Module 14: Setting Up Your Handyperson Business

14.1    Introduction

This module
will cover everything you need to get started
on taking your skills and hobbies of fixing and renovating your own home and bringing
them into the lucrative business
of your own handyperson services.

It is much more profitable
to take on jobs yourself and establish
your own brand as a company, rather than working under an already established brand.

Whilst you may feel threatened
by other businesses who have already
built a reputable customer base, keep in mind that modern-day homeowners
are always looking to save the extra pounds, by cutting out the middle man and always looking for the next best thing in innovative home renovations and improvements.

As long as you keep an open mind to finding more and more ways to accomplish different
jobs, as well as follow our guidelines in these last two modules,
you should have nothing to fear!

Fact

Working as a maintenance or repair worker with a company will earn you an average of £28,000 per year, whereas many handypersons in the UK are earning
over £2,300 in just one week!

Source: Pennyhoarder.com

Something to keep in mind is that many laws concerning owning a business
go through numerous
changes and amendments
yearly in the UK.

You will need to be sure that you are constantly inputting
thorough research as much as you can so that you can keep yourself
and your business well within the legal limits. That being said, there are a few things you need to do to register your business before you go out and apply for any loans.

You first need to decide what type of business
you will register
as; the most common of which are as follows:

Sole Trader

It is simple to get set up and started
as a sole trader, but you need to remember
that you are completely responsible for your own business's debts. You also have to take on your own accounting responsibilities, in most cases.

Limited Company

With this concept,
the company's finances
are separated from your own personal finances,
but there are a lot more managing and reporting
responsibilities.Most people seek help from a professional, such as an accountant, but it is very possible to run the company
on your own.

A Partnership

If you are planning on setting up a business
with a friend or associate, establishing yourself as a partnership when registering is the simplest
way to go about it. You both share the responsibilities for your debts as a business and you also both share the accounting
responsibilities.

Business Name

Once you pick a business
structure, you will need to choose a business name. You will have to make sure the name is not already being used, but once you do find a unique, catchy title for your business, buying the name is a very affordable process and it can be purchased in a matter of minutes
online.

Rules/Regulations

Again, you will need to conduct a lot of research before deciding which route you want to take, as far as the business
type is concerned. You also need to consider how and what you will offer as your services.

You also have to follow certain rules when it comes to storing anyone's
personal information, as well as buying any certain tools and products from outside your country.

If you plan to run your business from home or rent a place in which to run it, there are more rules and regulations to look into.

If you do plan to buy or rent a property,
you may qualify for discounts
on your business rates.

You also need to consider
if you, or you and your partner(s), will take on any more employees or freelancers, as their health,
safety and income will all rely on you.

Activity 1

Estimated time: 20 to 30 minutes,
plus ongoing, indefinite
research

As you have probably already guessed, now would be a good time to really think about the future of your business
and what route you would like to take.

Are you going to work by yourself,
with no other partner or employee? If you are considering going
in on a business with a friend, are you fully comfortable that the two of you can work together professionally and bring financial
obstacles between the two of you to light, without these threatening your own relationship?

Have you looked into getting the relevant
permits or licences you need, depending on where and how you want to offer your services?

Take some time and do a little research. The incorrect amount of knowledge
is usually why a lot of start-up
businesses quickly fail. Before you jump in and continue,
a full grasp of what you want to do and the way in which you want to run your business will help you to look informed and professional, before you continue
to the next step of requesting a business loan.

14.3    Requesting a Business
Loan

In order to start making money, you will need a decent amount of it already, to help get things running.

If you are not lucky enough to already have the extra money on hand, you will need to look into borrowing
it and agreeing to pay it back in the form of monthly payments.
This is not as scary as it may seem. Many people and investors
are looking for the next start-up business
to lend money to and drawing out your plan and business decisions in the last activity
will help you to layout your reasons
for your request.

Again, you will have to conduct thorough
research to decipher
which company you want to go with. You might also want to apply to more than one loan provider,
in case one of the applications does not go through and you are pressed for time.

You will need to calculate your
start-up costs to work out a realistic amount to request and decide if the interest rate you qualify for with
them is in line with your budget. Tools, equipment and vehicles are all giant expenses to have to consider as a brand new handyperson.

You also have to think about insurance
costs; not only to you, but to any employees
you might be considering employing.

Fact

Most handypersons in the UK charge an hourly rate of £45-50. Keep that in mind - you may want to start off offering a slightly lower rate in the beginning,
to compete with already-established companies.

Source: Homeadvisor.com

14.4    Plan Your Handyperson Business

Once you decide that running a handyperson business
is the route you want to go, there is much more to think
about, beyond getting
approved for a loan.

The following sections
should help you to create a better plan, in order to get you started when you think you are ready.

Get Organised

As soon as you establish
your handyperson business,
you will need to create a solid structure for yourself to maintain organisation. This will allow you to keep all of your handyperson related
paperwork and customer
communications in proper order. When starting out, you will not exactly
need a full office, but a separate
desk dedicated to your business
will greatly benefit you.

Whether it is on a smartphone or in a brand new planner, you should get an agenda together to help you begin scheduling
jobs, estimates and any other appointments that are to do with your work. You will lose customers
if you cannot arrive on time or forget to meet them at a previously scheduled
appointment. An agenda will help you to plan out your days, weeks and even months so that you can make the best of your own and your customers' time.

Activity 2

Estimated time: 30 to 45 minutes

The choosing of a name can be carried out, whether you have a business loan or not. Once you have found a name you like and you have been through the necessary requirements to purchase it, you can start getting
yourself organised while you wait on being approved for a loan.

Follow these steps in this activity,
to get ahead:

*Set up your office (at the very least, a desk area dedicated
to your business).

*Get an email address,
for all of your business-related contacts.

*Get a separate phone dedicated to your business,
so that you can differ what calls are coming in those which are related to your services, whilst your personal calls are kept on a separate
line.

*Get together
estimate forms for your future clients.

*You should also create bill forms and make a lot of copies of each to have on hand.

 14.5    Equipment Needed

You obviously will not be able to start a handyperson business
without a basic set of tools.

Whilst you may have your own personal
set, you may want to look into getting a brand new set for your brand new business.
You can, however, save start-up
costs by looking at used equipment, such as your vehicle, ladders,
safety gear and so on.

You may also want to wait until you get certain jobs before you buy certain tools. This will help to keep you from going into debt.

For example

You do not want to spend a lot of money on painting equipment,
only to not see a job that will involve
painting anywhere in the near future.

 Most of the up-front equipment
you will need will be for on-site jobs, so you should ensure that you have a lot of portable
tools that can fit into your chosen vehicle.

14.6    Health and Safety Laws

You will need to consider these laws when starting your own business, especially if you plan to employ other people within your business.

Anything that poses a risk to the health and safety of you or an employee
is considered a consequence for someone potentially getting hurt or injured on the job, as a result of your work activity, or lack thereof.
Considering the risks you will normally be taking as a handyperson, you will want to keep yourself educated on the different laws that hold you liable.

You have a responsibility to protect yourself
as well as others, from the risks your jobs might involve.
You have to take into account the areas in which you might be working and the tools and materials
you may be using.

Since you are going to be working in a job that mainly involves
construction and on-site jobs, the health and safety law will indeed apply to you and your company.

If you will be employing
other people, your equipment, materials, certifications and even on-the-job training
to your employees will all need to pass strict and thorough regulations.

14.7    To Do or Not to Do

As a handyperson, you certainly have the freedom to take on whatever jobs you feel you are
comfortable with, but you
should limit yourself
to things you might say or commit to

Do Not Bite off More Than You Can Chew

For one thing, you should not tell any
future clients that you can “do it all”, just yet. At the start of your business, you should only take on
jobs you already know you have carried out before without mistakes.

If you inform a customer
that you can do anything,
they may be expecting you to take on certain jobs that will more than likely require a certified professional, such as a plumber or electrician.

Be Honest

Do not take advantage of a customer
and do try to help them through
their problem, before you turn it into a business
transaction. Some problems
may be as simple as plunging a toilet with a little effort, or checking that a fuse is switched
on. If you know you can walk someone through their issue over the phone, do not try to turn it into a job where you end up overcharging them for something
they really should have known how to do themselves.

Leave your skills and services for the real jobs that will require your professional work.

Besides that, if you can build that kind of trust with a potential
client, they will more than likely keep you in mind for the future, when they do have a real issue they need you to solve.

Customer Service

The advantage of working for someone, rather than working for yourself,
is that you typically do not have to deal with an angry, dissatisfied customer. This is something you are going to need to come to terms with if you are strongly considering starting your own business.

It may not be your best bet if you know that you cannot handle customer concerns with the utmost respect, even when you know the customer is terribly wrong in whatever they are saying.

If you are concerned that customer service may not be your strong point, you can always take a few courses in it, or even hire a representative to handle those relations for you. Again, this is another cost to consider.

Do Not Be Afraid to Educate Yourself

The best thing you can do when taking on a new job is to fully educate yourself
in each and every step.

Whilst several modules throughout this course have listed steps to accomplishing different jobs, it will take a clear view of each unique situation you will be dealing with. Contrary to what you might think,
you probably have not “seen it all” just yet and you may run into an issue when completing a job. In this case, pause and do not try to guess what to do next. Pull out your phone or take a breather from the project, where you can.

Either you do know it and you have forgotten
a step that you need a little fresh air to bring back, or you really have not come across anything like what you are looking at.There are many tutorial videos online that you can watch, which show how to do almost anything
you can imagine. These are great resources.

Also, as mentioned
in a previous module, you need to not be afraid to seek advice from a professional. Their tips will only benefit you, as you take on more jobs in the future.

Start Slowly

After you get that loan and your company is ready to take on work, you will need to remember
not to take on more than you can handle.
That handy little planner will help you to remember
how many jobs you have and when you need to complete each.

You may feel like you need to say yes to any call that comes your way, but taking on too much could negatively affect your effort for each one. You need to be realistic
in the beginning and only take on a few jobs here and there, as you get used to dealing with customers
face to face and viewing
different scenarios in person.

When a client calls you to take on a job, it is not the end of the world that you may not be able to do it for them right away and if they end up going to someone else because
of this, then so be it. Right now, you need only concern yourself with jobs you know you can complete in the set amount of time you are given, so that you can build up future jobs with those loyal clients
and let them recommend you to their friends.

Do Not Accept Under-the Table Payment

Businesses, especially new ones, are responsible for filing their own taxes. Whilst it is hard to prove if you have been paid in cash, accepting
it could start to affect 
your  integrity.  If 
your  customer cannot
even rely on you to be responsible enough to have a bank account that accepts payments
with a paper trail, then how can they begin to rely on you for excellent
work?

We are not saying you cannot accept cash payments,
but if you do, you need to be sure to record
those payments and claim them where applicable

You can get into a lot of trouble and, potentially, lose your entire business, for not being truthful concerning the money you have earned.

Stand Up for Yourself