If you’ve got a job that’ll take a week, contractors will basically fight for it - but if it’s just something that takes a few hours, it’s apparently a real struggle to get anyone to show up.
I just installed a new kitchen sink and hooked up the faucet and dishwasher for a client. He said they had called eight plumbing companies, and all of them either refused outright or said they’d get back to it but never did. One company agreed to come install it but wouldn’t do the hole in the countertop for the sink, so they would’ve needed to hire a carpenter separately - and you can imagine how thrilled a carpenter would be about a job that takes less than an hour.
This is an incredibly common story among my customers. I’m a plumber by training, but when I went self-employed, I expanded my services to cover all kinds of handyman work. Clearly, I’m filling a niche, considering the amount of gratitude I’m getting from customers. I literally received a gift basket from one just last week. I should’ve made the jump a decade ago.
Since I didn’t have anyone to model from, I just went with what felt intuitive: I ordered a ton of flyers from an online print service (Vistaprint) and started stuffing mailboxes around the nearby homes. It was pretty slow at first, but the occasional call here and there kept me going. Whenever things quiet down, I just go out and drop off more flyers. I think of it like blowing on an ember - you do it a few times, and eventually the fire catches and starts sustaining itself.
Other than that, I haven’t really done much marketing. I do have Facebook and Instagram pages for my business, which I think are important - especially Facebook. I also made a website. I’m not sure how much that helps directly, but it does get some traffic, and if nothing else, it adds to my credibility.
Also, I played with the idea for nearly a decade, but I should’ve done it sooner. Starting a business is absolutely terrifying, and he’ll lose sleep over it - but it has the potential to be one of the greatest and most life - changing decisions he’ll ever make. Better to regret having tried than to regret never having even tried at all.