You are correct. Also, another factor is that there are many people who know (or could easily learn how) but couldn't be bothered. They would rather pay somebody else to do it.
Since moving into my condo community, there are a lot of retired people who do "handyman" stuff for other owners. I've already had them over a few times to do some odd and ends, such as put shelving up in a closet, install a ceiling fan - all stuff I can do myself but put me in the category of "couldn't be bothered" because I still work full time and so my leisure time is at a premium. When I retire however, I'm "all in" for doing odds and ends for others, including walking their dogs and detailing their cars.
It's a real cottage industry, this handyman kind of stuff. The guy who put up my shelves is nearly 80 years old and he tells me he makes about $500 a week doing these kinds of jobs and they are all in this condo community. Tax free. He doesn't even really need the money either, he does it because he has the free time and likes to stay active. That's me...someday in the future.
Can you say cash?
I will probably do the same thing. I will be that little old man working for all of the old widows. You never know what else might come up.
I knew a guy who was retired from the plumbers union in Mass. He would do jobs in NH for cash. He was as busy as he wanted to be. Plus he was still collecting his pension.
There is a guy in my office who is completely inept at anything mechanical. When he bought his first house in Hollis, NH he called one of the other guys to ask:
“Who do you call to fill up your well?”
We still tease him about that today, ten years later. The next day he called Bill to tell him that he could not get Bill’s cordless drill(that he borrowed)to drill a hole in the wall.
Bill said: “you have it in reverse”
The same guy bought a used commercial mower. He used it several times and then could not get it started. He had the local small engine company come pick it up to fix it.
Wait for it.
It was out of gasoline. It had sat in his front yard for weeks.