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- Bob Major is a 66-year-old in Glen Rock, New Jersey.He was laid off from his decadelong career in financial services at 59.Unable to find another job, but not ready to retire, he set up his own business as a handyman.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Bob Major. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I knew layoffs were coming, but I still didn't know what to do after my entire team and I were laid off in June 2018. I had been working for decades in a large financial service when our department closed.
Even though I started looking to apply elsewhere immediately —signing up on Facebook or LinkedIn, which I'd never used previously — I wasn't having luck finding work.
Still, I knew that I wasn't ready to retire. I'd seen people retire early and get bored with doing the same thing day in and day out. I watched others become a shadow of who they once were because they didn't know what to do with themselves in retirement. I wanted to keep my mind and body active.
After nearly a year looking for work, I started thinking about opening my own business, something I'd always wanted to do. I thought about what I could do, landing on the idea that I was very handy around the house, doing little jobs. I had a garage full of tools, too. I'd open up a business working as a local handyman.
I started my own business
Courtesy of Bob Major
To start, I applied for a $100 contractor's license (there wasn't a test for this), got liability insurance in case of accidents, and formed an LLC because I didn't want to have personal liability. And then, I was in business by May 2019.
I put up a Facebook ad on a local group's page, and soon after had a call from someone asking me to change their toilet seat. I charged the guy $35. He gave me a rave review, saying I was personable and very polite.
The next day, I started getting calls from other people. They wanted me to hang pictures, shelves, and TVs, to put up mailboxes, and set up trampolines. Calls were streaming in.
Within weeks, I was doing five to six jobs a day, six days a week.
I was charging too little at first
At first, I wasn't coming home with much money in my pockets because I was charging so little. It was a big hurdle I had to get over. Once I searched online for what typical contractors were charging, I raised my prices, and now it's a reasonable rate I get paid.
As much as it's great to get paid well, the job is about more than money. I love getting to interact with and help people.
Often, people will call and say their partner doesn't have a clue about how to do one of the small jobs. Or perhaps they work busy jobs and just don't have the time. That's where I come in.
Having previously worked in a stressful job, commuting up to three hours each day to and from the office in New York City, working as a handyman has been a welcome change — all the jobs are local.
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While there are other handymen around, I think what many lack is customer service. So many customers tell me how appreciative they are that I actually return their calls and how they can't get any other contractors to follow up on quotes or pick up the phone.
I now work 4 days a week
Five years into setting up my business, I decided to scale back. I now work only four days a week.
For now, I don't have a plan for what's next. I'm loving the balance I've hit — being able to relax with my wife, make money, and keep busy.
Setting up a business as someone nearly at retirement age is such a good option. As we age, we become more expendable, because while more experienced, we also cost more than younger workers. We're at the mercy of big companies, and once phased out, it's extremely hard to get a job.
But by setting up your own business, like I did, and being your own boss, there is an alternative to retirement, a way to keep working on your own terms.
