I was extremely embarrassed, but then this happened...

I'm a single dad with two toddlers that's self employed as a handyman. Work has been very slow, even though I'm advertising on Craiglist, Google Adwords and many other on line sources. Out of desperation, I printed up a 3'x2' sign that said “Handyman” with my phone number, that I planed on holding on the street somewhere. I've had this sign printed up for over three weeks, and kept putting off going out and using it. Desperation finally outweighed my embarrassment and I went out yesterday to a busy retail center. It was the hardest thing for me to grab that sign out of my truck and walk over to the area I was going to work. I stood there for 3 minutes holding this sign as cars drove by, and all I could think was, how I wanted to go crawl back into my truck and go home. I manged to keep myself out there, and it wasn't 5 minutes later that a car drove around the parking lot and came up behind me, honked the horn and asked for a flier. That lifted my spirit a bit, so after talking with this person for a few minutes, I once again held my sign up. Another 5 minutes goes by and a nicely dressed gentlemen in an SUV pulls up and starts asking me questions. He begins to reach into his back pocket and the first thing that came across my mind was...”great, I've only been out here 10 minutes and this guys gonna flash me his badge and tell me to beat it”. Turns out, he was getting a business card out of his wallet. He is a Realtor in the area and his company manages 200+ homes, and they don't have a handyman at the moment. He told me his secretary will be contacting me with work. Over the next 2 hours, I had many people wave, nod their heads, yell encouraging words out there windows and smile as they drove by, along with others circling the lot just to come back and grab a flier from me. By the time I got back into my truck, my spirits were through the roof. I have no doubt that I will get some work from my two hours holding this sign, and can't wait to get back out there on Monday to do it all over again. Only this time, I'll get started earlier.

TLDR version?

Bravo!

Just an random thought, but it might be a good idea to wear a work apron and make yourself look really sharp as an experienced handyman ready and willing to go to work, so there's no mistake in anybody's mind that you're not panhandling.

I'm an older lady, and seeing a man in a work apron, well groomed, would make a difference to me whether I felt comfortable enough to come talk and get a flyer from you, just from glancing at you.

Sounds like whatever you're doing is working!

A good and reliable handyman is in great demand!

Before long you won't have to stand out and hold that sign. Just do a great job for each client. A good and reliable handyman is in great demand!

Think about standing outside a Home Depot or Lowes. a lot of people might have some project they want done that they don't feel confident enough doing it themselves.