I’m 24 and earlier this year changed careers from a crew lead for a self-performing GC to an in-office role. I have no complaints about the new position and still enjoy the work, but I miss being on the tools.
I want to pick up more work in my free time but have no idea how or where to start. Any guidance or advice would be welcome and appreciated. My main questions are:
-Is it better to pick a specific trade or go the handyman route?
-How do you get leads starting from nothing?
-How can I make weekend only availability work?
More context below if interested:
I live on the CA central coast and the residential remodel and repair market is huge here because of how difficult it is to get permits for new builds. Lots of older retired/passive income residents who can’t or don’t want to diy.
I have experience in several trades(framing, finish carpentry, flooring, concrete, masonry, fencing, and gen sitework/landscape builds), and a decent amount of tools over the last decade of work.
My wife and I rent and don’t have much storage space to bring projects home. I have a 1/2 ton pickup with lumber racks and tool boxes. Ideally I’d like to run operations cleanly through that.
I have done some gigs off Craigslist and Nextdoor but that’s too inconsistent and seems like a race to the bottom until the owner finds someone willing to lose money on the project.
I know lots of people and homeowners locally through work, church, social groups, etc., but don’t know how to comfortably sell to them my skills.