I know I said I was going to take things slow, if you’re up to date, and that idea hasn’t changed.
Nights and weekends. I have a full time job and a family and friends in need and that is plenty of fires burning at once.
Something I have to remind myself of many times a day is that no one’s life is on the line.
I am doing nothing but trying to improve the lives of everyone around me, but I am up against a market that is built on liars, thieves and people who genuinely think they are good for their word.
Until they aren’t.
I get that. I’ve been there. I have also bitten off more than I can chew, and been tossed into the wallowing despair of disappointment and unrest that is feeling as though you have failed someone, but you didn’t admit it. You didn’t ask. You left it to them.
“Waiting for the other boot to drop.”
The really upsetting part of it though? That boot never drops! Most people are too shy or embarrassed to admit when they feel as though a job wasn’t done correctly, or a person has failed them.
People are so harsh on themselves, but when it comes to offering criticism – a blessing in disguise – they fall short.
They feel they need to protect the other party, and build them up, rather than offering the advice the other party so desperately needs.
Do they deserve it, though?
Research is what I do. Project planning and execution is my study. Helping people is my passion.
My friend called me a “fixer” today. Not like the mafia movies, thankfully, but in the way that I am always looking to make my surroundings better.
He knows me better than anyone. He’s been by closest friend since we were tykes.
That, and I’ve said it enough times while relaxing at “the farm” how I need to climb his trees and remove the deadfalls that it isn’t a secret how obsessive I am about “fixing.”
Very long story short, isn’t that the essence of the “handyman?”
1
Merriam Webster
: a person who does odd jobs
2
: one competent in a variety of small skills or inventive or ingenious in repair or maintenance work called also handyperson
My aim right now is to leverage my understanding of marketing and outreach to build skills, network and find people work in the odd-jobs or gig economy. I have all the tools, figuratively and literally.
All I need to do is hit the streets and make contacts. Vet my clients just like I vet my peers. The card doesn’t matter. The website doesn’t matter. The online profile doesn’t matter. “Old School Is The New School.”
In-Person Contact is key. Promises are nice, but figures are better.
Open and honest communication with the intention of benefiting both parties.
Work nearly at-cost to prove oneself, gather clout, educate, and re-define the gig economy for this age. That is what the handy people are up against right now.
That’s enough free-writing for one midnight…
Kyle David Rooyakkers 