Friend wants to become a handyman/odd job man
Discussion
Good Afternoon
A friend of mine seems to have a gift from an early age of repairing/fixing things and the other day he suggested that he was thinking of becoming a handyman or an odd job man. He can do a whole host of things such as: putting up shelves, putting together flat pack furniture, tiling, laminate flooring, fixing curtains/blinds, fixing faulty toilets, painting, building and repairing fences, guttering, gardening.
However, to get a ‘feel’ of the work and reassure himself that he will not be the only odd job man in the region, he would like to meet up either face to face or online with other individuals who are already doing this type of work and thus to discuss the pros and cons of doing this type of work.
Is anybody aware of any such places where odd job/handymen meet up/socialise to discuss the type of work they do?
Finally, my friend is not very computer literate, which is the reason why I am writing the post for him!!
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Thank You.
A friend of mine seems to have a gift from an early age of repairing/fixing things and the other day he suggested that he was thinking of becoming a handyman or an odd job man. He can do a whole host of things such as: putting up shelves, putting together flat pack furniture, tiling, laminate flooring, fixing curtains/blinds, fixing faulty toilets, painting, building and repairing fences, guttering, gardening.
However, to get a ‘feel’ of the work and reassure himself that he will not be the only odd job man in the region, he would like to meet up either face to face or online with other individuals who are already doing this type of work and thus to discuss the pros and cons of doing this type of work.
Is anybody aware of any such places where odd job/handymen meet up/socialise to discuss the type of work they do?
Finally, my friend is not very computer literate, which is the reason why I am writing the post for him!!
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Thank You.
An ex-colleague did something similar after being laid off from our place and has apparently been quite successful at it.
He did do his Part P (electrical) which I'm guessing was pretty straightforward for him as the place we worked at was developing communications equipment and he was an Electronics Engineer. I guess this makes him a bit more "handy" than some as he can do electrical work and sign it off.
He did do his Part P (electrical) which I'm guessing was pretty straightforward for him as the place we worked at was developing communications equipment and he was an Electronics Engineer. I guess this makes him a bit more "handy" than some as he can do electrical work and sign it off.
Certainly in London (and I would imagine in any big city) there's opportunities in this space -- the development I live in expects ours to retire soon. Get to know the porters/concierges of some of the big residential developments and there will be a steady stream of small jobs if your friend has a reasonable range of capabilities and proves to be reliable and fair.
Tell him to look for a job in a residential home. I'm a handyman in a 100 bed home for the elderly.
I'm 46 and left the aircraft engineering game last year and love my job. No formal qualifications required and pay is £9 p/h.
ETA
Guide him to ultimatehandyman.co.uk lots of gen there. HTH
I'm 46 and left the aircraft engineering game last year and love my job. No formal qualifications required and pay is £9 p/h.
ETA
Guide him to ultimatehandyman.co.uk lots of gen there. HTH
Edited by figtree on Tuesday 21st February 21:00
I did exactly this one year ago. Haven't looked back. To be honest there's nowhere offline we 'meet' and the forums such as screwfix or diynot seem to cover most things.
I live in a village outside of Bristol, and haven't had to advertise at all - all been word of mouth, recommendations etc. Do a few jobs for mums with kids in the local schools and you won't be short of work again.
Buy a cheap van, decent ladder, and build up an arsenal of tools as you go. Don't buy stuff you think you'll need in advance, just get the tools and materials as and when a job requires them.
Get liability insurance, and try not to use it.
If he has any more questions, happy to try and answer them.
I live in a village outside of Bristol, and haven't had to advertise at all - all been word of mouth, recommendations etc. Do a few jobs for mums with kids in the local schools and you won't be short of work again.
Buy a cheap van, decent ladder, and build up an arsenal of tools as you go. Don't buy stuff you think you'll need in advance, just get the tools and materials as and when a job requires them.
Get liability insurance, and try not to use it.
If he has any more questions, happy to try and answer them.
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