Friend wants to become a handyman/odd job man

[TheHappyOne]

Good Afternoon

A friend of mine seems to have a gift from an early age of repairing/fixing things and the other day he suggested that he was thinking of becoming a handyman or an odd job man. He can do a whole host of things such as: putting up shelves, putting together flat pack furniture, tiling, laminate flooring, fixing curtains/blinds, fixing faulty toilets, painting, building and repairing fences, guttering, gardening.

However, to get a ‘feel’ of the work and reassure himself that he will not be the only odd job man in the region, he would like to meet up either face to face or online with other individuals who are already doing this type of work and thus to discuss the pros and cons of doing this type of work.

Is anybody aware of any such places where odd job/handymen meet up/socialise to discuss the type of work they do?

Finally, my friend is not very computer literate, which is the reason why I am writing the post for him!!

Any advice greatly appreciated.



Thank You.

 

[foxhole]

Get him a computer course. essential these days.

 

[iDIY]

I setup my own Handyman Business 4 years ago and my only issue is managing DOWN my workload.

I echo what foxhole said, your friend really needs to get computer literate for a whole number of reasons. I get 80% of my customers via my website and they make first contact via the website contact for or email, thats just the way the world is these days, if customers can't find you on Google they go elsewhere.. Likewise, my business customers want invoices sent via email and remittance advices come back from them the same way. Google is your friend when it comes to getting the best price on parts and materials that can make a big difference to your profit margins and be a key part in the success or otherwise of the business. My accounts are done on the computer, backed up to the cloud and sent to the accountant in April via email. My HMRC account is accessed and managed online as is my diary. Even after 45 years of DIY experience and 4 years doing it as a job I still get the odd thing crop up that is new or simply so unusual I have no knowledge of it, so again googles is your friend in resolving the knowledge gap.

So if your friend is thinking of starting any business these days he is going to really struggle if can't use a computer.

 

[KenGMac]

TheHappyOne, good evening.

As above get him computerised, a MUST! who knows if he gets stuck he can get ideas in here??

Get him Insured, Public Liability, and Professional Indemnity and start looking for an Accountant even if it is only to load his tax return to the HMRC web site

Ken