially if you are just getting started.

Not only does it get you in front of customers immediately, it allows you to piggyback on the trust of a more established company.

But, just like anything else, if not done properly it can end up costing you much more money than it’s worth. It’s pretty obvious that if you don’t turn leads into actual customers, it’s not going to help your business much. In fact, it’s going to hurt it.

I successfully used paid leads to help grow my handyman business, and in this article, I’m going to share six of my best tips and strategies I learned in the process.

#1 – Remember That You Paid For A Lead, NOT a Customer

I’m alway hearing from contractors who are pissed off at Home Advisor, or whatever lead gen. service they are using, because none of their leads are converting. Naturally, the lead gen. service gets blamed (sometimes rightly so) and they want a refund.

Well, the problem is they didn’t pay for a customer, they paid for a CHANCE to get a customer. When you pay for a lead, you are paying for the opportunity to sell yourself to somebody who needs exactly what you offer, but the job is not guaranteed.

You’ve still got to earn the potential customers trust, understand exactly what they need, and be able to communicate that you are the man or woman for the job. It’s important to note that this isn’t done by just giving the lowest price.  The good customer’s aren’t just price shopping, they are shopping for a professional they can trust among other things.

In order to show them that you are the right person for the job, you will need to a combination of online and offline elements in place. Online reviews (ideally on the site they found you on) are certainly helpful, but are not necessary.  How you interact on the phone, how you communicate, and your sales skills are typically more influential to the customer decision.

#2 – Follow-Up Immediately

While paying for leads, I quickly learned that if I called a lead immediately after receiving it, I would almost always get the job. Every minute I waited my chances of getting the customer decreased substantially.

The truth is that homeowners who are looking for somebody to help them with a small repair don’t necessarily need three quotes. As soon as they find somebody who meets their requirements they’re ready to go.

Now, I’m sure this isn’t the case with bigger jobs, but I still think it’s important to be responsive as it gives a great impression. Customers love a responsive contractor.

#3 – In-Person Quotes Convert Higher

For a new handyman who doesn’t have sales training, it can be difficult to convert a lead into a customer with a single phone conversation. You just may not have the experience and customer insight to close the sale.

I remember struggling with this when I first got started.

However, by scheduling an in-person quote (even for a small job), you can get some valuable face-time with the customer. This is another opportunity to show them that you are professional and you can solve their problem. It also demonstrates that you care enough about earning their business that you are willing to drive out (for free) to look at the job and provide a customized quote.

Naturally, customers will want to reciprocate and hire you in return for the extra effort.

Personally, I don’t think offering free quotes is good business practice for the long-term (here’s why), but it’s certainly effective for increasing your sales conversion rates.

#4 – Focus On The Life-Time Value of the Customer

As a handyman, the majority of your income will usually come from repeat customers. Once somebody finds a good handyman, they go to them for almost everything.

It’s important to keep this in mind when paying for leads. You may end up paying $100 in leads before landing a $200 job. On it’s own, that’s not worth it. But, what if that customer ends up hiring you in the future and ends up being worth $5,000?  Suddenly the tradeoff is worth it.

Don’t be short-sided with your ROI when it comes to paying for leads because what you’re looking for is customers, not just one-off jobs.  Offer a great service to the leads you do get, and bank on them hiring you in the future.

Tip #5 – Use the 80/20 Rule To Your Benefit

Back when I used Home Advisor to help start my business, I paid for quite a few leads. After a while, I started to notice a trend – Leads for a certain job category almost never led to a customer.

With Home Advisor, you can got back and look at your old leads for reference. After a quick evaluation of my old leads, I noticed that 85% of my leads were for the same category.  I also noticed that I only got 10% of the jobs for that specific category while leads from other categories had a closing rate of over 50%!

So, I did what anybody would do and changed my profile to no longer accept leads from the category that wasn’t producing.  By simply evaluating my results and shifting more focus to what was actually working, I reduced my frustration and cost per acquired customer.

Unfortunately, you can’t just guess which lead categories are going to produce so you’ll have to get some date before utilizing this tip.

Tip #6 – Start With Small Jobs

A lead for a kitchen remodel is going to be significantly more expensive than a lead for a TV wall mount (usually by about 5 times). And you essentially get the same thing – the customers information.

So, unless you have a lot of confidence in your ability to turn leads into customers, you’re going to be better off starting with small job leads.

This strategy will allow you test out the lead generation, get your sales skills tuned in, and prepare for the bigger, more expensive leads. Once you get everything dialed in, you can step up to the more risky, more expensive, and more competitive leads.

Additionally, if you land a few customers for small jobs, you can always up-sell those customers to a larger kitchen remodel or bathroom remodel down the road. In fact, it will be easier to do so because you’ll already have their trust.

A Final Note

Buying leads is a great way to get your name out there fast and my hope is that these tips will maximize your results, make you more money, and reduce the cost of each lead.

But, don’t make the mistake of relying on lead generation services as your sole way of generating new business.  Doing so will leave you and your business at the mercy of the lead generation service, which is never a good idea.

Instead, use paid leads as a short-term strategy while you develop other long-term strategies to grow your clientele.

Do you have any other tips? If so, please share them in the comments below!

As an established handyman business owner, I’m constantly getting cold-called by services offering to “get me to the top of google search.”  They also say things like “we are only going to work with one handyman in your area” or “we are a partner of Google.”

They are selling SEO services.

Fortunately, I know how internet marketing works and I don’t fall for this valueless money-pit of a scam.

But, it’s obviously working on other people, otherwise there wouldn’t be hundreds of these companies popping up and continuing to call me and other small business owners.

I’m writing this article for two reasons.  One, to save you from making the mistake of paying for cheap, spammy, SEO services.  And secondly (and more selfishly), to reduce the effectiveness of these cold-calls so maybe my phone will stop ringing with them!

In this article, I’ll explain what SEO is in case you don’t know.  Then, I’ll discuss why you shouldn’t pay for it and what to do instead.

What is SEO?

SEO is an acronym for “Search Engine Optimization.”  Sounds complicated, but it’s actually quite simple.  According to Wikipedia, “SEO is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine’s unpaid results.”

Let’s say you are a handyman trying to market your services and grow your business.  You would use SEO to try and get your website to show up in the search results when somebody in your city types in “Handyman in your city” or other related keywords.  Which, by the way, is a very effective method for growing your business.

For a more in depth explanation of SEO, check out the Wikipedia page.

Why You Should Never Pay For SEO

#1 – These Companies Aren’t Partnered With Google

These SEO companies will talk to you like they can guarantee that you will show up in Google (the largest and most valuable search engine).  I’ve had many say they are partners of Google.

But, this is total BS. Not only are they not working directly with Google, they can’t guarantee anything. They don’t know any more about how Google’s search algorithm works than anybody else and no, they do not have any influence over which businesses Google displays. They are using scare tactics and preying upon the small business owner’s ignorance to sell ineffective and overpriced services.

#2 – 95% of SEO is about creating quality content

When it comes to SEO, content is King. Google, and other search engines, are in the business of delivering the highest quality information to the searcher. That means that the content on your website is the single most important factor for showing up in the search results.

So, if you only have a one page website with very little content, it will never get traffic in a competitive area. If your content is crap it doesn’t matter how much you pay for SEO, it won’t help you.

With this in mind, you’d have a higher ROI if you paid for somebody to create high quality blog posts, videos, or other valuable content that’s worth reading or viewing.

#3 – SEO is Actually Pretty Simple

I understand that with terms like internal link structure, backlinks, and meta-tags, it can seem like you need a 4 year college degree to understand SEO.  This is not the case.

Sure, to learn everything about SEO would be a lifelong study.  But, just like anything else, the 80/20 rule applies with SEO and you don’t need to know everything to be effective.  You can learn the most important and effective components of SEO in a matter of an hour with a good teacher or resource.

#4 – Paid SEO Services Use Spammy Tactics

Trying to cheat the system is so common that there is actually a term for it – Black Hat SEO.  This refers to any tactic that is designed to game the system.

As with anything, there are always little loopholes that can be exploited and it’s no different with search engines.  Often times, that’s what these SEO companies are doing.  Things like link buying, hidden text, and a bunch of other things I don’t even know about.

Typically, these Black Hat tactics will work great in the short term, but they never work for long and often get your website penalized once the search engines become wise to them.  So in some cases, you could be paying to actually hurt your rankings in the long term.

#5 – Most of SEO is done when the content is created.

The majority of SEO you need to worry about as a service business is completed while setting up your website.  I’m talking about do it once and forget about it.  Once your online presence is set up, there is very little to do outside of creating more search friendly content targeting other keywords and engaging in social media.

Yet, despite the fact that this is a one time service, SEO companies like to charge you a recurring fee for the service.  I was recently contacted by one of my readers who was paying $150/month for SEO on a video to advertise his handyman business.  After looking into it further, he realized they weren’t actually doing anything for that money!  They had simply posted the video with a well optimized description and left it alone (less than an hours worth of work).  Needless to say, he cancelled the service and posted the video himself.

Conclusion

I’m not saying that all SEO companies are bad or not worth the investment.  In fact, having somebody who has a thorough understanding of internet marketing to manage your online presence can have a tremendous ROI for your business. The only problem is that you get what you pay for, and this service is expensive. Most small businesses can’t justify the expense.

That’s why I recommend you put some effort into learning this stuff (at least on a basic level) yourself.  I’m a strong believer that marketing is one thing you shouldn’t outsource, at least not completely.

Bottom Line:  The next time you get cold called or e-mailed by one of these SEO companies, save yourself some time and money and disengage as soon as possible.  Unless you can pay top dollar for somebody to create and manage your entire web presence, spend some time and effort learning internet marketing.  You’ll not only save some money, but you’ll learn a skill that will empower you and your business.

Are you looking to start a handyman business but are worried there might be too much competition?  If so, you’re not alone.

This is a common concern for anybody getting started in a new business. Nobody wants to jump head first into a market that is already saturated with competitors.

Recently, I received an e-mail from one of my readers stating this very concern.  Here’s what she wrote:

Hello Dan,

I am looking to start handyman or shall I say Handy lady services in my area. I am just feeling stuck in a dead end job and really don’t enjoy it. But my interest are supporting and helping people and I am more hands on fixing things DIY and mechanically minded. I guess I just don’t have the courage to just get and do what I enjoy. Your post etc are encouraging. I feel because there are a few handyman services in my area that there is no market for me. I understand that I have to find a niche for what I can do. Any advice would be super. Have a great day.

Others have asked this same question so I decided to share my thoughts in this article.

How I View Competition

When I first got started as a handyman a few years back I was also worried about the competition. I remember looking online for handyman services and I saw a few of them who were already doing exactly what I was planning to do.  They also had great websites and looked established.

The sight of these other businesses was intimidating, and I remember the anxiety that looking at them created. My stomach would drop when I looked at their online profiles and there was immediately an adversary feeling toward them.

At the time, I felt as if there was no way I could ever compete on their level. They just knew so much more than I did.

I decided to push on anyway, and I’m glad I did. I soon found out that there was still plenty of demand for handyman services. Not only that, but I had seriously overestimated the competition.

Basically, when I first started my business, I viewed competition as a bad thing.  Now, I actually view it as a good thing.  It proves there is a viable market for handyman services.

If there is no competition for the business you are looking to start, you might want to start another business.

Why You Shouldn’t Worry Too Much About the Competition

#1 – The competition isn’t that great.

Sure, there might be 100 other handyman services in your city and that may seem scary to you.  But the reality is that very few of these services are offering a quality service.  Most of them are probably taking their customers for granted, providing mediocre service, and just not executing on the basics.

I hate to say it, but the handyman industry operates on a pretty low standard.

The fact that so many services are running half-assed operations leaves a big door open for you to come in and dominate, assuming you are willing to provide a great service.

#2 – Every handyman service is different.

We all have our stereotypes of what we think a handyman is, and many people tend to view them as all the same. However, that’s like saying that every restaurant is the same.

Sure, all restaurants serve food, but there are thousands different types of food they serve.  There are also a thousand different ways to serve that food.  When somebody goes to a restaurant, they might just want a quick bite, or they might want an extravagant experience at a fine french restaurant.

Take Mexican food for example. How many Mexican places do you have in your city? How many of them are the same? Chances are there are at least 30 in your city and they all have their little nuances that make you prefer one over the other.

This is the same with handyman services.  Not only are there a thousand different services that you can offer, but there are a thousand ways to offer those services.

One guy might focus on just plumbing and electrical repairs, and the next will do TV Wall Mount Installation exclusively. These are just a couple of examples of a seemingly endless list of service you can offer.

Outside of the services you offer, there are a hundred other factors that make you different. Take the reader in the above e-mail for example. She may not realize it, but the fact that she’s a woman can be a real advantage. I’ve heard from other handy-women that they can’t keep up with all of the demand because some people (mostly single women) just trust women more than men and feel safer with a handy-woman.

There might be several hundred handyman services in you area, but there is always a good niche waiting to be exploited.

#3 – It only takes a few houses to keep you busy.

If you are going by the standard “big or small, we do it all model,” it only takes a few good customers to keep you really busy. For example, I have several customers who I can rely on to give me a full day of work every single month.

Sure, there might be 100 other handymen (that you know of), but how many houses are there in your city? Chances are that you starting a handyman business is barely going to put a dent in the market unless you are in a very small town.

For example, in my city there is over 130,000 residences! It’s going to take a lot more than 100 handymen to keep up with all that maintenance.

#4 – It’s never been easier to reach your ideal customers.

With the internet making it easier than ever for customers to find you, it allows you to niche down your services and attract your ideal customers easier and more cost effectively than you could do in the past.

The internet’s been around for a long time, but very few handyman services have utilized it’s potential to make their business more enjoyable and more profitable.

Again, this is a great opportunity for a new handyman service to get started. Online marketing is how I built my business and it’s what continues to keep me as busy as I want to be.

Conclusion

Evaluating your competition and getting a feel for the market before you jump into a new venture is a smart thing to do. I recommend it highly.

But, when it comes to business, you must realize that competition is a good thing and should be used to help guide you toward faster success instead of hinder you from living your ideal lifestyle.

Remember, there is always room for a quality service in this industry.

Stop asking yourself IF you can make this work, and start asking HOW.

Naming your handyman or other service business can be a very difficult and time consuming task.

There are so many factors that you need to consider along with the fact that millions of handyman names are already taken.

However, I assure you that the time and effort are well worth it.  This is not something you want to rush as it’s very difficult to change once you’ve established a customer base and online presence.

Here’s what to expect in this article:

1. A list of handyman business names to give you some ideas.
2. IMPORTANT things to consider when choosing the RIGHT handyman business name.
3. An EASY method for coming up with a GREAT name.

Remember, the right handyman business name won’t make or break your business, but it can have a significant impact on your success attracting the right customers.  Having to overcome a bad business name takes a lot of effort and marketing and you don’t want to go down that road.

Instead, you might as well put some time and effort up front to come up with a great name that you’re proud to put on your work vehicle, business cards, and website.

First, let’s start with some examples…

As you can see, handyman business names range from very creative and catchy to very direct and to the point. The most common choice owners make is to simply go with their name and add handyman services to the end (for example: Mike’s Handyman Services). Depending on your goals, this could be perfectly fine.

However, if you are planning to sell your handyman business in the future or turn it into a franchise, you’ll want to pick a name that will be more appealing to a buyer or franchisee.

You never know what the future will hold, so you’re better coming up with something other than you name.

Business Name Brainstorming Tips

If you’re not already bursting with ideas after reading the above list, I’ve got some brainstorming strategies for you.

I’ve found that following a strategic process enhances creativity much more than just trying to think. In fact, even if you don’t consider yourself creative, you might surprise yourself if you just ask the right questions.

As you go through this process, write down your answers. And here’s a bonus tip – don’t filter yourself, just write as fast as you can think and write down as many answers as you can.

1. What services will you be offering? Jim Copenhaver was planning on handling customer’s to-do lists and came up with the name PunchList Handyman (click here to learn more about his business). Another great name I’ve seen is “The Door Man.” This business obviously focuses on door repairs and installs.
2. What specific neighborhoods or suburbs will you be servicing? You may consider naming your business after one of those areas to be hyper-relevant to those customers. That’s exactly what Michael Rodriguez and it worked for him.
3. List any words that would be used to describe you or your business.  Professional, experienced, quality, fast, speedy, quick, advanced, and meticulous are some examples. Obviously, you’ll want to focus on adjectives that put you in a positive light.
4. What will you provide for your customers besides your services? This could include emotions, a state of mind, or more time. Examples might include: comfort, less stress, peace of mind, more time, happiness, etc.
5. What geological features do you have around your city or state? List all of the mountains, rivers, parks, valleys, or anything else you can think of. You may come across something that sounds good and is meaningful to you.
6. What previous careers did you have or why did you decide to start a handyman business? Before becoming a professional handyman, I used to be an engineer. Thinking back, I probably could have worked this into my business name somehow.
7. Now that you have a nice long list of keywords, run them through a thesaurus to discover more.  You can find a thesaurus on google.  Write down any good synonyms that you come up with from the thesaurus.
8. Once you have a large list of words, start combining them and see if you can find something clever.  Don’t be afraid to modify a word slightly or combine two words into a single word.  If you get stuck, go look up other handyman business names for some inspiration.  You’ll find that most handyman business names are pretty lame.  Resist the urge to follow suite and try to stand out.  Be different and you’ll be rewarded.

From this exercise, try to come up with at least 20 decent names that you may consider using.  Run these 20 names by friends and family and see what happens.  One of the names that you didn’t really like may inspire a friend to come up with a good name that you would have never thought of.  Ask for feedback as well, but be careful taking feedback from somebody that isn’t in your target market.

It took me about a month to figure out my handyman business name which was too long.  I had plenty of really good ideas, but most of them ended up being taken.  Don’t get discouraged by this because there are plenty of good names still out there.  You just have to think outside the box.

Try to constantly be thinking of a business name and if you come up with an idea, WRITE IT DOWN!  Type it into your iPhone, text it to yourself, whatever you have to do.  Keep a running list of ideas to decide from, eventually you’ll figure out that name fits you, is inviting to customers, and stands out.

Business Names and Marketing

After you’ve done some brainstorming and have a few ideas, here are some things to consider to help you whittle down the options and ensure you choose something that will help, instead of hurt your business.

Pick a name that is easy to say and spell.  If people can’t pronounce your name, they are much less likely to recommend your services to others. And being easy to spell is now more important than ever.  The Internet is the place to do business these days.  If your customers can’t type your name into google correctly, then they may never find you.

Be recognizable. If you plan on growing a large handyman business with multiple employees, choose a name that is unique and catchy so when people hear it, they want to know more.  You want your business name to stick in their heads.  Odd Job Bob is a great example from above that does this well.

Clarity is your friend.  An ideal business name tells what the product or service is.  This can be especially important for a service type business.  This doesn’t mean that you have to have the word handyman in your name, although it is a good idea if you can work it in.  You could have a name such as HandyPRO and it will give people a good idea of what you do while still being unique and memorable.

Are you specializing in a particular niche?  If so, try to work something in that says what you specialize in.  A good example of this is the franchise Shelf Genie.  It’s pretty obvious what they do…they install shelves.

Choose an area specific name. Are you planning to target a very specific area?  Let’s say you live in the suburb called Whispering Oaks in San Antonio.  “San Antonio Handyman” would be a great business name, but it’s probably already taken.  Instead, you may try “Whispering Oaks Handyman” which is a suburb of San Antonio.  However, depending on how much you want to grow your handyman business, this could be restricting in the long run.

Is the domain name available?  Online marketing is where the best customers come from, and your website is the hub of your online presence. So, ideally you’ll be able to get the domain name that matches your business name with a .com. In fact, I highly encourage you to read this article on how to choose a domain name before making a final decision.  This is going to restrict your name options significantly.  When I was brainstorming names for my business, I would fall in love with a name only to find out that the URL wasn’t available.  I eventually found one that I was happy with and the URL was available, but it took some time.

Will it resonate with your target market?  Are your ideal customers going to like your new name?  Choosing a name that you like is nice, but your focus should be on the customer. If you’re planning to target dual income professional parents (a great market by the way), make sure you you pick a family friendly name.  You don’t want to scare them away with a name like “Hardcore Handyman” or something.

Also remember that you don’t have to appeal to everybody, just make sure your name appeals to somebody. Read Targeting the Right Customers for tips on how to choose profitable customers that you want to work with.

Legal Considerations

As you are probably aware of, many handyman business names are already trademarked or at risk of being trademarked. So, You’ll want to make sure your choice is safe.

In a perfect world, you would just go to a website, type in your desired business name, and it would tell you whether or not you could use that name. Unfortunately, this website doesn’t exist (that I know of) which makes this process a pain in the ass.

I’ll try to make it as simples as possible for you.  Please note that I’m not an attorney and this is not legal advice.  This is only information I have gathered from my experience.

1. Do a quick search on Google or whatever search engine you prefer by typing your desired business name in the search box.  It’s usually a good idea to go through the first 3 pages of results and see if anything turns up. This will eliminate most and is easy to do.
2. If it passes #1, check to see if your name is trademarked by going to the USPTO’s website here.  If the name is trademarked you are better off not using it, however there are some situations where you can.  If the company that trademarked that name has nothing to do with anything close to your industry and you would not compete with them, spoil their brand, or have any other negative effect on their brand, you can cautiously proceed forward.  However, there are always risks when doing this.  I would talk an attorney to make sure.
3. If you really want to be sure, go to the county clerks office and have them search the fictitious name database for your state. I didn’t bother with this, personally. But, I was clear on the risk I was taking.
4. You may choose to do an unregistered trademarks search by visiting thomasnet.com and other similar websites.  However, these are likely incomplete and will only give you a little more assurance your name isn’t taken.

If you have cleared all the checks on this list, you should be good to go! Congratulations!

If you want to be extra safe, you should go talk to a patent and trademark attorney and have them do a more extensive search.  If you want to lock down your new name and protect it from others using it, go have it trademarked.  This is totally optional, though.  If you are going to be running a single man operation and never plan to expand, trademarking is probably unnecessary.

Want to learn more about starting a handyman business?  Make sure to sign up for my e-mail newsletter and get my best content delivered right to your inbox. (It’s FREE)

When I was stung by the contractors board, I couldn’t believe what was happening. Here I was going out to quote a small painting job and the next thing I know this guy is handing me a ticket for contracting without a license!

What did I do wrong?

Legally I was allowed to do small painting jobs and I didn’t even quote the job. In fact, I told the guy right away that he’d need a licensed painting contractor because of the job size. Here I am thinking I’m doing the right thing and getting fined anyway!

“Why are you giving me a ticket, I didn’t even quote the job?” I asked.

“Because you can’t advertise services that require a specific trade license. I have your craigslist ad right here.” He then goes on to list all of the services I was advertising that weren’t allowed (pretty much ALL of my services).

“So, you’re telling me that I can offer these services as long as they are for jobs under $1,000, but I can’t actually advertise them?” I asked in a mocking tone.

“That’s right.” The investigator responded.

After it was all said and done, I walked away devastated and confused with a ticket in my hand. I had just started my business a few months prior to this happening so I didn’t have the confidence I do now. I thought I was going to have to pack up shop and get another job.

Luckily for me, though, one of my customers was a high end attorney that had a soft spot for helping the common man. He offered to help me out for a very reasonable price. Long story short, I ended up winning the case and went on to run a very profitable handyman business.

This worked out in the end, but it was a pain in the ass and I would’ve preferred to avoid it. So, in this article I’m going to share some tips on making sure your business is operating within it’s legal limits – one of the first steps to starting a successful handyman business.

Know The Laws

Before you start offering services as a professional handyman, it’s important to understand the laws that apply to contractors in your state. You’ll want to find out if you need a handyman license, and what you can and can’t do. Every state is different when it comes to contracting laws, so you’ll have to do some research for yourself in your specific state. I’ll go over how below.

Disclaimer: I’m not an attorney, and this is NOT legal advice. This is just what I would do if I was going to start a handyman business and wanted to avoid any run-ins with the law. Seek a qualified attorney for legal advice.

As a handyman, or any contractor for that matter, you are likely to have limitations on what you can do. However, you will be asked by many customers to perform jobs outside of your legal limits. Even my return customers are always asking me to do plumbing and electrical jobs, but I turn them down.

Why?

Other than to avoid a legal headache, it’s important to protect your customers. From what I understand, if your customer’s house burns down, floods, or gets damaged because of work performed by you, and you are not licensed to perform that work, their insurance won’t cover the damage. Not cool.

I know this isn’t that likely to happen, but it’s not something I want lingering in the back of my mind while I’m trying to fall asleep at night. Maintaining peace of mind is a critical part of actually enjoying your business.

With that being said, here are the steps you should take to stay out of trouble.

#1 – Visit Your State’s Contractor’s Board Website

Like I mentioned above, every state is different. So, simply search the term “your state contractor’s board” and your local contractors board website should pop right up.

Once your on the website, read about the laws that govern handyman activity in detail. Usually there is some sort of a handyman exemption that states what you can and can’t do without an actual contractor’s license. In most states, you don’t need a license for small repairs, but in California, and possibly other states, they actually require a license (even for jobs under $500).

#2 – Talk to An Investigator

You might find some vague laws during your research. This “gray area” is tough to mitigate because it’s interpretation is subjective. That’s why when you talk to a lawyer, they are only giving their legal opinion. Nobody knows for sure until it goes to court.

So, if you want to be ultra clear, I would recommend contacting the contractor’s board and asking to speak with an actual investigator. Ask them to clear up any specific questions you might have to see how they interpret the laws. After all, they are the ones enforcing them.

#3 – Contact other handyman businesses

Most likely, the investigator you talked to hasn’t thought through all the laws in detail. When I called one in my city, it was clear almost immediately that he only had basic knowledge of the statutes. This was frustrating because I wanted to know exactly what I could do.  I know I can’t do major electrical and plumbing, but can I swap a light fixture or even change a shower head? I’m still not totally clear on this.

If this happens to you, consider talking to other established handyman businesses in your area. Not only is it smart to connect with your competitors to form partnerships and help each other, but it’s great to get some inside perspective on what has been enforced in the past.

#4 – Pay Attention to Your Marketing

As you may have already learned from my story, your marketing is often what can get you in trouble so be sure that you are abiding by all of the laws regarding advertising for home repairs.

As I was getting cited in the story above, I took the opportunity to ask the investigator some questions. One thing he told me is the best place to find unlicensed contractors is to look on grocery store bulletin boards and on craigslist. This makes sense because those are the easiest places to advertise. Not very effective, but easy, which is attractive to those who are just trying to make a quick buck.

#5 – Talk To an Attorney

This step kind of goes without saying.

Legal jargon can be difficult to understand so once you’ve thoroughly read through the laws, consider scheduling an hour with an attorney to get their opinion.  A few hundred bucks is nothing when you consider the long term success of your business. Be sure to do your own research prior so you can ask good questions.

Don’t Get Discouraged!

I remember back when I was first learning the contracting laws in my state, it was extremely discouraging. I was very doubtful I’d even be able to run a profitable business with all of the rules and regulations. I mean, not being able to do any plumbing, electrical, HVAC, or jobs over $1,000 seemed like a business killer.

But, I decided to challenge that assumption and get started anyway. I focused on offering services that I could do (which turns out is a lot), and not what I couldn’t do. Soon after, I uncovered several very profitable services that have allowed me my business and enjoy the freedom of being my own boss.

So, don’t get discouraged by all this! Anything worth having will require you to overcome some challenges. This is only part of the journey, the part where the competition quits and you pull ahead. Keep going, your freedom is worth it.

What state do you live in and what are your limitations? Please share in the comments below!

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, yet everybody does.

We are humans. We can’t help it. It’s deeply rooted in our psychology.

When we see a man laying on the sidewalk with dirty ripped up clothes, long matted hair, and holes in his shoes, we have no doubt he is a bum. When we see a woman dressed in scrubs with a stethoscope around her neck, we assume she’s a Dr.

We are programmed to make snap-judgements of people before getting to know them. And, this doesn’t just apply to people. It also applies to your business. Especially your business.

You aren’t the only handyman service in town, and in an effort to filter through options and determine which handyman to call, your customers will make lightning quick judgements about your business based on how it looks.

What will they see?

If you want to maximize your chances of success, you’re going to want to put a lot of thought into this. Most handymen don’t, which is something you can use to your advantage.

One very simple and effective way to improve your image in the customers eyes is to have a professional logo.

The Importance Of a Good Logo

When I started my handyman business a few years ago, I put a lot of focus into looking professional. Truthfully, I was making up for the fact that I didn’t have a lot of experience. But, guess what? It worked! And, much better than expected.

Customers treated me as though I was an established business. They showed me respect and didn’t question the fact that I looked like a teenager. They assumed that my business was legit because it looked legit.

I was able to increase the my perceived value to the customer. And right or wrong, what they perceive is reality to them.

Now, my logo wasn’t the ONLY thing that made me look professional, but it was a fundamental piece of my image. It was the one consistent thing across all of my branding that tied everything together.

A great logo will build trust with customers, make you look more professional and established, and simply bring you more, quality customers.

What Makes a Great Handyman Logo?

#1 – It should communicate the services you offer.

Since you probably don’t have a huge marketing budget to teach your customers what you do, your business name and logo should work together to communicate what you’re selling. Ideally, you want customers to know exactly what you offer by looking at your logo.

If you were selling cars, an image of a car or some shape taken from a car is an example of something you might incorporate into a logo.

One thing that people relate to handyman is a hammer. Incorporating a hammer into your logo design is an excellent way to help illustrate the services you offer. The most common element used in logos is a house. Drills, screwdrivers, and characters with tool belts are other examples.

#2 – Your logo should be unique.

Logos are like putting a face to a name. It’s so much easier to remember somebody if you have met them face to face as opposed to just hearing their name.

A logo is often the “face” that makes the first impression with your customers as many of them will find you online. You don’t want to look just like the rest of your competition or nobody will remember you. Stand out and get noticed.

#3 – Your logo should attract your ideal customer.

A good logo is designed with consideration to your target customer. If you were selling toys to babies, you’d probably want a nice big bubbly lettered logo. A logo with hard, sharp lines like those on the Orange County Chopper’s logo wouldn’t resonate with mothers shopping for their babies.

As a handyman, you have quite a bit of freedom here. But, it’s definitely something you should consider.

#4 – Colors.

You’ve likely noticed that most landscaping companies have green in their logos. It helps to communicate what they do and when you are talking about landscaping, green is a sign of quality.

As a handyman, you can pretty much choose any colors you want. Make sure you choose colors that you like. If you take what I say seriously, you’ll have these colors on your uniforms, truck, and other marketing materials.

That leads me to one last thing, make sure you like your logo. After all, your business is an expression of you and it’s always more enjoyable if you’re actually proud of your creation.

Where To Go For A Great Logo

Most handymen will sketch something up themselves or slightly modify a stock photo they find online. While this can work, it’s not recommended. Doing this is kind of like wearing an ill-fitting suit. Sure, it’s a suit, but that doesn’t mean it looks good.

Instead, separate yourself from the competition. Have a pro design your logo. It’s not as expensive as you might think. Personally, I recommend going to 99designs.com to get your logo designed because it’s cost effective and yields great results.

Basically, you just describe what your business is all about, what you’re looking for, and then dozens of designers go to work essentially competing for your business. You choose the design you like, and you don’t pay a dime unless you get a design you love.

You really can’t lose. You can also see a ton of other designs that have been completed to get sense of the quality (which is very high for the price).

Click here to get started and have dozens of designers create an awesome logo for your business.

(This is an affiliate link and I get a small commission if you click this link and make a purchase. However, I wouldn’t recommend anything without direct experience with it.)

Conclusion

Like it or not, you’re customers aren’t going to hire you purely based on your handyman skills. They are going to use other factors to make their decisions on how much you are worth and wether or not to hire you.

By putting effort into how you look, you can attract more clients and have a higher perceived value. Basically, a logo is an investment that will pay future dividends.

With todays technology and resources, there is really no reason NOT to have a professional logo for your business.

Starting a handyman business is an exciting time! But, just like anything else, there are some not so fun tasks required to establish a legitimate, legal business. Obtaining the necessarily licenses is one of them.

This is often frustrating, confusing, and boring. It’s even boring to write about!

But…it’s necessary.

I’m going to attempt to make this process easy for you. Maybe even fun (if that’s possible). At the very least, I’ll save you some time, and maybe even some cash while helping you avoid legal issues down the road.

The process may take a couple of days, but you’ll be glad you did it once your finished.

Disclaimer – I’m not an attorney and am NOT qualified to give legal advice. This is for informational purposes only and should not be considered all-inclusive. Consult with a qualified attorney for all legal advice and decisions about your business. And most of all, please don’t sue me for trying to help you, emkay?

Step #1 – Create a Business Entity (State Business License)

Any business, regardless of what it sells, needs to create an entity with the state in which it operates. That’s a fancy way of saying you need a business license.

What To Do:

First you need to decide on what type of entity you will create – usually an LLC, a Sole Proprietorship, or a S Corporation for most small service businesses. This will take some research and deliberation.

For my handyman business, I chose an LLC (here’s why). However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you should. In this podcast, Randal DeHart suggests forming an S Corp and makes a great argument for doing so.

Remember, one size never fits all. Consider your own unique situation when making your decision.

Many small business owners choose to operate as Sole Proprietors, but this isn’t recommended because it provides almost no protection for you or your assets in the event of a legal issue. You are liable for anything that goes wrong with your business, while an LLC or S Corp protects your personal assets to a certain degree. (Basically, if you accidentally burn down your customers home, you might lose your business, but you won’t necessarily have to lose your home, car, and retirement money with the proper business structure.)

Once you’ve chosen the type of entity you’d like to create, you have three options for registering with your state.

1. You can visit the Secretary of State’s website for your state and register it yourself (cheapest option, but may be more difficult).
2. You can hire an Attorney to do it for you (most expensive).
3. You can got to LegalZoom.com and have them guide you through the process (affordable and easy).

Step #2 – Get an EIN (Employer Identification Number)

If you form an LLC or a corporation of any kind, you’ll also want to register for an EIN. This is done through the IRS and is used when filing your taxes. An EIN is essentially a social security number for your business.

This step is super easy and only takes a few minutes and can be done online at irs.gov.

Wondering if you need an EIN? Click here to find out and apply for one if you do.

Step #3 – Get the Appropriate City Licenses

In addition to filing for a state business license (step #1), you’ll need to get a city business license as well. As you might have guessed, this is different for every city.

I actually didn’t know I was supposed to do this until after I had been in business for over 6 months! I got lucky and didn’t get fined, but it would have been nice to know back then. Hopefully this article helps you avoid that mistake.

What To Do:

Go to your local chamber of commerce for the city you’ll be operating in. I recommend going in person so you can talk to somebody and get some help. I was totally clueless when I went so I just asked them what to do. They helped me complete the forms on the spot and within an hour I had a city business license.

You may even be able to do this online depending on your city. Also, if you plan on offering services in multiple cities, you will likely need multiple licenses.

Step #4 – Get a Contractor’s or Handyman License

If necessary in your state, make sure to get the appropriate licenses for the services that you’d like to offer. In many cases, this will actually be the first step.

For details on how to get a handyman license or to learn if you even need one, read this article: Handyman Licenses and Laws: How to Avoid Getting Stung. It will give you some basic advice and point you in the right direction.

And That’s It!

Filing paperwork and trying to navigate all of the laws and licenses around starting your business can be a pain in the ass. But, don’t let it hold you back from getting started.

Usually, it will only take a couple of days and cost a few hundred bucks. But once it’s done, it takes very little time and effort to maintain, especially if you’ve hired a good bookkeeper or accountant.

Since starting my handyman business I’ve made it a habit to pay attention to service providers that I hire. What do I like? What do I hate? What do I love?

Then, I take what I like and apply it to my business.

Outside of reading several books a month, this has proved to be the the best strategy for improving my business. Like what I learned from eating mexican food one day.

Recently, I had an awesome customer experience that gave me some insight into the art of soliciting reviews.

I don’t know about you, but I often find it awkward to ask my customers to do something like leave a review. However, this experience changed that for me and I think it will help you as well.

Here’s what happened.

After spending nearly two weeks struggling with a technical issue while making some upgrades to my online marketing, I finally decided to hire some help. I found a guy online and within a matter of an hour of working with him, my problem was solved. He literally saved me days of fruitless labor.  He also went above and beyond with the service he provided. It was a great experience.

Yet, even after this experience, I wasn’t rushing to give him a review. In fact, it wouldn’t have even crossed my mind if he hadn’t mentioned it. Which, leads to the first obvious rule of getting reviews – you have to ask for them!

But, just asking for a review isn’t always effective. Equally important is HOW you ask, which this guy did very well.

Here’s how it went down.

Right after I thanked him for saving me days of frustration and explained how helpful he was, he replied with something like this:

“Thanks, and if you really feel that way and you have a chance, I’d appreciate it if you’d head over to the marketplace and share that in a review. As a developer, we pretty much rely on those reviews. It’s crazy how much they impact whether people buy or not.”

…or, something like that.

As simple as this might sound, there are some very powerful elements within what he said. Here’s what I gleaned from the experience.

Critical Component #1 – Timing

The first thing he did right was present the opportunity to me at the right time – immediately after I had told him how much helped me. He didn’t have to bring up the subject because his high quality service got me to bring it up.

As a handyman, you’ll find this happen frequently. Assuming you provide a good service, people are stoked to get their home projects done. In many cases, you are saving them hours or days of frustration as well. When they thank you for this (and you can tell they are genuine), that’s when you strike!

Critical Component #2 – No Pressure

It wasn’t just what he said that got me to take action, but how he said it. He didn’t say it in a way that made me feel like I had to review his service and feel bad if I didn’t. He just made a genuine request. I walked away feeling as if I had a choice in the matter. Nobody likes being told what they “should” do. At least I know I don’t.

Critical Component #3 – Impact

By saying how much customers use reviews to determine whether to buy his software, he essentially let me know that my review would actually impact his business. Basically, I didn’t feel like I’d be wasting my time.

This accomplished two things. It gave me more motivation to leave a review and encouraged me to spend more time to leave a thoughtful review (which I did).

Critical Component #4 – Specificity

This guy told me exactly where to leave a review which is a must.

A big mistake many new service providers make is to dilute their online reviews by getting them all over the place. Sure, you want reviews on as many platforms as possible, but it’s much more effective to focus on one at a time with the goal of having the most reviews on that platform in your niche.

Critical Component #5 – Follow Up

Although he had me convinced on the phone, I immediately forgot after hanging up. Fortunately he sent a followup e-mail and although he didn’t mention the review in that e-mail, it was enough to remind me to take action.

No matter how well you ask the question, it’s not going to matter if the customer doesn’t remember to actually leave the review, and most won’t.

Final Thoughts

Reviews can have a tremendous impact on your success as a handyman. They build instant trust, gain you credibility, separate you from the competition, and lead to more, quality customers. They are an essential part of your online marketing plan.

Yet, so many handyman aren’t leveraging them very powerfully and I can see why. It can often feel like just another thing to add to the to-do list. But, take it from me, they can seriously impact your success.

Have any tips or success stories about generating online reviews? Share the knowledge and leave a comment below!

There is a broad spectrum of quality when it comes to customers.

Some just want the cheapest price, don’t respect your time, and don’t care to understand what it takes to run a business. Then there are others who will pay just about anything and be grateful they found you.

I learned early to only deal with the latter (at least as much as possible) as I found that my enjoyment and profits were mostly determined by who I worked for.

But, it wasn’t easy. You can’t just make a decision to suddenly have a consistent flow of great customers. Getting cheap customers by lowering your prices is easy. You must work to find the great ones. It takes time, and more notably, it takes strategic effort.

So, how do you find these so called “quality customers?” That’s exactly what I share in this article.

How NOT To Do It

Many handymen operate their businesses willy nilly, take every job they can get from any customer they can get, and hope and pray their phones ring with referrals.

Typically their strategy is to win the customers over with the lowest price. Somewhere along the way they’ve been tricked into believing that price is the main decision point for customers. But it’s not. As I explain in detail in my book on pricing, there are many more factors that effect a customer’s decision on who to hire.

These same handymen tend to shy away from marketing their services, and if they do try some marketing, they will only attempt the lowest effort, lowest cost methods such as business cards, flyers, craigslist ads, and buying leads.

This is a great strategy IF your goal is to become cheap labor for people who don’t respect you or your time.

But, if you are reading this, I get the sense that isn’t what you want. You want the respect, profits, and enjoyment you deserve from your business. You’ve worked hard to gain the skills you have and you should be compensated for that.

Here are some tips (and hopefully some motivation) for finding better clients.

Do More Marketing

If you want to have a highly profitable and thriving handyman business, you must spend some time and money marketing your business.

By strictly relying on word of mouth, you will make less money. I do not recommend it.

In order to find great customers, you need a large volume to choose from. You want to have enough leads so you can afford to lose some.

If you do small jobs, you want to have enough leads so free quotes are NOT a requirement for staying busy.

That’s because certain customers aren’t worth working for. I hate to say it, and it sounds negative or elitist, but that’s just the way it is. Some people have unreasonable expectations and are only looking to get a bargain on cheap labor.

If you’re hesitant to spend time marketing your business, I get it. I really do. It costs money, it takes time, and it doesn’t always bring immediate results. It can even seem like your wasting your time. It can be hard to muster up the energy to keep working after a day of handyman jobs.

But, I encourage you to look at marketing as an investment because that’s what it is. It’s not just another expense or time suck. It’s a critical component for a profitable and sustainable service business.

Outside of the fact that good marketing attracts more and better customers, it’s also a smart move in terms of financial security. Just relying on referrals is a risky strategy.

If you’re ready to get serious about marketing, the most important thing to do now is to ACT.

Maybe that means buying some marketing books. Maybe that means trying a strategy you’ve been thinking about for a while. Maybe that means working on your website.

Whatever it is, there are many ways to generate leads for a home repair business. Don’t ask yourself “what’s the best way to market my services?” Instead, ask “what’s one effective way to market my services?” Then go do it. You might suck at first, but you’ll get better. It might not even work as well as you hoped. But you’ll learn from it. Keep trying until you find something that works for you.

Personally, I’ve tried all kinds of marketing. I’ve tried craigslist, paid for leads, flyers, and even went knocking door to door! The hands down most effective (and cost effective) method I’ve found is online marketing. It’s worked extremely well for me and for many other handymen I’ve mentored.

If you’d like save time and learn the exact step by step process I used to grow my handyman business from scratch using online marketing, check out this free video training series.

Get Good At Saying No

Once you have a solid flow of new leads (and even earlier if possible), it’s time to start saying “no.”

Say no to jobs that aren’t profitable. Say no to unreasonable customers. Say no to anything that takes time and doesn’t bring results.

Most handymen are terrible at saying no – myself included. Our helpful nature makes us want to help all customers. However, the idea that we can help everyone, or somehow create more time to fit more jobs into our already booked schedule is an illusion.

The counterintuitive reality is that in order to help the most people, you need to say no MORE often.

You must say no in order to create time and space to actually work on our business instead of just in our business.

The problem with saying no is that it goes against our natural psychological tendencies.  We all fear missing out on an opportunity. It may even seem like a bad financial decision to say no. But, this is a scarcity mindset.

In the long run you’ll have more customers and jobs to choose from because of saying no. And, the customers you do work for will be happier because of the great service you provide.

Put Quality First

Even if you have to redo a job. Even if it puts you behind schedule. Even if you lose money on the job. Always put quality first.

From my experience, the best customers place a very high value on service providers who consistently get the job done well.

Why?

Because hardly anybody does. Most handymen, plumbers, electricians, and others are in a hurry. They underbid and in an effort to stay profitable, they cut corners. Underbidding a job is not the customers fault, it’s yours, and if you put it on the customer, you will lose money and your good reputation.

Your reputation is what pays the bills in the long run, not having the lowest bid.

Be Honest

Equally, and arguable more important than quality, is trust. The best customers want somebody they can trust, and are willing to pay more for it. In fact, great customers likely won’t even hire you unless they trust you.

I find the hardest times to be honest are when customers ask me about stuff I don’t know. I don’t want to look dumb and want to pretend like I know everything, but that’s just dishonest. Customers can smell a bullshitter a mile away.

The crazy thing is that when I’m just honest and say “I don’t know,” I gain instant trust. They suddenly realize that I’m not going to comprise their home just to make a quick buck. People crave that raw authenticity because it’s so rare.

Sure, you may lose that job, but once you have that trust they will come back again and again, asking you to do virtually everything. You become their trusted advisor for one of their most valuable assets.

Conclusion

As you can see from the tips above, great clients aren’t just found – you actually create them.

First you have to find them, then turn them into great clients.

The bad news is that it takes work. The good news is that it isn’t rocket science and anybody can do it with consistent, strategic effort.

By running your business with a clear intention behind each action instead of just taking what you can get, you will slowly separate yourself from the pack, grow a list of amazing customers you love working for, and make more money than you ever thought possible in this business.

One of the most powerful insights I’ve gained since starting my first business is that there is an abundance of opportunities.

There’s always a way to get more customers.

There’s always a way to start a business even while you’re working a full time job.

There’s always a way to increase your rates so you can work less and profit more.

In fact, if you ever stop and think about all the opportunities to improve your life or business, it’s pretty amazing. Even overwhelming.

Almost anything you could possibly want to learn is now taught online, and if the information isn’t online, the person who has that information can likely be found online.

With all this knowledge at our fingertips, why is it that most still aren’t achieving their goals? If it’s possible for one handyman to make 6 figures while only working 4 days a week, why aren’t all handymen doing the same?

I think the answer is pretty simple. There is a lack of action.

“What one does is what counts. Not what one had the intention of doing.” – Pablo Picasso

I’m not saying that most people are all just sitting around doing nothing. In fact, most people are taking action. But, the action they are taking is easy, habitual, and scattered.

Doing the same thing you did yesterday can be effortless. Doing that hard thing you know you need to do is, well, hard. That action is likely unfamiliar, uncomfortable, and even a little scary. It may require you to be vulnerable.

But, that’s where all the magic happens. Counterintuitively, the things we avoid most are often the things that bring us the most growth, happiness, and fulfillment.

For example, writing this article is hard for me. I’d rather be out building something. But, I know that when I’m done and I hit publish, I have the opportunity to really help people and improve my own circumstances in the process.

Maybe this article won’t be a hit, but I know if I keep writing, someone will tell me how I literally changed their life. It’s happened before and it’ll happen again. That’s worth the hard work.

We all struggle to take bold action toward that next level because what got us where we are won’t get us to where we want to go. We have to change something and change is difficult.

But, learning how to train yourself to take bold action is a skill we should all learn. It’s something I’ve studied for the last 4 years and it’s something I’ll continue to study.

I’m not going to pretend like I’ve mastered it, but I have improved tenfold. Here are a few simple and effective tips I’ve picked up along the way.

#1 – Schedule Block Time

“When I get a chance” never happens. If you want to get something done that you’ve been putting off, it’s time to step back and actually schedule it in. Just like you’d schedule in a job with a customer, schedule some dedicated time and guard it with your life.

I’ve spoken to several handymen who schedule one day a week to work on their business instead of in it. That means no jobs scheduled for that entire day. It may seem like this is a waste of perfectly good billable hours, but often this is the difference between those charging $60+ an hour and those constantly working for $30/hr. Handyman skills on their own will only get you so far. You also need to spend time on business skills.

In 2014 I had a strict policy of only scheduling jobs 3 days a week so I could spend the other two writing for this blog and completing my pricing guide. As a result I’ve created another stream of income and helped hundreds of people run more profitable businesses.

That would have never happened if I didn’t carve out time from my already busy schedule.

#2 – Lower your Standards

If you tend to be a perfectionist, as many handymen are, then you’re likely making a project too big in your head. Waiting for more information, more time, or to be able to do something perfectly is just an excuse to procrastinate.

Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good enough. Instead, lower your standards. If you’re having trouble following through with building your online presence, then just take imperfect action.

Maybe that means just building your website so you actually have one, even though it’s not the best. Maybe that means putting up an about page even though it’s nowhere close to perfect.

A half completed website will generate infinitely more leads than one that doesn’t exist.

Don’t let yourself fall victim to the very things that are holding your competition back. It’s your chance to take it to the next level. Sit down, get it done, and even if it’s not perfect, you’ll gain that critical momentum needed and your perfectionism can go to work and fix it later.

#3 – Loss Aversion Can Be Your Ally

As humans, we tend to be loss averse. There have been countless studies to show that we tend to be more motivated by avoiding loss than by achieving goals.

Or, said another way, we are willing to work significantly harder to avoid losing $5 than we are to try to gain $5.

The crazy thing is that this can actually effect our performance. For example, golfers tend to putt better for par than they do for birdie because they view missing par as a potential loss while not getting a birdie as a foregone gain.

So, why not use this powerful psychological principle as a way to inspire action?

Here’s one way.

Find a charity or cause that you absolutely hate.  One that really bothers you. (maybe to a politician you disagree with) Then, make a commitment to donate a set amount of money to that charity if you don’t follow through with achieving your goal by a set date.

You can then use a website like Stickk.com or a friend to hold yourself accountable and donate the money for you.

Do this and you’ll tap into the power of loss aversion to dramatically increase your focus and follow through.

#4 – Make Small Commitments

It’s easy to get overwhelmed with excitement when we come across a new idea and set huge goals. Goals like: I’m going to build my online presence this week! Or, I’m going to spend 2 hours a day after work to start my business!

I love those times of inspiration, but they rarely last. That excitement and motivation will slowly drift away and your normal habits will make it hard to live up to that huge commitment.

Making big changes is hard. Not impossible, but it takes a lot of willpower.

So, just make micro commitments.

Instead of trying to spend 2 hours a day on something, just commit to doing one task a day toward that goal. That task could be as small as coming up with 5 ideas for a business name, reading 10 pages of a marketing book, or just spending 15 minutes to strategize on how to make more money in less time.

Of course once you get started you can spend more time than that, but the goal is to trick yourself into simply taking action.

#5 – Study Habits and Routines

As you know, habits drive a large portion of your behavior – everything from how you brush your teeth to what you think about when you first wake up.

Your habits effect how organized you are, how you interact with others, and how you tend to deal with challenges.

Performing a deeply rooted habit is pretty much effortless. You don’t even have to think about it. It’s just automatic. If you’re a coffee drinker, walking over to the coffee maker in the morning likely just happens without you even realizing it.

There’s a lot of great content written on habits, how they effect your behavior and success, and how to use them to your benefit.

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend reading up on habits. James Clear has a great blog on habits. The best book I’ve read on the subject is “The Power for Habit.” (you can also get the audio book on audible if you’re not a big reader) This is a great place to start.

Understanding how habits work gives you a new power over your own behavior you couldn’t have otherwise. Use that power to program good habits that move you toward your goals effortlessly.

#6 – Practice Immediate Implementation

Whenever you hear a great piece of advice or a way to move you toward your goal, try to take action immediately. Not tonight. Not tomorrow. Not next week.

That action could be tiny. For example, it could be going to Amazon.com right now to order the “The Power of Habit”.

Or, it could be as simple as opening up your calendar and scheduling time to work on what you just learned.

Or, it could be as big as scheduling an entire week to not do a single thing but work on your business.

The more time that passes between being inspired and acting, the more likely you won’t act.

One Last Important Point

Taking action doesn’t always mean working more or working harder. Sometimes it simply means stepping off the hamster wheel for a minute to think.

Sometimes taking action means saying “No” to an opportunity when you know it’s not your priority.

Often, taking action is simply the act of doing less.

Conclusion

Whatever it is that your trying to achieve or improve in your business, it’s only going to happen if you start taking action. Thinking about it won’t do much. Someday never happens.

“I’ll get to it when I have a chance” is just succumbing to the illusion that somebody your life will be easier, less busy, and all the stars will align perfectly.

If you struggle with this, don’t beat yourself up. Instead, switch up your strategy. Try just one of the strategies above. It may be just what you need to break through to the next level of profits and enjoyment in your business.