Replacing windows on my house was quoted at $135,000. My entire house cost $240,000 just 15 years ago. Prices these days are so beyond insane that I refuse to hire anyone to do anything anymore; I do it all myself.
Wow...do you have some kind of old Victorian that requires custom wood windows? If you just have a regular house and are wanting standard double pane windows, call Window World, had mine done last year, they charge $350 per window installed regardless of the size...takes 10 weeks to get your windows as they are built to fit perfectly into your existing space.
For the last two years trying to hire a carpenter or handyan has been a nightmare. No return calls, not showing up for quotes, or refusing to give an estimate on my " small jobs". My neighbors have the same problem. So I've learned basic plumbing and carpentry skills on RUclips. Unless I need an electrician I'll do it myself!
Facts… I wanted to get my cabinets striped and stained. I had a budget of $3000 ( $2000 upfront and 2 payments of $500 a month). Got quoted $4500 and another for $10,000 - $18,000. I did it myself for $1,500 and it took me 3 days (24 hours).
This. Couldn't find anyone to do drywall tape in one room, have to do it myself. Even handymen don't want small jobs anymore. From the point of homeowner it's the opposite, nobody wants my money if it's less than at least $1000 in one job, so I have to learn to be a handyman myself.
@@busabeater2exactly. Capitalism isn't a park and ride strategy. Not sure why everyone that's such a fan of this system also expects it to hold their hand for them.
I work full time as a carpenter and I can build anything in a house, But I can't afford a house; I've never owned a house; And I live in my van. I have no family or love in my life. Please pray for me. Thank you.
As a woman- I do ALL my own repairs including my truck. I got sick of being lied to, overcharged, and then they do a halfass job. It's cheaper and less painful to just learn as I go.
Ive been in construction over 20 years. You have good years and vad years. You have to be ready for the bad ones. The mistake people make is get into a lot of debt. During a good year you can make over 100k and you start assuming that its here to stay. When a bad year gets you might only make 30k. And your debt gets you fast. You gotta stay humble in the good times.
This is not your run of the mill bad year. If you believe that I have a bridge in Manhattan to sell ya. The economy is going to crash anytime in next year. In case you haven’t heard, other than previous “ bad” years as you say, we have never been 33 TRILLION IN DEBT, food and gas prices at levels not seen in 30-40 years, and the dollar about to be replaced as worlds currency. If you think it’s just a bad year, well, good luck w that.
I've been ripped off and overcharged by contractors because I'm an elderly widow. They knew I couldn't do the work myself. That's unethical and I don't have any sympathy now.
I am a paying customer and can say I rarely ever get my $ worth when hiring someone. With shrinkflation and companies not giving raises over the past decade, I see doing things myself as the better option.
I’m an electrical contractor. I’ve told people for years, if you go into business for yourself, live on a budget, put everything else in a savings. You will see hard times and recessions. Winter into next summer is going to be rough.
@@theHairyProject I’ve been working in the trades since 1980. I know in 91 my whole state was starving while my friends in Florida only saw a slowdown. Some areas are always worse. Here in my state now it has slowed a lot. Right now
I am a handyman myself. When I started out, my fee was $ 75 to show up and do something small, and get a good review. It's gotten so bad that I'm doing that again. Everything you listed in this video is spot on. I'm getting undercut at every turn, and my main customers are not spending any money. I'm scared ! This reminds me of 2008 a lot ! Even scarier, I think this is just the start of a long, painful economic time. A lot of people are going to go out of business if it stays like this for very long.
scared? that's not useful at all. scared because you're reminded of something you've already been through? shouldn't you be better off the 2nd time than? You'll be alright just hang in there, stay on your feet, pay attention, you'll make it.
I'm a dentist. We are kind of like handyman for teeth. And yes you are correct. I see this being the start of a very long war of attrition. Lots of people won't make it to other side. The 2020 lockdowns were nothing. This 2024 recession will smash people. Those businesses that have high overhead won't make it. Those who are nimble and flexible by being small will survive. Take whatever job you can. Don't be picky and worry about margin. All positive cashflow is good at the moment, whether its $1 or $1000.
@@TheBriansledentist and dental care is a big money scam. Dentistry has not evolved for 500 yrs. Still drilling and pulling teeth like its 1790. Where is the caries preventing bacteria spray? How is it possible that an infant is the same cost form 20 yrs? Dentistry is a money rackett.
@@TheBriansleman I am sorry but I am sick and tired of all of you dentists or medical professionals lol. I have been overcharged so much over nothing, I don’t even come from the USA just living now here and insurance is a godawfull scam. Never woul I have ever expected to pay money on top of money even with the best insurance my dad has. I don’t mind if people like you go out of business
Most jobs are truly small jobs. People arent going to wait until 9 wall outlets go out to hire an electrician. They'll spend 2-4 hours prepping how to do it on their own. When guys say I charge X to show up and it's pretty damn high, like beyond an hour or 2 of pay... That's chasing away a lot of jobs. The more people do their own work, the less people hit guys up to do work for themz because now they know how to do it. And wont pay some guy a lot of money to show up for 15 mins.
I have been a self employed carpenter for over 40 years and lived through some hard times. You ain’t seen nothing yet people are in debt up to their eyeballs and broke.
I live in an apartment building and grateful for it. Our maintenance staff fixes everything and it's included in the apartment. Also reading these messages the average consumer is getting screwed by no-shows. I'm learning also how to DIY watching RUclips.
@@Chicago48 Yep, but, he's not going to apologize and tell you that HE'S going to be a better contractor, just that he used to ignore phone calls and texts or just not show up at all, then turn around and COMPLETELY glaze over everything he JUST said.
@@Oc4ever12 Nope, sure aren't. People will ALWAYS spend money on the things they need and are important to them. They'll find the money--TRUST AND BELIEVE!
My toilet was broke and a local handyman co wanted 500 bucks to replace the pump. I went the lowes and bought one for 35 bucks ans installed it myself after watching a youtube video.
As a licensed Home Inspector, this is my worst year in 14 years. The economy is terrible, but the housing market is the worst. One thing I will point out to you, all of those customers that you were too busy to reply to when you were busy, that was a mistake. You could have established a relationship with some of them and maybe some of the others would be reaching out now or in the future. Always touch base with the client that reaches out. Even if you’re too busy, take advantage of the opportunity. Good luck moving forward my friend.
I'm a landlord and lots of old contractors are knocking on my door looking for work. They're over-charging though, and I'm doing a lot of the work myself. Contractor rates are totally out-of-control right now. An A/C business wanted $900 (!) to clean an outdoor mini-split condenser. I bought a $15 can, turned on the garden hose, and did it myself. That's going to be the way.
Exactly, most handy men charge 75 to 100 $ per hour. I started learning small things. I have a masters degree wirking on technilogy and I wont be paid anything near 75$ per hour.
Yeah I had a drip in my upstairs unit and called an AC company to check it out. They said it was a pipe clog under my bathroom sink. They wanted 600 bucks for a 20 minute job. Tried negotiating and they said no. I told them kick rocks and got my handyman to do it for 75. Problem is all gone. These companies pray on desperate people because this happened in the middle of summer when it was 100 degrees out.
I hear a lot of complaints from renters about not being able to afford $2000/month or $3000/month rents on apartments. However, I always hear it from the renter's side. Would like to hear the landlord's side of it.
From the customer side of this, I can tell you calling a handyman is my last resort. Between the ones who say will work any job, then tell you the job is too small, to asking outrageous prices if they will take the job, there is no incentive to reach out. And as you said, you did not return phone calls, so as a customer, I would not call you again later. Don't get me wrong, I feel for you, and all small business/independent contractors in these hard times. But lets be honest also. There are plenty of bad ones out there, who over charge, only want big jobs, and do not stand behind their work. I would love to have my bathroom remodeled, but there is no way I am spending that kind of money in todays environment. Guess elections have consequences after all
Lol. my sister paid over 10k for a small bathroom remodel. Something I could do over the weekend for less than a grand. I too have called for services and typically never get anybody and no return calls, I don't call again. Thanks to youtube university I do fine.
I have to agree with you. I bought a fixer-upper house 8 years ago, and the prices I was quoted by contractors were insane and openly exploitative. I learned how to do most everything myself and fixed the whole house up for a couple grand over 5 years. If I used contractors, it would have been tens of thousands. For example: 1. quote to paint house interior, $7000.00 plus I buy the paint. I bought about $600.00 of paint and did it myself over the summer. 2. quote to put in two tiny vinyl basement windows, $2000.00! (the windows only cost about $80.00!). I did it myself and bought fancier windows for $160.00, still was less than $2000.00. New neighbors just bought the house next door and they are getting fleeced like crazy. Like $4500.00 financed money for "trim work" on the house, and all he did was a couple short yards! The neighbors seem to be doing more themselves now. I guess they finally figured it out.
I don't think the customers always understand that employing anyone is super expensive. You can't get anyone that is good for under $20 an hour. That really translates to $28 or $29 that them employer is paying. Plus insurance and all the overhead.
@@FifthKnowledgeAs a construction worker, I totally understand your point of view. It was (is still at some degree) a bad circle. We have to pay employee and demand was so high, that the only way to keep them was to pay higher wage. Since we need them for the demand, we cannot afford to let them go, so even if they are slacker, we tolerate. It changes a 40 h job to a 60h job. But people STILL bought, so the circle continues. Now it is ending
If my elderly neighbor asked me to change a doorknob and tighten her faucet I would do it for free. I’m so grateful I had a patient father that taught me how to do small repairs myself. It sounds like handymen may have to appreciate their customers more than they have in the past.
My town is hiring like crazy for odd jobs but the city makes you register like a contractor. It cost 300 to get the license/registration. And a 3 month wait at a min. Everyone here is below or at poverty level so they have no money for these services. And ith our city code people fining on sight like they do, they cant save money to get major work done. It's hell. 125$ is too much for anyone here. You'd be looking at 20$ 30$ per job here.
An elderly lady got locked out of her home, non- deadbolt. They wanted $250 and I opened the door with an old credit card. She called to cancel the request, but they showed up 2 hours later and wanted $100 for coming out. I told her to just shut the door.
The increase in prices is directly related to a contractor's cost to do business. Everything has gone up dramatically. Materials, fuel, tools, insurance, food, vehicles, etc etc etc. You can't expect a contractor to absorb all that.
Yeup! Not too long ago there was an earthquake near Morgan Hill, CA that felt more like a jolt than a back n' forth shake. Found out the support beam in the front of our house holding up a part of the roof had shifted away from the house like 8in. We called a "Structural Engineer" that wanted $3,000 just to come out and make an estimation, I sh!t you not. Found a handy man in the neighborhood literally just down the street that not only had a free estimation but redid the entire pillar and hauled away the waste for under 2,200. Looks great and twice as secure as it used to be. 👍Hope he doesn't mind the shoutout lol. David Perry in Morgan Hill, CA
@@carbonking53you can’t expect clients to spend money they don’t have either. As a IC you’re living in reaction to people’s paychecks and can only collect what they can afford to spend. That’s the rub
I feel for you man. Learn plumbing or electrician work (specialized area). I can tell you as a landlord, I learned a lot of things myself last year (replace faucet, patch walls, painting walls/doors, replace interior doors etc.) due to handyman getting so expensive past year. I am in South Florida. In the past I could get handyman for $30/hr and now its $70-$100/hr with min $300 here. So, I just fix most of the stuff myself. Wish you all the best.
Handyman prices tripled, customers' incomes didn't. People's incomes have gone down in the aggregate to about 2019 levels so that's what handymen should be charging to be in line with the market. People can go ahead and ignore this until they go months with no orders, then they'll either fold or come back to reality.
Those weren't handyman. Those were crackheads who owned hammers. Explain how at $30 an hour he pays the basics of life. $700 for trades insurance. Fuel cost. Maintenance cost. And the rest of the list of overhead. You get what you pay for. As someone who does construction/hamdyman type services i lose money charging less than $75 per hour with a 2 hour minimum.
I’m a tattoo artist and it’s been really bad lately for me. I know what you’re going through because the exact same thing happened to me recently. Went from phone blowing up all the time and not being able to keep up with everyone to barely anyone contacting in a very short period of time. Just gotta keep advertising and don’t give up. In hard times people always cut back on luxury expenses first and things they feel they could maybe do themselves to save a buck or two.
It's not those little "luxuries" people have started to cut back on. It's the simple fact, that you service providers SUCK at business, whilst taking potential customers for granted and not treating them right. People are fed up with not having their phone calls and texts not returned, poor attitudes and HORRIBLE customer service on your part AND charging astronomical prices, only to get very little in return. People will ALWAYS spend money on the things they need and are important to them, so, your "theory is WAY off!
It's definitely money bro. I love tats, and I'd still be getting them if I had the money. Unfortunately a $400-$500 purchase is kind of out of the question right now
@@PhilippedeHertethey are popular but getting tattoos can become an expensive hobby real quick. I'd say it has to to with everything being so expensive in general.
No it’s not! Biden is the best president ever! I enjoy paying more for every day items! And having less for retirement! As long there’s no mean tweets!
@@sharkcapper This is a monumental economic problem that has been staring us down for the past 30 years. Neither party has addressed it almost at all in that entire time. Don't just look to the current leader as if somehow decades of building issues are the current guys problem only.
@@lordcrekit decades? Really? I remember thriving 3 years ago. Paying 2% for my mortgage, $2 gas, and my 401K thriving. You and I are paying $700 more per month on all expenses.
Finally the only truthful comment in the entire freaking comment section! This has selected child sniffer written all over it, I would've thought by now people would come to their senses and realize how important it is to vote on policies that run the country like a successful business. Because right now we're going down the drain and we're kicking ass under the previous administration that was pro oil production pro oil usage pro oil everything! When planes trains and automobiles use oil to deliver products and the price of oil is sky high you feel it in the wallet!
@@meathooksmcgee662 The govt knows they're immune to consequences. They wouldn't be doing the things they're doing now if they were worried about being destroyed politically.
The blue collar man has learned the meaning of the term “demand destruction”. You can’t treat people like crap and have horrible customer service when times are good and then expect them to come to you when times are bad
Apart of this is real. Contractors kept charging my parent $8000 just to show up and not finish the job. They just stopped construction and gave up for now. They also make trash on the property and don’t clean up.
I ran a buisness for years and the #1 thing that always got me work was Keeping my word and completing the job and leaving the work site spotless and word of mouth kept me busy. Also leaving business cards everywhere..
Yup, all of these contractors who were refusing work for "something better" (or easier), are now paying the price. Same thing happened in 2008...people that refused work with me, were begging for it. I've kept my prices low, resisting the urge to raise them to "account for inflation" like my competitors, and have added extra freebies along with it, and I'm doing ok. But I saw this coming years ago, and have paid everything off, installed solar, etc. Everyone laughed at me then, but they're not laughing now.
Everyone has a price to do something. These people thought they could get more, it’s not greedy they’re just reading the industry and getting out of it what they feel they can
@@NicEeEe843 they just went on strike and demanded higher wages from their employers (the customers). everyone supports people refusing to work and demand higher pay until their AC stops working in july and the local AC repair owner says hes on strike unless you pay him $300 an hour..... then they throw a fit calling the working class greedy! i guess everyone becomes cheap or greedy when its their turn to pay someone to work for them.
No matter how busy you are at any point always return phone calls when people leave you messages asking for a call back. Chances are if you don't call them back, they will never call you ever again for anything else.
Anyone who’s had 50 calls a day but can only handle like 4 jobs a day knows you simply can’t get back to everyone. Especially running a single truck owner operator. Everyone making this statement literally doesn’t understand his business model as a single truck guy. He isn’t able to to hire an office manager for $20 an hour and then would have to run at least 3 more trucks and somehow find quality technicians to run those trucks who don’t mind hard work. Hard to do. So stop with the criticism.
@samweaver123 Any business owner with a little bit a common sense would know how vital their customers are to the success and survival of their business. 50 messages is probably an exaggerated number, but whatever the number is you should be returning those calls no matter what because those people are NOT going to call again. And if you're getting 50 voicemails a day then you're just not answering the phone. You're never too busy or successful to fail. This video is a perfect example because this dude is now struggling to find jobs and is probably wishing right now that he had returned those calls that went unanswered. If you want to use the excuse that you're too busy that's just BS. The truth is you're just not making the time for it and your business will suffer in the long run because of it.
This statement is only true if he doesn't actually want business. The complaint is that he'd have to hire more people/trucks to fulfill the work? Unless he specifically just wants to be a 1-truck business, that's a horrible argument. If you're getting 50 calls a day and you close on a paltry 10% of those calls, that's 5 jobs/day at a minimum of $125: so, $625/day worth of work. If you hired someone for $20/hr for say 20 hours a week, the worst you'd end up after payroll taxes etc. is pulling even. And again, that's worst-case (where every job is the minimum cost, probably overpaying just to answer/return calls, and only a 10% call-to-job rate).
My father is an excavator and has been telling me his phone has been ringing much less. Then the jobs he does get as soon as he is finished the people are challenging the prices and refusing to pay. He has received numerous complaints to the county and state from the customers. He has been in business for 30 years and told me the last time something like this happened was in 2008. He works in a very high income county and even they seem to be running out of money. You brought up thinking something was wrong with your phone and my dad has called me multiple times to check that his phone was still working.
the bottom obviously has the worst of it to deal with but actually doesnt move much. so it makes sense actually that you notice it in the places where theres money. people with money pay more attention to their money. people already struggling to get by will still just be struggling to get by, so it doesnt change as much.
@@saeedhossain6099 exactly. they're the ones focused on money & they're also the ones who don't usually appreciate actual workers. maybe not consciously but a lot of them sort of feel like you're doing bum work like its beneath them. let it all go to shit though & who will society need? they'll find out eventually.
I received several estimates of around $12,000 to redo a bathroom shower. The contractor wanted to use fake tile boards for the job. I did the job myself for $3000. The total price included ripping everything out to the studs and real quality tile and upgraded shower head. Both Home Depot and Lowes rent the tools necessary for most jobs.
I’m in HVAC and I noticed approx 3 months ago people stopped having money to fix their furnace or a/c’s. Anything over $100-$200 in repairs is impossible for people to scrape together. Our country is in true trouble this time.
60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, then student loan payments kicked back in. The new minimum is about $150 a month. It used to be $50 before the pandemic. You tell me how that is supposed to work? If they had been wiped clean, we would have been a lot better off because America has a consumer economy. If people aren't spending money, it falls apart. The republicans basically just assured that will be much worse.
@@dg1178 There is no such thing as "wiping debt clean." Someone has to pay for it and in this case it would be the tax payers. However, I would much rather that than this money laundering trash going on in the Ukraine right now. Hell, they still aren't even helping the Hawaiians yet.
@@Delimon007 Under fractional reserve banking, loans are wiped clean all the time through bankruptcy, no one pays for it because the money never existed in the first place, it was all a fiction created on paper. That's how the money system works.
My dad did construction work for all his life. I used to be his assistant on jobs. We bought a house 2 years ago and had a little work done. The work literally cost 2-3x more than I expected it would, and I knew what it would cost if my dad had done it. I'm not sure if it's people don't have money, or they don't have THAT KIND of money these days. Something that should have cost 5K a few years ago is now 10K. Prices might have doubled, but my pay sure didn't.
100% increase on a hundred dollars is 200. That easy to swallow. A 50 grand job now cost 100-150 grand. That will make most say NO thanks. The issue is income has fallen way behind inflation.
ive been painting houses since i was a kid a gallon of interior oil based paint went from 60 3 years ago to 104 that was the biggest increase but every material i use is up at least 30% over 3 years. The other problem is labor guys i pay 30 an hour which i think is alot, in alabama prob not in cali, are quitting cause its not enough money
My daughter and I went to an excellent Japanese steak house last night and there were only 3 other customers in the entire restaurant. I’ve been going there for 7 years and never saw the place that empty.
This is exactly what I have been telling all of the people I have tried calling these past few years to get stuff done. I told them it will dry up and they will be begging locals for work. Well I ended up doing most of my own work and hiring out of state for the other work to get stuff done. I have had at least a dozen calls from the local guys the past couple of months asking if I still needed the work done and all I have to say is I told you so. Even in good times, don't mess with your good local customers. We may only have some small jobs, but when times get tough, we can get you through it if you treat us right.
Agree. I take almost any job and i price them fairly and live off of referrals and have lots of work because of it. 20 year gets lots of clients and lots of referrals if you treat people right.
Ive been through it myself alot of times its not that I dont want the job its just that I am so backed up I cant commit to anything else because I know people would just be mad at how long it took me to get to it which i try and explain
I designed and built my own 14’ x 38’ composite deck for a 1/3 of what it would have been by contractor. Plus, it turned out BETTER than any contractor would have done, no doubt.
@@viktordmitriev8973 Yes! Same with mechanics. Hard to find honest ones. I finally gave up and only lease cars. Rather deal with sales men every 3 years than mechanics.
Masonry guy here…I made the mistake of investing into advertising in 2007, it was a huge mistake. Commited to$15k and the phone still didn’t ring at all. Be careful people.
Referrals and word of mouth are the best advertising. I started with home advisor 20 years ago and that got me started. I still have clients from 20 years ago and now their other family members too.
I feel bad for the good ones out there but I think a lot of people are tired of the overquoting, ghosting and general slovenly behavior of most contractors. I’ve talked to a ton of people who just turned DIY because they can’t rely on anyone else.
I'm a Uber/Doordash driver and I used to make $300 to $400 a day easy during the pandemic. It's been slowly declining ever since and currently, it's hard to make $100/day. I'm in California so I could apply for public assistance once my income fell so low but yea, that's what's happening to me right now.
@@justinthematrix Yea well, during the pandemic, it was possible to get constant pings from start to finish. 14 hours between two apps would get me to $400 on a good day. Now $100/day is hard.
About 10 trillion dollars was dumped on the U.S. economy during the pandemic. I would say, that to varying degrees, everyone got a taste. That funded a spending spree. Every single day, there were 7 or 8 Amazon trucks out in front, double parked, making deliveries. Now I rarely see one. I would say its time to shift gears for this post pandemic economy. You have to figure out a new strategy; go where the money is.
When I take a Uber I always ask them how’s business and they have been telling me the same thing you said. Seems like Uber is taking more and more of the fare yet charging the customer more while the drivers get peanuts. I stopped using it. I’m not paying $20 for a 15 minute ride where the driver is getting 5 dollars.
I have never been busier. I'm not a handyman, I'm a builder. Never charged for showing up to give an estimate for a job. I can't keep up. Quality work and reputation doesn't require advertising, word of mouth from past customers gets me more work than I can handle.
Comparing building a house to being a handyman. Not comparable, in contrast to be fair, one job is months or a years worth of work when building a whole house. Versus handyman type of work is several sale jobs per week. Then to compare the price of one versus the other considering the investment to the customer, are also extremes. Great your doing well, but you suggest the handyman is doing something wrong.
My husband is a general contractor and he’s been extremely busy pre-Covid. He has customers waiting for him because they don’t trust anyone else. Majority of his customers are by referral as well. He has built a great reputation and he does superb work every single time!
I have been doing 5 roofing jobs per week since I first opened my roofing company right after Covid . The last 4 months or so it’s completely fallen off a cliff . We are down to 1 roof a week and I have 3 more roofs booked before I run out of roofs to do . Normally we have 25-30 on the books all the time . Shit is about to get real very soon
Cool, maybe I can finally get a decent price for a roof. Many people have money but are not just gonna hand it over to an overpriced handyman. Get your prices in order and you will have no problem getting jobs.
I was self-employed for a little over 20 years. The first six months of 2007 were the best six months that I ever had and then the bottom fell out during the last six months. My business never recovered and I was lucky to sell it to one of my local customers in 2012. Good luck my friend.
I lived in a higher income neighborhood in the past and hated how handymen jacked up their prices because I worked my ash off From the age of 16 to get where I got and be able to live where I did. To me that is a form of fraud. Never in my life did I think $120 for an hour or two work was not worth it no matter what day or time of day. Now disabled living on a fifth of what I did for most of my life I still do what little I can and am happy to make $20 here and there within my current abilities.
$120 wouldn’t even cover my expenses. So let’s put this into perspective. Average homeowner spends 6k per month in bills. Let’s say you’re lucky to have a spouse so will call it 3k. Then you have business expenses, now doing it the right way will likely cost you 1500. So 4,500 to break even. You need to bring in $54,000. Not so fast, need to calculate taxes. Add other 15k between personal & business. 69,000 per year to Break even. That’s $265 you need to make, working every week, no vacations … no injuries, no fatigue, etc. that’s means that are your $120… he wouldn’t start making money until the 11th job he did that week working 5 days a week. Even if he bumped it to 6 days… it’s not outrageous to ask for a $200 minimum. People always spouting off … being an employee is much different than a business owner. I hear you but … $120 is not sustainable as a business for many people based on average monthly expenses. Period. Hope it gives you a different perspective. Whatever has happened in your life doesn’t change that. Good luck to you
@@themiddleclasstaxslave651 You mean your expenses are more than $120 or $60 an hour? What are you injecting and how often? My portion of apartment rent is $27 a day so that would cover 4 days of rent. Not bad to me!
@@themiddleclasstaxslave651 Who says you have to own a home and live in an expensive area. I worked out my last 18 years of home ownership compared to my apartment. I would have put $250,000 in my pocket if I rented instead during that period and that accounts for the profit from the sale of my house. My expenses are under $2,000 a month. I saved most of my life and now earn in this 5% CD environment $2,500 a month on the cash portion of my savings. I make $320 a month working about three 2 hour days a month since I am disabled and can't do much (spend 3 hours during the day plugged into a medical device). Sounds to me like you might think about reselling online because the expenses are much less that way, requires no tools, you have millions of potential customers including internationally, etc. Plenty of people make over 100K a year doing it or so it appears after some time (not me, I can't work much) others make more.
I just paid a handyman $500 for 4 hours work. I’m an older disabled widow, I can’t get on the floor or climb a ladder anymore so I feel short on options. It didn’t used to be this way. If you called someone, they returned your call. If you set an appointment, they showed up. When they showed up, they were sober. I’ve always been a good customer and paid on the spot.
lol about the sober part. I show up to all my appointments :). 4 hours may seem like nothing but was it 4 hours of changing light bulbs? 4 hours of roofing? 4 hours of demolition?.
Not everyone is like that. There are bad eggs in every industry. Please don’t judge us all, for how some people are. Hope you find someone that is fair and shows up sober.
I'm just going to throw this out there to consider also...as a homeowner I had to file a claim recently and usually do it myself or hire a local "small" guy. My insurance company informed me that by "contract" on the policy the repairs had to be completed by a licensed contractor or they would cancel my insurance. They did not know I had already paid off 90% of my 30 yr mortgage in 12 years... so the insurance companies and mortgage companies are looking for any excuse to kick people out of homes or restructure things. I'm paying off the mortgage and cancelling the homeowners insurance. I'll save my money and fix things myself after that. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only homeowner dealing with shady manipulation and fighting inflation. Luckily I shut down my business 3 years ago as I saw all of this coming with the economy. The hard times are just beginning. These are just the beginning of the birth pains for the "new" economy. rofl
Lol. You're the type of customer we run away from. Insurance pays FMV or below, it is for a contractor to do the work, not the homeowner. Having insurance and not knowing how to use it, is YOUR fault. If you ever have a disaster hit your home (fire can be one) and you have no insurance, you're eating the repairs cost. If you have insurance, and you think you can do it all, you're gonna really screw it up for yourself. Big claims are no joke.
@@c.m.2747 wrong, insurance is a scam and rip-off and more are slowly COMING to the REALIZATION. Save 10k a year and reinvest and when a situation does occur you have a huge nest egg and the skills to properly build back YOUR OWN property instead of begging for funds and dealing with thieves on all ends.
Ive been into residential remodeling/handyman for 20 years. I have lots of clients and they refer me to lots of people. I was on Home advisor for 20 years which was good starting out. Just stopped with them this year due to a technicality. I have so many jobs lined up and 3 quotes this saturday and 2 next saturday. REFERRALS are the KEY and treating people right. I do everything so they dont have to shop around for different trades. Bath remodels, whole house painting inside and out, deck refurbishing, hanging light fixtures etc, plumbing, electrical. I have ZERO DEBT since 2008 which helps me not have to work all the time if i dont want to. GOOD workers are hard to find and if you do good work you will get repeat business. I do one job for somebody and they immediately want me to quote other stuff for them. Treat people right and dont be a hack is the best advice I can give. Seasonal slow downs are normal.
Same here! My husband did over 6 figures his first year. And has ever since. As of today we are fully booked Mon-Sat until end of January 2024. Doing the best work and always returning calls will always get you clientele. We’ve never had to pay anyone to advertise. I do it all through social media, I sent up quotes, sometimes every single day after work and Saturdays. I set up the quote appointments, invoice and collect on them so that my husband only has to focus on the job itself. REFERRALS all the way!!
I was in business for 45 years and was busy all the time. My most important rule was to always promptly return every call. As I started to begin my retirement I was less prompt returning my calls. Very quickly the phone was ringing less. Best wishes
Great advice! I also run a successful handyman business. I’ve never advertised. Every job I get is a referral and I trade for 98% of every inquiry. I believe work that comes from referral is way better than work generated from advertising. I feel most of the ones who call me already know they want me to do the work. If they ask for an estimate, it’s not because they comparing prices. They just want an idea of what the project entails. Anytime I hear an independent contractor advertise, I automatically think they must be doing lousy work or they wouldn’t need to advertise. If you offer a good value, do great work and are dependable, the work will find you. I work by myself for myself. There’s only so many jobs I can get to. I will often turn work down because the projects will be larger than what fits my business format. I always answer calls regardless. Just my 2 cents
I feel you bro , I am at the same situation , but slightly different despite holding bunch of expensive university degrees Math & physics I even worked on research and engineering programs for the Army but I lost my contract 4 years ago , and here I am , stagnant . my life went upside down , doing jobs I have never imagined I would do , but it`s OK , life goes on Good Luck Brother
Your situations are not at all alike. You are a qualified individual and probably didn't make $125 per hour. This guy put some tools in his truck and bangs people for $125 per hour and attempts to take jobs that hes not licensed to do...
If you don’t mind teaching, you might consider offering tutoring services and/or teaching for homeschool co-ops. That’s something that people will find the money for!!!!
I had the same problem happen to me in 2008. I lived in a town of 1,500,000 and 90 percent of my work came from realtors. It was a booming business for 12 years and then it was like someone threw a light switch. Business vanished. I read in the paper that 15,000 local construction workers had been laid off. I figured that if only 1 percent of those had decided to do what I was doing it definitely could not support those figures. That would have added 150 more handymen. It was a shock. I solved the problem by retiring and moving to Argentina. Now play a lot of golf.
I don't call handymen anymore because they always try to charge a ~$200 just to come out and look at the work. This flat fee alone makes me just learn how to fix it myself and watch a youtube video on how to do it. You're pricing yourselves out of your own market. Handymen are likely a dwindling job field due to the sheer amount of diy videos and the cheap prices of products to buy directly and the successes of the videos.
Almost every job I've done is like this. I wonder if people think watching a RUclips video will give them the skills to do heart surgery. Probably be a lot of dead people. Just like there's a lot of homeowners that shouldn't even own a home if you judge off the "repairs" made.
You have no idea what you are talking about I spend $400 of gas a week. But pls enlighten us. Working construction is putting your body on the line. You could get electrocuted or fall off a ladder. Etc
@@bringbackrealpeopleHave you tried turning off the electricity? Have you considered the fact that ladders are no exclusive to your profession? You don't get it: People are broke, and they won't be dishing out the big bucks required for major repairs. They simply can't afford it. They'll push back maintenance as far back as possible. But when it comes to the little things, they may be prodded to pay for the repairs. THIS right now is where the market is. Simply because people are more likely to pay $150 to repair a hole in a wall, rather than $850 to repair roof damage from a couple of nesting squirrels.
I grew up poor so I learned everything myself lol. And I mean EVERYTHING! From auto mechanics, to framing, to drywall, basic electrical, basic plumbing, HVAC, roofing... Not pro by any means (auto mechanics I'd consider myself advanced) but I've learned enough to maintain my property and cars. All out of necessity because growing up without money pushed me to save money by learning for myself.
I grew up rich and I step out into the real world only to find my nation is populated by third worlders. Its over lol, i hope everything becomes ruined. I want to see everyone fail.
I’m near Philadelphia. A bunch of my friends in the trades, plumbers, electricians, wood workers, painters, beauticians, etc., are all getting undercut by recent immigrants displaced by the Ukranian/Russian conflict. They are doing work for like 30-50% of the price that was normal a few years ago.
thats also why big business wants open borders and more H1B visa workers. creates a permanent peasant underclass they can rule over forever. makes everyone desperate.
@@manager4409 everyone is wondering when the housing prices will drop, and they won’t. 3mil per year coming through last 3 years documented… if our population increased 10mil in 3 years, adding roughly 3% at least to total… that’s part of the reason rent prices are crazy.
They aren’t fleecing you, they probably make 10-20% profit. Self employed about 30-40% on a good day. Customers are cheap because they aren’t making money
I’m a contractor I’m experiencing the same. Business completely dropped off about 10-12 days ago. I’ve done 2 jobs this week and it’s Thursday. My typical week back in 2022 would’ve been 30-35 jobs. Things aren’t looking good.
Its student loans. Student loan repayment just restarted this month and a lot of industries are being hit. I know a couple guys doing auto loan stuff for a national bank and they said every number they have to measure has gone to shit. Late payments and no payments went sky high, new loans dropped off a cliff, and every month since they announced the repayments repos have been going up like crazy. 12.5 billion dollars people were spending on other stuff is now going to student loans.
honestly you should lower prices, even offer “discounts for more than one job”, get creative. Making half, even a third of what you made before, is better than nothing. I can guarantee you, people are not going to call. If people wanted to pay you thousand of dollars over some repairs before, and they don’t do it now, things are not going to change they will not call you unless you are cheaper
@@Null-o7j - Last time I experienced the same drop off in business was in the fall of 2007 which was the largest financial collapse since the Great Depression. Such a drastic drop in business overnight isn’t normal
As a licensed electrician, with a career spanning 35 years, I've been many things in the construction field! Trump carpenter, framer, plumber, cabinet installer, siding and cornice, handyman! During the 2008 crash things got bad fast! Scaled back my personal purchases and actually worked for less per hour, sometimes significantly less! I worked according to what people could afford! Figured some money was better than none at all! I survived and it's because I knew how to do alot of things! We in the trades will be needed to some degree, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to survive!
Wages are stagnant, prices for everything are skyrocketing, majority of the working population living paycheck to paycheck, or just increasing their debt. There isn't much money for extracurricular things and if something can go without being fixed it's probably not going to be fixed
I'm in the yard work business in atlanta, georgia. My phone has stopped ringing. I feel the pain, bro. It looks like to me things are Really tough for people like me in the service industry, I went out and gave one estimate today the guy just pretty much laughed at me for the price I hardly was gonna make anything. Buckle up and hang on, it's gonna be a Bumpy ride. God bless you all.
My sister wanted a portion of her bathroom done(installation of the shell and some tile work) she was quoted $32k. Mind you this is in a small town, her and her boyfriend are doing it themselves. Oh, and the materials were already bought and paid for.
I lived in New York City! I am vetting different handy men to redo a bathroom for me. The materials are not a problem. The labor cost was 7k! I guess that's a bargain! But 32k, you are being ripped off!🙄😎
I’m not sure what it’s like in the bigger cities, but I work as a handyman in a relatively small town. I actually make really good money as a handyman. I’ve never been accused of overcharging anyone. In most cases, I save my clients money. If I show up on a job site and do some carpentry, drywall repair, floor covering and painting, I’m actually saving the customer the hassle and minimum expense of hiring 4 different contractors for these projects. Also, I have a substantial minimum charge if the task involves setting up equipment. I charge less if the task are simple like changing door knobs etc. I think it’s important to maintain a substantial minimum because I have to be able cover my overhead expenses like fuel, equipment and be compensated for my knowledge. I pull a 14’ utility box trailer full of equipment. My truck burns diesel which is around 4.50 per gallon. If I charge anything less than 100.00 for a minimum, I’m loosing money. I never really concern myself with loosing a job because the customer thinks I’m too high. I look at it this way, I’m too high for them. There are plenty of customers who understand basic economics and are thankful to have a contractor that shoots straight, does fantastic work and is dependable.
People should really learn to do things for themselves. My grandfather and father both built their own house without help from RUclips. It's not fkn rocket science
Just so you’re aware: Price doesn’t sell anything. It’s when the perceived value exceeds the price, that’s when people buy. But when 1 ton trucks cost 6 figures, you have no choice but to charge: $500.00 per man-hour. If you charge less than $500.00 per man-hour, you can’t get a margin. And that’s assuming that your materials are only 10% of what you’re charging.
I really feel for you man. Inflation, Student loans, Interest rates, The list goes on and on. I started not spending money at the beginning of the year because frankly, I just no longer have any extra income to do anything but just survive.
@@JoelSzymczyk no but older people definitely misled naive 18 year olds about what they were getting with said degree. Like it was a ticket to a middle class or upper middle class life, now its saturated and everyone has one.
That is because you weren't one of the union employees making batteries for Energizer, who moved ops overseas and to NC, a non union facility. All one has to do is look at the layoffs during 2016-2020. Less anti trust cases than ever were taking place. Yeah, gas was cheaper but that was before all the money hand outs in 2020. Warp speed president made sure they could jab you after they kept you locked in for a year too. Whew! Everyone has talking points and not much else...
Car hauler here. Yes, it’s also very slow in my area. To many drivers, not too many cars being transported. Probably less people buying cars. This economy is getting very scary. God bless all small businesses owners.
It's kinda fun, learn new skills. put a hole in a wall with elbow (don't ask) YT Lady had a channel where she shows how to restore knock-down finish. Very helpful. Now I can poke holes with confidence! But I won't. : l
I disagree - people have to learn to do more for themselves when they cannot afford to hire someone else - what is happening in our great country should never be happening. How is it that America has the money to send other countries when our OWN COUNRY is falling apart in every aspect. Bidenomic Bullsh##
DUUUUUDE! In addition to people living hand to mouth and having no resources like you mentioned, I would also cite RUclips as a major reason why people are DIYing. I wanted to build an outdoor kitchen last March and got quotes in the 30K range. I said "screw this" and used RUclips to build an amazing kitchen for around 11K. I might further mention the flood of illegals coming into the country and honing in on American handymen and doing jobs for half price.
It's the inflated cost that has really driven people to YT though. I'd love to be able to write a check for a reasonable amount and have more free weekends but the cost has gotten so out of hand for home maintenance that I don't have a choice. Being able to turn to YT opens up that option though.
Dude, you killed your own business as many small business people do by not running a business like it should be run. That means answering phone calls or at least returning phone calls along with doing quotes promptly and billing promptly among other things. You weren't running a business you were simply working for wages. Trust me there is so much business out there for handmen you should be covered up with referrals' from past customers unless they aren't happy with your work. I would bet there is way more to this than you are willing to admit to us or yourself. Take some time and decide are you going to try to build a business or are you going to keep doing what you're doing which doesn't seem to be successful?
I am a mechanic and the past few weeks there has been a change big time. Nobody has money anymore and if it’s not covered under warranty (free) people don’t want it.
I can defitely see that, but I would think because of the car market, people would have to cough up the money to keep whatever they have running as it's so expensive to get another vehicle now so it would offset it.
Well, they're also tired of getting screwed over by automotive repair shops. it's a very skeevy business and is extremely easy to rape customers out of their money. They do it all the time. Been doing it for years and everyone of us that takes our vehicles to a shop has been caught in the crosshairs of some shady business practices.
@FITNESSOVER45 Oh, I know. I own a 99 Honda prelude that they made only 48k during that generations entire run so it is very hard to get anything for it. My daily driver is a 97 Toyota 4Runner so you know with such old vehicles I’m an auto parts store regular. It’s still cheaper to keep those running than having a $700 car payment for a new car. And it’s less risky than having a $400 car payment for a little older vehicle and still have to deal with repairs.
I'm a trucker, and the number of 4-wheelers out there on the interstates with either one headlight or no tail lights or one headlamp on hi-beam is off the charts. 🚛💥💨
I hope things pick up for you. Two takeaways that may be hurting your business. You (and every other contractor since COVID) are charging $125-$250 per hour. Handymen used to work for $20-$50 an hour not so long ago. Also, you were so busy that often didn’t answer your phone or follow up for work calls? That’s literally crazy. I would guess that people have maxed out their home equity loans and credit cards at this point. It’s time to get realistic with your rates and communication. Good luck out there!
No lower than $50 an hour as it's 1099. By the time you drive to a house call and pay for gas and taxes you are at $30 an hour. Not worth the time if it's any lower.
YUP. Most calls were $400-500 thr last few years if you could even get someone. I started doing everything I could myself. I wouldnt even know if the folks in my area had lowered their rates because I don't call them anymore.
Fascinating listening to you and reading the comments. I was in the trades back in 2008, and what I'm reading sounds errily similar to then. I was just an employee for a two man show, but we were busy, busy, busy, then absolutely nothing when October rolled around.
This is happening everywhere! I work at an eye clinic and business is slow with constant customer cancellations. My daughter works at McDonald's and they've reduced her hours because it's slow.
McDonald’s is slow because I can get a 1/2 pound prime burger and fry at a sit down restaurant for less than a a crap double quarter and crap fry at McE D’s.
Its also customer service that many dont realize matters. Your daughters mc donalds might be slow. But compare that to a near by chic fila. There will be a massive difference. Heck even compare the mcdonald your daughter works at to other mcdonalds.
Do you think maybe it's your daughter that's slow? Break out the stopwatch and see how fast she can make a sandwich. You should trust but always verify..
McDonalds is the only fast food restaurant in the small town we live in. We don't even have a grocery store. My daughter only takes orders at the drive through- she doesn't make the food. It isn't just McDonalds though. I haven't eaten at a restaurant in months. The prices have just gotten too expensive.
I got my plumbing license in June and started my business in Sacramento area , my prices are very reasonable and now I’m trying to get clients as much as I can . It’s hard, but I know that the best way for me is be honest with my clients and provide the best service and even more .
Power is swinging back to the customers instead of the contractors. As far as affordability for remodeling and building goes this is a good thing. I built a home in 2020 and it was a nightmare cause of lack of inventory and contractors that act like they shit gold.
My son’s a painting contractor in SE Arizona. Same thing. About 6 mos. back his business fell off dramatically. It’s the economy - this Administration is catastrophically bad.
I have been doing my own beaded hair extensions every 3 weeks instead of getting it done professionally every 6 week. Only get it done now if I have a special event/travel. Same for my polygel/acrylic nails. The hair salon I used to go to in 2019 which offerered tea/water etc, I stopped using and switched to a salon which makes you wait hours and even this salon I stopped going to and doing it myself. The salon I used to go to in 2019 is Aveda franchise and they closed recently.
I care for my elderly mother, I take her to her appointments for pedicures regularly. The salon she goes to used to have several operators who were consistently busy, but in the last year the only people working in the salon is the owner and her husband and it's completely empty every time I take her there! Same with independent restaurants in my area!
I used to regularly get haircuts but now with the cost of everything rising I can't even afford to get one. It's either get a haircut or not even have enough for gas. I practically cut my own hair a couple of months ago.
You are 100% Correct, I sold Furniture for the last few years and made good money flipping and fixing and selling online. But last November I saw a decline and didn't understand Why, it took Months for me to realize it was the economy. It became Very hard to get furniture, and Very Hard to Sell at a price for a profit. I had to leave the business completely and do something new. The Government is Lying about how bad Inflation is, and its hurting people who believe them. Its affecting everyone. Great video!
I saw my food costs go up nearly 50% in the last two years. That hurts me the most, and I'm a single man living alone! I literally can't afford to date. Let alone feed a family.
Yeah it’s pretty scary. I’m starting to realize that I’m one of the few that still have a few coins left to rub together. I don’t even have a lot of money. I just don’t have any kids and have reduced expenses but I’m living like a monk compared to most people.
In business you have to remember, the customer is not always right but they hold the money. You can't get to big for your own britches. Humble yourself, YOU NEED THEM they just need someone to do the job. Good times can turn bad quick, remember that.
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Tonnssss of people were laid off last month alone, and it was barely talked about... Everyone who has any kind of business (that I know personally) is experiencing the same thing. My mom had a dog business since 2007 that never had an issue since, until this year... But yeah, everyone's holding onto their money and just paying for things they need. Even myself, I've cut back on all things. Amazon, even food, subscriptions, etc...
Most contractors started over charging after covid for some reason. I was quoted $500 to change out 3 outlets. $1500 to replace 4 interior doors. As a landlord that brings work in volume, some of the quotes I use to get were OUTRAGEOUS. I finally found my go to guy. He's not cheap, but definitely WAY more reasonable than most. How can a person expect to build relationships by over charging a potential long term customer. That's just bad business
Estimates got really insane. We bought our home in 2018 and saw how estimates on getting our HVAC. /ducting system upgraded started out around $15K in 2018. By 2021 after refinancing we finally had the funds to do it we spent $20K and that didn't even include insulation. And pool build prices almost doubled during and after the pandemic. Car dealers were marking up truck prices $10K, $15K even $20K.
4 doors are about $800 hardware $200 paint $250 dispose of old doors $25 thats 1225.00 cost with no labor. How much do you want to pay the guy to do this?
I also run a handyman business in a fairly small town. I moved here about 5 years ago and started doing some floor covering work. I never advertised and have stayed busy nonstop. I diversified as a way to maximize my probability of keeping a consistent work flow. All of my work comes from referrals. That’s where offering more services is key. Just about everybody needs a little painting done. I also ventured into full bathroom remodels and tile work. I would never lower my prices. I’ve found that responding to inquiries in a swift manner and showing up on time goes a long ways with customers. You would be surprised how many other contractors don’t follow through. I work by myself, so it doesn’t really take very many jobs to be totally backed up with work. Btw, I’m located in central Kentucky.
@steveblakeman45, Exactly! I couldn't agree with you more my friend. I started out in home remodeling @15, not even out of HS yet working for a buddy of my pop's who I'm grateful for to have in my life. Not only did he pay me, but he (along with his business partner who I might add was a master carpenter) both taught me many different trade skills in construction. Now @55, 40 years later I've never looked back & been doing it ever since. However, as important as it is & was to learn all of those different trade skills. It was just as important to learn the business side & "traits" (to your point) to have in order to make a living & stay in business. Do the job you said you were gonna do, stand by the quality of your work & be there when you say you're gonna be there. Have some integrity & just "Do The Right Thing" & you'll have all the work you want. Like you said those things go along way with customers who end up being repeat customers most of the time. ✌️😎
I think part of the problem for handymen is people are doing their own repairs these days. RUclips is a great source for instructions on how to fix just about anything. Throughout the years I've repaired my furnace, ac, stove, fridge, washer&dryer and other things by watching RUclips videos. Saved thousands of dollars. It's laughable how much a repairman charges for simple part replacements.
I don’t really see a problem with the handyman business. I’ve been at it for years and I never run out of work. Of course there are alway individuals who are capable and have the time to make their own repairs. I actually encourage it for anyone who ask if it’s possible for them to do a project themselves. I will even take the time to give them a few pointers. Trust me, there are multitudes of people who have plenty of money and are more than willing to pay good money for a dependable contractor who does great work. The ones who aren’t getting the work are not doing something right. I’ve been self employed my entire life, so I pride myself on having good communication with my customer base.
@@sabik6979 I can’t argue that. The town I work in is relatively small. In many ways, it works to my advantage because it feels like everyone is related here. Word of moth travels fast.
@Luka9m ... Yeah, this Guy in Video is pure fucking entitlement. Because Handymen want to charge too much now. They just aren't reasonable, so I'm watching RUclips videos and learning how to do it myself. But, I'm not paying outrageous prices for someone to hardly do anything -- that's not complicated. Handymen think that they are like Doctors or Lawyers and someone really special, but they're not. They're just simple day laborers.
Im in the service industry as well. We saw a clear difference starting in January of this year. Located in the DC MD VA metropolitan area. Usually not too affected because of all the government jobs here. But this is the worst year we have had and we have been in business for over a decade.
Unfortunately it's because there is a large portion of the tradesmen who are ripping people off . It makes us just want to learn how to do it ourselves. It's hard to find an honest worker now aday
Good. The trades people I had to deal with in the last two years had inflated self-worth, unreasonably high price, and shady quality work. It's time to humble them all. Hopefully, quality goes up, and prices come down haha.
I have become my own handyman because I tried hiring local ‘handymen’ and they treat you like trash, say the job is too small and ask outrageous prices…a lot of people don’t make $50 an hour, but you can’t find a handyman that doesn’t… 😬🤔🤫
I agree, they don't return calls and think they are actually deserve to earn 200,000 a year to shit most people can easily learn. The don't scam people but charge outrageous fees. This is the market correcting itself.
Replacing windows on my house was quoted at $135,000. My entire house cost $240,000 just 15 years ago. Prices these days are so beyond insane that I refuse to hire anyone to do anything anymore; I do it all myself.
never call the big companies, they charge even more than me lol
wow run
Wow...do you have some kind of old Victorian that requires custom wood windows? If you just have a regular house and are wanting standard double pane windows, call Window World, had mine done last year, they charge $350 per window installed regardless of the size...takes 10 weeks to get your windows as they are built to fit perfectly into your existing space.
I also do all my work now prices are getting outrageous.
Ok now that’s just insane. Sounds to me like they didn’t want the work.
For the last two years trying to hire a carpenter or handyan has been a nightmare. No return calls, not showing up for quotes, or refusing to give an estimate on my " small jobs". My neighbors have the same problem. So I've learned basic plumbing and carpentry skills on RUclips. Unless I need an electrician I'll do it myself!
Exactly. I've had the same problem so now I dont even bother reaching out.
Nice, me too! RUclips is like plugging into the matrix for 99% of home improvement and repair work (besides electrical), it's been an absolute boon.
Facts… I wanted to get my cabinets striped and stained. I had a budget of $3000 ( $2000 upfront and 2 payments of $500 a month). Got quoted $4500 and another for $10,000 - $18,000.
I did it myself for $1,500 and it took me 3 days (24 hours).
It's bullshit the strangle hold electrical has over us. I can wire a barn, but not a house. Dumb
This. Couldn't find anyone to do drywall tape in one room, have to do it myself. Even handymen don't want small jobs anymore. From the point of homeowner it's the opposite, nobody wants my money if it's less than at least $1000 in one job, so I have to learn to be a handyman myself.
I’ve been a tradesman over 20yrs I can tell you things are worse than I’ve ever seen them in that time, good luck to everyone.
My attitude 💯
@@geocam2indeed. It is the banker's wax and wane that catches out the common folk.
Wow.
Concrete flatwork here in the Midwest, it’s busier then ever, it’s not all doom and gloom, every company I know is hiring
@@busabeater2exactly. Capitalism isn't a park and ride strategy. Not sure why everyone that's such a fan of this system also expects it to hold their hand for them.
I work full time as a carpenter and I can build anything in a house, But I can't afford a house; I've never owned a house; And I live in my van.
I have no family or love in my life. Please pray for me. Thank you.
how old are you?
As a woman- I do ALL my own repairs including my truck. I got sick of being lied to, overcharged, and then they do a halfass job. It's cheaper and less painful to just learn as I go.
Respect, thats the way miss! no excuse now youtube and the internet is a thing. Youre doing more things than most blokes....
We're ALL sick of being lied to and getting a half-ass job.
Hilarious when people need to point out their genitalia to get extra attention...😂
As a man - no one cares. Men have been doing this all along.
@chrismay2298 I also point to my crotch when asking for the nearest restroom....
Ive been in construction over 20 years. You have good years and vad years. You have to be ready for the bad ones. The mistake people make is get into a lot of debt. During a good year you can make over 100k and you start assuming that its here to stay. When a bad year gets you might only make 30k. And your debt gets you fast. You gotta stay humble in the good times.
words of wisdom
This is not your run of the mill bad year. If you believe that I have a bridge in Manhattan to sell ya. The economy is going to crash anytime in next year. In case you haven’t heard, other than previous “ bad” years as you say, we have never been 33 TRILLION IN DEBT, food and gas prices at levels not seen in 30-40 years, and the dollar about to be replaced as worlds currency. If you think it’s just a bad year, well, good luck w that.
Facts!!
Agree. During good times save and prepare for the worst. We did as well.
Well said ! Some years are garbage.
I've been ripped off and overcharged by contractors because I'm an elderly widow. They knew I couldn't do the work myself. That's unethical and I don't have any sympathy now.
These guys make the mistake of assuming things will remain the same. They have overcharged, now people are broke. Suck it up
That is horrible. I'm so sorry.
😂
Always get 3 quotes.
You think 3 contractors in a row wouldn't try to rip her off? Single women are preyed upon by weak minded simpleton men.
I am a paying customer and can say I rarely ever get my $ worth when hiring someone. With shrinkflation and companies not giving raises over the past decade, I see doing things myself as the better option.
The illegals coming over the border will work for food and $5 hour
Same for me as well.
I’m an electrical contractor. I’ve told people for years, if you go into business for yourself, live on a budget, put everything else in a savings. You will see hard times and recessions. Winter into next summer is going to be rough.
@@theHairyProject I’ve been working in the trades since 1980. I know in 91 my whole state was starving while my friends in Florida only saw a slowdown. Some areas are always worse. Here in my state now it has slowed a lot. Right now
I am a handyman myself. When I started out, my fee was $ 75 to show up and do something small, and get a good review. It's gotten so bad that I'm doing that again. Everything you listed in this video is spot on. I'm getting undercut at every turn, and my main customers are not spending any money. I'm scared ! This reminds me of 2008 a lot ! Even scarier, I think this is just the start of a long, painful economic time. A lot of people are going to go out of business if it stays like this for very long.
scared? that's not useful at all. scared because you're reminded of something you've already been through? shouldn't you be better off the 2nd time than?
You'll be alright just hang in there, stay on your feet, pay attention, you'll make it.
I'm a dentist. We are kind of like handyman for teeth. And yes you are correct. I see this being the start of a very long war of attrition. Lots of people won't make it to other side. The 2020 lockdowns were nothing. This 2024 recession will smash people. Those businesses that have high overhead won't make it. Those who are nimble and flexible by being small will survive. Take whatever job you can. Don't be picky and worry about margin. All positive cashflow is good at the moment, whether its $1 or $1000.
@@TheBriansledentist and dental care is a big money scam.
Dentistry has not evolved for 500 yrs.
Still drilling and pulling teeth like its 1790.
Where is the caries preventing bacteria spray?
How is it possible that an infant is the same cost form 20 yrs?
Dentistry is a money rackett.
@@TheBriansleman I am sorry but I am sick and tired of all of you dentists or medical professionals lol. I have been overcharged so much over nothing, I don’t even come from the USA just living now here and insurance is a godawfull scam. Never woul I have ever expected to pay money on top of money even with the best insurance my dad has. I don’t mind if people like you go out of business
Most jobs are truly small jobs. People arent going to wait until 9 wall outlets go out to hire an electrician. They'll spend 2-4 hours prepping how to do it on their own.
When guys say I charge X to show up and it's pretty damn high, like beyond an hour or 2 of pay... That's chasing away a lot of jobs.
The more people do their own work, the less people hit guys up to do work for themz because now they know how to do it.
And wont pay some guy a lot of money to show up for 15 mins.
I have been a self employed carpenter for over 40 years and lived through some hard times. You ain’t seen nothing yet people are in debt up to their eyeballs and broke.
I live in an apartment building and grateful for it. Our maintenance staff fixes everything and it's included in the apartment. Also reading these messages the average consumer is getting screwed by no-shows. I'm learning also how to DIY watching RUclips.
They really are
People are not that broke.
@@Chicago48 Yep, but, he's not going to apologize and tell you that HE'S going to be a better contractor, just that he used to ignore phone calls and texts or just not show up at all, then turn around and COMPLETELY glaze over everything he JUST said.
@@Oc4ever12 Nope, sure aren't. People will ALWAYS spend money on the things they need and are important to them. They'll find the money--TRUST AND BELIEVE!
My toilet was broke and a local handyman co wanted 500 bucks to replace the pump. I went the lowes and bought one for 35 bucks ans installed it myself after watching a youtube video.
What I would just charge you for the toilet and transporting it that's a $200 job tops maybe 250
And they wonder why they're not getting jobs lol
As a licensed Home Inspector, this is my worst year in 14 years. The economy is terrible, but the housing market is the worst. One thing I will point out to you, all of those customers that you were too busy to reply to when you were busy, that was a mistake. You could have established a relationship with some of them and maybe some of the others would be reaching out now or in the future. Always touch base with the client that reaches out. Even if you’re too busy, take advantage of the opportunity. Good luck moving forward my friend.
Good advice Shawn
yes, I should have hired a secretary. We all have to learn one way or another.
Yep. No job is too small.
Great advice...i know some hurting hay producers this year... i tried to work with them.... and i won't be buying from them.
Doesn't help when the handyman charges $1,000 to fix a leaky faucet 😅
I'm a landlord and lots of old contractors are knocking on my door looking for work. They're over-charging though, and I'm doing a lot of the work myself. Contractor rates are totally out-of-control right now. An A/C business wanted $900 (!) to clean an outdoor mini-split condenser. I bought a $15 can, turned on the garden hose, and did it myself. That's going to be the way.
Exactly, most handy men charge 75 to 100 $ per hour. I started learning small things. I have a masters degree wirking on technilogy and I wont be paid anything near 75$ per hour.
Yeah I had a drip in my upstairs unit and called an AC company to check it out. They said it was a pipe clog under my bathroom sink. They wanted 600 bucks for a 20 minute job. Tried negotiating and they said no. I told them kick rocks and got my handyman to do it for 75. Problem is all gone. These companies pray on desperate people because this happened in the middle of summer when it was 100 degrees out.
I hear a lot of complaints from renters about not being able to afford $2000/month or $3000/month rents on apartments. However, I always hear it from the renter's side. Would like to hear the landlord's side of it.
I dont overcharge. I give better deals than most contractors so I am booked till next year. Ive got tons of work.
We have a unit we’ve been trying to rent for 2 months and the county just keeps jacking up our taxes.
From the customer side of this, I can tell you calling a handyman is my last resort. Between the ones who say will work any job, then tell you the job is too small, to asking outrageous prices if they will take the job, there is no incentive to reach out. And as you said, you did not return phone calls, so as a customer, I would not call you again later. Don't get me wrong, I feel for you, and all small business/independent contractors in these hard times. But lets be honest also. There are plenty of bad ones out there, who over charge, only want big jobs, and do not stand behind their work. I would love to have my bathroom remodeled, but there is no way I am spending that kind of money in todays environment. Guess elections have consequences after all
Lol. my sister paid over 10k for a small bathroom remodel. Something I could do over the weekend for less than a grand. I too have called for services and typically never get anybody and no return calls, I don't call again. Thanks to youtube university I do fine.
I have to agree with you. I bought a fixer-upper house 8 years ago, and the prices I was quoted by contractors were insane and openly exploitative. I learned how to do most everything myself and fixed the whole house up for a couple grand over 5 years. If I used contractors, it would have been tens of thousands. For example:
1. quote to paint house interior, $7000.00 plus I buy the paint. I bought about $600.00 of paint and did it myself over the summer.
2. quote to put in two tiny vinyl basement windows, $2000.00! (the windows only cost about $80.00!). I did it myself and bought fancier windows for $160.00, still was less than $2000.00.
New neighbors just bought the house next door and they are getting fleeced like crazy. Like $4500.00 financed money for "trim work" on the house, and all he did was a couple short yards! The neighbors seem to be doing more themselves now. I guess they finally figured it out.
I don't think the customers always understand that employing anyone is super expensive. You can't get anyone that is good for under $20 an hour. That really translates to $28 or $29 that them employer is paying. Plus insurance and all the overhead.
This
@@FifthKnowledgeAs a construction worker, I totally understand your point of view. It was (is still at some degree) a bad circle. We have to pay employee and demand was so high, that the only way to keep them was to pay higher wage. Since we need them for the demand, we cannot afford to let them go, so even if they are slacker, we tolerate. It changes a 40 h job to a 60h job. But people STILL bought, so the circle continues. Now it is ending
If my elderly neighbor asked me to change a doorknob and tighten her faucet I would do it for free. I’m so grateful I had a patient father that taught me how to do small repairs myself. It sounds like handymen may have to appreciate their customers more than they have in the past.
I understand your point but you don't eat by doing things free for people. It's a business.
My town is hiring like crazy for odd jobs but the city makes you register like a contractor. It cost 300 to get the license/registration. And a 3 month wait at a min.
Everyone here is below or at poverty level so they have no money for these services. And ith our city code people fining on sight like they do, they cant save money to get major work done. It's hell. 125$ is too much for anyone here. You'd be looking at 20$ 30$ per job here.
2024 will be a deep recession. Not sure if it will be like 1929, but it maybe close.
Barter is viable too
An elderly lady got locked out of her home, non- deadbolt. They wanted $250 and I opened the door with an old credit card. She called to cancel the request, but they showed up 2 hours later and wanted $100 for coming out. I told her to just shut the door.
Many people are over charging… During hard times, you’re supposed to be reasonable.
i agree
Exactly, these people got greedy (this dude said he wasn't replying/answering) and now there's no jobs.
remember it was the Central Banksters (and their political puppets) *Not the Business Owners* who corrupted a Nation and its Money.
@@beetdiggingcougar 100% their greed set their expectation sky high like they should be making surgeon money not anymore
" im lowering my prices " so do it , probably over charging anyways.
Handyman and contractor prices were getting out of control. This recession will bring the prices back down.
The increase in prices is directly related to a contractor's cost to do business. Everything has gone up dramatically. Materials, fuel, tools, insurance, food, vehicles, etc etc etc. You can't expect a contractor to absorb all that.
Yeup! Not too long ago there was an earthquake near Morgan Hill, CA that felt more like a jolt than a back n' forth shake. Found out the support beam in the front of our house holding up a part of the roof had shifted away from the house like 8in. We called a "Structural Engineer" that wanted $3,000 just to come out and make an estimation, I sh!t you not. Found a handy man in the neighborhood literally just down the street that not only had a free estimation but redid the entire pillar and hauled away the waste for under 2,200. Looks great and twice as secure as it used to be. 👍Hope he doesn't mind the shoutout lol. David Perry in Morgan Hill, CA
Lol yet food, shelter, etc stay the same. Explain that one Mr. Powell
@@carbonking53you can’t expect clients to spend money they don’t have either. As a IC you’re living in reaction to people’s paychecks and can only collect what they can afford to spend. That’s the rub
If you read the FEDs statement it’s their goal.
I feel for you man. Learn plumbing or electrician work (specialized area). I can tell you as a landlord, I learned a lot of things myself last year (replace faucet, patch walls, painting walls/doors, replace interior doors etc.) due to handyman getting so expensive past year. I am in South Florida. In the past I could get handyman for $30/hr and now its $70-$100/hr with min $300 here. So, I just fix most of the stuff myself. Wish you all the best.
I do AT LEAST 85% of ALL of my work on my cars, house, property. I put the savings in my IRA.
Same used youtube to learn how to fix my a/c, motorcycles, cars you name it the internet is a path to knowledge just takes effort.
Handyman prices tripled, customers' incomes didn't. People's incomes have gone down in the aggregate to about 2019 levels so that's what handymen should be charging to be in line with the market. People can go ahead and ignore this until they go months with no orders, then they'll either fold or come back to reality.
Those weren't handyman. Those were crackheads who owned hammers. Explain how at $30 an hour he pays the basics of life. $700 for trades insurance. Fuel cost. Maintenance cost. And the rest of the list of overhead.
You get what you pay for. As someone who does construction/hamdyman type services i lose money charging less than $75 per hour with a 2 hour minimum.
@@FreedomInclose money? What are your hourly expenses?
I’m a tattoo artist and it’s been really bad lately for me. I know what you’re going through because the exact same thing happened to me recently. Went from phone blowing up all the time and not being able to keep up with everyone to barely anyone contacting in a very short period of time. Just gotta keep advertising and don’t give up. In hard times people always cut back on luxury expenses first and things they feel they could maybe do themselves to save a buck or two.
Maybe tattoos aren't as popular as before?
@PhilippedeHerte that's definitely not the case lol more and more people I see nowadays have visible tattoos
It's not those little "luxuries" people have started to cut back on. It's the simple fact, that you service providers SUCK at business, whilst taking potential customers for granted and not treating them right. People are fed up with not having their phone calls and texts not returned, poor attitudes and HORRIBLE customer service on your part AND charging astronomical prices, only to get very little in return.
People will ALWAYS spend money on the things they need and are important to them, so, your "theory is WAY off!
It's definitely money bro. I love tats, and I'd still be getting them if I had the money. Unfortunately a $400-$500 purchase is kind of out of the question right now
@@PhilippedeHertethey are popular but getting tattoos can become an expensive hobby real quick. I'd say it has to to with everything being so expensive in general.
You're totally on point. The middle class is shrinking quickly.
No it’s not! Biden is the best president ever! I enjoy paying more for every day items! And having less for retirement! As long there’s no mean tweets!
@@sharkcapper This is a monumental economic problem that has been staring us down for the past 30 years. Neither party has addressed it almost at all in that entire time. Don't just look to the current leader as if somehow decades of building issues are the current guys problem only.
@@lordcrekit decades? Really? I remember thriving 3 years ago. Paying 2% for my mortgage, $2 gas, and my 401K thriving. You and I are paying $700 more per month on all expenses.
Forcing businesses to shut down for a bad flu will do that. That is the middle class
Intentional
We are entering an economic depression and the government is on total denial.
I'm pretty sure they know, they also know that if they own up to it, it'll destroy them politically.
Finally the only truthful comment in the entire freaking comment section! This has selected child sniffer written all over it, I would've thought by now people would come to their senses and realize how important it is to vote on policies that run the country like a successful business. Because right now we're going down the drain and we're kicking ass under the previous administration that was pro oil production pro oil usage pro oil everything! When planes trains and automobiles use oil to deliver products and the price of oil is sky high you feel it in the wallet!
@@meathooksmcgee662 The govt knows they're immune to consequences. They wouldn't be doing the things they're doing now if they were worried about being destroyed politically.
People cry to the government when it’s bad but when it’s good they want the government to stay out of their business. Can’t have it both ways.
That was the plan from the beginning your are the dummm one if you didn’t catch it
The blue collar man has learned the meaning of the term “demand destruction”. You can’t treat people like crap and have horrible customer service when times are good and then expect them to come to you when times are bad
best comment on the entire thread
I learned that word this year and have been abusing the shit out of it.
"I didn't call people back and now no one's calling me"
Apart of this is real. Contractors kept charging my parent $8000 just to show up and not finish the job. They just stopped construction and gave up for now. They also make trash on the property and don’t clean up.
america has a caste system where all the cowards punch down but they will never once EVER say a damn thing about the bankers
I ran a buisness for years and the #1 thing that always got me work was Keeping my word and completing the job and leaving the work site spotless and word of mouth kept me busy.
Also leaving business cards everywhere..
Yeah, 95 % of the handyman don't even own a broom.
Yup, all of these contractors who were refusing work for "something better" (or easier), are now paying the price. Same thing happened in 2008...people that refused work with me, were begging for it. I've kept my prices low, resisting the urge to raise them to "account for inflation" like my competitors, and have added extra freebies along with it, and I'm doing ok. But I saw this coming years ago, and have paid everything off, installed solar, etc. Everyone laughed at me then, but they're not laughing now.
They laughed at Noah. Too.
yeah several years ago i couldnt get any one to show up for over $1 million in work at rentals and properties i had. everyone was too busy.
Everyone has a price to do something. These people thought they could get more, it’s not greedy they’re just reading the industry and getting out of it what they feel they can
@@NicEeEe843 they just went on strike and demanded higher wages from their employers (the customers). everyone supports people refusing to work and demand higher pay until their AC stops working in july and the local AC repair owner says hes on strike unless you pay him $300 an hour..... then they throw a fit calling the working class greedy! i guess everyone becomes cheap or greedy when its their turn to pay someone to work for them.
None of us regret turning down work. Competition is so bad we haven’t been making money for years
No matter how busy you are at any point always return phone calls when people leave you messages asking for a call back. Chances are if you don't call them back, they will never call you ever again for anything else.
Bingo, I never do
Yeah. Hard to feel too bad for him after that statement
Anyone who’s had 50 calls a day but can only handle like 4 jobs a day knows you simply can’t get back to everyone. Especially running a single truck owner operator. Everyone making this statement literally doesn’t understand his business model as a single truck guy. He isn’t able to to hire an office manager for $20 an hour and then would have to run at least 3 more trucks and somehow find quality technicians to run those trucks who don’t mind hard work. Hard to do. So stop with the criticism.
@samweaver123 Any business owner with a little bit a common sense would know how vital their customers are to the success and survival of their business. 50 messages is probably an exaggerated number, but whatever the number is you should be returning those calls no matter what because those people are NOT going to call again. And if you're getting 50 voicemails a day then you're just not answering the phone. You're never too busy or successful to fail. This video is a perfect example because this dude is now struggling to find jobs and is probably wishing right now that he had returned those calls that went unanswered. If you want to use the excuse that you're too busy that's just BS. The truth is you're just not making the time for it and your business will suffer in the long run because of it.
This statement is only true if he doesn't actually want business. The complaint is that he'd have to hire more people/trucks to fulfill the work? Unless he specifically just wants to be a 1-truck business, that's a horrible argument.
If you're getting 50 calls a day and you close on a paltry 10% of those calls, that's 5 jobs/day at a minimum of $125: so, $625/day worth of work. If you hired someone for $20/hr for say 20 hours a week, the worst you'd end up after payroll taxes etc. is pulling even. And again, that's worst-case (where every job is the minimum cost, probably overpaying just to answer/return calls, and only a 10% call-to-job rate).
My father is an excavator and has been telling me his phone has been ringing much less. Then the jobs he does get as soon as he is finished the people are challenging the prices and refusing to pay. He has received numerous complaints to the county and state from the customers. He has been in business for 30 years and told me the last time something like this happened was in 2008. He works in a very high income county and even they seem to be running out of money.
You brought up thinking something was wrong with your phone and my dad has called me multiple times to check that his phone was still working.
Your father is an excavator and has a phone?
Maybe somebody else is just getting the business and tptb want you to think there is no business.
the bottom obviously has the worst of it to deal with but actually doesnt move much. so it makes sense actually that you notice it in the places where theres money. people with money pay more attention to their money. people already struggling to get by will still just be struggling to get by, so it doesnt change as much.
tbh, rich are often the ones who complain about the prices after the job is done.
@@saeedhossain6099 exactly. they're the ones focused on money & they're also the ones who don't usually appreciate actual workers. maybe not consciously but a lot of them sort of feel like you're doing bum work like its beneath them. let it all go to shit though & who will society need? they'll find out eventually.
I received several estimates of around $12,000 to redo a bathroom shower. The contractor wanted to use fake tile boards for the job. I did the job myself for $3000. The total price included ripping everything out to the studs and real quality tile and upgraded shower head. Both Home Depot and Lowes rent the tools necessary for most jobs.
you should get into the bathroom remodeling business my friend
@@utubehandymanand charge $12,000😂😂😂
Did you do the shower pan?
how many hours to complete the job? does your 3K include "labor rate?" If you paid yourself for your time, how much would the job cost then?
I’m in HVAC and I noticed approx 3 months ago people stopped having money to fix their furnace or a/c’s. Anything over $100-$200 in repairs is impossible for people to scrape together. Our country is in true trouble this time.
60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, then student loan payments kicked back in. The new minimum is about $150 a month. It used to be $50 before the pandemic. You tell me how that is supposed to work? If they had been wiped clean, we would have been a lot better off because America has a consumer economy. If people aren't spending money, it falls apart. The republicans basically just assured that will be much worse.
@@dg1178
There is no such thing as "wiping debt clean." Someone has to pay for it and in this case it would be the tax payers. However, I would much rather that than this money laundering trash going on in the Ukraine right now. Hell, they still aren't even helping the Hawaiians yet.
The USA is a dying empire. Americans are good people. Their government is evil. it's too bad all these good people are going to go down as a result.
@@Delimon007 Under fractional reserve banking, loans are wiped clean all the time through bankruptcy, no one pays for it because the money never existed in the first place, it was all a fiction created on paper. That's how the money system works.
@@Delimon007 You have no idea how money works. The federal government doesn’t function like a household budget. Sorry for your low IQ.
My dad did construction work for all his life. I used to be his assistant on jobs. We bought a house 2 years ago and had a little work done. The work literally cost 2-3x more than I expected it would, and I knew what it would cost if my dad had done it. I'm not sure if it's people don't have money, or they don't have THAT KIND of money these days. Something that should have cost 5K a few years ago is now 10K. Prices might have doubled, but my pay sure didn't.
100% increase on a hundred dollars is 200. That easy to swallow. A 50 grand job now cost 100-150 grand. That will make most say NO thanks.
The issue is income has fallen way behind inflation.
Materials have doubled
@@MetroEpa-ef5ydno they haven't. Not anymore
ive been painting houses since i was a kid a gallon of interior oil based paint went from 60 3 years ago to 104 that was the biggest increase but every material i use is up at least 30% over 3 years. The other problem is labor guys i pay 30 an hour which i think is alot, in alabama prob not in cali, are quitting cause its not enough money
Yeah, but those hard working fast food employees are making $18 an hour now, so it’s all worth it. lol
My daughter and I went to an excellent Japanese steak house last night and there were only 3 other customers in the entire restaurant. I’ve been going there for 7 years and never saw the place that empty.
😮
Where at ?
@@ministeriodeliberacion7793 must be Raleigh, NC. They close down a restaurant a week in that city
This economy is the worst I have seen, worse than 2008, worse than 2001, worse than 1989.
Worse than 2008... in 08 we didn't have the border wide open and a government trying to given them work pernits.
This is exactly what I have been telling all of the people I have tried calling these past few years to get stuff done. I told them it will dry up and they will be begging locals for work. Well I ended up doing most of my own work and hiring out of state for the other work to get stuff done. I have had at least a dozen calls from the local guys the past couple of months asking if I still needed the work done and all I have to say is I told you so. Even in good times, don't mess with your good local customers. We may only have some small jobs, but when times get tough, we can get you through it if you treat us right.
SAME IN CUSTOMER SERVICE. It is less important as a server (you are not the owner) but you NEED to take care of the locals.
Agree. I take almost any job and i price them fairly and live off of referrals and have lots of work because of it. 20 year gets lots of clients and lots of referrals if you treat people right.
This is the best comment on this video.
Ive been through it myself alot of times its not that I dont want the job its just that I am so backed up I cant commit to anything else because I know people would just be mad at how long it took me to get to it which i try and explain
Exactly the kind of person I don't do business with. Thinking you're handing out favors by agreeing to have work done.
People are broke but people are also doing repairs themselves again because of tight finances. I work at Home Depot and I see it first hand.
I'm a contractor through the homedepot pro referral program and the leads have fallen of a cliff.
Or because it's very hard to find honest and reliable handyman who wouldn't try to scam you. Too many bad apples around who ruin it for good ones.
I designed and built my own 14’ x 38’ composite deck for a 1/3 of what it would have been by contractor. Plus, it turned out BETTER than any contractor would have done, no doubt.
@@viktordmitriev8973 Yes! Same with mechanics. Hard to find honest ones. I finally gave up and only lease cars. Rather deal with sales men every 3 years than mechanics.
At Home Depot, is buying up? or is it the same amount of buying but spread out over more buyers?
Masonry guy here…I made the mistake of investing into advertising in 2007, it was a huge mistake. Commited to$15k and the phone still didn’t ring at all. Be careful people.
i agree advertising is a big scam better to do a great jb and build fro there with references
You, the owner is the best advertisement you can have and offer to a new client..lol.
Referrals and word of mouth are the best advertising. I started with home advisor 20 years ago and that got me started. I still have clients from 20 years ago and now their other family members too.
@@tabbott429 Word of mouth and Facebook posts (even paid advertisements) are the way to go.
@@lowbudget1661yup. Word of mouth is the BEST advertising
It's not so much they are "broke", it's that Inflation has went crazy, especially Housing Costs, people have no spare money anymore.
I feel bad for the good ones out there but I think a lot of people are tired of the overquoting, ghosting and general slovenly behavior of most contractors. I’ve talked to a ton of people who just turned DIY because they can’t rely on anyone else.
The term people are increasingly using to describe what you said as well as from many other angles is Low Trust Society.
Some of the craftsmen ARE good. Some aren't.
Yup, the ghosting sucks. I also hate how they throw cigarette butts EVERYWHERE and also toss their soda cans and tobacco cans on my lawn like WTF
@@iridescentsea3730😂
@@iridescentsea3730this is really bad customer service. They just don’t realize it.
I feel your pain, we have been in business for 25 years and the last time things were like this was 2008. Unfortunately I am going to start layoffs.
I'm a Uber/Doordash driver and I used to make $300 to $400 a day easy during the pandemic. It's been slowly declining ever since and currently, it's hard to make $100/day. I'm in California so I could apply for public assistance once my income fell so low but yea, that's what's happening to me right now.
Damn hustler 300-400 nice!
@@justinthematrix Yea well, during the pandemic, it was possible to get constant pings from start to finish. 14 hours between two apps would get me to $400 on a good day. Now $100/day is hard.
About 10 trillion dollars was dumped on the U.S. economy during the pandemic. I would say, that to varying degrees, everyone got a taste. That funded a spending spree. Every single day, there were 7 or 8 Amazon trucks out in front, double parked, making deliveries. Now I rarely see one. I would say its time to shift gears for this post pandemic economy. You have to figure out a new strategy; go where the money is.
@@youtoobization Are you in the Los angeles area?
When I take a Uber I always ask them how’s business and they have been telling me the same thing you said. Seems like Uber is taking more and more of the fare yet charging the customer more while the drivers get peanuts.
I stopped using it. I’m not paying $20 for a 15 minute ride where the driver is getting 5 dollars.
$120 for faucet, door knob and patching a hole in the wall is actually cheap (Los Angeles Area).
I have never been busier. I'm not a handyman, I'm a builder. Never charged for showing up to give an estimate for a job. I can't keep up. Quality work and reputation doesn't require advertising, word of mouth from past customers gets me more work than I can handle.
And this guy want $125 just for showing up. He dont even know whay overhead is lol...
you're building the inventory that will crash the market.
Comparing building a house to being a handyman. Not comparable, in contrast to be fair, one job is months or a years worth of work when building a whole house. Versus handyman type of work is several sale jobs per week. Then to compare the price of one versus the other considering the investment to the customer, are also extremes. Great your doing well, but you suggest the handyman is doing something wrong.
@@amandabaker3880 I do a lot of smaller jobs as well when not building houses. I'm not knocking him. In our area, free estimates are expected.
My husband is a general contractor and he’s been extremely busy pre-Covid. He has customers waiting for him because they don’t trust anyone else. Majority of his customers are by referral as well. He has built a great reputation and he does superb work every single time!
I have been doing 5 roofing jobs per week since I first opened my roofing company right after Covid . The last 4 months or so it’s completely fallen off a cliff . We are down to 1 roof a week and I have 3 more roofs booked before I run out of roofs to do . Normally we have 25-30 on the books all the time . Shit is about to get real very soon
Im curious. Is that tied into solar roof business going down. Most people get a new roof before getting solar.
Cool, maybe I can finally get a decent price for a roof. Many people have money but are not just gonna hand it over to an overpriced handyman. Get your prices in order and you will have no problem getting jobs.
I was self-employed for a little over 20 years. The first six months of 2007 were the best six months that I ever had and then the bottom fell out during the last six months. My business never recovered and I was lucky to sell it to one of my local customers in 2012. Good luck my friend.
thats becasue you didnt have a business.. all you did was create a job
Not necessarily true. There were no bailouts for Mainstreet in 2009!@@juanshaftpatel7488
@@juanshaftpatel7488 How did he sell a non-business?
I lived in a higher income neighborhood in the past and hated how handymen jacked up their prices because I worked my ash off From the age of 16 to get where I got and be able to live where I did. To me that is a form of fraud. Never in my life did I think $120 for an hour or two work was not worth it no matter what day or time of day. Now disabled living on a fifth of what I did for most of my life I still do what little I can and am happy to make $20 here and there within my current abilities.
$120 wouldn’t even cover my expenses. So let’s put this into perspective. Average homeowner spends 6k per month in bills. Let’s say you’re lucky to have a spouse so will call it 3k. Then you have business expenses, now doing it the right way will likely cost you 1500. So 4,500 to break even. You need to bring in $54,000. Not so fast, need to calculate taxes. Add other 15k between personal & business. 69,000 per year to Break even. That’s $265 you need to make, working every week, no vacations … no injuries, no fatigue, etc. that’s means that are your $120… he wouldn’t start making money until the 11th job he did that week working 5 days a week. Even if he bumped it to 6 days… it’s not outrageous to ask for a $200 minimum. People always spouting off … being an employee is much different than a business owner. I hear you but … $120 is not sustainable as a business for many people based on average monthly expenses. Period. Hope it gives you a different perspective. Whatever has happened in your life doesn’t change that. Good luck to you
@@themiddleclasstaxslave651wah wah wah. Many people live within their means. Try it someday.
@@themiddleclasstaxslave651 You mean your expenses are more than $120 or $60 an hour? What are you injecting and how often? My portion of apartment rent is $27 a day so that would cover 4 days of rent. Not bad to me!
@@themiddleclasstaxslave651 Who says you have to own a home and live in an expensive area. I worked out my last 18 years of home ownership compared to my apartment. I would have put $250,000 in my pocket if I rented instead during that period and that accounts for the profit from the sale of my house. My expenses are under $2,000 a month. I saved most of my life and now earn in this 5% CD environment $2,500 a month on the cash portion of my savings. I make $320 a month working about three 2 hour days a month since I am disabled and can't do much (spend 3 hours during the day plugged into a medical device). Sounds to me like you might think about reselling online because the expenses are much less that way, requires no tools, you have millions of potential customers including internationally, etc. Plenty of people make over 100K a year doing it or so it appears after some time (not me, I can't work much) others make more.
@@patland1762you are under the assumption that people in this industry work a full 8 hours on site.
I just paid a handyman $500 for 4 hours work. I’m an older disabled widow, I can’t get on the floor or climb a ladder anymore so I feel short on options. It didn’t used to be this way. If you called someone, they returned your call. If you set an appointment, they showed up. When they showed up, they were sober. I’ve always been a good customer and paid on the spot.
lol about the sober part. I show up to all my appointments :). 4 hours may seem like nothing but was it 4 hours of changing light bulbs? 4 hours of roofing? 4 hours of demolition?.
Some show up sober, leave borrachos
Not everyone is like that. There are bad eggs in every industry. Please don’t judge us all, for how some people are. Hope you find someone that is fair and shows up sober.
What was the work
You paid a "handyman" $125 an hour!?!?!?!
We are in a recession, I think that point is made clear in this vid. Hopefully things get better soon
Well, no.
Trump 2024!!!!!!!!!
@@explorster Politicians don't fix the problem, they just make it worse.
@@muziklvr7776 Trump made it better when he was in prove me wrong.
@@explorster Everything was better under Trump. At the very least, gas was half the price.
you are not humble enough yet! $125 to show up? or you will be watching netflix? with that attitude you'll be cancelling that subscription soon!
I'm just going to throw this out there to consider also...as a homeowner I had to file a claim recently and usually do it myself or hire a local "small" guy. My insurance company informed me that by "contract" on the policy the repairs had to be completed by a licensed contractor or they would cancel my insurance. They did not know I had already paid off 90% of my 30 yr mortgage in 12 years... so the insurance companies and mortgage companies are looking for any excuse to kick people out of homes or restructure things. I'm paying off the mortgage and cancelling the homeowners insurance. I'll save my money and fix things myself after that. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only homeowner dealing with shady manipulation and fighting inflation. Luckily I shut down my business 3 years ago as I saw all of this coming with the economy. The hard times are just beginning. These are just the beginning of the birth pains for the "new" economy. rofl
Lol. You're the type of customer we run away from. Insurance pays FMV or below, it is for a contractor to do the work, not the homeowner. Having insurance and not knowing how to use it, is YOUR fault. If you ever have a disaster hit your home (fire can be one) and you have no insurance, you're eating the repairs cost.
If you have insurance, and you think you can do it all, you're gonna really screw it up for yourself. Big claims are no joke.
@@c.m.2747 wrong, insurance is a scam and rip-off and more are slowly COMING to the REALIZATION. Save 10k a year and reinvest and when a situation does occur you have a huge nest egg and the skills to properly build back YOUR OWN property instead of begging for funds and dealing with thieves on all ends.
Ive been into residential remodeling/handyman for 20 years. I have lots of clients and they refer me to lots of people. I was on Home advisor for 20 years which was good starting out. Just stopped with them this year due to a technicality. I have so many jobs lined up and 3 quotes this saturday and 2 next saturday. REFERRALS are the KEY and treating people right. I do everything so they dont have to shop around for different trades. Bath remodels, whole house painting inside and out, deck refurbishing, hanging light fixtures etc, plumbing, electrical. I have ZERO DEBT since 2008 which helps me not have to work all the time if i dont want to. GOOD workers are hard to find and if you do good work you will get repeat business. I do one job for somebody and they immediately want me to quote other stuff for them. Treat people right and dont be a hack is the best advice I can give. Seasonal slow downs are normal.
Same here! My husband did over 6 figures his first year. And has ever since. As of today we are fully booked Mon-Sat until end of January 2024. Doing the best work and always returning calls will always get you clientele. We’ve never had to pay anyone to advertise. I do it all through social media, I sent up quotes, sometimes every single day after work and Saturdays. I set up the quote appointments, invoice and collect on them so that my husband only has to focus on the job itself. REFERRALS all the way!!
Can you post your website or Instagram please also what part of the country located? Thank you.
You just told my life story. 49, no debt since 2007, plenty of work, referrals only. Customer skills.
Exactly
And you are not complaining about competition or politics, you are legit :D
I was in business for 45 years and was busy all the time. My most important rule was to always promptly return every call. As I started to begin my retirement I was less prompt returning my calls. Very quickly the phone was ringing less. Best wishes
This is great advice. I always answer calls and return them promptly and I have plenty of work. My margins got trimmed, but it’s temporary.
Business is all about communication
What do you do if you get too busy to get to the people that are calling?
I picked up on that also always atleast tell them your to busy don't blow them off
Great advice! I also run a successful handyman business. I’ve never advertised. Every job I get is a referral and I trade for 98% of every inquiry. I believe work that comes from referral is way better than work generated from advertising. I feel most of the ones who call me already know they want me to do the work. If they ask for an estimate, it’s not because they comparing prices. They just want an idea of what the project entails. Anytime I hear an independent contractor advertise, I automatically think they must be doing lousy work or they wouldn’t need to advertise. If you offer a good value, do great work and are dependable, the work will find you. I work by myself for myself. There’s only so many jobs I can get to. I will often turn work down because the projects will be larger than what fits my business format. I always answer calls regardless. Just my 2 cents
Remember people were spending on Handyman work when they got big stimulus checks, that was free money. It’s all gone now.
I feel you bro , I am at the same situation , but slightly different despite holding bunch of expensive university degrees Math & physics I even worked on research and engineering programs for the Army but I lost my contract 4 years ago , and here I am , stagnant . my life went upside down , doing jobs I have never imagined I would do , but it`s OK , life goes on
Good Luck Brother
Your situations are not at all alike. You are a qualified individual and probably didn't make $125 per hour. This guy put some tools in his truck and bangs people for $125 per hour and attempts to take jobs that hes not licensed to do...
Time to re-enlist brother. The Army is gonna need a few good men, China and Russia is heating up..
If you don’t mind teaching, you might consider offering tutoring services and/or teaching for homeschool co-ops. That’s something that people will find the money for!!!!
@@Boomercon3000 He has no qualifications to teach anything
@@puppetmaster1403american always want to war anyone who does what they don't like such as rusia and chian
I had the same problem happen to me in 2008. I lived in a town of 1,500,000 and 90 percent of my work came from realtors. It was a booming business for 12 years and then it was like someone threw a light switch. Business vanished. I read in the paper that 15,000 local construction workers had been laid off. I figured that if only 1 percent of those had decided to do what I was doing it definitely could not support those figures. That would have added 150 more handymen. It was a shock. I solved the problem by retiring and moving to Argentina. Now play a lot of golf.
are you in Argentina right now?
Yeah don’t work for realtors, that’s the first sign you are operating an unsuccessful company
@@colestaples2010nonsense
Good job richard, I also hear the latina ladies are spicy hot in that part of the hemisphere and like to cha cha cha.
Just curious, how do like Argentina? How are the golf courses down there?
I don't call handymen anymore because they always try to charge a ~$200 just to come out and look at the work. This flat fee alone makes me just learn how to fix it myself and watch a youtube video on how to do it. You're pricing yourselves out of your own market. Handymen are likely a dwindling job field due to the sheer amount of diy videos and the cheap prices of products to buy directly and the successes of the videos.
Almost every job I've done is like this. I wonder if people think watching a RUclips video will give them the skills to do heart surgery. Probably be a lot of dead people. Just like there's a lot of homeowners that shouldn't even own a home if you judge off the "repairs" made.
You have no idea what you are talking about I spend $400 of gas a week. But pls enlighten us. Working construction is putting your body on the line. You could get electrocuted or fall off a ladder. Etc
@@jayblack9871 lol...heart surgery, you're delusional if you think what you do is anything near the skill and difficulty...bad analogy dude
@@bringbackrealpeopleHave you tried turning off the electricity? Have you considered the fact that ladders are no exclusive to your profession? You don't get it: People are broke, and they won't be dishing out the big bucks required for major repairs. They simply can't afford it. They'll push back maintenance as far back as possible. But when it comes to the little things, they may be prodded to pay for the repairs. THIS right now is where the market is. Simply because people are more likely to pay $150 to repair a hole in a wall, rather than $850 to repair roof damage from a couple of nesting squirrels.
Yup, although a trip to home depot or Lowe's is expensive, it is still a lot cheaper than getting a handyman
I grew up poor so I learned everything myself lol. And I mean EVERYTHING! From auto mechanics, to framing, to drywall, basic electrical, basic plumbing, HVAC, roofing... Not pro by any means (auto mechanics I'd consider myself advanced) but I've learned enough to maintain my property and cars. All out of necessity because growing up without money pushed me to save money by learning for myself.
I'm sure you have saved thousands and thousand. Good job 👍
I grew up rich and I step out into the real world only to find my nation is populated by third worlders. Its over lol, i hope everything becomes ruined. I want to see everyone fail.
Me too, awesome.
Me three !!!
Me four😂
I’m near Philadelphia. A bunch of my friends in the trades, plumbers, electricians, wood workers, painters, beauticians, etc., are all getting undercut by recent immigrants displaced by the Ukranian/Russian conflict. They are doing work for like 30-50% of the price that was normal a few years ago.
thats also why big business wants open borders and more H1B visa workers. creates a permanent peasant underclass they can rule over forever. makes everyone desperate.
@@manager4409 everyone is wondering when the housing prices will drop, and they won’t. 3mil per year coming through last 3 years documented… if our population increased 10mil in 3 years, adding roughly 3% at least to total… that’s part of the reason rent prices are crazy.
When the money is tight, people get off their asses and fix their own loose sink knobs and door handles.
Love it!!!!
blows my mind people pay for an oil change.
@@manager4409 Mostly women, they get HOSED with repair bills.
That lady is looking for some one who only charges $50 for changing her door knob
People are tired of being “fleeced” by contractors etc. who have taken advantage of the situation. “You reap what you sow” is the moral of this story.
They aren’t fleecing you, they probably make 10-20% profit. Self employed about 30-40% on a good day. Customers are cheap because they aren’t making money
It’s got nothing to do with that. Cost of living, inflation and interest rates is to blame.
LIES, BE A BETTER SALES PERSON, OR GET ANOTHER GIG...PEOPLE COME OVER BORDER AND BUY A HOUSE IN 1 YEAR WITH UNDERTHE TABLE JOBS..COMON MAN.
Karma for not replying to jobs that weren't $250. From the comments there are plenty of similar contractors booked up. You aren't. Cause and effect
@@thediplomat3137so ok answer all the calls and then don’t do the jobs because you’re too busy answering calls. Yeah. That’s going to work well. 😂
I’m a contractor
I’m experiencing the same.
Business completely dropped off about 10-12 days ago. I’ve done 2 jobs this week and it’s Thursday. My typical week back in 2022 would’ve been 30-35 jobs. Things aren’t looking good.
Its student loans. Student loan repayment just restarted this month and a lot of industries are being hit.
I know a couple guys doing auto loan stuff for a national bank and they said every number they have to measure has gone to shit. Late payments and no payments went sky high, new loans dropped off a cliff, and every month since they announced the repayments repos have been going up like crazy.
12.5 billion dollars people were spending on other stuff is now going to student loans.
honestly you should lower prices, even offer “discounts for more than one job”, get creative. Making half, even a third of what you made before, is better than nothing. I can guarantee you, people are not going to call. If people wanted to pay you thousand of dollars over some repairs before, and they don’t do it now, things are not going to change they will not call you unless you are cheaper
"10-12 days ago" 😂😂😂 clearly a long term trend. Wow not even two weeks and the sky is falling.
@@PandorasFolly lol student loans? that's barely a fraction of people that have that issue. Try inflation and raising costs of everything else
@@Null-o7j - Last time I experienced the same drop off in business was in the fall of 2007 which was the largest financial collapse since the Great Depression. Such a drastic drop in business overnight isn’t normal
As a licensed electrician, with a career spanning 35 years, I've been many things in the construction field! Trump carpenter, framer, plumber, cabinet installer, siding and cornice, handyman! During the 2008 crash things got bad fast! Scaled back my personal purchases and actually worked for less per hour, sometimes significantly less! I worked according to what people could afford! Figured some money was better than none at all! I survived and it's because I knew how to do alot of things! We in the trades will be needed to some degree, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to survive!
Bro you were trumps carpenter?
@@user27278 hell yeah! Lol, don't know how the he'll that got in there! Forgot to proofread!
I envy your skills bro 🪚
Im 62 yrs old and I still enjoy going to work! Don't plan on retiring anytime soon! I'm gonna work( at my on pace) as long as my health allows me!
He probably meant.
Trim carpenter or finish carpenter.
Wages are stagnant, prices for everything are skyrocketing, majority of the working population living paycheck to paycheck, or just increasing their debt. There isn't much money for extracurricular things and if something can go without being fixed it's probably not going to be fixed
I'm in the yard work business in atlanta, georgia. My phone has stopped ringing. I feel the pain, bro. It looks like to me things are Really tough for people like me in the service industry, I went out and gave one estimate today the guy just pretty much laughed at me for the price I hardly was gonna make anything.
Buckle up and hang on, it's gonna be a Bumpy ride. God bless you all.
My sister wanted a portion of her bathroom done(installation of the shell and some tile work) she was quoted $32k. Mind you this is in a small town, her and her boyfriend are doing it themselves. Oh, and the materials were already bought and paid for.
Good for them! F’ck tradesmen
I lived in New York City! I am vetting different handy men to redo a bathroom for me. The materials are not a problem. The labor cost was 7k! I guess that's a bargain! But 32k, you are being ripped off!🙄😎
People are not broke. They are fed up with being overcharged by dishonest handymen.
I’m not sure what it’s like in the bigger cities, but I work as a handyman in a relatively small town. I actually make really good money as a handyman. I’ve never been accused of overcharging anyone. In most cases, I save my clients money. If I show up on a job site and do some carpentry, drywall repair, floor covering and painting, I’m actually saving the customer the hassle and minimum expense of hiring 4 different contractors for these projects. Also, I have a substantial minimum charge if the task involves setting up equipment. I charge less if the task are simple like changing door knobs etc. I think it’s important to maintain a substantial minimum because I have to be able cover my overhead expenses like fuel, equipment and be compensated for my knowledge. I pull a 14’ utility box trailer full of equipment. My truck burns diesel which is around 4.50 per gallon. If I charge anything less than 100.00 for a minimum, I’m loosing money. I never really concern myself with loosing a job because the customer thinks I’m too high. I look at it this way, I’m too high for them. There are plenty of customers who understand basic economics and are thankful to have a contractor that shoots straight, does fantastic work and is dependable.
People should really learn to do things for themselves. My grandfather and father both built their own house without help from RUclips. It's not fkn rocket science
Just so you’re aware: Price doesn’t sell anything. It’s when the perceived value exceeds the price, that’s when people buy. But when 1 ton trucks cost 6 figures, you have no choice but to charge: $500.00 per man-hour. If you charge less than $500.00 per man-hour, you can’t get a margin. And that’s assuming that your materials are only 10% of what you’re charging.
I understand where you’re coming from. But people don’t have time. Plus skilled trades isn’t common knowledge anymore.
Bs people are broke.
Same here in CA. Most weeks I'm only getting 15-20 hours since November.
We shouldn't have to lower our prices in the middle of all this inflation
I really feel for you man. Inflation, Student loans, Interest rates, The list goes on and on. I started not spending money at the beginning of the year because frankly, I just no longer have any extra income to do anything but just survive.
bullshit on the student loans. Nobody forced you to take a loan.
@@JoelSzymczyk no but older people definitely misled naive 18 year olds about what they were getting with said degree. Like it was a ticket to a middle class or upper middle class life, now its saturated and everyone has one.
Not my problem.
Yes it is your problem your tax dollars are going to bail amount
This wasn't a problem during Trump's time in the White House
Not as bad anyway
All presidents are losers and agianst the small guys. You're comment shows your ignorance and lack of education
There ya go - that explains it. It’s mind boggling how stupid people are today - especially Trumpers.
That is because you weren't one of the union employees making batteries for Energizer, who moved ops overseas and to NC, a non union facility. All one has to do is look at the layoffs during 2016-2020. Less anti trust cases than ever were taking place. Yeah, gas was cheaper but that was before all the money hand outs in 2020. Warp speed president made sure they could jab you after they kept you locked in for a year too. Whew! Everyone has talking points and not much else...
Yeah right , it was just as bad .
Car hauler here. Yes, it’s also very slow in my area. To many drivers, not too many cars being transported. Probably less people buying cars. This economy is getting very scary. God bless all small businesses owners.
I have a rollback and people have slowed down moving stuff and I also sale cheap used cars nothing is moving
They got lazy during Covid and people figured out DIY! Amazon is hiring I think.
We are not broke, we are just becoming DIYers😊
It's kinda fun, learn new skills.
put a hole in a wall with elbow (don't ask)
YT Lady had a channel where she shows how to restore knock-down finish.
Very helpful. Now I can poke holes with confidence! But I won't. : l
Most people aren't DIYers, there are lots of people who don't have skills.
I disagree - people have to learn to do more for themselves when they cannot afford to hire someone else - what is happening in our great country should never be happening. How is it that America has the money to send other countries when our OWN COUNRY is falling apart in every aspect. Bidenomic Bullsh##
@@petera5560lack of funds will turn you into one.
@@petera5560 Anyone could learn though, it's just if they're willing to learn and learn the right way.
DUUUUUDE! In addition to people living hand to mouth and having no resources like you mentioned, I would also cite RUclips as a major reason why people are DIYing. I wanted to build an outdoor kitchen last March and got quotes in the 30K range. I said "screw this" and used RUclips to build an amazing kitchen for around 11K. I might further mention the flood of illegals coming into the country and honing in on American handymen and doing jobs for half price.
Hopefully people will wise up and not be obsessed with “mean tweets”
lol, I'm the utube handyman for a reason
If you voted for democrat you are to blame
Does the entertaining give extra income?
It's the inflated cost that has really driven people to YT though. I'd love to be able to write a check for a reasonable amount and have more free weekends but the cost has gotten so out of hand for home maintenance that I don't have a choice. Being able to turn to YT opens up that option though.
I was a general contractor in 2007. My phone stopped ringing also. Nope. The news says everything is FINE... I pray for you bro
thank you friend
Sky Daddy won't fix it. Get a real job
You mean the lies this administration portrays as a great economy
Dude, you killed your own business as many small business people do by not running a business like it should be run. That means answering phone calls or at least returning phone calls along with doing quotes promptly and billing promptly among other things. You weren't running a business you were simply working for wages. Trust me there is so much business out there for handmen you should be covered up with referrals' from past customers unless they aren't happy with your work.
I would bet there is way more to this than you are willing to admit to us or yourself. Take some time and decide are you going to try to build a business or are you going to keep doing what you're doing which doesn't seem to be successful?
I am a mechanic and the past few weeks there has been a change big time. Nobody has money anymore and if it’s not covered under warranty (free) people don’t want it.
People are broke
I can defitely see that, but I would think because of the car market, people would have to cough up the money to keep whatever they have running as it's so expensive to get another vehicle now so it would offset it.
Well, they're also tired of getting screwed over by automotive repair shops. it's a very skeevy business and is extremely easy to rape customers out of their money. They do it all the time. Been doing it for years and everyone of us that takes our vehicles to a shop has been caught in the crosshairs of some shady business practices.
@FITNESSOVER45 Oh, I know. I own a 99 Honda prelude that they made only 48k during that generations entire run so it is very hard to get anything for it. My daily driver is a 97 Toyota 4Runner so you know with such old vehicles I’m an auto parts store regular. It’s still cheaper to keep those running than having a $700 car payment for a new car. And it’s less risky than having a $400 car payment for a little older vehicle and still have to deal with repairs.
I'm a trucker, and the number of 4-wheelers out there on the interstates with either one headlight or no tail lights or one headlamp on hi-beam is off the charts. 🚛💥💨
Everyone is suffering- everyone is struggling
Things are not the same
I hope things pick up for you. Two takeaways that may be hurting your business. You (and every other contractor since COVID) are charging $125-$250 per hour. Handymen used to work for $20-$50 an hour not so long ago. Also, you were so busy that often didn’t answer your phone or follow up for work calls? That’s literally crazy. I would guess that people have maxed out their home equity loans and credit cards at this point. It’s time to get realistic with your rates and communication. Good luck out there!
Agreed!
No lower than $50 an hour as it's 1099. By the time you drive to a house call and pay for gas and taxes you are at $30 an hour. Not worth the time if it's any lower.
Have you seen the prices for materials and fuel? Prices have to match his living wage also.
@@NeilFinicumThe handyman is paid for his labor. The homeowner pays for the materials. There should be no mark ups on the materials.
YUP. Most calls were $400-500 thr last few years if you could even get someone. I started doing everything I could myself. I wouldnt even know if the folks in my area had lowered their rates because I don't call them anymore.
God bless your handyman business.
Fascinating listening to you and reading the comments. I was in the trades back in 2008, and what I'm reading sounds errily similar to then. I was just an employee for a two man show, but we were busy, busy, busy, then absolutely nothing when October rolled around.
I didn't get to experience 2008 personally, I was in Iraq.
Lehman Bros went bankrupt Sept 15th 2008
This is happening everywhere! I work at an eye clinic and business is slow with constant customer cancellations. My daughter works at McDonald's and they've reduced her hours because it's slow.
McDonald’s is slow because I can get a 1/2 pound prime burger and fry at a sit down restaurant for less than a a crap double quarter and crap fry at McE D’s.
Its also customer service that many dont realize matters. Your daughters mc donalds might be slow. But compare that to a near by chic fila. There will be a massive difference. Heck even compare the mcdonald your daughter works at to other mcdonalds.
Do you think maybe it's your daughter that's slow? Break out the stopwatch and see how fast she can make a sandwich. You should trust but always verify..
@@puppetmaster1403 slow as in low customer count
McDonalds is the only fast food restaurant in the small town we live in. We don't even have a grocery store. My daughter only takes orders at the drive through- she doesn't make the food. It isn't just McDonalds though. I haven't eaten at a restaurant in months. The prices have just gotten too expensive.
I am in the remodeling bussines. I have been doing this for over a decade. I have never seen anything like this. JOE BIDEN HAS DESTROYED THE ECONOMY.
I got my plumbing license in June and started my business in Sacramento area , my prices are very reasonable and now I’m trying to get clients as much as I can . It’s hard, but I know that the best way for me is be honest with my clients and provide the best service and even more .
whats your Instagram handle?
Power is swinging back to the customers instead of the contractors. As far as affordability for remodeling and building goes this is a good thing. I built a home in 2020 and it was a nightmare cause of lack of inventory and contractors that act like they shit gold.
100 percent!
My son’s a painting contractor in SE Arizona. Same thing. About 6 mos. back his business fell off dramatically. It’s the economy - this Administration is catastrophically bad.
It’s scary how fast this happens. We feel it in our business as well and I own a hair salon!
I was in Beauty Supply wholesale. I watched Salons close their doors one at a time when the Spaceshuttle blew up in 1986. I feel for you.
~🦋
I have been doing my own beaded hair extensions every 3 weeks instead of getting it done professionally every 6 week. Only get it done now if I have a special event/travel. Same for my polygel/acrylic nails. The hair salon I used to go to in 2019 which offerered tea/water etc, I stopped using and switched to a salon which makes you wait hours and even this salon I stopped going to and doing it myself. The salon I used to go to in 2019 is Aveda franchise and they closed recently.
I care for my elderly mother, I take her to her appointments for pedicures regularly. The salon she goes to used to have several operators who were consistently busy, but in the last year the only people working in the salon is the owner and her husband and it's completely empty every time I take her there! Same with independent restaurants in my area!
I haven't been to a salon since my life was irrevocably changed in 2008. More will join that Depression now.
I used to regularly get haircuts but now with the cost of everything rising I can't even afford to get one. It's either get a haircut or not even have enough for gas. I practically cut my own hair a couple of months ago.
Vote blue no matter who.
Yea because voting for the dictator trump is going to be better right?
You are 100% Correct, I sold Furniture for the last few years and made good money flipping and fixing and selling online. But last November I saw a decline and didn't understand Why, it took Months for me to realize it was the economy. It became Very hard to get furniture, and Very Hard to Sell at a price for a profit. I had to leave the business completely and do something new. The Government is Lying about how bad Inflation is, and its hurting people who believe them. Its affecting everyone. Great video!
I saw my food costs go up nearly 50% in the last two years. That hurts me the most, and I'm a single man living alone! I literally can't afford to date. Let alone feed a family.
Yeah it’s pretty scary. I’m starting to realize that I’m one of the few that still have a few coins left to rub together. I don’t even have a lot of money. I just don’t have any kids and have reduced expenses but I’m living like a monk compared to most people.
@@purplegirl8036 damn baby wanna struggle together? Could be cool.
In business you have to remember, the customer is not always right but they hold the money. You can't get to big for your own britches. Humble yourself, YOU NEED THEM they just need someone to do the job. Good times can turn bad quick, remember that.
Rock the fella and rothschild owns you and your fed
Try telling that to Ebay, Disney, Google & RUclips. lol
The customer is not always right, but the customer is always the customer.
It's been a rough year with losses from failed banks and government, real estate crashes, a struggling economy, and downturns in stocks and dividends. It feels like everything has been going wrong.
What a terrible year it is…
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I’m in real estate and I am seeing a drastic slowdown as well I’m here in Utah
Tonnssss of people were laid off last month alone, and it was barely talked about... Everyone who has any kind of business (that I know personally) is experiencing the same thing. My mom had a dog business since 2007 that never had an issue since, until this year...
But yeah, everyone's holding onto their money and just paying for things they need. Even myself, I've cut back on all things. Amazon, even food, subscriptions, etc...
Most contractors started over charging after covid for some reason. I was quoted $500 to change out 3 outlets. $1500 to replace 4 interior doors. As a landlord that brings work in volume, some of the quotes I use to get were OUTRAGEOUS. I finally found my go to guy. He's not cheap, but definitely WAY more reasonable than most. How can a person expect to build relationships by over charging a potential long term customer. That's just bad business
Estimates got really insane. We bought our home in 2018 and saw how estimates on getting our HVAC.
/ducting system upgraded started out around $15K in 2018. By 2021 after refinancing we finally had the funds to do it we spent $20K and that didn't even include insulation. And pool build prices almost doubled during and after the pandemic. Car dealers were marking up truck prices $10K, $15K even $20K.
I saw that and I just went ahead and started doing all my own work. I had extra money, I just couldn’t be raked over the coals like that.
4 doors are about $800 hardware $200 paint $250 dispose of old doors $25 thats 1225.00 cost with no labor. How much do you want to pay the guy to do this?
@@alphaviews4639 I’m thinking that price was just labor.
@@alphaviews4639 The price I was quoted, was just for labor. No painting or removal of old doors. The garbage man will take hollow interior doors.
Bartering system will be coming back in play.
People can't afford to pay $60/hour for Handyman job
I also run a handyman business in a fairly small town. I moved here about 5 years ago and started doing some floor covering work. I never advertised and have stayed busy nonstop. I diversified as a way to maximize my probability of keeping a consistent work flow. All of my work comes from referrals. That’s where offering more services is key. Just about everybody needs a little painting done. I also ventured into full bathroom remodels and tile work. I would never lower my prices. I’ve found that responding to inquiries in a swift manner and showing up on time goes a long ways with customers. You would be surprised how many other contractors don’t follow through. I work by myself, so it doesn’t really take very many jobs to be totally backed up with work. Btw, I’m located in central Kentucky.
@@ArizonaSunsetsUSAshould have told him to screw and not paid him
It’s coming
@steveblakeman45, Exactly! I couldn't agree with you more my friend. I started out in home remodeling @15, not even out of HS yet working for a buddy of my pop's who I'm grateful for to have in my life. Not only did he pay me, but he (along with his business partner who I might add was a master carpenter) both taught me many different trade skills in construction. Now @55, 40 years later I've never looked back & been doing it ever since. However, as important as it is & was to learn all of those different trade skills. It was just as important to learn the business side & "traits" (to your point) to have in order to make a living & stay in business. Do the job you said you were gonna do, stand by the quality of your work & be there when you say you're gonna be there. Have some integrity & just "Do The Right Thing" & you'll have all the work you want. Like you said those things go along way with customers who end up being repeat customers most of the time. ✌️😎
You are so correct. Diversification is key. A handyman per say can only get you so many calls
@@bleek760 it would take you 5 years just to get a single trade license and 5 more years to any additional license. He can forget about that
I think part of the problem for handymen is people are doing their own repairs these days. RUclips is a great source for instructions on how to fix just about anything. Throughout the years I've repaired my furnace, ac, stove, fridge, washer&dryer and other things by watching RUclips videos. Saved thousands of dollars. It's laughable how much a repairman charges for simple part replacements.
I don’t really see a problem with the handyman business. I’ve been at it for years and I never run out of work. Of course there are alway individuals who are capable and have the time to make their own repairs. I actually encourage it for anyone who ask if it’s possible for them to do a project themselves. I will even take the time to give them a few pointers. Trust me, there are multitudes of people who have plenty of money and are more than willing to pay good money for a dependable contractor who does great work. The ones who aren’t getting the work are not doing something right. I’ve been self employed my entire life, so I pride myself on having good communication with my customer base.
@steveblakeman45 I think it depends on where you live. Things are not the same in every city or town.
@@sabik6979 I can’t argue that. The town I work in is relatively small. In many ways, it works to my advantage because it feels like everyone is related here. Word of moth travels fast.
That is what I do, I’ve saved thousands also.working as a building engineer for 30 years helped a lot.
@Luka9m ... Yeah, this Guy in Video is pure fucking entitlement. Because Handymen want to charge too much now. They just aren't reasonable, so I'm watching RUclips videos and learning how to do it myself. But, I'm not paying outrageous prices for someone to hardly do anything -- that's not complicated. Handymen think that they are like Doctors or Lawyers and someone really special, but they're not. They're just simple day laborers.
Im in the service industry as well. We saw a clear difference starting in January of this year. Located in the DC MD VA metropolitan area. Usually not too affected because of all the government jobs here. But this is the worst year we have had and we have been in business for over a decade.
Unfortunately it's because there is a large portion of the tradesmen who are ripping people off . It makes us just want to learn how to do it ourselves. It's hard to find an honest worker now aday
Good. The trades people I had to deal with in the last two years had inflated self-worth, unreasonably high price, and shady quality work. It's time to humble them all. Hopefully, quality goes up, and prices come down haha.
This is very true. Worked for a guy that charged the most ridiculous prices. Often times I was completely taken aback. Now he's crying.
I have become my own handyman because I tried hiring local ‘handymen’ and they treat you like trash, say the job is too small and ask outrageous prices…a lot of people don’t make $50 an hour, but you can’t find a handyman that doesn’t…
😬🤔🤫
I agree, they don't return calls and think they are actually deserve to earn 200,000 a year to shit most people can easily learn. The don't scam people but
charge outrageous fees. This is the market correcting itself.