A few years back, I started my own service truck but went out half cocked. To do it again, I'd make sure to get my ducks lined up FIRST. That means a biz plan, getting the right truck for the job, etc... The biggest thing to me would be making sure you had enough insurance for yourself (What happens when I get injured?....) and for property. I was working on a hydra hammer one brisk (14 degrees F) Central Oregon morning when the tank on my compressor blew apart, taking out all the glass in the mini excavator next to my truck and sending shards of wood out in all directions. I had just steped off my truck right before it happened and the concussion knocked me forward. What if I was stand next to it?. Thats when I realized that I needed to step back and reaccess the plan. My former employer came to me a couple weeks after that happened and begged me to come back and run his shop. I jumped at the chance and vowed if I ever started up again, It would be done correctly.
The other pain is when a customer or two writes a rubber check. Even if they make good on it, it can set a chain reaction (Now I get late with the parts people and I cant put fuel in the truck. The last thing you wanna do is get sideways with the parts guys, cuz they can make or break you). Fortunatly my mother is a book keeper, so that helped. It pays to have a good CPA and a lawyer. The bill is worth it compaired to the headaches without them. You need to be out there turning wrenches not balancing your books.
Once you get your name out there and do good work, your phone will be blowing up. And don't worry about charging alot per hour. If you go out there and get the job done right the first time, they will gladly pay the bill, even if your charging $135 per hour. A former employer told me he makes more money if all I do is sit in an EZ chair sipping lemonade all day, then if I have to come out and fix a broken down paver with 6 or more trucks out in front of it charging $65 an hour each and a crew standing around getting paid $45 each (not that he was really willing to let me sit around all day drinking lemonade).
