Doing some market research here, I am a very Handy Guy with years of experience in the home improvement industry. Talking to someone the other day gave me an idea.

I was talking to a friend yesterday in between my reading, responding to some great advice and some less so, and we came up with an idea that has some merit I thought.

Every second bloke in Africa with a pick up and a drill advertises as a handyman, even more stand on street corners near hardware shops with signs proclaiming to be plummers, the do tree falling, capentry and so on. The spelling errors are purposeful, that is exactly what their signs say, I’ll get some pics and post them sometime.

Anyway the Handyman market here is over traded and pricing is a rush to do jobs that cost the handmen money. I know of blokes that walked off-site because their drilling machine died and they couldn’t fix or repace it.

I have heard tales of people getting painters in cheap and ending up spending more money paying a day wage than some handyman would have quoted for the job. or the plummer that dug up a pipe cut it off and realized he’d need a tool he didn’t have and disappeared without a word.

In this market there are a few that make a living, I specialise in wood and quality work so I get by. I also get to charge a little more, If you read yesterday’s post you will know that my passion for the work has dissapated a little, basically I am getting older and lazier and want to do something less taxing.

Would a preventative maintenace service be a good idea, The concept is I charge a monthly fee, for a monthly inspection, tightening, adjusting and doing minor tasks like repacing tap washers (faucet) hinges on cabinets, light bulbs et al. Reporting back on future maintenance tasks,

Upselling would include things like I noticed a bit of damp on the bathroom wall, that parapet wall could do with sealing, The sealant around the chimney is cracking up.

This idea is in it’s infancy so the details would need to be hashed out, If you are a landlord or home owner would this be of interest?

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