Frequently Asked Questions

Please use this link to complete and submit your franchise application.

HomeTask is associated with Yellow Van Handyman as a lead source provider for service for each of the Yellow Van Handyman locations. HomeTask.com is the source for consumers seeking trustworthy service providers to have access to all residential and commercial services nationwide.

Numerous other services are available at HomeTask.

Mainly because you really love working with your hands, helping people with stuff they don't know how to do and of course because there is a huge and growing need for this sort of business everywhere! Lots of dual-income and/or aging homeowners that have less time for home maintenance.

You may also be done with corporate America and have a sense of adventure to work for yourself in a successful and profitable business.

Being a Franchise Partner with Yellow Van Handyman gives you the independence of running your own business while providing you with support and decreasing the risk of being on your own.

You’re also up and running faster. When you buy a Yellow Van Handyman franchise, you buy an existing business model, systems, branding, credibility. You will also open your business with answers to that age-old question of "what do I do to make money?"

Yellow Van Handyman is the leader in the franchise industry in the use of technology to automate business system for franchisees. We don't simply say we are the best, we have other franchisors coming to us asking us how to do what we have done!

You also want to be part of the biggest and fastest growing service organization in the world. Yellow Van Handyman affiliation with HomeTask will continue to help Yellow Van and will add additional service brands and locations in the future. Each of these brands will share customers and information. All of these leads will increase profitability to your bottom line!

You just need to know the basics. We’ve taken advantage of technology to make life easy for you! If you’ve poked around this website, you’ve seen how much we’ve automated many of the processes.

For Franchise Partners, our web-based technology makes communication, bookkeeping, and day-to-day operations much easier. Our on-line system is simple, and if you’re not an avid computer user, you will do just fine.

The success of our company and brand comes in part from the quality of the people we invite to be Franchise Partners.

If you’re not passionate about great service and you don’t get excited about fixing other people’s problems and seeing the joy on their faces when they know you’ve handled a service item for them, then Yellow Van Handyman is definitely not the right place for you.

If you sleep better at night knowing you got to fix something that day then you are the right person for Yellow Van Handyman!

Franchises are available throughout the United States & Canada.

We have multiple options for purchasing a franchise.

Option #1: For as little as $4,999 (after discounts), you can purchase a franchise and be up and running earning a great income using just a few hours per day. The basic franchise also requires you to lease or provide an approved service vehicle and the necessary tools.

Option #2: You can purchase a turnkey franchise which includes an approved service van, uniforms, training and more! Turnkey franchises start at $24,999.

The full initial franchise fee is only $7999. Discounts* are available for US Military Veterans, First Responders & Licensed Clergy.
*Veterans must have an honorable discharge status and be able to provide DD214. First Responders must have been active as a First Responder within the last 60 months. Clergy must provide certified documentation from an approved Christian ministry.

THE SHORT ANSWER: Have you ever seen a duck gliding across a smooth pond? You are the duck, we are his feet!


THE LONG ANSWER: Here is a list of items that are typical activities for your franchise support center:

Scheduling: The Support Center (TSC) schedules appointments with new members and creates their member profiles on your behalf. We also maintain your online calendar at your request.

Estimates: The TSC manages the estimates request process as well as scheduling consultations as needed. These efforts help in ensuring to the best of our ability combined with your talent that the estimates turn into paid appointments and recurring members.

Order Fulfillment: The TSC processes all orders for clothing items and printed materials expediently. We will then ship the orders directly to you or another designated recipient.

Public Relations: The TSC writes and publicizes Press Releases and/or can assist you with local public relations activities in an effort to increase awareness of your business in your local region.

Appointment Confirmations: The TSC places appointment confirmation calls or emails to members with an appointment on your calendar to ensure members are ready for your visit.

Handwritten Note Cards: The TSC sends handwritten note cards to your members when a project is complete, thanking them for their business and helping you to create a relationship with that member.

Marketing Campaigns: The TSC works on local, regional & national marketing campaigns and can provide assistance with your local outreach efforts.

Personalized Marketing Pieces: The TSC creates personalized marketing materials for your business.

National Client Accounts: The TSC works to build and maintain national client account relationships to increase your bottom line.

Compliance Management: In addition to enforcing brand consistency, the TSC records all licensing, bonding, contractual, and insurance documentation. The support team tracks expiration dates for all compliance related items and sends notification to regarding upcoming renewals.

Training Coordination: The TSC coordinates and facilitates various training programs locally and via web-delivered audio and video clips. Including, but not limited to, Initial Franchise Training, Development Agent Training, Advanced FP Training, and Continued Education Sessions. Some of the topics covered in training are marketing, geo-farming, business development, revenue management and member retention.

Profile Management: The TSC creates and updates the profiles and publicly posts stories socially about you. The team works to develop and share content including professional photos, quality written biographies and up-to-date customer feedback.

Community Outreach Development: The TSC can assist you in finding, coordinating and promoting community outreach events for public service.

Assistance with Home/Trade Show Coordination: The TSC researches local Trade/Home/Garden shows at your request and assists you with event coordination.

Research Parts or Supplies: The TSC locates parts or supplies that you may need for a project. If you don’t have the time to find it or if you’re not sitting in front of a computer, just ask!

Full Time Call Center: The TSC has a full service call center that answers incoming calls from potential customers, existing members and franchise leads. During off hours, call center provides a professional voicemail service to capture caller’s information.

Work Orders: The TSC can create work orders / appointments per your request and can also finalize them over the phone with you.

Payment Collection: Sending invoices, verifying payment information, making collection calls to members and following up with National Accounts are some of things the TSC does to help you collect payments in a timely manner.

Franchise Lead Generation: Generating and responding to new franchise leads by specially trained team members. The best way to boost your business is to increase the number of service vans in the area!

One on One Coaching: You will be assigned a coach to work with you one on one during the launch of your business. Weekly calls to provide business consultation individualized to your specific needs.

Personalized Email Accounts: The TSC provides each Franchise Partner with their own branded email account and professional email signature template.

Local Phone Number for your Members: The TSC has set up unique phone numbers that are local to your community but will ring at the TSC. This means your members won’t have to dial long distance but still take advantage of the centralized member care and support.

News Tickers: The TSC keeps you updated by posting the latest news and developments to our News Ticker section of the private extranet.

Business Reporting Tools: The TSC website houses extensive tools and databases to provide you with a clear outlook on your business. Financial reporting, complete appointment history, franchise to franchise comparisons in your area and much more.

Development Group Meetings (DGM): We strongly encourage our Franchise Partners to meet with other partners in their area to share stories, advice, and goals of their business. We have built a system for you to be able to participate in local DGM's.

Member Complaint Resolution: Sometimes there is a dispute or complaint from a member, and the TSC staff are trained to communicate between you and the member to find a mutually beneficial resolution.

Each week, you are responsible to pay an amount equal to your recommended initial 2-hour visit rate. So, if your initial visit rate is set at $149.99 then that is all you pay for Back Office Fees weekly.

Imagine trying to hire help to give you the support we provide for only a meager portion of your income!

You also have the option to invest in some additional services to market your business and to enhance our support system.

Working with us to get your business open is easy because we have thought and planned through all the obstacles already!

We work synergistically with you to make sure every necessary box gets checked!

To get started, first introduce yourself to us. You will begin to hear from us, mainly through email, and you will be encouraged to think through your goals and to complete a goal survey.

After that, we will begin a more formal process of getting to know you to see if Yellow Van Handyman is perfect for you!

We love this question because it hits at the core of why you want to make this change. Anyone can make money at a job but making money at your own business sounds like a true adventure! So, how much can you make? The truth is that it is really up to you! We have a proven and well-defined path for ensuring your success but the level of success is going to be determined mostly by your willingness to follow that path. The sky is the limit and we are here to help you achieve your dreams.

Depending upon your region, our recommended rates vary from $50/hour to $200/hour. We have all the tools, tips, tricks and training required for you to launch out of the gate successfully.

And, remember, not very many people can make their way around a tool bag like you can! Your value is growing every day.

If you are married to or best friends with a handyman then this still could work for you but Yellow Van Handyman is designed for the handyman at heart. We encourage ladies to also join YVH but without the skills around the tools and the experience in repairing things, it is just not a good fit for you.

We have an ambassador program at Yellow Van Handyman for you to sponsor and help others get started in the business but we discourage people from adding handyman employees other than those that will ride with and work with them directly. We do allow Franchise Partners to add additional service vans with employee handymen and women but the primary path for the business is to support skilled handyman to make a bunch of money while doing what they love and to do it all in a very professional way that makes us all proud!

We like to call them "members." We have a proprietary member relationship process. During the initial months in the business, we have a well-defined launch process and you are also assigned a coach to assist you in jump starting your operations and income. Long term, if you follow our system, you will be flooded with work to do!

We do not limit where our Franchise Partners offer their services. Franchise Partners can recruit and service customers anywhere.

Our web system requires that we select a central postal code for each franchise. You will also have the option of picking a working radius up to *10 miles around the central postal code. In most cases, this will enable you to serve thousands of homes!

WHY DO WE ESTABLISH OPEN TERRITORIES:
1) If an owner develops a relationship with a multi-property owner or commercial customer, we do not want to limit their ability to serve this customer regardless of the location.

2) If an owner does not have the skill set to complete a job, this method allows them to invite other Franchise Partners into the project to help. If we restricted the boundaries of work then we would force our own team to sub-contract work to another company or turn down a project because of availability or skill set.

3) Because the service business is mobile and social, we need to allow flexibility for the business to thrive and grow regardless of boundaries.

*Some regions require a smaller radius due to geography or household density. This does not limit the area where you can work but simply limits the distance where customers will find particular franchises when searching for service.

Think of it this way. We are building a collaborative team. If we construct the process with hardened and defined lines between the service providers then when you need help or if you want to help someone else, you are not able to as a result of the territories. Additionally, if you build a relationship with a landlord, you will want to be able to service all of their properties and not force them to call another service provider simply because some of their properties happen to be outside your turf? Trust us, it is a win-win!

Sure! It is mainly about attitude! If you love helping people, have a great attitude, and sleep better at night knowing you made a difference that day and enjoy working with your hands; then the training to do most of the work you will be asked to do is fairly easy. BTW - you need to love tools too! We work with lots of cool tools!

We have had people pay cash from savings, borrow money from friends or family, take out equity on their home or property, sell stocks or other investments, get loans through a local bank or leverage their retirement assets as collateral on a loan. Ask us for recommendations for your situation so we can introduce you to the appropriate suppliers that may be able to assist you with financing your business start up. Bottom line is that we have made the entry so small that the price should not be a barrier to opening your own business.

Yes, believe it or not, we turn down more of these than we accept. There is a huge opportunity for us to take advantage of many of these national accounts once we grow to where we have a presence in most of the major markets. Until then, we will just pick and choose which ones fit our business model the best and provide the most flexibility, shortest lead time to pay, and the most work that aligns with our skills.

Initial franchise training is included in your franchise fee as well as the follow-up training and, depending upon your location, the training is usually administered locally so you do not need to travel.

Yes, we encourage you to make a healthy transition from your current income as you replace it with income from your business. The time of year that you start may also impact your initial results. Just remember that if you don't jump in with both feet, you will always struggle to get what you really want out of the business. We strongly recommend that you document your 1-year and 3-year goals with the help of your coach right away.

Not many but there are some and we strongly encourage more to join!

It depends on how much you want to work, how closely you follow our launch campaign suggestions, your openness with your coach, and how closely you follow our business operation systems. Because we can't determine your profit (after expense income), we are not able to tell you how long it is going to take to pay back your start-up fees.

That said, we have kept the start up costs as low as possible primarily so you can hone your focus on future growth rather than pay back significant start-up fees.

It depends on the vehicle. We have approved a number of different cargo van models and we have officially approved the use of pick-up trucks with a work canopy. You may also use other vehicles for custom graphics wrapping for local advertising based on our specifications.

Yes and yes. But with some criteria. If you want to use your pickup truck as your primary service vehicle, then we require you to install a work type canopy that does not have windows. The canopy along with the truck must be painted and have the graphics installed according to the standard Yellow Van Handyman service vehicle criteria (same as a van). We also allow a pickup truck without the canopy for use as a secondary vehicle only. Additionally, we also allow an open or enclosed trailer to be used in addition to an approved primary service vehicle. If you choose to use an open or enclosed trailer or an open box pick-up truck, then these must be branded according to our specifications.

It depends. Check out our web site and do a search for someone in your region. We are growing quickly so if we are not there yet, we probably will be soon. What are you waiting for? Be a pioneer for your community? Everyone needs a great service professional!

We manage all of the advertising campaigns including the design and messaging. We make these campaigns available to you and in some cases implement them ourselves to test them out for specific reasons in a particular market. We also pay close attention to what is happening on the Internet and take advantage of advertising and public relation opportunities.

Surprisingly, not a lot of advertising is necessary for this business. We rely heavily on relationships to drive business. It is important to build lasting relationships with members.

When you initially open, we teach a variety of growth strategies, and we encourage you to use these same avenues when you want to quickly and significantly boost your business in the future.

The initial fee of $7,999 (before discounts) includes:

- Franchise license
- LaunchCAMP Training
- 12-Week LaunchCAMP Coaching
- World-class business management software
- Web-scheduling system and much more!

If you purchase the Turn Key franchise package (starting at $24,999*) we also add the following to this list:

- Branded service vehicle ready for work*

Note: Advertising, marketing materials, clothing, and gear are not included in the initial franchise fee.

*Turn Key package fee for Franchise Partners in Canada is adjusted for currency. New Franchise Partner is responsible for paying appropriate registration, taxes, transportation and other fees of new service van.

In most cities, a business license is required to operate a home-based business. These licenses are very easy and inexpensive to obtain and we will assist you every step of the way. For Yellow Van Handyman, contractor or handyman licenses are required in many regions but we have experience with those requirements and will help you work through them. The requirements for these licenses vary greatly by region from a simple fee paid with an application to experience and/or education. Again, we will assist you and putting all this together.

What we are doing is not possible for a small operation. We have the best minds in the world working on developing marketing, business process, and technology solutions to enable you to operate your business in a successful way. We provide all of your back-office resources including live administrative staff for you and your members (customers) to leverage all day, every day!

We officially started in the handyman industry in 1998. It wasn't until 2002 that our founder, Jerrod Sessler, solidified the vision for a collaborative multi-brand service concept. In 2004 we licensed our first franchise!

If you are in an English speaking country, we have territories for you! Jump in, the water is the perfect temperature for a service based business today. Many people have no clue how you are able to do what you do with a tool bag and some cordless tools so you are in high demand!

We are big on training! We are in the people business. Therefore, we are most interested in growing people. Growing people results in successful business operations.

The majority of our educational opportunities are optional, but some such as the initial franchise training (called: LaunchCAMP) is required. Beyond that, we have an advanced training series that you will do after you have been in business for a while. We also have on-line training, assistance from the coach that we assign to you and training at regional, national and international events.

You can expect to do a wide variety of projects. You can control the size and scope of the work that you do, however. There is always another Yellow Van Handyman around that can help you or a sub-contractor that you can bring in. Most of our projects are small. A typical project will be from 2 hours to 2 days in duration. It could be patching drywall, replacing a sink, fixing a leak, hanging some artwork, assembly furniture or even hanging holiday decorations!

Franchising is a method of distributing products or services which involve two groups. The franchisor creates the trademark and the business system. The franchisee (we call them Franchise Partners) enjoys the benefits of the already established brand, business, and system!

Hopefully these didn't answer all your questions! We want to build a relationship with you and jointly determine if this is a good fit for you. We are excited to get to know you. If you would like to email the franchise team directly, here is the email address to use: franchise@hometask.com