Repair Services

Investment: $350 to $500

Salary: $25,000 to $45,000

Rates: $25/hour

Advertising: Local phone directory, coupon books, bulletin boards, and local and online classified ads.

To Qualify: Knowledge about fixing things and a certification if you are working with anything that needs you to have a license.

Equipment: Cell phone, large car, van or truck, tools

Staff: None needed

Unexpected Expenses: Liability insurance

Description: If you are great at repairs and can fix anything, then this might be a good profession for you. Start a website and create flyers with client testimonials and a list of the services you provide. You may even consider partnering with other repair people who specialize in repairs outside of your expertise and refer services for each other. As soon as you have started to repair things people thought would never work again or provided a repair service at a reasonable cost your business will grow by word of mouth, but until then you will need to make sure that you keep up your marketing efforts. You can choose in home computer repair, electrical repair, windows, screens, electronics, you name it if you can fix it, you can make money fixing it.

Essentials: Repairs are hard work and you may come across an item that is difficult to fix, so make sure that you have a well stocked tool box and web access for researching resources such as repair guides or configurations of the item you are trying to repair. With very little investment, you can start your business pretty quickly and as people will always have things that need fixing, you should find that you are able to get business off the ground in a few months or less, depending on the needs in your area.

To Succeed: The best way to build your business is to start with a few repairs then build it as you get more comfortable. You may eventually want to open a small shop if business out grows your basement. Make sure that you are friendly and keep your rates reasonable, yet competitive and soon you will probably see more work than you will know what to do with, as it is often difficult to find a trustworthy repair person, so your repeat business will likely be very high.