Create a Home Services Marketplace: The Startup Guide

Imagine there’s a leak at your home that you cannot fix by yourself. Your first response would be to call a local plumber or Google one. The plumber visits your home and fixes the problem. However, there’s no guarantee that the problem will not reoccur. Somewhere, you will always doubt the quality of the work.

The same is the case with the majority of the consumers. Despite hiring certified professionals, the uncertainty about the long-term efficacy of the fix always remains. To fix this problem, many consumers have started to rely on home service marketplaces like Handy, Thumbtack, or TaskRabbit. The primary reason behind the consumers’ trust in these marketplaces is that their service is backed by a brand reputation. These brands resonate with quality and professionalism with a centralized platform to help you in case of any problems.

Adding on to the success of service marketplaces, there’s a large pool of servicemen expanding their services by registering on home service marketplace platforms. In terms of figures, there are 73.3 million freelance service providers in the US alone. Both these facts; the increasing trust of consumers and upsurging demand from service providers, make launching a home service marketplace a lucrative business venture.

In this blog, we have done a complete breakdown of important factors that you need to focus on while building your home services marketplace.

What are Home Services?

Home services refer to blue-collar jobs that can be provided to customers in their home environment. These can be both one-time jobs, such as quick fixes and repair services, (for example, plumbing, electrician, and HVAC), or recurrent jobs (such as house cleaning, lawn care, and babysitting). Home services are always in demand because of consumer preference for convenience. The primary market for home services includes both middle class and high-class families, especially in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. However, as people’s consumable income grows, Tier 3 cities also hold the potential for launching a home service business.

What is a Home Services Marketplace?

The primary concept of a home services marketplace originated in the early years of Web 2.0, when all major industries were undergoing a digital transformation and online business models were springing up. While some businesses were digital counterparts of offline business ideas, others were quite innovative and gained immense popularity because of being the first movers. One of those business models was the home service marketplace model.

To materialize this business model, founders needed a website where both customers and service providers could sign up. Service providers would simply create their profiles and customers hired them on a per-job, gig, or task basis. An alternative to this was to let customers upload tasks and service providers placed their bids. The marketplace owner only modulated safe payments and managed the portal.

List of Home Services Marketplaces

Let’s understand with the help of a few examples:

• Airtasker: With over 1 million users and 2.5 million completed tasks, Airtasker is a leading home service marketplace that follows the bidding system. It was launched in the year 2012 by Tim Fung and Jonathan Lui and enabled users to outsource everyday tasks. On the Airtasker marketplace, customers can select from hundreds of listed services including handyman, home repair, gardener, cleaner, electrician, beautician, and more.
• Thumbtack: Thumbtack is another popular home services marketplace launched in 2008. It was launched as a local directory to help people find nearby helpers and handyman professionals. Over time, Thumbtack expanded operations and is now available in several regions across North America. It has also raised funding in numerous rounds from global investors and was able to generate up to $2 billion in revenue for registered home service providers in 2021.
• Angi: Angi is one of the oldest home services platforms, dating back to 1995. Previously, it was known as Anngie’s list. Angi lets independent service providers and even contractors register themselves on its platform. After registration, Angi also certifies them. Customers can view the different services that they provide and hire service providers directly through the platform.
• Handy: Launched in the year 2012, Handy allows all types of service providers to register on its platform. Instead of letting service providers mention independent services, Handy lists its own services that customers can browse. Once customers book a service, Handy assigns them a service provider who visits the customer to complete the job.
• TaskRabbit: A well-renowned name in the home services industry, TaskRabbit lists different projects on its platform. Users browse those projects and select the one that is the most relevant to their requirements. The service provider visits the customer and delivers the project.

How a Home Services Marketplace Works?

A home services marketplace has three main user types, which are the admin, customer, and service provider. These user types interact with each other to get the job done. For conducting smooth operations, the marketplace can accommodate multiple workflows, some of which are listed below. 
Note: The following workflows are only for exemplary purposes. The actual workflows can vary depending on your business preferences and the capabilities of your selected home services marketplace software.

Workflow Model 1: Direct Hiring

1. Multiple service providers register themselves on the marketplace
2. Customers enter their location or ZIP code and browse service provider profiles
3. They hire the service provider as per task requirements and complete the payment on the marketplace
4. The payment is stored in the service provider’s eWallet
5. The service provider visits the customer and completes the task
6. Once the service provider reaches a minimum withdrawal limit in eWallet, they can withdraw their earnings to their bank account

Workflow Model 2: Job Posting

1. Multiple service providers register themselves on the marketplace
2. Customers visit the marketplace and upload jobs, mentioning all key requirements and options such as date and location
3. Service providers browse these jobs and send proposals inclusive of a bidding amount
4. Customers view their proposals and select a service provider
5. They directly submit the payment on the marketplace
6. The service provider visits the customer and completes the task
7. Once the service provider reaches a minimum withdrawal limit in eWallet, they can withdraw their earnings to their bank account

Steps to Create a Home Services Marketplace

While launching a new business, the founder needs to pay attention to a lot of factors such as market research, business planning, licensing, budgeting, marketing, and launch. While launching an online business, another factor adds to the list, which is the software technology. The common dilemma is developing a marketplace from scratch by hiring a web developer or using a readymade solution. In this section, let us clear the dilemma for you.

Step 1: Do Market Research

Do your initial market research including the demographic profile of the targeted region, competitor analysis, SWOT, PESTLE, and the number of available service providers. You will realize which are the most demanded services in your region and whether your business idea would be viable.

Step 2: Select your Business Structure

There are two popular types of business structures, which are LLC and sole proprietorship. In an LLC (Limited Liability Company), your personal assets are separated from the company’s assets. Thus, any losses and commitments cannot be recovered from your personal assets. In a sole proprietorship, you become the sole owner of the company but are also liable to pay any damages.

Step 3: Select a Software Technology

There are two ways to power your marketplace business, which are by using readymade software or via custom development. To understand which makes more sense, let’s take a look at the features we require. Below is the list of the most essential features required on a home services marketplace but is not limited to:

• User management
• Task management
• Order management
• Service provider verification
• eWallet management
• Earnings withdrawal settings
• Job posting
• Bidding
• Payment gateways
• Advanced deposits
• Order cancellation
• Refunds management
• User registration
• Live chat
• Social media integration

While these features represent a single operation, every single one of them includes more settings and options, making the entire design infrastructure highly complex. On top of that, the developer may reuse a code but charge you the full development price. As it is obvious that custom development is more time-consuming, cost-inclusive and you may get a solution that is not tried and tested, opting for a ready-made solution is more reliable.

Why a Readymade Home Services Software?

To begin with, the software has already been tried and tested multiple times by numerous business owners. Thus, you know you are getting something reliable to begin with. Additionally, it has been developed after thorough market research and would be able to assist you with daily business operations. As everything is available out of the box, you can easily deploy the software and reduce the overall time-to-market (TTM). Because of continuously improved documentation, onboarding will also be stress-free.

Conclusion

There’s no fixed formula to ensure a successful startup. However, one thing that stays constant is resolution. While the software tech and well-defined business model will simplify launching and operating a home services business, you will also need to work on your marketing strategy and management skills. It is better to mount your efforts towards learning digital marketing and utilize social media platforms to ensure steady growth. The in-built marketing features of your home services software will assist you in increasing your customer base. Lastly, focus on the quality of services provided to establish a name.