I was working at a clients place in Mosman when a plumber pulled up. Without even looking at the job he had to do, he grabbed two wrenches and a rag and dashed inside.

I looked down at the tools I had spread around me. It looked like an explosion at a Bunnings.

Being a handyman has a tremendous variety of work, which is why I like the trade so much. BUT each type of job has a required range of tools: woodworking tools, painting tools, plastering tools, tiling tools etc. As a result, handymen need many more tools than a regular specialist tradesman. 

So when my quote comes to you please bear in mind, a lot of that money goes into overheads ... such as tools.


PS. If you have a painter or handyman with ALL the gear click here and I'd be happy to help.

I spent part of the holidays with my cousin Rob, who manages people, materials and systems at New Zealand’s largest bank. He likes to cut to the chase. So when the conversation turned to my handyman business being so busy Rob had the reason.

“You DON'T act like a tradesman, he said. I don’t mean the skill or craft which most tradies are OK at. I mean the stuff that really anoys people.”

This is how Rob found most tradies.

They can’t manage a calandar – how long will a job take?

They can’t manage a watch – when will they turn up?

They can’t manage a calculator – how much will the job cost?

And they can’t communicate – what’s going on and why?

“Your Handyman work is fine and that’s a given. But it’s these four common “trade-weaknesses” that make you different and keep people coming back.”

I've never really thought about it that way but, maybe Rob has a point.