I think you've discovered why TMH is doing well - he's worked out a pricing structure to allow him to do this, where all the other tradespeople think as you do. Ie he's got a niche. His location probably helps - not much travel time. Check out his website where his charges page explains how he covers your worries.
Covered by charging strictly by time, not by job.
Charged for - see posts passim.
cheers, clive
(hmm, would I be engaged in displacement activities here?)
Cramp? ;-)
What about the panel?
yea marks out of 10?
Technical ability ...?
Owain
You may not have been able to hack it. What makes you think you are such an expert that you can comment on others' ability without a full audit of their business?
MBQ
I charge from the time I arrive, so if the punter wants to chat they are paying me.
If I need bits I couldn't have known about in advance, or need to measure up then I charge for the time taken to go shopping.
I don't have a dinner hour.
The location certainly helps, 251,100 people in a Postcose area of 120 sq miles. Thats roughly 10 x 12 miles and I don't work in all of that, normally don't drive more that 5 or 6 miles to a job.
Absolutely, I only ever quote a price per job when I do decking and the margin is very flexible :-)
When quoting of r smaller jobs I will always hand the customer an A5 leaflet which explains the charges and tell them 'between 3 & 4 hours' or whatever. Thus they are chuffed if it takes 3 but prepared if it takes 4.
Indeed. If I should have had the item on the van I don't charge, if I couldn't reasonably be expected to I'm shopping whilst being paid.
A difference yes, I live in a very densely populated area, many of the people working in London, so they are 'cash rich time poor'.
The area is relatively small so travel costs are minimum.
The real answer is effective marketing. I use two local 'free' magazines with relatively small circulations, but high readership, a website, a highly visible signwritten van, corporate clothing, fridge magnet business cards & several church magazines. What they call a 'multi channel marketing strategy.
The result is more enquiries than I can handle, so I can pick & choose what I want & don't want to do, and the customers who will pay what I want and those who wont.
When I say I don't take on big jobs, I mean that I don't attempt to compete with specialised kitchen fitters, tilers, bathroom fitters, flooring fitters etc. They can undercut me by being much more efficient at a single task.
I do often spend an entire day with one customer, sometimes two days, occasionally three days. During that time I will be doing a huge variety of different jobs so I can easily justify my daily rate.
Do you have any similar competition.
There's already a 'small job' man in my area (which happens to be near you, but not near enough to compete) who advertises in a free mag that comes through my door.
tim
I have competition, but its not similar. There are a dozen handymen in YP, but I have only found one professional handyman - met him in Wickes car park. The rest are numpty odd job men.
What area is that?
Chatham doggers ?
In message , The Medway Handyman writes
YP?
Pages Jaunes Gula Sidorna Yellow Pages
I wonder if they would have chosen that logo if they had realised what it looks like upside down.
Yellow Pages
ahhh - I was trying to make MT out of YP. :(
thanks
Pagine Giallo
Although that makes it sound like a crime novel.
what's wrong with being a numpty odd job man?
In certain areas it probably is.....
I get that...have always thrown it away unopened....!
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