Years ago I saw a van whose driver was letting teenagers off in front of the local high school, where I was doing the same. I noted the modestly painted letters on the side of the van with the name of a company that provided "neighborhood services." I'm not sure why I noted that, as I didn't need such services at the time. But I was curious. I was caring for many elders, and I was well aware of the stress home ownership can have on people as they age. Many elders want to keep their homes. Many are not in undue danger of falling, unless they climb a ladder they shouldn't climb. They can shovel the sidewalk after a light snow shower, but not after a blizzard. And those pesky home tasks - a dead light fixture needs fixing, the squeaky dryer drum needs to be looked at, some boards on the deck need replacing or one fence post needs fixing. It's these items that make many a homeowner want to throw in the towel. When "the husband" was younger he could take care of these things. But now, even though he's okay for the main part, his back isn't great and his doctor has put a limit on some of his activities.

Or a widow who loves her garden wants to keep her house, but she can't do the fix-it jobs. The dilemma is who do you call? Most maintenance or remodeling businesses only want large jobs. About 15 years after I first saw that neighborhood van, I became a loyal customer of the business. And, yes, my deck needs painting. They can do that next month, and fix my sump pump hose at the same time. But these days, I'd have several businesses of that type to choose from. It's possible that the current economy may have helped spur on some of these entrepreneurial ventures. However, our aging population has also contributed to this growth. Whatever the reason, or combination of reasons, business that specialize in, um, not specializing, are growing. Whether the need is regular home maintenance or some small remodeling job, in the past it was hard to get many companies to even come to your door. They're after the major remodel, or they clear snow only for entire apartment buildings. They don't want your elder's puny little upkeep jobs.

However, the new entrepreneurs have seen gold in the little jobs. If we are lucky, we may even find nice people, who enjoy elders, driving the vans that pull up to your parents' door to fix that broken window screen. It doesn't always hold true, but I do believe that people who start a small business and intend to stay in business, are often put together a bit differently than people who want to develop a large corporation. They go into the business looking forward to helping others and having personal contact with their clients. Yes, they need to make a living, and they hope to make a decent one. But they have an independent streak in them. They want to do business their way. If you find the right people, this can be the beginning of a great relationship between your elders and the company. If you are hiring a home maintenance business to help your elder, or if they are hiring a business themselves, insist first that they show they are licensed within the state where your elders live and that they are bonded.

A check with the Better Business Bureau is a good idea, too.business for sale hua hin thailand Make sure they have a physical address! business for sale bozeman montanaYou don't want any fly-by-night operations messing with your loved ones.handyman job description malaysia Ask for references, preferably people who live in the neighborhood near your elders.business for sale gran canaria Find out exactly what they do and don't do. business for sale outer banks nc

Will they fix a small electrical problem, but know when to stop if something arises they shouldn't handle? handyman fort st johnWill they check city codes before they put up a fence or extend a deck? If they don't do something themselves, say trim trees, do they have a network so you or your elders can call them and ask them to get someone reliable for that job? This is not a deal breaker, but it doesn't hurt to ask if they would come to your elders' aid at an unconventional hour because your folks got flustered when they "smelled something funny" and they didn't know who to call? How "neighborhood" are they? Are they located fairly close by? The idea for having a reliable home maintenance company on speed dial is that there are a ton of small jobs around any home that can arise and leave an elder feeling helpless. The man, especially, may be tempted to climb a ladder to fix a light-socket just because he doesn't know who to call for help.

That can spell disaster should he fall, possibly landing him in the hospital facing surgery for a broken hip. If your folks have had one reliable company help them with the snow, the grass, and the squeaky dryer drum, they may be more willing to call them to ask how to remove snow from around their gas meter. This, in turn, could save your otherwise healthy dad from a bad slip on the ice, or a heart attack out in the cold. A local handyman or home maintenance company could help your folks age in place while you concentrate on your own young family.I’d love to tell you that starting a handyman business is easy as setting up a website, putting up ads on Craigslist, and slapping “Bob’s Handyman Services” on your truck.  It may be this easy in a booming economy where contractors have so much work that they actually turn down business.   But, times have changed.  These same contractors that were once fat and happy, are now dropping their pants with $10/hour handyman services.  

How can you possibly compete?  With a little thought and strategic planning, you’ll not only be able to compete, you’ll be throwing you’re leftovers to these contractors (for a small fee of course).  It starts with targeting the right customers.In my last post I discussed how to Evaluate Your Skills and Determining What Services to Offer.  If you havn’t yet done this, I recommend you do.  Understanding your current skill set will help you target the right customers as you start out.  You may have to target less desirable customers until you hone the skills required to go after the good ones.  This article should shed some light on which skills to acquire.  Think both short and long term during this exercise.Write down a list of groups people that may need your services.  This can include groups of people such as single women, the elderly, property owners, and apartment complexes.  It’s OK to be general right now, but later we’re going to want to define these groups more specifically.  

An example would be a single business women, 25-40 years of age, with an annual income of $65-$100K that work 40-60 hours/week.People don’t just go out and hire a Handyman because their bored, unless you are offering those types of services…hehe.  But let’s not go there.  They are looking for somebody to solve a problem that they can’t solve.  This can be for a number of reasons including lack of skill, overly busy schedule, or they are just flat out incapable.  Put some thought into why they need your services and it will be much easier to market to them.If you are targeting the elderly, they are obviously going to want different services than an overworked single mother.  You’re going to need to offer handicap ramp maintenance and elderly assistance hardware as opposed to drywall repair and child proofing.Just because somebody needs your services doesn’t mean they can pay for it.  You’ll have a really hard time marketing quality handyman services to Craigslisters (trust me on this one).  

If you want to market “the lowest rate in town,” Craigslist is an awesome go to.  If you are selling quality home improvements and excellent service,  you’re gonna need a marketing strategy tailored to people who are looking for that.  However, Craigslist does have it’s place in my business during slow times.This might be the most important question to ask yourself.  The income from working for rich older women could be higher, but  you’ll be dealing with a picky and demanding crowd.  Working for property owners or apartment complexes is likely to bring in a smaller income while giving you less of a headache.  I’d recommending targeting multiple customers (not with the same material).  That is, if you’re intention is to increase profits.Now that you understand who needs your handyman services, what services they need, and why they need them, you can design a marketing plan that draws customers and their cash to you.  A common mistake is to try to appeal to everyone and therefore appealing to no one.