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The Lucrative Business Opportunity Everyone is Ignoring
I recently purchased a 120-year old house and while I adore her location and character, she needs a lot of TLC. I’ve spent the last month sending emails and leaving voicemails for every trade in the book: locksmith, electrician, plumber, carpenter, chimney mason, roofer, general contractor, etc. Everyone, at least those who have returned my messages, has told me the same thing — they are swamped with work and they are short-staffed. Some apologetically turned down my work because they’re simply too booked. Those who have been willing to come out to the house to provide an estimate are booking projects months out, some even into the spring of 2022.
It’s becoming a common theme across multiple industries. The pandemic completely screwed with our workforces and supply chains. “Now Hiring” signs are posted everywhere. While job gains in the U.S. have gotten stronger, the challenge for the trades I’m trying to give my money to is the lack of skilled workers. You have to study to become an electrician or plumber, and several decades ago, going to trade school fell out of favor as getting a degree from a 4-year college was pushed as the more desirable choice for graduating high schoolers.
As a result, from what my month of research and conversations with the local tradespeople has made clear to me, we are running out of people who…
