Handyman or General Contractor
A handyman is a skilled tradesperson with a diverse set of skills which revolve around the maintenance and improvement of a building, home, or other structure. They are not required to carry any license or insurance outside of perhaps a business license in the city in which they do business. A handyman is limited in work to projects valued at less than $500 including materials and labor.
A general contractor is a state licensed (B) individual or corporation that can legally enter into construction contracts with homeowners, building owners, or subcontractors in excess of $500. A general contractor can self perform all trades as long as framing is involved in the project with some limitations particularly around hazardous material remediation. A general contractor is required to maintain a bond with the state licensing board in the amount of $25,000. If a general contractor has any employees they are required to maintain a workman's compensation insurance policy. There are many additional powers and obligations but this is the basic information to understand what a general contractor is.
In addition to the general license there are specialty licenses (C). There are a ton but the ones you will be most familiar with are electricians (C-10), plumbers (C-36), tile setters (C-54), etc. These licenses allow someone to perform only that specific trade and have all the bonding and insurance requirements of the general license.
Given the above information it is evident that the handyman is particularly limited in the scope of work that can be legally performed. Some handymen will work under the license of a general contractor but for the most part they are extremely limited. The dollar limitation for handymen hasn’t changed since I got my license in 2004 and is extremely outdated. Without a license, it is impossible for a handyman to get insurance and exposes clients to unnecessary increased risk in both liability and work performance.
The current reality is that due to overhead, regulatory requirements, and good economic conditions for construction there are very few contractors who are willing to take smaller projects. I hope this information makes your choice easier.