I was on a marketing Zoom call yesterday hosted by CompanyCam, and one of the main topics was AI search and how customer behavior is changing. It got me thinking about where the handyman and home service industry is headed. A few years ago, customers were mostly typing things like “handyman near me” or “contractor near me” into Google. Now, more and more people are typing full problems into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or other AI tools. Instead of searching: “handyman near me” They may be asking: “I have wood rot around my exterior door. Can I fix this myself, or do I need a handyman?” Or: “My bathroom ceiling has water stains and peeling paint. What causes this, and who should I hire to fix it?” Then, once they decide they need help, they ask the AI where to find a qualified handyman or contractor near them. That raises a pretty big question for all of us: How do handyman companies show up in those AI-driven searches? The other thing that stood out to me is how far behind the home service industry seems to be in allowing customers to buy services online. People can buy cars, houses, furniture, vacations, exotic animals, and almost anything else online, but in the home services industry, we still send someone out for an estimate, write it up later, sometimes send it days or weeks afterward, and then wait for approval of course there are exceptions and those who do only on-site estimates and try and close it and sell it on-site, which definitely has a higher closing rate. I know there is a theory that pricing repair work online is challenging. Every house is different, hidden conditions exist, photos do not always tell the full story, and some jobs absolutely need to be inspected in person. Handyman work can be priced, approved, and scheduled online using photos, videos, intake forms, standardized service packages, and possibly a quick quote But I also think this is where things are heading. My long-term goal is to move toward a handyman system that goes beyond onsite estimating. Not necessarily for every job, but definitely for more common, repeatable services.

A lot of you have requested that I bring back group calls. The first group is nearly full, and will be starting on April 6th. If you have any interest in being part of these calls, please send me a message and we can do a zoom so I can share more!

Does anybody have any experience with ordering from Alibaba? I have ordered beer koozies from the sight before and came out perfect. But I am a little worried about the yard signs not being great quality. Attached is the quote I received from Alibaba and a pic of ones they have made other people. I try to support local as much as possible but local is 3 times the cost. The best reputable US online deal I can find is dope marketing. Alibaba beats them by 40%. Second question is is anyone have great success with yard signs?. I understand you don't just put 10 randomly and never look back. We are planning on taking the consistent approach and placment will be around areas where our preferred customer base is. Our goal is brand awareness. Over the past 2 years we have worked for trade with other companies and have credits built up. One being radio, and one being a print shop. So our plan is to strategically place yard signs, send EDDM to targeted area and run out radio commercials. If anyone has suggestions on the order or staggering of the trifecta that would be great.

Rounding out a strong performance from our team in Feb. In Jan we topped $100k in revenue, with a goal of $115k. Knowing we had a short month, we decided to still push and increase our goal for Feb. We are wrapping up final invoices now but it's looking like we will top $136k in revenue with a lot of jobs on the horizon and stronger months coming. Last year, February ended at $63k. How is this month ending for everyone?

I can't stress this enough - cashflow will make or break your business. You can have insane revenue.. but if you don't have cash in the bank to pay your bills "SEE YA!" A cashflow forecast is a template that uses assumptive predictions to show you exactly when you are going to run out of cash. You can also use this model to determine whether or not you can afford a new debt. If you need a new truck, throw that cost in there. It'll tell you without emotion whether or not you can afford it, or if it's going to break you. I can't imagine the new truck is "Needed" when you can visually see your bank will be negative. This is arguably the most important tool we can have in such a cash flow necessity type of business. Here is a snap shot for reference.. This is a P&L side by side with a cashflow statement (This is exactly what we use at Handys & Champion Service Partners) If you're not in my consulting group and you want a template of this AND a 30 min session on exactly how to use it comment CASHFLOW ($249) and I'll jump on and build it with you!