[hermannj314]

One of the best handyman in my area charges very little. He does a lot of volunteer work in disaster areas (after a flood or hurricane, he will travel and help rebuild communities). He told me he didn't care that much about the money. He wanted to make a modest living and he performed his trade with excellence. He wasn't a pauper, but he also wasn't running a multi-million dollar construction company.

He has a lot of friends and is well loved in his community.

What a chump.

[zoogeny]

This description matched one of my neighbor so closely I wondered if you were talking about him. My neighbor literally chooses to work mostly with elderly folks who are at the point of not being able to manage on their own, completely out of principle. There is enough work that he turns down 3 out of 4 requests and yet he still does these low paying odd jobs for disadvantaged people. He gleefully showed me checks that people wrote him because he thinks it is funny that people still use them instead of online payments. He told me just a couple of days ago that someone gave him a $200 tip after the work he did at their place, because he charges them under what other people quote and shows up on time and gets it done. Same thing with the volunteer work - I helped him dig trenches around an old ladies house after a flood. He does work at her place, stopped by after the flood just to check on her and then called up a bunch of people to help her out, all for free.

He's a very humble guy, almost to a fault. He could easily make a killing if he hired some guys and took on traditional clients but he refuses. It's nice to know there are many people like him out there.

[nasmorn]

As a principle I never give charity to businesses only to actual people.

Maybe as a handyman I could see the good I am doing in people’s lives and that would make me happy. But as a developer I mostly do tasks to make companies more money and thus I feel some of that money is the only relevant compensation.

[pinkmuffinere]

This blanket statement makes me sad, hopefully it’s not what you intended. Businesses are made of people, and many are improving the world by their operation. One of my friends is helping a business that provides insurance to newly-released-prisoners (apparently it’s very hard for them to get insurance). The business makes money, but also improves the world — if you’re in a financial position to help these kinds of businesses, I think it’s great.

[wahnfrieden]

When the business is not owned by the worker, the owner who receives the charity isn't the one doing the operating

[pinkmuffinere]

I’m not trying to help the owner of the business, I’m trying to help the customers the business serves — in this case, people released from prisons. In other cases, potentially could be single parents, medical students, homeless people, somebody who wants to be healthier, etc.

[wahnfrieden]

When the business is owned by the worker, it's the same thing