So you’ve decided to start a handyman business… While you could simply work under your personal name, if you are planning to grow the business over time, you should instead think of a proper business name that you can operate under.
In this article, I will not only outline a process that will help you come up with a catchy name for your handyman business but also tell you what the first things to do after you decide should be. I’ll even give you dozens of examples you can draw inspiration from – so keep on reading!
5 Steps to Come Up with a Name for Your Handyman Business
When it comes to coming up with a name for a business, there are numerous ways. Some people prefer to hire others to do it for them, others simply pick a name and run with it, and others spend hours or days contemplating the issue.
If you want to come up with a name for your handyman business yourself – and don’t know where to start – you can follow the simple process below.
1. Think About What Your Vision for the Business Is
Since changing a business name once it’s operational and sizeable is not that easy and can be risky, before you proceed any further, I recommend you to spend some time figuring out what the longer-term vision for your handyman business is.
While that’s something you should do regardless, when it comes to choosing a name, it will help you with picking the right words to consider including in your title.
Among other things, try to answer the following questions – and remember, it doesn’t hurt to dream in this phase:
- Do you want to be the only handyman in your company or do you want to get to a point where you can hire other people to do the jobs you get for you?
- Do you want to stay local to your neighborhood or city? Do you want to expand? If so, do you just want to cover your state or go nationwide? Or do you even want to go international one day?
- Do you want to be focused on one type of service (fixing cabinets, hanging high-value art, or whatever that might be) or do you want to offer a broader portfolio of services?
2. Brainstorm a List of Ideas Without Filtering
Now its time to get actually started! Take out a pencil and a piece of paper (or fire up a note-taking app on your phone) and start brainstorming for thirty minutes, one hour, or however long you require.
You can take two approaches here: either brainstorm business names directly or brainstorm words that might be worth including in your business name. In either case, don’t think about it too much. Don’t worry about the quality of your output at this point too much. The goal is to get as many (relevant) ideas out as possible without any filtering – there will be time for that later.
While this is the time to let your imagination go wild, below are some basic types of words that you might consider including in your list:
- Your name: Whether your first name or last name, if you plan to build a brand centered around you, it might be worth including it. Examples: Joe, Smith, etc.
- Service area reference: You should include the name of the area you plan to service in your list. Besides that, you can also include other things like mountains, rivers, national parks, etc. that your area is known for. Examples: Colorado, Yosemite, SoCal, etc.
- Type of service: Whether broad or very specific, you should also brainstorm various words used to describe the type of services you plan to offer. Examples: handyman, doors, kitchen, art hanging, etc.
- General adjectives: Also brainstorm a list of general adjectives that describe qualities of the service you provide – whether it’s speed, quality, or something else. Examples: speedy, quick, hassle-free, turnkey, clean, etc.
One last tip here, if you are not a licensed contractor, avoid using the word “contractor” in your name ideas. While in some states it’s OK, in others it’s not allowed for unlicensed handymen. Also, it will avoid any potential confusion for people who think a contractor equals a licensed contractor.
3. Create a Shortlist of Your Handyman Business Names
The reason I told you not to “filter” your ideas in the step before is because that’s the next step. Simply take your list of ideas and go through the names one by one, choosing the ones you like and scratching out the ones you don’t. If you are not sure, you can also consult your friends or ask on social media for example.
By the end of this exercise, aim to have three to ten solid names – all of them so good you wouldn’t mind using any of them. That’s because you might have to abandon some of the names for a variety of reasons…
4. Check for Domain Availability and Trademarks
Two main reasons why you might have to abandon your desired business name are the unavailability of a web domain and the existence of a trademark. That’s why you will want to check all the names on your shortlist against those two criteria.
When looking for a domain (assuming you are in the United States), I recommend getting either a “.com” or a “.net” one. While the others won’t have a negative effect on your search engine optimization or similar, the two “classic” ones tend to be seen as more trustworthy. Avoid using hyphens or similar in your domain name.
You can check whether your desired domains are available through Dynadot or any other domain and web hosting seller.
As for the trademark – or more generally, other businesses using the same name – you can ask your lawyer for advice. Or, you can simply search for the names on Google and see what pops – or doesn’t pop – up.
5. Make the Final Decision
If you went through the previous step and none of your name ideas were eliminated or you have at least two left, choose the one you like the most. Think about it for some time, discuss it with friends, and so on.
If you were only left with one of the ideas, that’s still good – maybe even better as you won’t have to agonize over choosing the one you like the most.
In either case, congratulations – your handyman business now has a name!
If you were left with zero potential names at the end of the exercise, no worries. Simply go through steps two through four again – and you will eventually find something.
15 Catchy Handyman Business Name Examples
If you are struggling with the brainstorming step, read through the list of some examples of catchy handyman business names for inspiration. While you don’t have to copy any single one of them, the whole group should provide you with some ideas about the words you can use or structures that your handyman business name can have.
- Your Best Home
- Yosemite Handyman
- Smith’s Home Improvement Services
- Home Fixer Joe
- Colorado Home Repair Services
- 5th Avenue Home Repair
- Rent-a-Handyman
- Eagle Handyman
- Fix-a-Cabinet
- San Diego Kitchen Repair Services
- Busy Bees
- Your Perfect House
- Santa Fe Cabineteer
- Hammer and Nails
- Nationwide Handymen Network
5 Things to Do Once You Pick Your Handyman Business Name
One last thing that I want to talk about briefly is the five things that you should do once you decide on your handyman business name (besides actually starting the business, of course):
- Buy the domain: Do this as soon as you finalize your name. After all, you don’t want someone else to snatch the domain while you wait. Once you buy the domain, set up your email address so that you can start communicating with your clients easily.
- Create a logo: If you know how to use Illustrator, you can do it yourself. Ideally, though, hire someone on Upwork or Fiverr for less than $100 so that you can focus on your core business.
- Create a business card or a simple flyer: Once again you can use the platforms mentioned in point #2. Getting your basic marketing materials done will allow you to share them with your friends and family, get them distributed to homes within your service area, and so on. It will help you with getting your first customers.
- Create quote and invoice templates: One of the easiest ways to make your business look more professional and credible is to use custom quote and invoice templates. You can make them easily in Excel or similar. Just find a free template on the Internet and modify it with your logo.
- Create a website: While I don’t think its absolutely critical for a handyman business, if you are planning to expand it beyond just your neighborhood, you should also create a simple website to promote your services and collect leads.
Summary
Just to sum up the process again, start with defining the vision for your handyman business and then brainstorm terms to use in your name and names themselves for a brief period of time. Don’t worry too much about the quality of your ideas at that point.
Then, shortlist those ideas and go through them figuring out whether the domains are available. Go through the ones where domains are available and pick the one you like the most.
If this article helped you with coming up with a business name, feel free to share it in the comments!