Run your trade
like a pro.
Licensing, pricing, finding work and hiring, explained in plain words for plumbers, electricians, roofers and every trade in between.
Licensing
- Getting a contractor license
- Trade exams
- Rules by state
- Renewals and continuing education
- Permits
- Insurance and bonding
Licensing
- Every state sets its own rules for who may do which work. Guides walk through getting licensed and keeping it current.
- The permits, insurance and bonds that go with a license, with links to the state boards themselves.
Pricing
- How to price a job
- Hourly or flat rate
- Writing an estimate
- Marking up materials
- Raising your rates
- Getting paid on time
Pricing
- What goes into a price: labor, materials, travel, overhead and the profit that keeps the doors open.
- Estimates customers understand, deposits, and getting paid without chasing it.
Finding work
- Your first customers
- Referrals and word of mouth
- A simple website
- Lead sites
- Bidding on bigger jobs
- Working with general contractors
Finding work
- Where steady work comes from: repeat customers, referrals, a website people can find, and the lead sites in between.
- Bidding on bigger jobs and working as a sub for general contractors.
Hiring
- Hiring your first helper
- Apprenticeships
- Employee or contractor
- Paying a crew
- Training on the job
- Keeping good people
Hiring
- When to take on a helper, how apprenticeships work, and the difference between an employee and a contractor.
- Paying a crew, training on the job, and keeping the people you trained.
The business
- Setting up the business
- Bookkeeping basics
- Taxes when you're self-employed
- Contracts and change orders
- Vehicles
- Scheduling and software
The business
- Setting up the company, keeping the books, and the taxes that come with working for yourself.
- Contracts, change orders, vehicles and the software that keeps the schedule straight.
Tools & safety
- Buying tools that last
- Safety rules on the job
- Protecting your back and hearing
- Tool theft
- Keeping a van organized
- Training and certifications
Tools & safety
- Buying tools that earn their keep, and keeping them from walking off the job.
- The safety rules that apply on site, and protecting the body you work with.
Latest guides
One question from the business side of the trade at a time, every fact linked to its source.
The first guides are on their way.Licensing, pricing and finding work come first. Sign up and we'll send each one as it's published.
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Pick what you're working on
Getting licensed, setting a price, finding the next job, hiring a helper. Start with the question in front of you.
Read a plain guide
Written for the person doing the work, in plain words, with every fact linked to where it came from.
Take it to the job
Each guide ends with quick answers you can come back to when the question comes up again.
Made for every trade
If you work on homes for a living, this is for you.
- Plumbers
- Electricians
- HVAC techs
- Roofers
- Painters
- Carpenters
- Handymen
- Landscapers
- Flooring installers
- Pool techs
- Pest control
- Cleaners
- Locksmiths
- Appliance repair
Built for the people who do the work.
Most of what's online about home services is written for the homeowner. This side of it is yours: the business of the trade, from the first license to the first hire.
Every fact sourced
Rules, numbers and quotes link to where they came from, so you can check them yourself.
Plain words
No jargon for its own sake, no padding. What you need to know, and what to do next.
Free to read
No paywall and no account. Just the guides, and an email when a new one is out if you want it.