When Are You Too Old To work In The Skilled Trades? | THE HANDYMAN BUSINESS |

I’m 71 and have been in the trades since 1971.....50 years. I’ve been self employed as a g.c. For 41 years licensed/bonded/insured and still work full time as a carpenter. I do smaller jobs now....decks/ kitchen-bathroom remodeling. Sometimes it takes a little while for my body to warm up but it always does. I’ll work till I can’t walk. I think it keeps the mind engaged and it keeps me socially engaged. Physically I amaze myself sometimes at my productively. And....if I’m feeling tired sometimes I’ll work 6 hours instead os 8. That’s one of the benefits of being my own boss. Those short days are rare, however. Anyway, self employment is not for the weak. Dave Heitman in Omaha

Im nearly 59, Im up and down ladders all day long most days, my jobs quite physical. I dont have plans to retire any time soon, love what Im doing!

I'm 65yo. 45 years of heavy labor, I'm going to work at Home Depot now, will use my knowledge to help DIY customers

I'll be 78 in Feb 2022. I still operate a handyman Service.

Starting with the elderly isn’t a horrible idea. Instead of paying for advertising you GET paid to help older folks. It actually makes you look like a really caring and thoughtful individual. I unclogged a shower drain of one of my elderly lawn mowing clients and I’ve had no less than 10 different people being it up to me. They all say that she tells them that “I’m amazing and she doesn’t know what she’d do without me”. There’s just no downside to that. (Except the whole making hood money part). But I swear it comes back around.

I'm 61 and still painting full time with almost no age related aches and pains while most of my colleagues have needed shoulder surgery and/or make frequent trips to the chiropractor. I employ 3 simple practices to keep myself able to set up and climb ladders and scaffold on a daily basis. 1) I try to avoid reaching overhead if there's a way. Climbing one rung higher instead of reaching up takes a lot of stress off the shoulder joint. 2) I've had a daily stretching routine since my mid 20's. 3) 2-3 times a week I go to the gym for a full body weight workout. On the job we all tend to use our dominant hand more than the other hand. This makes one side of the body stronger than the other side which can pull the spine out of alignment causing back pain. Lifting in a controlled environment helps keep both sides equal. One thing that has happened in recent years is I've lost some of my nerve about climbing. I used to get a kick out of doing the jobs that nobody else dared to do. Things like church steeples, third floor dormers, setting ladders on steep ground, standing in shoulder deep water to set a ladder against a house that's 3 feet from a lake. Now I leave those jobs for someone younger than me. That house on the lake was framed and sided in the winter when the lake was frozen. The carpenters drove a boom lift onto the ice and worked from there.

I’ve been in the trades for 40 plus years, trained as a carpenter but I’ve done what people need once I became self employed 28 years ago. I have slowed down my work load to where now I only mow lawns and plow driveways. At 63 I care for 56 lawns, I work alone. I get a kick out of watching 4 young men tackle 1 lawn, of course they are probably mowing 125 lawns per week, but I do enjoy being the old man that can still work. I have always viewed the trades as a sport. I am competitive and pushing myself has always been what I do. I have never gone to a gym, I go to work. I wont lie, I’m pretty beat up and don’t move well after dinner, but if the good Lord gives me another day, I will rise to it’s challenges. My only regret is that I wasted 4 years in college drinking and chasing women, it was fun but costly, oh well I don’t do either anymore.

Hold a PhD (piled higher and deeper) and at 52 switched to trades. I love the work, need extra recovery time, but love it. Want to keep doing it as long as I get hired. Crowd sourcing solutions, tool reviews, and ideas makes it exponentially easier. As usual, appreciate you Handyman. Appreciate your insights and honesty.

Work out work out work out. My dad was built like a string bean in his early life but working out while he was a contractor for 35 years is how his body still functions

I switched from handyman to a pooper scooper business. I’m 52 years old. Scooping is super easy and great money if you develop good route density.

im 42 and been in and out of the carpentry trade since 14. i just signed up for trades school to add to my knowledge base and to earn a higher hourly wage and work in a union and guess what? The company hired me on the spot and is paying for my new set of tools and giving me a company truck all while i get 2 days off a week to goto classes. the need is so huge for the trades you can get insane deals like mine. best of luck out there my brothers and sisters. stay safe out there

Best way to keep moving is to not stop. You're only as old as you let yourself get. I'm 38 my dads 68 and works beside me in our 2 man construction business every day.

Never told old for the trades Once you start you never stop. If you do you shall pass. That’s why you don’t stop Always stay moving

just discovered your channel today, lots of great videos and advice! I'm 52 and have worked for 3 years now as a "home repairer" / carpenter's helper. I spent 20 years at a desk job making video games! So I'm an example of "you're never too old". I have never used a power tool beofre the age of 49. Now I'm ripping full sheets of plywood with table saws, skils saws and plunge saws :) - currently workingh as a carpenter building film sets in beautiful rural Nova Scotia, Canada - where the homes are all wood and always in need of repair!

I'm 63 and have done remodeling and flipping houses, but now I only do handyman work. I find small projects pay better and I love the variety. I now pick and chose what projects I want to do.

This guy is the man. I think the biggest hurdle to starting your own business is guts. Starting out, it’s a huge leap of faith into the unknown. Single income earner, wife and two kids with another on the way, stable government job...I have the ability and I know I have the integrity and determination, just struggle with the nerve. In some ways it’s a bullshit excuse but yet still a paramount one in my own mind. I have incredible respect for the Handyman and other men/women like you. You guys are definitely ones to look up to. Really dig the talks, bro.

It’s funny you mention the Amish because I live in Colorado and my neighbor behind me just had the Amish build him a massive (bigger than his own house) garage / shop in the back and they were done in a day in a half and worked through the middle of a massive storm. About the time you put this video up.

I've been in the trades my whole life and are now almost 60. Yes, I notice it gets a bit tougher at times so am trying to create another income that might carry me thru my golden years. Our home is off a state hwy that leads to a local state park, but is also a part of a small community where grocery stores are few and most drive to the city for food. We are going to build an aquaponic farm that will hopefully become a market garden for those nearby as well as passerbys. It might not make me rich but at least I'll always eat.

There is an age some people hit and it's impossible for them to learn a new trade and I think it's because we all become set in our ways including me, I'm 45 and have been welding since I was 16 so now I do things certain ways that may not make sense to a lot but it's the easy way to me. Having said that I am open to suggestions one completing stuff quicker, smarter and safer and I am well aware I do not know everything, in fact some of the 20 something year olds I work with often show me stuff I did know so there's that and my $0.02 on it