Just hit my first year as a handyman, what's next?

I've been doing handyman gigs for a full year now, mostly fixing leaky faucets and hanging shelves around the house, and it's been a wild ride. Been in the Chicago area my whole career, so dealing with these old brick homes means alot of patching up cracked plaster and tightening loose door hinges. Started with just my basic toolkit, but now I'm eyeing a Milwaukee M18 drill for those tougher jobs like installing cabinet hardware. Saw a post on r/handyman about scaling up, and someone in Handyman Nation group mentioned getting licensed for bigger remodels. What's the best way to go from side hustle to full-time without burning out? Any tips on finding steady clients for stuff like drywall repairs or deck fixes?

Goddamn clients in this economy think handyman work should be free, had a guy haggle me down on a simple shelf install and then stiffed me half the bill.

I remember my first year, spent way too much time on lowball jobs like fixing squeaky floors for peanuts. Finally ditched the cheap gigs and focused on repeat clients who actually value the work.

Same here man, that first year grind is brutal but worth it. Hit up local realtors for referral work on minor repairs, it's been a game changer for me.

Insurance companies are jacking up rates on us solo handymen, now it's $2k a year just to cover basic liability on tool hauling and small fixes.