The Price of Experience: The Hard Truth About Quoting for New Handymen
When you launch a handyman business, you expect the work to be the hard part. You’ve got the tools, the skills, and the drive. However, many of us quickly realize that the most difficult task isn't the manual labor—it’s the quote.
Accurately pricing a job is a high-wire act. Quote too high, and you lose the client. Quote too low, and you’re essentially paying to work. In the early days, "surprises" are the biggest threat to your bottom line. Here are two lessons I learned recently that taught me exactly why experience is the most valuable tool in my bag.
Lesson 1: The "Simple" Rewiring Trap
I was recently hired to replace some smoke detectors. On paper, this is a straightforward "remove and replace" task. But when I took the old units off the circuit, the lights wired into that circuit went out.
The Reality: The previous wiring was done incorrectly, using the smoke detectors as a bridge for the entire lighting circuit. What should have been a 20-minute swap turned into a diagnostic mission to find where the continuity broke and how to fix a circuit I hadn't even planned to touch.
The Lesson: You aren't just quoting for the task; you are quoting for the unknown legacy of the house. Now, I always include a small "diagnostic buffer" for electrical work, knowing that what I see on the surface rarely tells the whole story.
Lesson 2: When "Standard" Isn't Standard
My second lesson came from a door-hanging job in a beautiful home over 100 years old. The client wanted a simple door swap. However, a century of settling meant that nothing—not the frame, the floor, nor the walls—was square.
To make matters more complicated, the new door was 3/8 of an inch too wide for the warped opening. I spent hours with an electric planer, removing thin strips of wood a little at a time, constantly re-hanging and checking for a fit that wouldn't rub or stick.
The Lesson: In older homes, there is no such thing as a "simple swap." I learned that a physical site visit (or at least asking the age of the home) is vital before committing to a flat rate. Labor time on a door can triple the moment you have to pull out the planer.
The Silver Lining
It can be frustrating to finish a job and realize your hourly rate was cut in half because of unforeseen challenges. But as I grow this business to help my community and develop my own skills, I’ve realized something important: This is the "tuition" of a new business owner.
Every time I have to fix a botched circuit or plane a door to fit a crooked frame, I am gaining an instinct that can’t be taught in a book. I am learning to spot the "red flags" before I ever pick up a tool.
If you are a new business owner struggling with your quotes, don't be discouraged. The accuracy will come with time. Every difficult job is just another data point that will make your next quote sharper, your work more efficient, and your business more sustainable. We aren't just fixing houses; we're building our own expertise, one "surprise" at a time.