I cannot imagine a larger “small” handyman business not being slammed with business these days, so the general economic. environment is on your side. Sounds like referrals will be a great client funnel for you, and carry the most weight. I’d make sure to have a google business profile, then get clients to review you, while telling them you appreciate referrals (the stickiest kind of customer) and like working with people who value good work, like they do. It simultaneously flatters the customers, then creates an incentive to send people your way—people like to say they recommended a good thing/restaurant/store etc (kind of a halo effect) Chances are if they’re not a pain in the ass and are willing to spend, their social group is similar.

Source: me. I have a client based business and this is a very effective strategy for me.

“We’re not a good professional fit for this and I wish you the best of luck with your project”. No reply needed if he tries to rebut via text. If it’s a phone call simply say you’re not a good professional fit ad nauseum (learned this from someone who had to fire people as part of his job—hr gave him this non-rebuttable answer)