A home maintenance business will provide a great diversity of tasks from day to day.
Home maintenance businesses are ideal for entrepreneurs that enjoy working with their hands. There are many reasons why there is a demand for a home maintenance business, including people's need to maintain their vacation properties throughout the year. You also can serve busy home owners, the elderly, the disabled and people who lack the necessary skills to do this type of work. Take advantage of your home maintenance skills to serve this need. Market your services in communities with a high number of vacation properties to supplement your services to regular homeowners. Become involved in the communities that you will be seeking to serve to further establish yourself within these communities.
Instructions
1. Research the home maintenance market. Brainstorm ways to differentiate yourself within this market. Develop a marketing plan from this brainstorming and research. Write a detailed business plan. Include a statement of purpose, market research, a marketing plan, financial documents and legal documents and contracts necessary to start your business. Focus on your wide range of skills and your strong attention to detail in your marketing efforts. You will want to showcase yourself as a jack of all trades because home maintenance involves making repairs to the exterior of the home, maintaining painted surfaces, keeping walkways in good condition, interior household repairs, light carpentry work, leaky faucets, squeaky floor boards and anything else that might come up. People are busy and don't have time to properly maintain their home. Market yourself as the solution to busy people's home maintenance burdens.
2. Establish your business as a legal entity at the local, state, and federal level. File a business name registration, application for a limited liability or corporation, tax license, and any other legal and tax documents necessary. Keep detailed records of your services. Set up a bookkeeping system. Consult a lawyer and accountant if you have specific concerns about getting established. Look into whether you will need a license to run a home maintenance business in your area. You can discuss this with local officials, other people in the business, or consult a lawyer.
3. Buy the maintenance tools and equipment you will need for your business. These should include step ladders, hammer, screw drivers, drill, air compressor and other general tools. Think about the types of work you will most often be doing, for example, repairing woodwork, windows, rotted-out stairs on a porch and other light carpentry and maintenance tasks. Start out with some basic tools and increase your tools as you find the need. Home maintenance businesses serve the homeowner's needs, so over time you will accumulate a wide variety of tools. Consider renting specialized equipment that is only used on occasion. An example might be a cement mixer that you need to replace a small cement walkway. Unless you anticipate doing this on a regular basis, it may be more cost effective to rent the mixer.
4. Design a business card and have a large quantity printed. Hand them out to potential clients as you network within the community. A basic card should include your business name, your name, contact information and the services you provide. Instead of listing all of your services, say general home maintenance. Create a clever line such as "Your friendly neighborhood honey-do helper."
5. Put together a folder to market your services. Present the folder to potential clients. List your services and provide different price levels for service. Base your prices on the market research in your business plan. Include a quote sheet for custom service inquiries as well as a basic contract for services. A good practice for quotes is to come in a little high. This will allow for unexpected expenses as a project develops and if the job goes as expected, you can say to your customer that you were able to do the project for less.
6. Launch a marketing campaign to get your name and services recognized. Join your local business association or chamber of commerce. Advertise in community newspapers. Become involved in other community organizations that will allow people to know and trust you. Since you will be working in and around people's homes, it will be necessary to be seen as a trustworthy and reliable person.
Tags: your services, home maintenance, your business, home maintenance, home maintenance business
