# What direction should I take my computer business to?



## drbacchoi (Feb 1, 2009)

Good day to all.

I am about to start a business in computers, however I am unsure in what direction I want to take the business in. Let me elaborate.

Firstly, I considered computer sales. I had two main problems with this. One is that a computer is like a ladder. the primary profit you make from selling one is good, but the market for PC repairs is so saturated that very rarely a person might need a new one or part there of, anytime soon. The other is that because I live in Trinidad and Tobago (the Caribbean) all PCs must be imported and major sales will always go to corporate companies who can import and advertise on a large scale.

Secondly, I considered a Cyber Cafe. Now the concept of a steady income from a cyber cafe is good so you can never make a loss. However, the income is relevantly small. For example, let us say that a I own a cafe and I open for 10 hours a day. I have just started the business so I own a maximum of 15 computers. Negating the conditions of location potential customers, lets say that in each hour all computers are filled. therefore a maximum monthly profit can be placed at $5000 USD before subtracting expenses. After expenses( rent, electricity, salary, internet bill), this cuts it down to $2600 USD a month. Taking my situation as it is, where I have a business partner, my share will be $1300 USD a month. This average is taken where a a customer is charged $1.25 USD an hour and the business is run 25 days a month.

Thirdly, I considered software. While I maybe proficient in programming languages, I will need to higher an experienced professional programmer. Also I would need to higher sales representatives. This is actually the most productive idea I have considered. However it is also the most difficult. Yes, software programming and installation does raise large revenue since you are not paying for a product but for more of a skill. However, unless you are an established business, the chances that you may be contracted in my country is slim to none due to its size. All established businesses that can afford software implementation would have already been connected to computer business that were constructed at the beginning of the Information Era and are now well known.

So what do I do?
Do I venture into sales? 
Do I open a cyber cafe? 
OR do I work on implementation?

Let me just lay down what are my credentials:

I have experience in business management.
I have experience in PC repairs and networking.
I am competent in programming languages and can probably write programs for ANYTHING, provided that I have google.com 


But what type of program should I specialize?
What can I offer the economy that can make me recognized?





Let me know what you think.

Thank You.


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## drbacchoi (Feb 1, 2009)

no replies


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## fractalman93 (Feb 22, 2006)

Hello. I have some input for you. Just keep in mind that my advice might only be worth what you paid for it.

I wouldn't start a business selling PC and related equipment unless either you or your business partner are *very* savvy salespeople. In other words, unless you can sell a cup of ice water to a person standing naked in Antarctica during a snow storm, don't bother. With online companies like newegg.com selling prefab PC's as well as all of the parts that you need to build your own quite cheap, a small startup would likely have zero chance of survival. Even in the Caribbean.

An internet cafe might be a good idea. It's not going to be the most profitable business from day 1. You'll need to reinvest your net profits to buy more computers and stock up on spare parts so you can have some things on hand when a PC breaks down. If you have a large enough facility, you should easily be able to expand up to between 40 and 48 PC's. The way I visualize it, you could have 8 PC's per table. Set up a divider going the length of the table down the center and 5 dividers on each side of the table so that each person has a small degree of privacy. So, if you want to expand to 48 PC's, you'd need to have room for 6 of these tables. It wouldn't have to be a huge place. 1200 sq ft (roughly 370 sq meters) would probably do it. As for hourly rates, I'd start with a base rate of $1.50 USD. You can give discounts to people who prepay for larger time slots. For instance, $1.20 per hour for 3 or more hours. And $9 if they prepay for a full 8 hour day. In addition, unless local law prevents it, I'd keep the business open 6 days per week; even if you only open for 5 hours on Saturdays.

Programming? Unless you got a contract with a major firm, work directly for a major firm, or do game design and programming, and are *very* good at it, I'd stay away from that.

I hope this is helpful.


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## drbacchoi (Feb 1, 2009)

Thanks for your feedback. All that you said makes absolute sense.

Can you give me a list of what hardware you think I would need (excluding the PCs themselves), as well as an approx. price of everything?

The reason I asked is because although I know my networking, I wanna make sure I don't miss anything.

Thanks Again.


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## fractalman93 (Feb 22, 2006)

Although I've worked in the IT field for over 13 years, I'm not a senior systems administrator for a mid-sized or large corporation and never have been. So, this is likely a very incomplete list, but it's a start.

What type of service will you have coming into the facility?

1) DSL - Can deliver decent bandwidth, but you have to be fairly close to the Central Office (i.e. one of the phone company's hubs) to achieve the highest bandwidth.

2) Cable - Can deliver excellent bandwidth and is not as dependent on distance. However, the bandwidth is shared with all other cable customers near you.

3) Fiber Optic - Delivers the highest bandwidth, but this option simply isn't available in a lot of areas.

I'm not sure what options are available to businesses in Trinidad. In many cases, they have different options than individuals and the pricing is also different. If you opt for DSL. It will likely be sDSL for businesses and they'll likely assign your company a set of static IP addresses. Probably between 6 and 8. Again, it depends on what the ISP's offer in Trinidad.

With static IP addresses, you can assign each one to a router.

You said that you want to start off with 15 PC's. Thus, you can start off with:

1 4 port router

3 8-port switches (this will provide a total of 21 connections; 24 - 3 router connections)

A patch board or set of patch boards that can handle up to 48 connections

33 ethernet cables: 2 for each PC (switch to patch board and patch board to PC) and 3 from the router to each switch.

. . . . Actually, let me give this more thought and I'll get back to you in the next couple of days. The wiring can be a bit of a challenge and I need time to think about the best way to approach it.


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## drbacchoi (Feb 1, 2009)

kk i'll be waiting.

your the best.


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## Caseyr (Nov 27, 2010)

Not really on your list but I would go into repair and trouble shooting. On the side from time to time I work on peoples personal computers and its surprises me that a lot of people don't even know the first steps to take to get rid of spyware or how to even back up their data. 
And they usually are willing to pay a pretty good price for these basic services.


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## muenzeltech (Nov 28, 2010)

I'd second the repair and troubleshooting especially if you open the cyber cafe. You could choose to do the repair without the cybe cafe [I do without a store front] but this can be difficult. Servicing businesses is where you can make your best money either with contracts or higher hourly fees for Emergency repairs: businesses can lose money where their computers are not up and are willing to pay more than home users for service. Home users are more willing to be fixed sometime versus right now! for a biz. I have started looking into becoming an MSP [managed service provider]. This is involves using software to remotely manage computers [patches, antivirus updates, and quick fixes] and allows you to charge a lower monthly fee to a biz and yet be more responsive to their IT needs. Some of the MSP software suites I have looked at include: Kaseya, LabTech, and N-Able. I am planning on doing a blog/review on them sometime within the next 2 months as I will have used them for a few months at that point.

Whatever way you decide to go, good luck!


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## fractalman93 (Feb 22, 2006)

Actually, it should be 34 ethernet cables. An additional one for connecting the router to a server. Or, if you would prefer to have RJ45 jacks at each terminal, you'd add another 15 cables. The exact structure of the cabling is your call.

I'd also get a separate hardware firewall for additional security. The <a href="http://www.watchguard.com/products/xtm-2/overview.asp">Watchguard XTM 2 Series</a> seems like a good bet. I know companies that have used Watchguard. They make good products.

You can use some of the remaining available switch ports for printers and other peripheral devices.

Definitely get a good security suite. I recommend <a href="http://www.eset.com/business/medium">Eset NOD32 Antivirus</a>. I've used it for years and have been happy with it. NOD32 has a smaller footprint (i.e. takes up less resources) than many other AV products such as Symantec and McAfee. It doesn't hurt to have multiple layers either. I'd install <a href="http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html">Spybot Search and Destroy</a> and <a href="http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware.php">Lavasoft's Ad-Aware</a> on each workstation. These can both detect malware programs that are missed by many AV suites. I'd suggestion just using Spybot Search and Destroy for passive protection via "immunizing" the HOSTS file and diagnosing existing issues. As for Ad-Aware, you can run Ad-Watch Live in parallel with AV software. Just make sure that Ad-Aware's AV engine is unchecked. Otherwise, it will conflict with NOD32 or which ever AV software you decide to use.

I'm probably missing several things, but feel free to ask questions.


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## drbacchoi (Feb 1, 2009)

Lolz...I like you guys replies. Especially the ones on Repair and Troubleshooting. It was something I was considering to incorperate into the cyber cafe. I didnt want to do the repair independently because of a couple factors.

1. Most businesses hire someone that works at the business site that can act as a technician when necessary.

2. Most ppl are computer literate so if they need software they can just google it.

3. THE MOST MAJOR REASON. Due the the lack of piracy laws in the country, there are no laws against downloading and even selling pirated and hacked software. I do not know a single person with a computer that doesn't have limewire and P2Ps XD. 

4. Renting a building solely for repairs would prob. ruin me. 

However, it is still something I will pursue, using the cyber cafe as the main business.

@ fractalman93 can I P.M. you when I'm ready to set up? I might need secondary opinions when i'm putting everything together.


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## fractalman93 (Feb 22, 2006)

Sure. I might not get back to you right away, but I'm happy to help.


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## drbacchoi (Feb 1, 2009)

Bad News..... 
I can't get a loan approved for a cyber cafe.

I thought about it and I decided to do custom built computers. I still need help and advice tho cause I wanted to capitalize on the fact that if I make a website I can actually be the countries first "newegg" or "amazon" even!!!

i know it sounds like i'm rambling. I just had this serious awesome idea to have a site....you know like one of the major computer sites (dell, toshiba etc) where you can custom build a computer to fit your price online and then have it shipped. The good thing is that our country is so small that I can even charge on delivery instead of credit card only.

I was thinking about it and it seems like a plausible idea as I can invite other companies to open shop on the site in a different department. ( like how amazon has it) and just charge them like 5% off of whatever they sold.

BUT THINKING OF THE PRESENT...........

Implementation would be low....since I would really only have to pay for advertising, i do not need a location and all i have to buy is stock.

Gimme a response of what you think.
( still goin with the cyber cafe later on tho....just can't start with it just yet)


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## fractalman93 (Feb 22, 2006)

Honestly, you might be better off having an Amazon storefront first. Get some recognition. This has a few advantage:

1) You don't have to pay an ISP to set up a domain to host your site

2) You can accept credit card transactions through Amazon

3) You receive feedback from customers who buy from your store

BTW, credit card or paypal is *much *safer than COD. Most online stores don't accept that as a payment method because there's too much risk with the customer either not having the cash or writing a check that bounces.

Once you build up a reputation through a storefront on Amazon and have significant net profits, you can build your own web site. There's *a lot* that goes into making an online store safe from hackers, spammers, and other vulnerabilities. Plus, there is the risk of credit card fraud and stuff. You have to be very careful and diligent.

The best idea, perhaps, would be to sell custom PC's through your Cyber Cafe once you get enough profits from the Amazon storefront to open that business.


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## drbacchoi (Feb 1, 2009)

Elaborate "amazon store front".
I think I understand but explain to me exactly what you mean. Do you mean like a private store that sells stuff off of amazon or an official amazon outlet? Do you mean online or do you mean a rented location?
Gimme some details.


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## fractalman93 (Feb 22, 2006)

Example of a (well known) company with an Amazon.com storefront:

http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&no=3462181&me=A17MC6HOH9AVE6

There are thousands of companies (well known or not) doing the same thing.

In this instance, Adorama has their own website too:

http://www.adorama.com/

To make thing more clear, go here:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-T1i-Dig...RPQS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291585442&sr=8-1

In the right column, you'll see a section that indicates "More Buying Choices." Click on the "84 used and new" link in that section. Now, you have a list of stores who sell that product through Amazon. If you click on the company's logo, you'll be taken to their storefront at Amazon.

You can also visit this link for Amazon's explanation, rules, and costs of selling through them.

http://www.amazonservices.com/content/sell-on-amazon.htm?ld=AZFSSOA

I hope this helps.


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