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There are endless opportunities for people who need help with either handyman projects or putting together Ikea furniture. There are services like Task Rabbit or Red Butler that allow you to do tasks for people in your area. The problem is that there may not be work in your area or not enough work. How can you make real money?
So why not do it yourself.
I am all for starting your own business. But there is nothing wrong with working through another company when you are first getting started. It could be a good option to try doing work through another company to get a feel for how it would work before you go on your own. Also to see if you would want to keep doing the work. You may find that you like doing it sometimes, but couldn’t imagine doing it day in and day out.
I just love the idea of helping people with the little tasks that they may not have the time to do or maybe they have a health problem and can’t do it. There are almost an endless amount of tasks you could do. It could be fixing a leaky faucet, getting their groceries or if someone is moving you could pack up their house for them. If you want to get started on your own there are a few things to consider.
What skills do you already have?
Make a list of everything that you know you can easily do if someone requests it. This should include everything that you would do around your house or in your everyday life.
What can’t you do?
When you tell people what you can do, there are likely things you didn’t think of that may arise. Knowing what you absolutely can’t do will help inform potential clients of your limitations. Don’t say that you will design a website if you have no idea how to do it.
When will you work?
Don’t leave anything open-ended. Be specific about the hours and days that you will work. You don’t want someone to order a service from you on a Sunday and want it by the end of the day on Monday if you don’t work on Sundays and you don’t start on Monday until 10 am. This wouldn’t leave you the proper time to complete the task. You will need to figure out how long it takes you to complete tasks and be sure they are scheduled properly.
How much will you charge?
You need to be sure that you are pricing according to the task and the time involved, but also so you are able to make enough money. DO NOT ever short yourself just to get a sale for your services. This will teach your clients to not value your work. If you are doing a great job for someone then you should be fairly compensated. Teach them up front.
Of course, this is just a short list of things to think about. You also need to check with your city, county and state to be sure that you don’t need a license, permit or anything else to do what you want to do. There is no success when you get shut down for not following the laws.
This doesn’t need to start off as a full-time business.
This would work great as a part-time weekend or night business. The way I would start this business would be to start a weekend grocery shopping service. I would target my own neighborhood. This would allow me to shop at the closest store and get them their food quickly after leaving the store. Plus I would be close to home at start and end.
I would invest in several bags for freezer items so nothing thaws. I would also make a simple website. They could submit an order through it. It would list all of the instructions on how this works and what they need to do.
The day of the shopping, they would need to have their list ready with any coupons to be picked up by a certain time. This would make it different from other shopping service that don’t allow for you to use coupons.
As for paying for their order, you could require that they pay up front, maybe an estimated half of what the order would be. This would cover you somewhat and would ensure that they are serious. I would have the ability to pay online and I would have a square reader to charge their card at the door for delivery. Don’t forget about getting paid for your time. You could charge based on the number of items or you could charge based on the dollar amount.
This is just my idea of how to get started.
It could turn into a great business with a little tweaking. Grocery shopping is just an idea. Maybe you could run a business that picks up and delivers remodeling supplies for people. There are people who like to do the work on their homes themselves, but don’t have a vehicle that can transport the supplies. Remember that the possibilities are endless. If there is a need someone will be there to fill it.
