New city, zero clients: how a tradesperson starts over

That’s a normal start after a move, nothing to be embarrassed about. Below is a plan for the first weeks: what to prepare, which jobs to take first, where people lose the most, and where HandyMan24 fits in. To be upfront: we take client jobs across Poland, but outside Warsaw there are fewer of them for now.

What to prepare before the first job

The first two weeks aren’t about earning. They’re about giving the client who eventually finds you a reason to trust you. In a new city you have no reviews, so you’re left with photos and specifics.

• Photos of past work. Go through your phone and pick fifteen or so of the best: a cabinet before and after, a floor laid straight, a replaced tap. Your own work only. A client will spot stock photos from the internet sooner or later.
• Tools for small jobs: a drill driver with two batteries, bits for concrete and brick, a level, a cable detector, plugs for different walls, floor sheeting, a vacuum. Hold off on big purchases until you see what people here actually ask for.
• Knowing the area. Before you take a job on the other side of town, check how long the drive is at rush hour. In a big city the commute can eat half a day. Start with the districts close to you.
• A shop and a builders’ merchant on your route. Find out where to get plugs, silicone or a hinge nearby before you run out halfway through a job.

Old contacts still count. A client from your previous city can write you a few lines of review or recommend you to someone who lives where you’ve moved. Ask. It costs you nothing.

Rather hand the job over? More here: handyman services in Warsaw.

Which jobs to take first

Small jobs you could do in your sleep are the best start. An hour or two, one visit. You won’t get rich on them, but each one brings a new client, a review and another photo for the portfolio.

• putting up shelves, curtain rails, a mirror or a TV;
• flat-pack furniture;
• adjusting doors and windows, swapping a handle;
• fresh silicone in the bathroom, new seals, a tap replacement;
• the small stuff every flat collects: a skirting board coming loose, a squeaky wardrobe door, a dripping sink trap.

There’s another reason. A client who has seen you work once will think of you first when a bigger renovation comes up. Leave full bathroom refits or whole kitchens for later, once you know the city and the suppliers and have a few reviews. Getting a big quote wrong at the start can cost more than a month of small jobs.

With electrics and gas, stay within your qualifications. Without the Polish certificate (SEP) don’t take that work, even if the client pushes.

A step-by-step plan for the first weeks

Say you’ve been in the new city a few days and you’re starting from nothing. A sensible order looks like this:

1. Decide what you do. Two or three things you’re really good at, not a list of twenty services. Clients look for someone specific.
2. Build the portfolio and caption each photo in one sentence: what the job was and what wall or surface it was on.
3. Draw your area: the districts you can reach in reasonable time. In Kraków, getting from Nowa Huta to Bronowice means crossing the whole city.
4. Show up where neighbours look: local residents’ groups online, a notice on the board in the building (with the manager’s permission), a word with the estate administration.
5. Set up a profile on a platform where clients post the job themselves, and pick your city. Skip paid contacts and paid leads on portals at the start: you pay before you even know whether the client will choose you.
6. After every job, take an after photo and ask the client for a review once. One sentence, no pressure.
7. Note where each client came from. After a month you’ll see where it’s worth being visible and where you’re wasting time.

Reviews come slowly, but they add up. In my view, three good reviews in the new city are worth more than thirty from the one you left: the client sees you’re working here, now.

Mistakes that most often wreck a start

The first instinct in a new city is to cut your price. Nobody knows me, so I’ll be the cheapest. That’s a trap.

• Underpricing. The cheapest tradesperson attracts clients looking for the cheapest. Raise your rate to normal later and they’re gone. Check what prices look like in the price list and quote honestly, counting travel, shopping and cleanup.
• Taking everything. Tiling, electrics, plumbing and furniture in a single week. One bad job outside your trade stays in your reviews for a long time.
• Deadlines you can’t meet. Turning up late without warning hurts more in a new city than an old one, because there’s no trust yet to cover it.
• Too wide an area. One hour of work and two hours in traffic is a bad deal.
• Working without photos or anything in writing. In a dispute, all you have left is your word.

Better fewer jobs, each done properly. In a new city every client is also someone who might recommend you.

How it works with HandyMan24 in a new city

HandyMan24 is a platform that connects clients and tradespeople. The client posts a job, tradespeople send offers at their own price, the client chooses. Signing up and sending offers are free. Commission comes off your HandyCoin Account only when a client picks you, and it depends on the size of the job. The client pays you directly for the work, in cash or by card.

You choose your city when you register and see jobs from there. Most jobs right now are in Warsaw and the surrounding area. We take client jobs across Poland. If you’re moving to one of these cities, have a look at its page for tradespeople too:

• Kraków
• Wrocław
• Łódź
• Poznań
• Gdańsk
• Katowice

Honestly: outside Warsaw there are fewer jobs for now, and in a new city nobody knows you yet. So get your profile, photos and qualifications ready straight away, and you can answer the first local job without delay. Nobody here is promising a steady stream of work, so in the first weeks look for clients on your own as well, as in the plan above. Clients you find outside the platform are yours to handle on your own terms.

At first your profile shows you’re new to the platform, and the average rating shows from three reviews. Reviews stay with your account. Without identity verification you can have at most two contracts at once and you don’t see urgent jobs; once verified, you get a commission bonus. Everyone here works for themselves: you choose your business form and do your own paperwork. More on the jobs for professionals page.

Common questions

Pick your city and set up your profile now: register as a tradesperson. As soon as a client near you posts a job, you can send an offer.