Roll call! Meet & introduce yourself to other Service-based Skilled Trade pros
If you’ve ever thought, “How are other businesses like mine handling this?” you’re in the right place! This space is for Service-Based Skilled Trades pros to connect, compare notes, and talk shop with others who understand the day-to-day realities of running your type of business. 👋 Introduce Yourself Drop a comment and tell us: Your name Business name Industry Years in business Location (City/State/Province) Let us know if you’re joining us for LIVE networking on March 17 (more details below) The more context you share, the better connections you’ll make. 🙌 Pro tip: Search your city or state in the forum to easily find other pros in your area. 📅 Want to connect LIVE? We’re running a pilot to host virtual weekly LIVE Industry Networking starting on March 17, running until April 7. If you’d be interested in joining for the first or following sessions (don’t need to commit to all but you're welcome to join!), make sure to let us know in the comments. 🤝 Culture of this space Think of this forum board like a room full of peers who understand your world. Share what’s working. Ask real questions. Talk through challenges. The goal is to power your success and raise the standard of home service industries together. 💬 Looking for conversation starters? This space works best when conversations are industry-specific and experience-based. You might jump in with something like: “How are other [your industry] pros pricing this service right now?” “Is anyone else seeing this shift in their market?” “What’s been working for you when it comes to ____?” 🤔 Why are industries grouped together? We’ve intentionally clustered similar industries to keep conversations active and relevant. These groupings reflect shared business models, operational challenges, and pricing conversations so you can learn from peers who “get it,” even if they’re not in your exact trade. If your question applies to all home service businesses, feel free to post in our broader forum boards. Pro tip: Check out the industry tags to get even more specific Looking forward to seeing this space come to life. 🚀
How do I start a tire shop with limited funds and no supplier contacts?
Hello I’m Devin and I have been working for myself for over three years doing handyman, pressure washing, tree cutting. Pretty much anything outdoors that need to be done and just burnt out and tired of doing it always wanted to start a new and used tire shop doing oil changes as well. Little minor things like brakes and windshield wipers and bolt lightbulbs for headlights I finally bought two brand new machines tire changer and balancer got most of the tools that I need lacking just a few things but having a hard time with funds, of course, and trying to find some way of being visible in the community I’ve tried Facebook and other social media apps haven’t had much luck hardest thing for me is to fork out so much money for used tires at one time and not having the help of knowing who to contact for getting new tires so any insight would be wonderful thank you in advance
UAS services
For those not familiar with the acronym "UAS", it stands for Unmanned Areial Systems, otherwise known as drone platforms. These systems and the services that they can provide are still so new that most grant offerings don't even have a category for them. However, UAS services are diverse and make activities such as roof inspections, land surveys and real estate property imaging, just to name a few, much more efficient and time and cost effective. Imaging, across the entire spectrum of light is a huge industry and the applications for airborne platforms, from model drones (less than 249 gms) to high orbit satellites are truly endless. This is the area the uasaviator.com wants to explore, providing services to individuals and small businesses in an effort to bring these technologies, with all of their advantages, to rural communities. We are interested in hearing from others that are either attempting to create a niche for themselves and from those who are already involved. uasaviator.com - Fly with purpose!
Small Property Damage Restoration Company Needing Some Serious Guidance!!!
Hello Everyone, my name is Jonathan and i own a small property damage restoration company in Live Oak, FL. We service a big radius including Gainesville, Ocala, The Villages and much more. Right now its just me as I've been in the industry for 18 years i work better myself but as i get more jobs on each end of my radius of service i will need to hire someone and get a van and get them helping me with these jobs. What's hard right now is i started this business a year an a half ago with nothing, no capital, no loan, just starting a job collecting a deposit and then collecting the rest at the end, and if you know the restoration industry then you know these companies don't survive off of word of mouth. many people will say word of mouth is best but if you think about it, when your home floods normally you call your insurance company or you go to google to hurry and find a company to come out and normally the top 3 companies will be the ones getting picked. So i will need SEO Marketing so that my google business page and website pop up first on google and its very very expensive I've seen 5000-8000 to get started and 2000-3000 monthly to keep you at the top and it does work I've seen it!! but as a company that literally survives off each job and doesn't get that many jobs monthly to begin with its very very hard to get up there with these big companies!!! What really bums me out is after 18 years and working with many many different companies i have a plan to implement all the good traits about these companies I've worked for to create the ultimate restoration company that is there for the community and help the customers and not my pockets like these other companies do!! Basically i need help with funding, i am currently working on my business credit i have many tradelines right now to help me build it cause my personal credit is not good enough to get a loan or any kind of funding! Does anyone know how to get Grants, Funding, Loan, Anything to help me with some working capital??👉 “Turning My Logistics Vision Into Reality – Lyric Logistics LLC”
Hi everyone, I’m Flo, the owner of Lyric Logistics LLC. I’m currently in the process of launching my transportation business focused on reliable box truck freight services for small and mid-sized businesses. One recent win I’m proud of is completing my grant applications and building out my business foundation, including my services, branding, and operations plan. It’s been a big step toward turning my vision into something real. I’m excited to be part of this community and learn from others while growing my business. Looking forward to connecting!The first "NO" - How to handle customers who say your prices are too high when starting out?
After months of planning and calculating, I've finally launched my skid steer business. I've got most of my hourly rates set for the services and felt like they were pretty competitive but reasonable. Then the first opportunity to bid a job comes. Tell them the rate with a four hour minimum and small mobilization fee (that way I make sure it's worth the trip). There's the small pause and then the "Well, I haven't really looked around at prices for this type of work but I was really trying to stay around this much" Odd feeling getting told no for the first time. A little deflating but more potential on the horizon. How did you guys handle the early stages of people essentially saying your prices are too high?
Starting an appliance repair business.
Hey everyone, I’m new here and excited to be part of the community! I’m currently taking a course to better understand appliance repair, including how to troubleshoot, disassemble, and repair various appliances. My goal is to gradually ease into the field and build confidence as I learn more hands-on. I’m reaching out to see if any experienced business owners here have advice or insights on starting up an appliance repair business. What were some key steps you took when starting out? Are there any resources or tips you’d recommend for someone just beginning their journey? I’d also love to hear your thoughts on some specific topics: What tools and equipment were essential when you first started? Are there any you couldn’t have worked without? How did you go about building trust with your first few customers? What’s been the best way to market your services early on? What were the biggest challenges you faced in the beginning? How did you overcome them? How do you handle customer relations and ensure repeat business? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and any advice you can share!
