Need opinions on handymen.

Jesse A. Nieto · 2025-12-28T16:09:33-08:00

Ive been in Indianapolis for around 2 years now. In that time ive spoken with 5 separate self employed handymen. 2 of which i needed to do work that i didnt have the time for, 3 of which were just happenstance. A common theme im hearing from them *all* is that all that is required to make a good living in the handyman world is to 1) show up. 2) be responsible. 3) do the work you say you're going to do.I am at a point where I am strongly considering starting my own handyman business. CRM, website, systems, uniform, insurance/bonding, the whole professional kit. I currently have 2 road blocks.1- i can *only* do weekend work for the time being (at least until i can justifiably do this full time).2- My only vehicle has a lot of damage. Not the type of truck you want to see pulling up to your half million dollar home to hang your $2,000 entry chandelier or install your new water heater.I'd primarily like to hear from property managers, though any input is welcome.Do you think my above mentioned issues would be major inhibitors? If you're a property manager and you see someone with all their i's dotted and t's crossed, but can currently only work weekends, and drives a truck that should be left out to pasture...would you still hire him?Thanks all. I appreciate any input.

Leroy K. WilliamsPro Member

Property Manager · Southfield Mi · Member since 2018 · 182 posts · 171 votes

9mo

I would be less worried about your vehicle than I would be about your reliability and professionalism with the tenant.

A good handy man is someone who knows how to engage the tenant without bonding with them and someone who is honest about what they are capable of doing and knowing when to turn down work you aren't able to perform at a professional level.

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George Red

Investor · Member since 2022 · 157 posts · 162 votes

9mo

I rely heavily on my "boots on the ground" in the market I invest in and have always thought that a decent service provider (HVAC/Plumbing/Electrical/Handyman) could make a killing if they just picked up the phone, were punctual, professional and did what they said they were going to do when they said they were... I live in an expensive market and have thought about trying to hang my own shingle for investors in my area. Someone who was not transactional and would take extra steps like sending pics/videos and confirming when a job was complete so I didnt have to circle back to ask... the "service" I have found with many lacking and if someone bridged that gap I imagine they would do well.

Also ditto @Leroy K. Williams, the car is not a concern... if you did what you said you were going to do when you said you were going to do it I would pay a premiums just for the piece of mind and reliability. As far as the weekend, you can just tell people that you're booked up until then and that's your earliest availability (technically true). Hang that shingle.

2 Reply

Adam BartomeoBusiness Member

Real Estate Broker · Cape Coral, FL · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes

9mo

"1) show up. 2) be responsible. 3) do the work you say you're going to do."

If this is all it takes, then why do so many self-employed handymen apply with us for a job? Although, I applaud your entrepreneurship, running a handyman business is more difficult and there is a LOT of competition. Someone is always willing to work for less, there are thousands of handymen and professionals competing for the same business, and making sure that a job is profitable requires more than "1) show up. 2) be responsible. 3) do the work you say you're going to do."

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Jaron WallingPro Member

Rental Property Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes

9mo

@Jesse A. Nieto You should go for it!! I did handyman work for a handful of investors on the east side of Indy for about 3 years. It was very rewarding and I learned valuable skill which I apply to our own rentals. I only did PT work (non emergency type jobs) because I have a FT job already. Make that clear with interest parties until you can go FT, build systems, website, etc. like you mentioned. There will always be competition, but if you find investor/owners organically and are good at networking the work will come. If you work for multiple investors with lots of units that will approach a FT job. You scale because they won't call anyone else. The property sells but they mention your name to the buyer. You gained a new client.

1. Nobody cares about your truck. I drove my 1979 GMC square body everywhere, loaded it with tools, and got stuff done. I built an "essential kit" tool bag which I use to this day. The jobs I did bought probably 75% of my tools. I focused on light replacements, minor electrical repairs, gutter cleaning, lawn mowing, bathroom vanity installation, drywall patching, painting, or anything one person could do alone. I didn't touch HVAC systems, roofs, anything that required a license.

2. Investors care about communication, reliability, skillset, and fair pricing. Nothing else.

3. Build relationships. I networked at RE meet-ups, meet people through BP, and found a never ending amount of work. I scratched the surface of the business. You need skills, tools, and an honest value of your time. If you have more skills that value goes up. Keep your overhead dirt cheap. You don't need debt to get into this business.

4. Are you a people person? I used a Google Voice number to talk to tenants and to schedule repairs. Some people are challenging to deal with, have no respect for landlords, and don't understand what it means to maintain RE. Some tenants think housing is an expendable resource. They won't clean before you show up. They can't do the simplest repair. It's easy money for you, but annoying for the land lord.

The reason I didn't pursue it more was because I got married, started a family, and didn't want to loose focus of building our own portfolio. It's impossible to do all that once.

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Peter MckernanBusiness Member

Residential Real Estate Agent · Irvine, CA · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes

9mo

I don't think it is an issue on handyman stuff for weekends and nights. One of my vendors that is a handyman for me did this and then eventually left his W2 and now is doing handyman stuff full time!

The truck/car is not an issue either, I used to be a firefighter and would drive a not so nice car to work because it was older and I could rack miles up on it.. Sometimes I would take that to listing appointments too (just parked down the street a bit from client's houses).

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Joanne Fagan

Property Manager · Charleston, SC · Member since 2025 · 7 posts · 7 votes

9mo

Re:

1) show up. 2) be responsible. 3) do the work you say you're going to do….”

After years of hiring handymen, as a PM, I’d add #4 to the list: Have the competence/skills to do the job correctly. Handyman work can be one of those easy-entry “professions” where incompetence abounds. There are too many “bad apples” who give the good ones a bad name. I think it’s worth doing what you can to rise above the sludge, so to speak. That doesn’t necessarily mean going into debt for an expensive new pickup truck. On the other hand, showing up in a beat-up, damaged vehicle could be perceived as a lack of care and respect for your own property - which, in turn, might raise my concern about your standards for caring about my property. That said, I fully acknowledge that living expenses can be overwhelming and vehicle repair costs prohibitive. Anything you can do to present a reasonably self-respecting image to your customers will help. In my area, the Nextdoor website is a huge source of referrals for handymen and other trades where customers share their recommendations and satisfaction with services and providers. Happy customers have helped build many businesses thru word-of-mouth on that site, around here….Regarding the “weekends only” schedule, while it wouldn’t work for everybody, I’d expect you’d still find customers - and you have to start somewhere. I, for one, find it frustrating that more handymen DON’T work on the weekends. Beyond that, I’d have respect for the fact that you are self-driven enough to work on the weekends, after working your weekday job. Being self-employed is hard work, but, imho, worth it! Good luck!

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Jaron WallingPro Member

Rental Property Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes

9mo

@Joanne Fagan I agree with you.

When I was doing handyman work I almost exclusively worked weekends. It was convenient for the tenants (the most important), property owners, and my own schedule. I'd rarely scheduled work for the week days given I had another job and wanted to spend time with my wife.

I did repairs on same properties a few times. This one tenant ate boiled hotdogs like everyday. He would leave hotdog water on the stove. Just thinking about it makes me gag.

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Jesse A. Nieto

OP

Member since 2024 · 9 posts · 8 votes

9mo

Some things i have going for me.

ive run my own business before. Nothing huge, 4 employees.

ive had my own rentals, 5 separate units,

Flipped 4 houses in the last 5 years. Mostly alone though. Ive done some sub-contractor management.

I know there is a lot of competition in the handyman market in this area, one of my biggest hesitations is knowing that the kind of prices id have to charge to make it worth my time might be prohibitive for a lot of PMs

Id likely charge be charging $100 trip minimum and $100/hr after the first hour.

Im not entirely sure what the going rate out in Indy is yet. Ive seen numbers all over the place.

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Dan H.Pro Member

Investor · Poway, CA · Member since 2015 · 7k+ posts · 8k+ votes

9mo

My son is a wannabe flipper that does handyman work. In high school he built up to 8 or 10 handyman contractors then burned out and gave his best friend the business, went to college and got his degrees, and came back to flipping/handyman. He currently has a handful of part handyman contractors (one is currently full time looking for work related to her degree - he has less handymen than he was in high school). He has plenty of work but he is not going to get rich or even close to it running a handyman business. In CA, handyman are very limited in how much they legally can be paid for any job. There are also jobs that require permits that you must be either be a licensed contractor or a w2 employee of the owner.

Maybe if you can scale to 30 or 40 employees you can do fairly well but that would be difficult; there are easier ways to make money. Also because handyman wages are tight, the amount my son can mark up each handyman is small. It barely justifies obtaining the work, managing the tasks, billing the customers (he does terrible billing for the work which also does not help with paying the handymen - he has a customer he has been working for since August that he has not yet billed (this is not fair for anyone)), and scheduling the handymen. If they were full time employees, the margin in what he collects versus what he pays them could not pay the required employee costs (but as contractors they are paid better into their pocket than if they were employees).

For him he has his crew to do any flips and can keep them busy with handyman work between flips. Ideally he makes his money on the flips, and has his handyman business to get by when he has no flips.

It works for a 23 year old, but I would hope he outgrows this model.

Good luck

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James JonesPro Member

Investor · Collierville, TN 38017 · Member since 2017 · 597 posts · 448 votes

9mo

You’re not wrong in your observation. Showing up, communicating clearly, and doing what you said you’d do already puts you ahead of a large percentage of people in this space.

From a property manager / investor perspective, here’s how I’d look at your two concerns.

Weekend-only availability

This is not a deal breaker if you position yourself correctly.

Most PMs and landlords don’t need everything done same-day during business hours. What they need is:

Reliability

Predictable scheduling

Clear scope and pricing

Weekend availability actually works well for:

Turn work between tenants

Non-emergency repairs

Punch-list items

Preventive maintenance

Where it becomes an issue is emergencies. The fix isn’t working more hours, it’s being honest about your lane. If you clearly say, “I handle non-emergency work scheduled in advance,” many PMs will gladly plug you in as a secondary or overflow vendor.

Vehicle condition

This matters less than you think, depending on your client base.

For rentals, multifamily, and value-add portfolios, nobody cares what your truck looks like as long as:

You show up on time

You’re insured

You do clean, documented work

High-end homeowners are different. But that’s not where you should start anyway.

Most PMs would rather hire the guy with a rough truck who closes tickets than the polished contractor who disappears for three weeks.

What actually wins work from property managers

Clear pricing or rate cards

Photos before and after every job

Invoices that match the scope exactly

Fast communication and zero drama

If you can do those things, weekend-only and an ugly truck won’t stop you.

My honest recommendation

Start narrow. Don’t market yourself as “the handyman for everyone.”

Position yourself as:

A reliable maintenance tech for rentals

Turn and make-ready work

Small repairs that keep properties rentable

Build a track record. Let the work fund the truck upgrade, not the other way around.

From my seat, if you had your systems tight, insurance in place, and communicated clearly about availability, I would absolutely hire you for rental work. Results matter more than appearances in this business.

You’re thinking about this the right way. The gap isn’t capability, it’s positioning.

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Frank PyleBusiness Member

Specialist · USA · Member since 2024 · 279 posts · 130 votes

8mo

I hear the same thing from owners and PMs here in Indy. The bar is weirdly low on basics like showing up and finishing, so if you can do that you already stand out.

Weekend only is not a deal killer if you position it right. A lot of PM work is turns and make readies and punch lists that can be scheduled, plus tenant calls that you can route to a partner during the week. The bigger issue is emergencies like leaks and lockouts, so if you can offer a clear plan for who covers weekdays and what your response time is, most will at least give you a shot.

The truck matters less than you think for rentals, but it does matter for higher end owner clients. Keep it clean, organized, and consistent, and lean on branding like a basic uniform and clean tools. For PMs, reliability and communication beats a pretty vehicle, as long as you do not look unsafe or sloppy when you show up.

If you started by taking weekend punch lists and turn items for one or two PMs, could you build a small weekday coverage network with another handyman you trust. What kind of jobs are you aiming at first and are you trying to work mostly rentals or homeowners.

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Lucas Kurtz

Property Manager · MA · Member since 2025 · 19 posts · 16 votes

7mo

Jumping in from the property management side — Lucas here with Howzer Property Management in Massachusetts. We manage 900+ units across coastal MA and the South Shore, and I’ve worked with a lot of independent contractors over the years — including plenty who started exactly where you are now.

Short answer: your two “roadblocks” aren’t deal breakers — but they do affect how you’ll get your foot in the door.

From a PM perspective:

Weekend-only availability
This is honestly the bigger hurdle. It doesn’t disqualify you, but it puts you in the “overflow / supplemental contractor” category, not the primary go-to tech.

That said, there’s still plenty of work that fits weekends:

Unit turns / punch lists
Small rehabs
Preventive maintenance
Light upgrades between tenants

If someone shows up on weekends consistently and actually finishes what they start, that alone already puts them ahead of half the people I talk to.

The truck
Matters less than you think in multifamily. Owners and PMs care about:

Did you show up?
Did you communicate?
Did you do good work?
Did you invoice cleanly?

For apartments and rental properties, reliability beats appearance every time. You can upgrade the vehicle once cash flow supports it.

What really gets my attention as a PM (after license + insurance are verified):

Responsiveness (texts/emails answered)
Clear scopes and pricing
Showing up when you say you will
Before/after photos
Simple, clean invoicing
Owning mistakes when they happen

You mentioning CRM, systems, insurance, uniforms — that mindset is rare in this space.

If I were in your shoes, I’d approach it like this:

Position yourself as a weekend / overflow / turn specialist
Build relationships with 2–3 PMs or small landlords
Prove reliability over 60–90 days
Reinvest into the truck once revenue justifies it
Then scale hours from there

To answer your question directly:
Yes — if someone had their i’s dotted and t’s crossed (licensed and insured), even with weekend-only availability, I’d absolutely give them a shot on smaller jobs.

Consistency beats perfection every time.

If you can truly:

show up
be responsible
do what you say

…you’ll be shocked how fast work starts stacking up.

Hope this helps — and good luck. This industry seriously needs more people who want to run it professionally.

— Lucas, Howzer Property Management (MA)

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Drew SygitBusiness Member

Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes

7mo

Many tenants & homeowners don't like unattended strangers in their homes.

So, they prefer handymen visit in the evening or weekends when they can be there.

Biggest Challenges:

1) Finding nonimmigrant workers that will actually work hard

2) "Fair" estimates. With all the content online, it's pretty easy to figure out how long a job should take. Then it's easy to divide your estimate amount by those hours to figure out your hourly rate. So, you want to be as consistent as possible with your estimates.

3) Competition: as someone already posted, it seems there's always someone will to do a job for less. Many of these workers though won't have insurance and expect to be paid in cash. Recommend addressing this upfront in your ads and initial contact with a potential client. You should still have more than enough business.

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Bruce WoodruffPro Member

Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes

7mo

I think you'll be fine with an older beat up truck and weekend only availability. I've dabbled in 'Handyman-type work' and agree that the main qualifications are:

1) Communicate - take calls or return them quickly. Text when you're on your way.

2) Show up exactly when you said you would, 2:00 pm Saturday does not mean 2:30 pm.

3) Itemize everything that you (and your customer) think you are doing. Be precise and list everything so there is no confusion in the middle of the job. Attach a price to each part of the project. The customer does not want any surprises.

4) Write a Proposal/Estimate and have customer sign indicating acceptance. Do not give verbal quotes, you'll end up in big trouble.

5) If there are changes needed to original SOW, write them down! Attach a price to the new items, and add it to the original price. Have the customer sign for the changes. (I don't believe that you need an official CO like a Contractor would, just write it on your original proposal.) Once again, document everything, even on a small job.

6) Don't do jobs that you aren't allowed to do (i.e. structural framing/electrical/large plumbing/HVAC/Etc)

What Can’t an Unlicensed Handyman Do in Indiana?

Working as a handyman in Indiana is limited if you don’t hold a license. You must steer clear of several types of work to stay within the law:

Electrical work: Licensed electricians must handle all electrical jobs. This means you can’t touch wiring, install major appliances, or work on electrical systems.
Plumbing: Beyond minor repairs, plumbing work like installing new fixtures, altering drainage systems, or working on gas lines requires a plumbing license.
HVAC systems: Anyone working with heating, cooling, and ventilation must hold the proper license to fix, install, or maintain these systems.
Structural work: A contractor’s license is required for any work that affects a building’s structural integrity, such as framing, foundation work, or major renovations.
Permit work: A licensed contractor must perform any job that requires a building permit, such as a significant home addition or alteration.

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Jim Johnson

Real Estate Agent · Memphis · Member since 2026 · 552 posts · 319 votes

7mo

Love that you’re thinking this through before jumping in — that mindset already puts you ahead of a lot of folks entering the trades.

Those handymen you talked to aren’t wrong. Simply being dependable solves a huge pain point for property managers.

From a PM perspective, here’s the real-world view:

Weekend-only work is the bigger constraint. Most maintenance happens on weekdays because that’s when tenants, inspections, and other vendors are coordinated. Weekends are useful for turns and certain projects, but you’d likely be seen as a backup or overflow vendor at first, not the go-to.

The truck does matter. Not from a “fancy” standpoint, but from a professionalism and reliability signal. PMs are sending you into occupied homes. If the vehicle looks rough, the worry isn’t style — it’s whether you’ll be consistent and stable. A clean older truck, organized tools, and a professional appearance can offset a lot.

What PMs care about most:

You show up when scheduled
You communicate clearly
You document work and invoice properly
You’re insured

If you check those boxes, you can absolutely get work — especially turns, punch lists, and overflow jobs. As your availability expands and presentation improves, that’s when you start becoming someone PMs rely on regularly.

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Need opinions on handymen.

Need opinions on handymen.

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What Can’t an Unlicensed Handyman Do in Indiana?