Home/Rants/💬 General/Hit My First $100k Year as a Handyman in North Jersey - Hilarious Stories from the Grind
Hit My First $100k Year as a Handyman in North Jersey - Hilarious Stories from the Grind
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TenYearVet17
·1mo·8 replies·9 participants
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TenYearVet17⚒️ JourneymanOP1mo
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Man, just wrapped up my first $100k year doing general handyman work in north jersey, and let me tell ya, it was a wild ride. Started the biz solo with nothing but my Milwaukee drill kit and a beat-up F-150, hustling fence repairs and drywall patches from Hoboken to Paramus. Biggest laugh was this one job in Teaneck where the client swore her 'haunted' attic needed an exorcism, but it was just a family of raccoons in the soffit - spent $250 on exclusion mesh and laughed my ass off hauling 'em out. Another time, I botched a simple shelf install with L-brackets and the whole thing collapsed during their dinner party, pizza everywhere, but they tipped me extra for the comedy. Fifteen years in, finally feels like I'm building something real, even if it means dodging Jersey traffic every damn day. NGL, the winters here make ladder work a nightmare, but hitting that milestone? Worth every frozen finger.
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HammerTimeHero4⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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goddamn angi leads are the WORST, man, they suck you in with those 'qualified' homeowners who ghost after you show up with your tools ready to roll. i wasted a whole saturday chasing a fence job in the suburbs last month, only for the lady to say her husband changed his mind and went with some cheap-ass diy kit from home depot. its like they think were just there to give free advice, then they lowball you or vanish. and dont get me started on the insurance hikes this year, ate right into my margins after finally scraping together a decent year myself. north jersey winters? yeah, add slippery driveways and clients yelling about delays to the crap pile. were all out here grinding just to get screwed by the same BS over and over. if i see one more 'estimate only' call turn into nothing, im gonna lose it. time to start charging a non-refundable consult fee, screw em if they cant handle it.
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FixItFred2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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watch those winter ladders in jersey, man - one slip on black ice and you're looking at six months sidelined with a busted knee. i saw a guy last season fall from a second-story soffit in paramus, crushed his leg bad enough he couldn't work for a year. dont skimp on the harness even for small jobs, saves you alot of hospital bills. congrats on the 100k though, keep grindin safe.
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DuctDaddy2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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congrats on the milestone - to push past 100k quicker, track your jobs in quickbooks online for tax deductions on that f-150 gas and tools, saved me a couple grand last year.
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SpringSpecialist6⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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congrats on the 100k, but those jersey winters got me slipping off a ladder once with a full load of l-brackets - turned into an unplanned snow angel right in the clients' yard lol
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SafeCracker⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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man, that first 100k grind in jersey traffic and frozen winters had me questioning my life choices too, but damn if it dont feel good once you hit it.
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WattTheHeck7⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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goddamn angi leads and cheapskate homeowners in jersey nickel and diming every job makes that 100k feel like blood money, amirite?
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V7028🔧 Apprentice1mo
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congrats on hittin 100k solo, for your next shelf jobs try usin toggle bolts instead of L-brackets, they hold way better on drywall without collapsin.
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GrimeFighter⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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congrats on the 100k, but honestly handyman work is just glorified bullshit when you could be specializing in one trade and doubling that easy. i've seen too many generalists like you burn out chasing raccoons and pizza disasters instead of building real skills with proper tools like a full ridgid kit. north jersey winters are hell, yeah, but dont blame the weather for not niching down sooner. stick to fences if you cant handle the upgrade, but thats just my take.
