Is "Handyman" A Bad Word For Business?

Is calling yourself a “handyman” hurting your business… or helping it?

This is one of the most common questions we hear from contractors and home service business owners.

In this episode, we break down:

The truth behind the “handyman stigma”
Why some contractors avoid the word (and why that can be a mistake)
What customers are actually searching for on Google
How to position yourself as a premium handyman service
Why branding—not the name—is what builds trust

Here’s the reality:
People aren’t searching for “home improvement specialist near me”…

They’re searching for “handyman.”

And if you’re not showing up for that… you’re missing jobs.

🔧 Brought to you by Handyman Marketing Pros

👉Schedule a free, no-pressure strategy call: go.handymanmarketingpros.com

👉Grab the free 3-in-1 Handyman Playbook Bundle: go.handymanmarketingpros.com/playbook-form

👉Connect with us:
💻Website: handymanmarketingpros.com
✉️Email: sales@handymanmarketingpros.com

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:06

Is handyman a bad word for business? Uh that's what we're going to be talking about on this episode. Uh there is a lot of um, there can be a lot of negativity around the word handyman. It's a very common question that we get from um prospective clients on sales calls and the Facebook groups, uh, all that stuff. Um, should I be using the word handyman? Am I gonna be viewed negatively? Is it gonna be bad for my business if I am associated as a handyman business? Kobe, I'm gonna toss it to you, man. As a uh former handyman contracting business owner, you have firsthand experience uh with that in the industry, with clients you worked with. Um, what is your experience? What are your thoughts on is handyman a bad word for business?

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Yeah, so certainly something we we hear all of the time. Um I hear it super often on on our strategy sessions with prospective clients where you know people say, I don't want to be called a handyman, I don't want to identify as a handyman, um, because they they think that they think that people are gonna associate them with you know the chuck in a truck, um, you know, just kind of the the solo fly by night type of type of uh handyman. Um and and so I think people assume that that's gonna degrade trust with potential homeowners. Um we have a lot of evidence that says otherwise um with with all the clients we've served across the country and still do, um that do call themselves handyman um or handymen. Um and and so my in my personal experience when I first started in the industry as as a handyman company, um, you know, I started to I started to find myself, you know, as I was talking to more contractors and other people in the space, um, you know, kind of feeling like people had, you know, those feelings towards the words, those negative feelings, a negative connotation um around the word. So I found myself starting to get away from um from from using that word. Um it was funny, I I I'd I'd find myself after after I stopped identifying as as a handyman when people are like, oh, what do you what do you do? Um I didn't have a good answer for them because handyman is what I was. Um and it's like, oh, I I do home improvements and whatever. And they're like, oh, so you like you know do remodels. I'm like, no, no, I do like smaller stuff. Like, oh so you're a handyman. Like, no, I'll do home improvements. Like it doesn't make a ton of sense. Like you're a handyman. That's what that's what that's what you are. Um, and I know you're gonna talk about this, I'm sure, Jason, but um that's what people are looking for as a as a handyman. When they're searching on Google, they either TV hung up or drywall patch, some of the smaller stuff that the bigger contractors scoff at or don't don't want to do, they don't have the time to do, um which is in in your niche, they're searching handyman near me. That's what they're looking for. Um so why would you why would you not call yourself what you are? Um and I also found that that stigma around the word existed a lot more in the contracting space and in the trades than it did with actual homeowners. Homeowners don't think that. It's it's the salty old carpenters that have been, you know, in the union for 50 years um who kind of think that way and they and they impress that upon you. But but homeowners, they they're looking for a handyman. That's what that's what they're looking for. Um So I'll kind of let you talk about you know why it's potentially important or beneficial to identify as a handyman, like as as far as marketing goes. Um, but I'd say the biggest takeaway is, at least in my experience, that negative stigma that people think exists, it exists in the contracting space, not in the minds of the people that are actually gonna write you a check.

SPEAKER_01 3:52

Yeah, I can definitely see um, you know, just the the messiness of humans of that, like uh, like, oh handyman, they're not a specialist in anything. Like, I'm a licensed general contractor with X number of years in this specific trade, and a handyman thinks he can just do drywall. You know, I've been doing, you know, drywall or whatever the trade is, plumbing, electrical for so many years. Uh so I think that a big part of that is this like pride and protection of like the of that specific trade. Because granted, every trade you can go super deep, right? But as a handyman, where the industry really grew out of is that people wanted someone with a small job that contractors, it was too small for them to come and swap out a few faucets, right? Um, so like it really was spawned from a need, I'm sure, you know, however many years ago, the first handyman, uh, which if you think you're the first handyman, let us know. Um, but the reality is the biggest overall thing that that I look at uh zoomed way out is we want to be the change that we want to see in the world. And so you can be a chuck in the truck and be viewed as that. Or you can show up as a professional with nice lettered, you know, truck, uh, nice uniform, professional uh sales experience, great customer service, great quality product, five-star reviews on Google, professional website. You are not gonna have that stigma because you are you know showing up as a professional. You don't need to look any further than what are all the franchises? Mr. Handyman, handyman connection, ace, handyman services. Do you think these massive corporations uh did all their research and thought, like, oh, well, handyman's a bad word for business, so let's avoid that. Absolutely not. What they saw is that's what it is. If you are a true handyman business, then that's what you are. You're a handyman, and there's nothing wrong with that. And to further emphasize um the argument for if you're a handyman, call yourself a handyman business, not a home repair company or a home improvement company. I do like using home improvement when you're doing lighter renovations, remodels to kind of incorporate that into the consumer mind, that home improvement, um, especially like carpentry, uh, sliding barn doors. It's a good like home improvement, in my opinion, that's directly tied to handyman services. But at the end of the day, people are searching for a handyman. Like you said, uh with your friend that was asking, well, what do you do? Uh, do like home improvements and home repairs, maybe some renovations. Oh, so like a handyman. Well, no, like that's what he thought as a consumer. He's he's thinking a handyman. Um, and the last point I'll make here, and maybe the most important one alongside that that's what people are looking for, is that uh the last numbers that we pulled for strictly searches in Google for handyman near me. This does not include handyman services, handyman, handyman Fresno, California, whatever all the appendages are. Strictly handyman near me was searched 246,000 times across the United States in a single month. So it reinforces that handyman is the keyword. It's what people are searching for. When someone wants a door repaired or a room painted or some drywall patched, they are looking for a handyman more than they're looking for a specific, you know, ceiling fan replacement service. Uh it's very, very rarely searched. People are looking for a handyman at due those tasks. So you should label yourself as what people are actually searching for and associating with you service. The handyman being a bad word for business is absolutely uh false. Uh, you should operate as a professional and you'll be viewed that way.

SPEAKER_00 7:46

Yeah, I think you I think you nailed it. Um the la last thing I'll say is, you know, you're if you're in the handyman industry, whether you call yourself a handyman or not, you're in the industry because you know there's a need for the services you offer, the handyman services that you offer. Um and if you think that that negative stigma exists, that there's you know, it's all it's associated with all the chucking of trucks and um fly by night kind of guys, what do you think is gonna happen when you're the handyman in your area who's not that, who's reliable, um you know, clean, punctual, professional handyman service. It's like you are the guy because people need a handyman. And if you think that the stigma exists because all the other guys are just a chuck and a truck and you don't want to be associated with them, you can call yourself the same thing and not be associated with them because you just set the new standard for what a professional engineer looks like. Um so at the end of the day, I think the most important thing is you're comfortable with, you know, your business name and um you know what it is you do and call yourself. That's that's probably the most important thing. Um I would just encourage you to put some thought into like what you know, why am I actually shying away from from from that term? Is it is it my ego? Is it me trying to you know impress other people? Like, what's the the root cause of why I want to stay with that? Because stay away from that. Because at the end of the day, you know, it's you're you're not making that decision. You you wouldn't be making a prudent decision if you stayed away from the term handyman because you think that it's gonna help you with sales and marketing or brand or anything like that, because it's it's doing the opposite.

SPEAKER_01 9:29

Yeah, great points, sir, man. And I want to emphasize one or expand on one thing you said there, um, which is like being that professional option because in most markets there's not enough. There's an undersupply of professional handyman relative to the high demand. Imagine those, your best clients. Um, they want to pay a premium rate for a premium service. They have a nice home, they have a family, they take care of their parents, whatever the situation is. The home is a sacred place. If your market is crowded with chucks in a truck, which most are, there's a lot of them that are under, you know, getting just charging $30 to $50 an hour, cash or a check, no branding, no nothing. And your best clients, they're not looking for that. They're looking for a professional handyman business that they can feel confident coming into their home, uh, around in this sacred place with kids or whatever, to do the job, do it correctly, uh, be clean, punctual. So there's an opportunity when you embrace being a professional handyman. Uh there's an opportunity to overcome that negative stigma to really shine as uh wow, like I didn't know that that was a thing. Like that's something that I've heard quite a few times from clients of they hear from their clients, like, wow, I didn't know like a professional handyman was really a thing. Like I knew about Ace or Mr. Handyman, but it's so cool that there's a local home service just like a plumber HVAC company, but they're a professional that can help me with all my you know minor home repairs and home improvements.

SPEAKER_00 11:07

Yep, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 11:09

Awesome. So the verdict is that handyman is absolutely not a bad word for business. It is the exact opposite, assuming you are truly a handyman business, where in my opinion, if you know, you know.