The assumption that you need years of contractor experience or expensive certifications holds many capable people back. Most handyman work falls below state licensing thresholds; the same repairs you've done for friends and family, now with proper insurance and professional systems. The real challenge is learning to run the business side while you're also doing the work. This guide prioritizes systems that save time: online booking that eliminates phone tag, pricing strategies that protect your margins, and digital tools that make you look established from day one.
Choose Your Services and Define Your Niche
The first step in how to start a handyman business is choosing services that match both your skills and local market demand. The most successful handyman businesses launch with a focused service list rather than promising to fix everything.
Match Skills to Market Demand
Interior painting and touch-ups consistently rank among the most-booked handyman services. Furniture assembly follows closely, driven by e-commerce growth and customers who'd rather pay than wrestle with assembly instructions.
Safety and aging-in-place upgrades represent a growing opportunity. AARP reports 72% of older adults planning bathroom safety modifications: grab bars, non-slip flooring, shower benches. This work commands good margins and generates repeat business. Smart home device installation has also seen increasing demand, with video doorbells and leak sensors showing growth alongside outdoor television installations.
Build a Foundation Before Expanding
Launch with four to five high-demand services: minimal licensing barriers, manageable tool requirements, broad customer appeal, and solid profit margins. A practical starting mix includes interior painting, furniture assembly, small repairs, shelving installation, and safety upgrades.
Track every inquiry for your first six to twelve months: which services customers request, which convert to paid bookings, and which generate the best margins. Let this data drive your evolution toward either specialist positioning or a curated generalist approach with eight to ten complementary services.
Handle Licensing, Insurance, and Legal Setup
Understanding licensing is essential when learning how to start a handyman business legally. Business structure and compliance form the foundation that protects you and builds customer trust.
Choose Your Business Structure
An LLC provides the best balance of protection and simplicity for most handyman businesses. Filing costs vary dramatically by state. Ohio charges $99 with no annual fees, totaling $99 over five years. California requires $70 initially but adds an $800 minimum annual franchise tax, totaling $4,070 over the same period.
You'll also need an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. The U.S. Small Business Administration recommends registering your business to obtain your EIN before opening business bank accounts.
Navigate State Licensing Requirements
Handyman licensing varies wildly across states. California's threshold changed in January 2025 under Assembly Bill 2622: projects totaling $1,000 or more now require contractor licensing. Arizona exempts projects under $1,000 or work not requiring permits. Texas, Colorado, and several other states impose no state-level handyman licensing requirements, though local municipalities often exceed state standards.
Contact your state contractor licensing board directly rather than relying on commercial summaries. Requirements change through legislation, so consult with a local attorney and review statutes annually.
Secure General Liability Insurance
Insurance is non-negotiable. NEXT Insurance quotes $468 to $876 annually for handyman coverage. Budget $600-$800 annually for typical handyman services. Many customers, especially property managers, require proof of insurance before hiring.
Set Your Pricing and Manage Your Finances
Your pricing determines profitability. Both require more thought than most new handyman businesses give them.
Calculate Your Base Hourly Rate
National handyman rates range from $50 to $150 per hour, with typical rates clustering around $60 to $70. High cost-of-living metros support $70 to $150 rates.
The formula: add your total annual expenses to your desired annual income, then divide by billable hours per year. If you want to earn $60,000 and your expenses total $20,000, and you can bill 1,500 hours annually, your base rate needs to be a minimum of $53.33 per hour.
Structure Job Pricing
For complete jobs, combine labor hours times your hourly rate, plus materials with 20-50% markup, plus profit margin. Higher margins (15-50%) apply to specialized work; commodity services face more price pressure. Many successful handyman businesses use a hybrid model: flat rate for the first hour with hourly billing for additional time.
Establish Financial Hygiene
Open a separate business checking account immediately. Track every expense, categorize by type, and reconcile monthly. For invoicing, the key is professional presentation: itemized invoices with your logo, clear payment terms, and multiple payment options.
Create Professional Invoices That Get Paid
Professional invoicing directly impacts how quickly you get paid. Your invoices should include your business name and logo, itemized services with descriptions, materials used with costs, clear payment terms (Net 15 or Net 30), and multiple payment options.
Building your own invoicing workflow through Lovable lets you create branded invoice templates that match your website. Connect payment processing through Stripe integration to accept credit cards directly, eliminating the "check's in the mail" delays that plague many handyman businesses. Customers increasingly expect digital payment options, and offering them reduces friction between completed work and received payment.
Build Your Digital Presence and Business Tools
A professional online presence separates premium handyman businesses from commodity services competing purely on price.
Why Custom Tools Create Competitive Advantage
Generic field service management platforms like Jobber ($39 to $169 per month), Housecall Pro ($59 to $329 per month), and ServiceTitan (estimated $250 to $500 per technician monthly) were designed for HVAC and plumbing operations. User reviews on G2 consistently cite rigid customization and features that don't match how solo handymen work. Lovable provides full ownership of your custom-built tools at a fraction of the cost of enterprise field service platforms.
Template website builders create a different problem: when you and your competitors use identical layouts, customers can't distinguish between providers. Custom sites with strategic call-to-action placement can double conversion rates compared to template sites.
Build What You Actually Need
Lovable is an AI app builder for developers and non-developers alike, enabling you to build custom business websites through natural conversation. This approach to vibe coding lets you describe what you want in plain English. Using Agent Mode, Lovable's AI autonomously builds features across your entire website. For quick adjustments, Visual Edits lets you modify colors, typography, and button styles directly without describing changes in chat. Developers can also sync projects with GitHub integration, export code, and extend functionality with custom TypeScript/React.
The landing page template includes inline appointment booking with a Cal.com calendar widget embedded. The template is mobile-first responsive, which is critical since most local searches occur on mobile. Payment processing is available through Stripe integration, though setup requires connecting external services and payment functionality only works in deployed projects.
Essential Website Elements
Your handyman website needs click-to-call functionality for mobile users, prominent booking buttons above the fold, clear service area information for local SEO, trust signals (license numbers, insurance certificates, third-party reviews), and fast loading speeds under three seconds. Custom development allows proper setup of schema markup and structured data specifically for local business SEO, which is critical for capturing "near me" searches. Custom design eliminates the 15-20% fees charged by marketplace platforms like HomeAdvisor, allowing you to offer better value or reinvest in service quality.
Get Your First Clients and Grow Your Reputation
Knowing how to start a handyman business means nothing without customers. Client acquisition in the first 90 days establishes the foundation for sustainable growth.
Dominate Local Search
Set up your Google Business Profile as a service-area business, defining your service areas by specifying cities or postal codes without displaying your home address. Select "Handyman" as your primary category; your primary category significantly impacts which searches display your business.
Collect Reviews Without Violating Policies
Google's review policy explicitly prohibits offering any incentive for reviews. What works: ask customers directly after completing service, provide a direct link to your review page, and respond to every review. For negative reviews, respond promptly, address the specific issue, and invite offline resolution.
Build Referral Momentum
Your first clients likely come from personal networks. Every completed job is an opportunity; ask satisfied customers if they know anyone who needs similar work. Property managers and real estate agents represent high-value referral sources; one relationship can generate dozens of jobs annually.
Your Professional Website as a Trust Signal
A custom website separates professionals from weekend warriors in customers' minds. When potential clients compare handyman options, they're assessing risk: will this person show up? Do quality work? Not damage my home?
Your website communicates professionalism before you ever answer the phone. Property managers and real estate agents particularly value this; they stake their reputation on every contractor they recommend. A professional online presence built with Lovable, complete with your service areas, licensing information, and easy booking, gives referral sources confidence to recommend you.
First 90 Days Tactics
Your first three months establish patterns that compound.
Week 1-2: Complete your Google Business Profile and launch your website with online booking.
Week 3-4: Reach out to 10 people in your network who own homes or manage properties.
Month 2: Complete your first 5-10 jobs, request reviews from every satisfied customer.
Month 3: Identify your highest-margin services and begin focusing marketing toward them.
Track every inquiry source. After 90 days, you'll know whether customers find you through Google, referrals, or neighborhood apps, and can allocate your limited marketing time accordingly.
Your Next Step
You already have the skills. The path from "good at fixing things" to "professional handyman business with clients booking online" requires executing the infrastructure: LLC registration, liability insurance, a focused service list, calculated pricing, and digital tools that make you look established from day one.
Start with what you have. Prove demand with your first five clients. Reinvest as revenue justifies it.
Start with Lovable's landing page template, which includes appointment booking and payment processing capabilities.
