# Thoughts on starting home pc repair side business?



## Ddraig

I was wondering what your thoughts are on starting up a side business. 

This is pretty much just an idea in my head at the moment but here are the basics.

Hours: I would be working after regular hours from about 5 - 7 or so weeknights, and saturdays on weekends. Those are my tentative hours. 

Advertising: I'm not really that outgoing of a person so I think advertising might be a psychological barrier for me. Are there things I can do to over come this, and also any suggestions on free or extreme low cost advertising?

Work area: I'd be working out of my house are there any issues with this? 

Things I should know: I was wondering for those of you out there that do this is there any suggestions or tips you can give me, pros or cons, is it worth while, etc.?

Thanks,
Dd.


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## Jelly Bean

Hello and welcome.

On the point of advertising there are many ways to do this.
I hand out cards to friends and family.I go to local free community centers and put notices on there boards.I have friends and family who post notices at there work places.

Some local supermarkets will allow you to post a notice to.

There are local news papers you can take a small add out in.

Even a Facebook page setting it as public may help.

I live in the UK and I know local housing do not allow us to work from home unless we get permission so I would look into this unless you own your own home.A permit maybe required.

Working from home will save you money as you would not have to pay rental on a shop,you would have to check on insurance premiums for running a buisness from home.

I think you need to look into running a small buisness from home and rules and regualtions depending on what country and area you live.

I am sure others can input on this thread for you.

JB.


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## Ddraig

Thanks JB,

I live in Virginia, in the States (Wish I was in the UK right now could use a vacation and visit my family). Where I live they do not require a permit for a business and I'm pretty sure I can run one out of my house so I'm good with that.


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## Jelly Bean

Were do your family live in the UK?

Just asking as I am a little nosey.



Your welcome.

Well I am not sure of rules in the states I am sure someone can input on that one for you.

You will have to find a supplier for hardware as shopping online at such places as Newegg will cost you more.

I find storage of spare parts hard to store at my home as I am only living in a two up two down home.

Is there anyhting in the states that would fund you as in a one off payment to help you start your own buisness?

This would help in paying for a certain amount of parts and software you may need.

JB.


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## Ddraig

My family lives in Wales mostly, Cardiff, and the Beacons area. 

I've not really given much thought to storing hardware, or anything. I figured that I would order the equipment as needed from wherever. I generally have used tigerdirect.com in the past but I think that having a more wholesale resource might be a bit better.

This is primarily going to be a secondary source of income. During the day I work IT for local government. So this will be a side business, and I doubt it would ever become full time.


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## Jelly Bean

Ahhh Cardiff is an hour way from were I live.

Yes I would consider finding a good wholesaler for parts.

As a secondary source of income I certainly would not order a large amount of hardware.


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## joferder

I don't know a whole lot about running a business out of my own home but as far as a simple (and free) way to do some advertising is to post on craigslist. I actually found a computer tech person on there and they fixed my pc's issue pretty quick. It may just be something to look into.....just a thought.


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## guyvii

Hi, 
I have a side business in California. You need a business licence to work in your city. I guess you said you do not need a permit to work form your home (make sure it is not zoned for non-business). 

Get a business bank account to keep all your money seperate. Then you can write off your business expences like your cell phone and internet and other things you need for your busness. 

You will need spare parts to swap out during your troubleshooting. You will also need diagotic software. The better stuff you have, the faster your toubleshooting. Remember, time is money and if you spend 4 hours troubleshooting a problem, you are wasting not your employers time but yours (welcome to the world of "you are the boss"). 

The small business is a great tax break while you build it up. It also makes you not feel so bad charging a small fee for doing work for people that would normally bothering you for free.

Good luck friend


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## Ddraig

Thanks for the information very helpful. I had thought about separating it out but wasn't sure if there was any benefits to doing it that way or not. Would you recommend setting it up as an LLC or just going with a sole proprietorship?

guyvii how did you start your business? Is this something you do in addition to a 9-5 job? Also what kinds of diagnostic software do you use?


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## bruceleejr

Me and my brother also have been thinking of starting our own business . We ALWAYS and i mean ALWAYS get calls from family friends, friends of friends ... people at work .. everywhere .. when they find out that we work on PC's , they always ask " okay how much u charge " im like " lmao its fine , no charge " and thats happened like millions of times~!! i coulda been a trillionaire ahahhahaha jk

but anyway , this old lady yesterday was like " geeksquad charges 100 $ just to come to my house " in an old lady squeaky voice and i was like " DANG~!! " and then she found out we do PCs on our own and she took out her book and shes like " okay how much do you charge~? " in an old squeaky voice again lol

i was like " me n my bro will go check it out on sunday " " ooohh thank you sweety you guys should start your ownbusinessandthenyouguysshoulsadakl;sjd ndnv nvsjk.... " and then she started talking fast and throwing out all these ideas and i was at work ...

and im like DANG IM MOTIVATED TO DO THIS~!! lol


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## Wrench97

Sole proprietorship is easier and cheaper to start, get the business license, and set up Vista/MC/Discover with your bank, most people don't have/want to spend cash any longer and it's better then taking checks. Unless your selling a lot of items Newegg or Mwave offer the best pricing Tiger can be a pain with returns and substitutions for out of stock items, CDW and others offer discount levels depending on how much you spend with them.


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## Novatech

Those are some very priceless ideas you guys shared. Thanx so much to every one that responded. I logged on here looking to find ideas and ask the same question about starting a successful computer repair business. Here is what I typed out on notepad to ask you guys before reading Ddraig's post:
I've been trying to start a Computer Repair Business, I've done some paperwork, distributed some ads around, but I can't seem to have clients. Can someone please give me ideas on how to go about getting customers so I can use my skills, please. Very appreciated.
Thanks Ddraig for starting the post, and thanks to all you kindhearted friends for the reply. Let's keep this going pls. Thanks again. I currently work for Dell Inc. as a Technical Support Professional, I have lots of skills to be successful with my own business (technically), but don't know how to go about turning them into income. Thanks again.


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## Wrench97

Small Business's less then 15-20 machines is good target market, biggest thing they want is fast, reliable, cost effective service. Once you get 1 or 2 and provide good service word of mouth will get you more.


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## perryny

If you really want to grow your customer base quickly, it's all about REFERRALS!

Land your first couple of customers by making sure EVERYONE you know knows that you're open for business and looking for customers to support during the off-hours. Take it seriously and go at it full force. Get 100 quality business cards printed (vistaprint is cheap, easy and makes a quality product) and give them to everyone you can. Don't post them on bulletin boards or leave them on the bus. Hand two or three of them to each of your friends, family, co-workers (assuming it won't get you into trouble with your 9-5), your neighbors, your mailman, etc., etc.

Let them know about your Computer Support Business (you're starting a business - give it a name) and if they know anyone that can use some computer help, would they mind passing your card along?

EVERYONE has computer problems at some point and they almost never know who to call. Make sure your business card gets to them and they will know exactly who to call.

Then comes the most important part. After you do a fantastic job for your first couple of customers, make sure to leave them four or five of your cards. Then make them an offer that if they would be so kind to refer you to one of their friends that might need some help, you'll be glad to give your customer an hour of free service if the referral becomes a paying customer.

Assuming you've done a good job for your customer, you'll be amazed at how fast the calls from new business will start rolling in.

The key is to take this seriously. You're starting a business... not a hobby. If you take a half-hearted attempt at making it work, you'll find you'll get far less than half-hearted results. And that always results in giving up on your dreams.

If you're serious about this, then get serious about it and make sure everyone knows that you're the best Computer Consultant in town and that your open for business.

Good luck.
-Rob


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## bruceleejr

perryny said:


> If you really want to grow your customer base quickly, it's all about REFERRALS!
> 
> Land your first couple of customers by making sure EVERYONE you know knows that you're open for business and looking for customers to support during the off-hours. Take it seriously and go at it full force. Get 100 quality business cards printed (vistaprint is cheap, easy and makes a quality product) and give them to everyone you can. Don't post them on bulletin boards or leave them on the bus. Hand two or three of them to each of your friends, family, co-workers (assuming it won't get you into trouble with your 9-5), your neighbors, your mailman, etc., etc.
> 
> Let them know about your Computer Support Business (you're starting a business - give it a name) and if they know anyone that can use some computer help, would they mind passing your card along?
> 
> EVERYONE has computer problems at some point and they almost never know who to call. Make sure your business card gets to them and they will know exactly who to call.
> 
> Then comes the most important part. After you do a fantastic job for your first couple of customers, make sure to leave them four or five of your cards. Then make them an offer that if they would be so kind to refer you to one of their friends that might need some help, you'll be glad to give your customer an hour of free service if the referral becomes a paying customer.
> 
> Assuming you've done a good job for your customer, you'll be amazed at how fast the calls from new business will start rolling in.
> 
> The key is to take this seriously. You're starting a business... not a hobby. If you take a half-hearted attempt at making it work, you'll find you'll get far less than half-hearted results. And that always results in giving up on your dreams.
> 
> If you're serious about this, then get serious about it and make sure everyone knows that you're the best Computer Consultant in town and that your open for business.
> 
> Good luck.
> -Rob


man that was pure inspiration right there , i just did a backflip off my seat:spinning::jackson:


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## perryny

Thanks. I really hope you guys make a go of it. As long as you have the tech skills to do a good job, there's no reason why you can't make some serious bank doing Independent Consulting.

Having a professional image is very important. Most people don't want the "kid next door" who happens to be pretty good with computers tinkering with their systems.

They'd LOVE however to have a Professional Computer Consultant in the neighborhood.

Once you've gotten in the door, you'll be able to win them over with your skills and professionalism. But to first get in the door, they're going to have to form an opinion of you by the marketing materials you present them with.

In this case, we're talking about your business card. If you've already come up with a name for yourself, go the extra mile and have a solid logo designed by a professional. I highly recommend logonerds dot com. They can deliver a great logo for less than fifty bucks. It's well worth the investment and it will make your business card that much more effective.


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## ebackhus

The most important thing: Don't try to turn a hobby into a job. Make sure you know what you're doing first and have what you need to do it.


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## Old Rich

I agree with perryny . . Referrals are about 75% of my business


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## bruceleejr

This is a good thread full of valuable info~!! Me and my bro are seriously thinking about starting a Business , and im bringing all this to the table~!!


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## Blade_Jones

I started doing my freelance comp repair biz about 10 months ago. I get about 1 job per month from customer who did an Internet search for "computer + repair + [my city name]". I'm #1 on google and yahoo. I think most people look in the yellow pages; Unfortunately Verizon completely BOTCHED my listing and NEVER listed me. So I've gotta wait another year! Yes I've had a referral and 2 repeat customers. I sent out 250 post cards and probably broke even from doing that. I used zillow.com to find street addresses in my area. 

I say save $$ and print up your OWN post cards and laminate them using laminate sheets from Staples or Office Depot. 

Also incorporating is a waste of money (especially in California where it costs about $1,200 a year in taxes, statement of information doc fees, Turbo Tax, etc, etc). I say the only thing that could make you liable for a large sum of money is being accused of losing someone's data, but if you have them agree that you are not responsible for lost data then you are covered. Every computer repair place has customers sign something that says that they are not liable for any lost data and the customer is fully responsible to back up their data. So what does that leave you with? Fry a motherboard? You're still looking at nothing more than a small claims case. No need to incorporate. Email me if you need more info. 

Someone said that it takes 2 - 5 years to establish a computer repair business. I'd be curious to know how many customers some of you get per month and how long you have been doing it for. ???


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## dadof3

I started one in the country, have done may be 20 calls in a year. I didn't get a business license, mainly wanted to see if the business would be viable, and its not. I just do this strictly as a side gig. If you live in a large area you may have better luck. Most persons use best buy or some other big name retailer, they feel they can trust them more(laughable). I worked for best buys geek squad for a while, they are a complete ripoff. I quit very quickly. My advice would keep your day job and do the pc repair as a side gig, and if the business grows to support yourself great.


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## perryny

Sorry you had such a rough go of it Dadof3. You're far from the only one who's had this kind of experience. I'm sure everyone here knows the statistics how 7 out of 10 new businesses fold within the first 3 years.

But your difficulty in getting your business going isn't because computer support is a bad business to be in. And it's probably not because you're a bad computer consultant.

I can't speak for your experience specifically, but I can tell you that most new computer consulting businesses fail because of a lack of any kind of sales and marketing plan and becuase they're following the wrong business model.

I will agree that providing support to home users is a challenging venture to say the least, and I'd NEVER recommend it as a full-time business. But if someone wanted to do it as a supplemental income source, it can be made to work rather easily with the proper marketing efforts. I've done it myself multiple times in the past, and each time I made an effort to establish myself as the local, go-to "Computer Guy", I quickly found myself with far more requests for work than I possibly wanted to handle.

This was in the suburbs of Long Island, NY. Maybe a bit more populated than where some people live, but by no means a bustling metropolis.

People DO NOT prefer or trust Geek Squad more than you. They go to Geek Squad because they know the name... because Geek Squad spends a ton of money to make sure of that. When your neighbor from around the corner asks her next door neighbor if she knows someone who can help her with her computer, there's a good chance she's going to say, "why don't you give those guys at Geek Squad a call?" Regardless of whether she's ever used them herself or not.

Now, what if that neighbor had your business card and had met you personally at some point, knowing that you're a qualified computer consultant who lives around the corner and provides reasonable rates (and you'll most probably be cheaper than Geek Squad). Now if her neighbor asks the same question, "do you know someone who can help me with my computer?", you can be pretty sure that the reply will be, "you know, there's a nice fellow around the corner who fixes computers. I have his card here somewhere. Give me a minute and let me find it for you."

Provide good service for that nice lady and you can be sure that she'll be glad to pass your card on to all of her friends, along with a glowing recommendation.

How do you get your card into people's hands to begin with? Like I said in an earlier post, if you want to be serious about this, then get serious and let EVERYONE you know that you're in business and are THE PLACE to go in the neighborhood for computer support. If you don't know that many people, go park yourself outside your local grocery store next weekend, say hi to everyone who walks by, shake thier hand, hand them your card and say, "I'm dadof3. If you've got any computer problems, I'm qualified, experienced, affordable and I make house calls."

You'll only need a few "hits" to have the opportunity to prove yourself and start getting the referrals you'll need to keep yourself quite busy.

-Robert


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## Ddraig

Thanks for all the great tips guys. I'm sort of at a crossroads here with what to do or where to go with my career but these posts help quite a bit.


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## WiZdoM

Hey everyone this is my first post, I'm glad to have found this site, there is a lot of positive information here.

I also have a tech business in a very rural area.

The best way I have found to supplement the repair/custom build business is by doing web design/advertisement design. 

One of the great things about web development is that you are not constrained by your local area. I have clients from Florida to England that I do web design for.

Check out some freelance sites like elance.com. You can find all kinds of development projects from flash to html and beyond if you have those skills.

My business would never survive in this area if I stuck to repairs/installations and the like only.


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## perryny

Ddraig said:


> Thanks for all the great tips guys. I'm sort of at a crossroads here with what to do or where to go with my career but these posts help quite a bit.


Hey Ddraig,

I might be getting a bit off-topic here, but you started this thread saying you were looking to do some computer repair as a side-gig. I didn't think you were looking to make a career out of it.

The only reason I bring this up is because I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND DOING HOME-USER COMPUTER REPAIR AS A CAREER OR PRIMARY BUSINESS. I honestly don't believe it's possible to make a sustainable, full-time business doing computer repair exclusively for home users. There's not nearly enough stability in the workload, you'll need far too many customers to sustain a full-time salary, there's too many opportunities for unprofitable work, and the systems you'll be forced to work on will not be following any standardized formats, upgrades or security procedures.

I do wholeheartedly and sincerely believe that ANYONE with the basic skill-set to be a network administrator for a small business network can easily be successful as an Independent Computer Consultant. If you have these skills and are looking to make a career change, I definitely think you should consider making a go of it. If you follow the basic model of managed support, where you charge business customers a flat-fee for proactive monitoring and remote support, and charge a supplemental fee for occasional on-site work, I believe you could make a full time salary working far fewer than full time hours.

The principals for getting your small-business clients isn't far off from what I've recommended in earlier posts for getting referrals from home users. I've personally built solid client bases and I've helped friends and colleagues build client bases as well in a short period of time through networking and obtaining referrals.

For someone who's able to maintain a small business network, I don't think a better career exists than to be an Independent Computer Consultant. If you're considering a career change, I think you should consider becoming your own boss. It's incredibly rewarding, provides a level of job security you can't get working for someone else, and the earning potential is limitless.

-Robert


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## Blade_Jones

5 years ago the more expensive computers were $2,000 or more. Now the more expensive computers are around a thousand. More and more consumers would rather just toss their old computer in the trash and buy a new one if they can't fix it themselves. Also the Windows OS is becoming more stable, easier to use, easier to self-fix. So today's "computer repair man" is becoming like the obsolete "tv repairman" of 35 years ago.


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## perryny

I don't know if I can agree with you there Blade_Jones. 

Computers may be a bit cheaper than they once were, but if a home user wants to do more than just email and web surfing, they're still going to need a machine with a decent processor and enough RAM. I price out machines every week for my business clients and the prices aren't that far off from what they were 5 years ago. Monitors have gotten cheaper by far, but the machines themselves stay pretty static.

And as far as the need for support goes... the need for quality, qualified support is as strong as ever. Even if the OS is more reliable (which I'm not sure I agree with there either), there's the need for managing and implementing stronger security, implementing and configuring wireless, syncronizing with new handhelds, implementing remote access, managing updates, combating spyware, malware, viruses, etc., optimizing system performance, managing and monitoring backups, etc., etc.

This thread is kinda moving in two different directions now. Computer repair for the home-user and doing computer support for businesses.

For the home user, there is still a strong need for support. As new technology is developed, there's still a need for someone who knows how to implement and support it.

For the business user, the only thing that's going away is the old model of hourly support. That's being replaced by flat-rate, proactive maintenance and remote support. And fortunately, this model is the BEST and most profitable model for an Independent Computer Consultant to operate under.

I think the Independent Consultant will be able to beat out large MSP's for small business clients as the landscape evolves. He's (or she's) able to provide the same (or better, more personalized) level of support, while charging very competitve rates (less overhead).


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## Ddraig

perryny said:


> Hey Ddraig,
> 
> 
> The only reason I bring this up is because I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND DOING HOME-USER COMPUTER REPAIR AS A CAREER OR PRIMARY BUSINESS.
> -Robert


You're exactly right, this would only be a side gig basically. The issue I'm having career wise is do I stay where I am at now, which would make it necessary to start a side repair business, or find something in the area that pays a bit more. Thus allowing me to not worry about setting up a side business.

At the moment I'm leaning towards the former, I enjoy where I'm working now have a good relationship with my coworkers. So a side gig is something I'm definitely interested in trying out. 

Getting together my ideas so I can kind of sort them out into a business plan. Still haven't quiet figured out exactly how much I would charge for my service etc. but I can figure that bit out later.


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## perryny

I understand you now. If you're evaluating your options and working on a plan for a possible future job change, here's a scenario I think you should think about. Imagine this...

You join a local business networking group and once or twice a week you get up bright and early and go to a networking meeting that takes place before your day-job begins. At these meetings you meet other business owners and professionals who are all there looking to create new relationships with people who offer services that they can refer to their customers.

At these meetings, you'll meet real estate agents, architechts, lawers, accountants, copier serivice agents, office supply distributors, promotional specialists, etc., etc., all who will have their own networks of small business customers who might very likely need affordable computer support.

You introduce yourself as an Independent Computer Consultant who specializes in supporting small business computer networks. You maintain a small client base so that you can ensure outstanding personalized service to each and every one of your loyal customers.

You'll hand out your business cards, you'll set some follow-up one-on-one meetings with some of the group members and you'll discuss your services further. You tell your new business contacts that you offer the following...

You offer a 30-day, no-risk trial of your monitoring services. You put your monitoring software on the customer's server and you can give them an instant report of anything negative that might be occuring - low disk space, failed backups, failed virus updates, hack attempts, processor or memory bottlenecks, etc. You're not fixing these issues (unless they request you to), you're just helping the potential customer see if their network is as healthy as they think it is. Your service also includes instant remote support for any end-user issues (you can decide whether or not to include this with the 30-day trial. I do because although it can be quite time consuming initially, it's a very powerful way to convert the customer.)

Through your business networking group contacts, you should be able to obtain at least a couple of referrals to local businesses rather quickly (you'll need to be dilligent with follow-ups and you'll need to develop some sales techniques, but you're running a business and nothing is automatic. The harder you work, the faster the results.)

Do a solid job of reporting and communicating with your 30-day trial customers and they will convert to your paid service, which should be a flat monthly fee for network monitoring and remote support of the end users. If they need you on-site, you charge an additional hourly rate for that service.

For a business with one healthy server and 10 workstations, you should expect to spend an average of about 15 min. per day doing remote work and another 1.5 hours a week on-site.

I can't tell you what the competitive rates are in your area, but here in NY, a flat-fee of $99 per server and $49 per workstation per month is fair, plus $125/hr for on-site work. So for a single server, 10 workstation client, you're looking at about $1339/mo., while dedicating less than 3 hours a week.

Get yourself 4 clients, and you're looking at a salary of over $65K working around 10 hours a week.

This is the business model I follow, and I highly recommend to anyone I know that has network admin skills.

While you're evaluating your future options, I think you should put this on your list of career possibilities.

-Robert


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## Ddraig

Wow Robert that's a great one... is that what you currently do at the moment? 

I'm sure that I could incorporate something like that. I managed to pick up some consulting work this past week which has given me the boost to really consider starting off a side consulting business. I don't know if I would do it full time or not but I'm just starting and I like to start small and build from there. 

Thank you so much for your help and ideas.


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## perryny

I used to... until I grew my business to the point where I now outsource my client work to independent consultants. 

It really is a perfect model to operate and can be very easy to get off the ground. You just need to be motivated to go out and get those first few clients. It's no more challenging (actually less challenging) than going out looking for a new job.

And so much more rewarding.


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## u4d

WoW Loads of post!

Here's what Id do.....

See how many people are searching the internet for the service you offer.

Use this keyword tool from Google to see how many people are searching for your service in the area you wish to cover.

This will highlight if your venture would benefit from loads of potential custom!

Many thanks and good luck with your new venture.

[[Moderator's Note: Removed advertising link —dm01]]


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## perryny

If you want to know if providing computer support to small businesses is a viable business to build, I don't think a google keyword search is really very necessary.

Show me the small business that relies heavily on their systems that DOESN'T need qualified computer support.


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## Blade_Jones

> I price out machines every week for my business clients and the prices aren't that far off from what they were 5 years ago.


I don't know man... I saw a desktop at OfficeDepot selling for $310. More and more I encounter people with perhaps 4 year old computers and these people aren't even interested in repairing their existing computer for my low low flat price of $120. For about the same cost as my repair they can buy a replacement, or for a couple hundred dollars more they can buy a new computer that is more powerful. I live in a wealthy area and people here are still looking to fix their computers themselves if they can't get it fixed for dirt cheap. I believe that there will come a day when the PC is just one big "field replaceable unit"; It's gradually happening NOW. 

I still offer my repair service but I'm getting into web design. I know there's a lot of competition but at least I can sell my service to people all across the US.


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## perryny

No doubt there's cheap pc's out there. And for the home user with an old, dying machine, replacement is often the better option.

But I support businesses exclusively. Once they get a machine with enough ram, a decent processor, XP/Vista/7 Pro (no home ed.), and MS Office, the price is considerably higer than $300. Then they have to consider the cost of migrating their data, reinstalling any apps and configuring for network communication (drive mappings, printing, etc.) 

I always evaluate what's the more cost effective move - repair or replacement. When I present the options, more often than not, my customers go for the repair.


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## Blade_Jones

You must be smack dab in the middle of a lot of businesses. I got a lot of residential folk around me and few businesses.


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## perryny

Yup. New York City has plenty of small businesses to target.

But there's a positive and negative to every situation.

Competition in NY is rediculous. No new sales prospect is ever a slam-dunk because there are so many service providers to choose from. As soon as I get a potential customer to consider outsourcing from me, it's inevitable that they'll want to compare me to at least 3 other competitors, all who will no doubt have a strong offering. Then I have to go back and fight hard to win the client (This is why personal referrals are so great. They often eliminate the whole "shopping around" process).

This is why rural areas present such a great opportunity to a computer consultant that wants to support businesses. True, there may not be as many potential customers as in a heavily populated metro area, but you also won't have nearly as much competition. If you can establish yourself as the "go-to-guy" who offers a great service at a fair price, you can quickly establish a name and brand recognition along with a reputation that everyone else gets compared to. 

Referrals in a small community can be gold and can get you setup way faster than in a heavily populated and competitive market.

And following my business model of flat-rate, remote monitoring and support (outlined earlier in this thread), it only takes a few clients to make a consistent, reliable income.


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## dm01

Whenever I'm asked to do any sort of job involving the physical computer, I back up the customer's data to an external drive. This external drive is then signed out to the customer for the duration of the job. The data is kept (relatively) safe and still usable. Of course I make them sign away any right to file suit, this just looks nice.

Luckily, my business revenue is below the "business" threshold.


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## Blade_Jones

I do the flat-rate model too. For hardware or software based repairs I charge $120, which is 40% less than Geek Squad. Sometimes I get people wanting to cut corners saying "Oh but I just want to do this or that" or "I just want a tune up". I PASS on these jobs because all too often a "tune up" needs much more and then I don't want to have to raise the price on them or have the computer returned when it still has problems. I actually direct them to free instructions on my site for them to do a basic "tune up" (error check, defrag, disk cleanup, check to see that drive isn't getting full, run virus scan). So it's either $120 or they can take a hike to Geek Squad for their $200 flat rate. What are some of your flat rate prices for various jobs?


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## perryny

My flat rates aren't for one-off repairs. I charge my business customers to monitor their networks 24x7 and for unlimited remote support (unlimited number of issues, up to 2 hrs. per incident).

By charging a recurring, monthly rate, my income is set at the begining of the month. I never have to worry about if I'm going to get enough calls this month to make enough billings.

If I've got 4 small clients (10 workstations and 1 server each) and each one is set at about $1300 a month (which is very reasonable and easy to achieve), my salary is set and I just have to keep my customers satisfied (which is also easy when the networks are small and easy to manage remotely).


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## mtalley887

Addressing the home computer purchase. Agreeable, desktop computers are cheaper to buy at a local department stores. But, I've found that after about a year or two they find that that inexpensive computer has become a hugh disappointment and then they are usually a little shy about purchasing another one from a department store. That's when they start looking at system builders or custom computers. I'm not saying from Dell or Gateway but, someone who is local. I've been doing this for years and have been able to build computers for clients that meet their requirements for as little as $100.00 to $200.00 above the cost of store bought computers and have had very satisfied customers, even after five years. Once you educate them on what they will be purchasing from you they totally get it. You don't need to go overboard on them.


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## parttimetechie

This is a great thread.

I also have my own side gig business, and while I don't make a ton of money at it, my name is still getting around. I live in the OC *california* area so that makes it a pretty populated place. The biggest trouble for me is getting my name out there. techwork.wadsley.us is my website, may not be the best, but it gets my point across.

I also pass out flyers to my local neighborhood. Can anyone think of another way to advertise?


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## Blade_Jones

Mailing out postcards is the best bang for your buck, although it was a "break even" venture for me.


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## perryny

Hey Parttimetechie,

Earlier in this thread, I posted the following. It's what worked for me when I was doing neighborhood consulting. Hope it helps. -Robert

Land your first couple of customers by making sure EVERYONE you know knows that you're open for business and looking for customers to support during the off-hours. Take it seriously and go at it full force. Get 100 quality business cards printed (vistaprint is cheap, easy and makes a quality product) and give them to everyone you can. Don't post them on bulletin boards or leave them on the bus. Hand two or three of them to each of your friends, family, co-workers (assuming it won't get you into trouble with your 9-5), your neighbors, your mailman, etc., etc.

Let them know about your Computer Support Business (you're starting a business - give it a name) and if they know anyone that can use some computer help, would they mind passing your card along?

EVERYONE has computer problems at some point and they almost never know who to call. Make sure your business card gets to them and they will know exactly who to call.

Then comes the most important part. After you do a fantastic job for your first couple of customers, make sure to leave them four or five of your cards. Then make them an offer that if they would be so kind to refer you to one of their friends that might need some help, you'll be glad to give your customer an hour of free service if the referral becomes a paying customer.

Assuming you've done a good job for your customer, you'll be amazed at how fast the calls from new business will start rolling in.

The key is to take this seriously. You're starting a business... not a hobby. If you take a half-hearted attempt at making it work, you'll find you'll get far less than half-hearted results. And that always results in giving up on your dreams.

If you're serious about this, then get serious about it and make sure everyone knows that you're the best Computer Consultant in town and that your open for business.​


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## parttimetechie

Ya, thats good advice im just not sure that I could make it full time doing this kind of work.


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## JBENI

Thank for all the answers, I myself live in Houston, TX. I do repairs on the side, I would like to host a web site, do I need any kind of license? I repair computers at home, only part time. Thanks foy your help..


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## Blade_Jones

> I would like to host a web site, do I need any kind of license? I repair computers at home, only part time. Thanks foy your help..


A license to host a website????? Are you serious? I think you mean a license to repair computers? In California you do. We have a board of electronic and appliance repair. They do a background check, charge you $165 and issue a piece of paper. California is real good at taxing it's people for anything and everything. Check your state. They might require a license. Although a lot of computer repair people aren't licensed. Kind of like illegal aliens -- They're here against the law; There's just virtually no effort to deport them.


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## mtalley887

If you are really interested in finding out if running a computer business is worthwhile.. check out these guys at <removed>
Michael


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## willpower101

hey man can you repost that link in a form that the board won't censor it or pm it too me?


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## dm01

The link was removed for a reason.
Please do not spam your website on TSF.
Thank you.


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## mtalley887

I'm sorry if you thought I was spammin a website when I wasn't. I have no association or ownership or any monetary gain from the website I pointed to except knowledge that I felt would be helpful for those questioning what is involved in starting their own computer business which I interrupted was being questioned here in this thread. In fact I thought that this is what this forum is all about, answering questions and helping fellow techs.


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## JasonDill-ETG

I know this was posted a few months ago but would you mind PM'ing me the url you posted? I'm starting a side repair business in my area and i'm doing as much research as I can before I launch. 

Thanks!



mtalley887 said:


> If you are really interested in finding out if running a computer business is worthwhile.. check out these guys at <removed>
> Michael


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## parttimetechie

I wouldn't mind having that address as well.


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## perryny

Just do a google search for "computer consultant" or "computer consulting". You'll find several sites that will provide you with info on getting started.


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## InnovativeSI

This is a really great thread! Glad I found it. Lots of useful info in here Perry. 

Brian.


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## bruceleejr

I'm glad to see this thread is still alive. Me & my bro have started the business mentioned earlier in this thread by me. Business is thriving


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## parttimetechie

Thats great, where are you located? Ill come work for you


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## perryny

bruceleejr said:


> I'm glad to see this thread is still alive. Me & my bro have started the business mentioned earlier in this thread by me. Business is thriving


That's really fantastic, BruceLeeJr! I've seen a lot of guys say they wanted to give it a go, but not so many who actually go ahead and give it a real shot.

I'm glad you did! Awesome!

-Rob


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## goldmercury

Ddraig,

just wondering how your venture is getting on, it was last year when you first posted this thread.


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## xatsmann

Robert,

Great post--what software do you recommend using to monitor a client's system? It looks like there are a lot of choices but they all cost money--any good public domain programs to do this?

Jack


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## mtalley887

What client systems are you looking to monitor? Is this for a hosting business?


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## lfcgeorge

Speaking of Independent Computer Consultants

What company actually doesn't already have a dedicated IT Professional protecting their network/systems, wouldn't it be suicide not to lol and surely they drafted in a IT Pro to set up the company's IT infrastructure (Server/Domain/Workstations) so there's a very good chance that person is still providing support..


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## perryny

Hi Jack,

I use GFI MAX. It's about $13/mo. for each server you monitor. It's an additional $.10 per workstation if you want to monitor those. Monitoring workstations isn't manditory though, and there's no minimum number of nodes you need to monitor through GFI.

GFI MAX is the most affordable monitoring solution I've found, and I continue to be extremely satisfied with their solution.

Hope this helps,
-Robert


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## perryny

lfcgeorge said:


> Speaking of Independent Computer Consultants
> 
> What company actually doesn't already have a dedicated IT Professional protecting their network/systems, wouldn't it be suicide not to lol and surely they drafted in a IT Pro to set up the company's IT infrastructure (Server/Domain/Workstations) so there's a very good chance that person is still providing support..


George,

I meet several prospective new clients every week who:

a) are setting up their system for the first time and need a consultant to advise them and do the work, or...

b) are tired of trying to maintain their systems themselves or are done with having an underqualified employee (such as the guy in accounting that's pretty good with computers) maintain the systems and now want a qualified consultant to come in and do things right, or...

c) no longer feel the expense of a dedicated in-house IT Tech is justified and now want to outsource to a consultant, or...

d) hate their existing consultant and want to find a new one.

There's a neverending supply of opportunity out there. You just need to get out there and meet those small business owners that can use your help.

-Robert


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## lfcgeorge

Yeah your totally right, I work for a company which have around 100 small/medium business contracts to support their entire IT infrastructure. It's finding the small businesses that don't have contracts with another company or what you said in your post, it's definitely catching my interest and is financially rewarding so who knows in the future hopefully the near future I may go down that road

Also as you said in a previous post it's simple to support and monitor a small business setup


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