Estimated Taxes
Very small handyman business, first year.
Accountant suggests I should look into filing estimated taxes.
Not quite sure if I'm big enough to have to go through that hassle.
Thoughts?
u/nhhandyman — 7 days ago
r/HandymanBusiness
Good at the work, still learning sales
Running a handyman business has taught me that doing the work and getting someone comfortable enough to hire you are two separate skills.
A recent customer left this review and said she would contact me for future projects. I’m proud of that, but I also want to understand what I can repeat from the experience.
Here’s what I’m learning:
Show actual work so people can see what you offer.
Explain what the quote includes and what happens next.
Pay attention to customer questions. They can reveal something your offer hasn’t explained clearly.
I’m also learning to look back at completed sales. Where did the customer find me? What did they need explained? What helped the conversation move forward?
Business still moves slowly sometimes. I’m continuing to try things while paying attention to what brings actual conversations.
Healthy repetition is different from desperate repetition. I want to repeat what I’m learning from, instead of posting the same thing and hoping.
Other handymen: what have you changed about your sales process that helped customers feel comfortable booking?
u/LouieFixesStuff — 7 days ago
Home service owners: would knowing a job's value before the visit change how you run your day?
Hi! I'm a Boston student with family in the plumbing industry and I'm trying to understand better the industry.
I'm curious, the other day I was with a shop owner and he told me that one of his daily struggles is to know upfront how much he'll be able to charge for the job based only on the info he gets from the call. Is there any other plumber or electrician with a similar issue? How do you handle prioritization on a daily basis aside from dividing between installs vs minor repairs?
Any stories more than welcome!
u/albertrod22 — 7 days ago
One thing I’ve noticed about “while you’re here…” work
After reading a bunch of comments on this topic, one thing stood out to me:
There doesn't seem to be one universal rule for extra work.
Some guys just knock out a 5–10 minute task for free if it’s easy.
Others have a small fixed-price add-on.
Others switch to hourly or T&M once the extra work gets bigger.
And some will stop completely, price the additional work, and schedule it for another visit.
What seems to matter most is having a clear line between:
“This is a small favor”
and
“This is now additional work that needs to be priced and approved.”
The other thing I found interesting is how many guys rely on experience and judgment rather than a strict formula.
Makes sense. After doing the same type of work for years, you probably know what a job is worth without pulling out a calculator every time.
Just sharing what I’ve been noticing from the discussion. There’s clearly a lot more nuance to pricing handyman work than just labor + materials.
u/Ok-Repeat4350 — 9 days ago
▲ 10 r/HandymanBusiness
Just starting up
So I recently started doing handyman work. Nothing complicated. Smaller jobs usually under 4 hours. Just supplementing my full time work. I don’t bid jobs, I charge $75/hr plus actual cost of materials. My issue is that there are so many people here doing subpar work for dirt cheap without any insurance. Do I just rely on word of mouth and slowly grow the business or should I increase marketing and advertising? What seems to be the best way to overcome this kind of problem.
u/Neither_Pipe_1859 — 9 days ago