# Starting as IT freelancer with own business



## galahad3 (Sep 2, 2010)

I'm about to go freelance as an IT / computer support consultant (small businesses and home users, so small scale only) in my local area (though I'll be offering VPN support nationwide).

I was wondering if anybody had any recommendations or "top tips" for essential items (be they software / hardware or just things to remember or words of wisdom). I've been pretty thorough and the website and marketing project is underway so that side is mostly ok (although any marketing tips specifically for this industry would be interesting to read).

So really I'm just interested to know other people's take on the whole venture, particularly if they've been down that road themselves.

Although I've never had the money for any professional qualifications (maybe this will change things!) I have 13 years of experience in a whole range of IT environments working from 1st line support through to IT manager.

It's of virtually no risk as I already have a business, but wanted to kick this one off and just see where things go.

Thanks!


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## nbjeter3 (Aug 19, 2010)

Freelance IT is a hard business to break into. There are so many trying to do it (especially in this economy), that you almost can't throw a rock without hitting a geek-for-hire somewhere. The trick to it is 
1: Cheap Advertising: Things like Craigslist, local Bulletin boards (the kind at grocery stores and whatnot, not the electronic ones ) 
2: Good Quality work with first time resolutions. This builds a reputation and spreads word-of-mouth (the absolute BEST form of viral advertising). 
3. Specific rates for specific jobs. Don't just bill by the hour. Some services can be billed like that (network setups, domain creations etc.) but for the most part set rates. This leads to more steady business, and loyal customers because they know what to expect. 
4: Don't expect a lot.. at least not for the first year or so, but you have to be dogged about it. It takes a while to build Rep. 
5: Always have a copy of Hirens boot CD, a good LiveCD (with a vast array of recovery tools) and a write protected flash drive with copies of your favorite AV, Anti-spyware program, etc. 
6: Carry enough various cables of various types and lengths to be able to cover most possible replacements. network cables, monitor cables, power cables, power strip, everything.
7: Make sure you know how to make your own patch cable. a spool of 500 feet of cat5e - 50-75$. RJ-45 ends 50 pack - 5-10$. Cable cutters and crimpers - 10-30$. One 10 ft "high-speed" cat5e cable premade from the store-10-15$.. you do the math.


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## galahad3 (Sep 2, 2010)

Thanks for that reply- loads of info and tips. 

I will take it all on board. Half I'd kinda done already but the other half I will definitely look at doing asap.

And you're right... keep my aspirations high but control my expectations I think you mean!

Thanks again


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## perryny (May 11, 2009)

Hi galahad,

I've been doing IT Support for about 15 years in NY for small businesses, and I'd offer you the following advice.

1. You NEED to charge Flat-Rates for a Managed Service Plan. You must not charge hourly rates for break/fix support. 

Hourly rates:

Will be feast-or-famine. Some months you'll be busy. Some months will be dead.
Busy months mean your clients are having lots of problems. Lots of problems mean unhappy clients.
If you get a big check, chances are your client is writing it after experiencing some significant problems. Think they'll feel happy about cutting that check?
Every time you walk through the door, the client is getting billed. Think they want to see you often?
Since they want to see you as little as possible, you're going to need more clients to keep yourself busy.
If several of those clients have problems at the same time, it'll be hard to take care of them all. Again... you've got some unhappy clients.
And if nothing is breaking, you'll be calling around to propose some projects to get the income flowing... and they'll be saying, "Not now... cash is tight. Can we hold off on the upgrade till next month?"
It's a constant "You need to do more / They want to see you less" relationship. Very Win/Lose for both of you.

Flat-rates:

You will get paid consistently and reliably.
You'll know on the first of the month exactly how much money you're making.
You will get paid to keep your client's systems running smoothly. The better they run, the better your income (less work / same money).
The less your clients see you, the happier they are to write you your check ("Things are working great! Let's keep it that way! Pay the man.")
You charge a fair, predictable rate, they get reliable, productive computing. Win/Win.

2. So if you're doing Maintenance Plans... how do you keep things running smoothly?

You monitor the systems around the clock using inexpensive utilities like GFI Max. For about $13/mo per server, you can get instant alerts for just about any problem that's occurring on the server.

Then, when a problem pops up, you log in remotely using a cheap or even free utility like LogMeIn to resolve the issue from your kitchen table.

When users have problems, you log in remotely the same way and help them instantly. They get instant support (much better than waiting for you to make an office visit) and again, you can work in your pajamas.

With constant monitoring and remote access, you can definitely keep the problems in a small office environment to a minimum.

3. What happens if a problem occurs where you MUST get down there? You go down there and charge an additional hourly rate for any calls that must be performed on-site. You want to keep these to a minimum (the bulk of your income comes from your flat rates. You don't rely on these extra hours to survive). They want you to keep these calls to a minimum too. The less they occur, the happier everyone is.

4. How many clients will you need? If you offer a maintenance plan where you charge a flat-fee of $149 per server and $49 per workstation per month, plus $125/hr for on-site work (these are the rates I charge in NY - scale for your area and needs accordingly), you're looking at a monthly income of about $1389 for each 10-workstation client. 

For each client of this size, you should expect to dedicate about 3 hours work per week. That's about 1.5 hours on-site and an average of 15 min. per day remote work.

Get yourself 4 clients, and you're looking at a salary of over $66K working around 10 hours a week.

My 2 Cents. Hope it gives you some ideas on how to proceed.
-Rob


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## galahad3 (Sep 2, 2010)

Hi Rob, thanks for the detailed reply, loads of info there.

I guess the reason I'm thinking of hourly rates is purely because a client may describe a particular problem and make it sound like it can be fixed quite easily, then I go on site and find that it's a lot more complex and will take a lot more time than I expected- which might mean I'm charging just a fixed amount but I have to spend maybe a day trying to fix something on site- at an hourly rate that doesn't matter (time = money).

Guess the client isn't so happy though as he watches the fee go up- but complex issues will take time to solve. It's a tough one.


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## perryny (May 11, 2009)

Easily resolved by placing a two hour limit on each individual support incident. Meaning, you'll happily solve twenty different, separate issues throughout the day for one flat-rate, but if any single incident takes longer than two hours to resolve, you charge an hourly rate to continue working after hour two expires.

If this is confusing, shoot me an email at robert at SuccessfulComputerConsulting dot com and I'll be happy to shoot you over an example of the pricing structure I use for my maintenance plan.


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## rickchie (Jun 10, 2007)

I saw the topic while I was lurking around and thought I would post my two cents.

having been in the business myself for 12 years as a system builder and break/fix tech I can tell you that you get out of it what you put in. If you are planning to do it part time you will likely get a part-time return no matter what you charge.

This is the type of business that requires a serious commitment either way if you want to develop a good reputation and be in it for the long term. As someone else posted earlier, free-lance or part-time techs are a dime-a-dozen and many will work for almost nothing, so trying to compete with them price-wise is not a wise idea.

Rather than base your rates on the local prices, base them on quality of service. Sure, you won't land every gig but you will land a better class of customer who appreciates your expertise more and both you and your customers will be a lot happier.

If you are looking to just test the waters, so to speak, you can always sign up for service platforms such as OnForce, ServiceLive, Field Nation and others. Don't expect to get rich from them though, as these platforms usually offer work at lowball prices. The one good thing about them is that you can "try before you buy"., i.e. do a few jobs for someone else before trying to build your own customer base. If you decide working as an independent contractor is not for you, no loss. You can always leave Remember, if you start building your own clientele, you are committed to them. In that respect, taking work orders on a service platform would not be a bad idea for starters.

There are a lot of tips and tricks out there for starting and running a computer business. The issue with techs who go into business is that there are a lot of great techs out there who start their own businesses but don't make it because although they are great techs, they don't know a lot about running a business. Great tech skills alone aren't going to help run a business much. You need great business skills as well.

In 2006 I started a podcast and web portal called The Force Field (think "field force" of onsite techs) for techs who are in or wanted to start an IT business. The portal includes news and a directory of resources for techs who want to start and manage a computer business and includes directories of vendors, books, articles, associations and currently the only directory of national IT contractors (that I am aware of) to contact for free-lance work.

In addition, the podcast covers news in the industry and features interviews with industry peers and professionals discussing various hot topics, including start-up, marketing, dealing with national contractors and service platforms, etc.

If interested, the link is in my sig.

Hope that helps!

Rick


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## galahad3 (Sep 2, 2010)

Hi Rick- thanks for the detailed response.

At the moment the main reason I'm doing this is my other business, whilst doing ok, could be doing a lot better (recession not helping), plus I spent 12 years working in IT so thought I might as well put that experience to good use before I forget everything I learned.

I expect that if it does get busy I'll concentrate more and more on this side of things and my partner will run more of the other business (which she's happy to do).

One thing I do have is business experience and the ability to gel with people, which is probably harder to learn than tech skills. I like doing it too- which I think people pick up on.

I've decided to offer a flat-rate business package that inmcludes unlimited remote support and monthly site health checks- what do you think? Good idea? A few people have said companies prefer to pay the same each month (barring any on-site work that may be necessary) and I can see that's probably true.

I'll check out those service platforms and also your Force Field project which sounds like a great idea.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

what they all said plus make sure you have a good quality pc toolkit with ant static equipment.

On a personality note make sure you can talk to customers without using lots of jargon and that you can explain to them where they have gone wrong if they have without upsetting them.

There are a lot of people out there who use computers everyday but do not have a clue about how they work and they dont realise that somethings that they do could leave them open to risk.

Being able to communicate effectively without being condesending or scournfull is one of the hardest skills you will master but being able to can bring you more business because the customers will pass on how polite and helpful you were.


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