# Building for a living



## Super_Dork_42 (Apr 21, 2010)

What advice do those that build professionally have for a rookie builder looking to go into it full time? I am already about to enroll in a class for computer repair and networking, plus I already have a guy I work with interested in having me build him a computer. I have a little bit of a business plan for once I get my CompTIA certification ready but I want advice from those who do it for a living, what would you have done different?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Use ONLY top quality hardware in your builds and be fair.


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## Super_Dork_42 (Apr 21, 2010)

I figured out that even at 1000 bucks profit I will still be on the low end of computer builders available online. I can bill my time, based on conservative calculations, minus say 200 for incidental costs, at about 20 dollars an hour. That's easily twice the paycheck I am getting now on a busy week. For what I will be doing that's not unreasonable, don't you think?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

It is extremely difficult to match online retailers in price if you use good quality parts and very near impossible to match OEM manufacturer's prices. 
They have the advantage of buying in very large quantities. 
A small shop has to rely on good service, support and repeat business to make it profitable.
What are you referring to making $1000 on?


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

most places here charge 40-60 max to put a computer together

1000 profit on a computer,come back to the real world

to get wholesale prices here you had to show you were ordering a min of $15000 per week in components and have a registered tax office business number which are not free


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## Super_Dork_42 (Apr 21, 2010)

dai said:


> most places here charge 40-60 max to put a computer together
> 
> 1000 profit on a computer,come back to the real world
> 
> to get wholesale prices here you had to show you were ordering a min of $15000 per week in components and have a registered tax office business number which are not free


Well, my services will be more than just assembly. It will be if they come to me with a parts list of course. But for the most part people have no idea what they want but know what they want it to do. So for them I'll get a list up first then build it for them. The ones that bring a list will of course get a cheaper computer since I won't spend so much time hunting down a list of parts.


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

You cannot charge a client for the time it takes you to choose components. You are making him pay for you to just give him a quote. 

You should have several, basic, preconfigured setups on file to refer to, and the parts on hand to build them. These would be at various price points and designed such that you may quickly and easily substitute different components if desired. 

Those people who "have no idea what they want" have already looked at Dell's and HP's and have been to BestBuy. There is no way you will compete on price alone, and stay in business.

$50 or so for assembly and configuration is one thing, but any more and you risk your clients ordering/assembling the parts himself and saving your excess labour charges? Remember, he has already taken the time to research his own build, what is stopping him from simply taking the next step?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Super_Dork_42 said:


> Well, my services will be more than just assembly. It will be if they come to me with a parts list of course. But for the most part people have no idea what they want but know what they want it to do. So for them I'll get a list up first then build it for them. The ones that bring a list will of course get a cheaper computer since I won't spend so much time hunting down a list of parts.


Building is a minimal profit service. The good money is in repairs. The bulk of PC users buy OEM and there lies the good repair money.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

forget the PC building and servicing if you are looking to make a living with PC's; I have been in that biz for almost 10 years now and have come to accept its nothing more than an income "helper"

get into NETWORKING thats where the money is / corporate networking & trouble shooting with fast instant service ; show up time!


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

linderman makes a very valid point that is particulary true in larger ares where competition is plentiful. Everyone who gets a paper with some type of certification thinks they can instantly find work but there is a whole lot more to building/servicing PC's than can be learned from the book. 
I make a very good income building/repairing but I'm in a rural area with little to no competent competition.


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## Super_Dork_42 (Apr 21, 2010)

Well there's so little competition that there's a place here called The Computer Store lol


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

I have found when you are dealing with the public consumer they really shop hard; dont spend that much time to completely learn specs to be sure they are pricing apples to apples; instead they learn a few aspects like CPU / Ram / Video card and then begin looking for the cheapest placed to buy a machine with those parts; they know little about motherboard quality / psu quality nor the real worth of a "true" warranty.

small corporate offices on the other hand cant afford to have a full time IT staff but they also cant afford to have their systems down at all. I have a very close friend that fills just such a niche service; I often help him when he needs to set-up a mass amount of PC's but he charges $100.00 per hour during normal business hours and $135.00 per hour for after hour service calls & $150.00 for any sunday calls. He is busier than a one legged man in a kicking contest.

My only regret is that I never turned my attentions towards that end of computers; but at 52 years old I am not about to start that endeavor. LOL

regardless iof what you do make sure you really enjoy the work!


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

linderman said:


> I have found when you are dealing with the public consumer they really shop hard; dont spend that much time to completely learn specs to be sure they are pricing apples to apples; instead they learn a few aspects like CPU / Ram / Video card and then begin looking for the cheapest placed to buy a machine with those parts; they know little about motherboard quality / psu quality nor the real worth of a "true" warranty.


That cracks me up and hits home.:grin:
That was me to a tee when I was looking for my first PC. I had never touch a PC before and had only seen a few in real life.
I purchased and read a "consumers PC guide" book and learned just enough to be dangerous.
Luckily I had a friend who worked in a brick & mortar store and he helped me make some choices and made me some "open box" deals.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

you wont make a lot of money in pc building it is just like setting up your own shop where you sell computer games, you will be lucky to break even.

As Linderman said if you want to make money in the pc world then you need to work in networking but no one walks into a networking job without starting on a help desk or as general IT bod.


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## Super_Dork_42 (Apr 21, 2010)

Wow linderman that sounds like just the thing I need to get into.
I think I might go geek squad for a bit to get job experience before trying to make a go of it on my own. Good idea or not?


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

yes 

it does not matter what we choose to do in life we all start at the bottom and move up with experience


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

I don't know how much valuable training you can get from Geek Squad but it's a place to start.


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## Super_Dork_42 (Apr 21, 2010)

I wouldn't do it for getting trained. More for resume padding. 
I mean even without the class I could probably run geek squad here after maybe a few months. (These people seem like idiots.) However, a year minimum in a computer job would look good on a resume.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

I'm not sure if Geek experience would be a plus on a resume. :smile:


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## Super_Dork_42 (Apr 21, 2010)

Well it looks like I will be switching jobs sooner rather than later. I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses and about every six months we have conventions. They are always on weekends. My boss told me today that since I have had the last three weekends off (little bro graduated, sick, convention) I never get another weekend off again. She actually told me that if I want another weekend off to not ask, not call, not answer her calls, and to never come in again. So in six months I had better have a different job or I'll be unemployed again. 
I think I'll take this as an opportunity. I know some people that work at best buy that could help me get a job there. I do miss the kind of customer interaction you get in retail.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

your boss sounds like a bit of a ****. Even though I don't believe in religion of any kind if I had an employee who had to do these things then I cant stop them.

Have you considered talking to a lawyer (off the record) to see what they say? I have heard of cases like yours where people have left the employment then struck up a civil case of wrongful dismissal and won.

As long as you were not taking every single day off or taking the **** then you could have a case.


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

I don't know the process GS uses for booking time off, but if you book it well in advance, there isn't a lot your boss can do about it. (you do get vacation leave and holidays don't you) 

If, on the other hand you are not giving her any advance notice and no time to assign another to your time slot, she gets short staffed, the entire operation suffers, and she catches it from her boss.


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## clyde123 (Apr 10, 2008)

You want weekends off AND you want to have your own business ????
Doesn't happen on this planet.
Sorry to rain on your parade. 
I've been in this industry for _a very long time_ and as everyone has said, there's no money to be made in just building PCs. Yes if it's a wee extra for a proper customer. 
Even repairs - there's always a friend of a friend who "knows all about computers" who will undercut you. As said above, tech support, for small businesses who understand the value of a professional service, that's the opportunity at the moment.
But again, having your own business is like being a single parent : every minute is demanded by the business, you go to sleep and wake up thinking of what you need to do the next day, you cannot commit to holidays because who's going to take care of your customers if you're 1000 miles away ? Especially when you're trying to build the business you need to be available on the end of a phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every week of every year. 
And that's without even thinking of government rules and the dreaded taxman ......
That's a full time job on its own.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

DITTO!!! ^
You will be a slave any business you own until it's time to retire and then you're to tired to go anywhere. :grin:


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## Super_Dork_42 (Apr 21, 2010)

First off, thanks for the support everyone.
@greenbrucelee, Yeah, that is a pretty good description of her, but legally she is smart. She only gave me the option of quitting, not being dismissed. She has never fired anyone as long as I have worked there. I was laid off for a year because the place wasn't doing good and couldn't afford me right then, but as soon as they were in better shape they hired me back on. Also, this in Kansas, a 'no-fault' state, where a boss can fire someone for 'any reason or no reason' and not get in legal trouble. All she has to say is, "No, that is not why I fired him." Trust me, I have been wrongly fired before, that is how it works here.:upset:
@gcavan and clyde123, The job I have currently is not geek squad or any other computer or electronics-related job. I work for a dinky little restaurant that has a total of nine employees including the two bosses I have, the [female dog] and her husband, the owner. (Seriously sometimes it is like Office Space with the number of bosses and others that talk to me about my every mistake) The even bigger reason I want out of this current job is because over the time I have worked here, I have seen a very clear pattern of racist, sexst, and (if it's even a word) religion-ist behavior from her, all of which is against everything I am. They prefer Chinese Buddhist chicks. They seem to especially hate white, Christian, dudes, like me. After all, I have worked there for four out of the last five years and still do not have cash drawer access while the Chinese Buddhist chick got it in less than a week. Go figure.
So now, since I know a woman in another town that runs a Geek Squad and a guy here that I used to work for that now works for Best Buy, and my brother also works at Best Buy in another city, I am pretty sure I can get a job there pretty easy.


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## Dblanchard1278 (Jun 18, 2009)

Sounds like to me you can do more than nail them for not abiding by employment laws, basicly the discrimination on sex, race, or religion. Look in to the employment laws of your location and see what they say. There are things you can do to put them in thier place but you will be making waves so that is something to be aware of.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

I'm not judging but not knowing your work ethics makes it difficult to assess the problems you experience at your work place. 
Perhaps the employer feels the "Chinese Buddhist chick" is more qualified to operate the cash drawer or perhaps her "people skills" are considered to be better than yours?
I'm not familiar with the rights of food service workers in other states but in IL. they are pretty much nonexistent.


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## Super_Dork_42 (Apr 21, 2010)

Well I taught her everything she knows about being a server. She literally had no previous experience. Add to that the many other examples I have seen over the years and a clear pattern emerges. My work ethic is better than most of their employees.


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## Super_Dork_42 (Apr 21, 2010)

I lost that job so I no longer have to worry about how crappy it was to me. I heard the IT department at the state is looking for people so I'm going to try applying for that. State jobs are awesome from what everyone I know that has one says.


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## UptheIrons (Feb 10, 2011)

Well if were just talking about building computers here, That's what, Pick out a good, cheap build, Order it, put it together and mark it up abit. That's what, like an hour of actual time spent. even less so when you get into the hang of what parts are good for what price points. I mean that's all any other computer company does, only difference is they use bottom bin components and use it as an excuse to load up tons of software on your system before you even get it.

I don't think society allows us to get by that easily.


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