Another problem you will run into is proprietary hardware. Usually people buy name brand computers Gateway, Dell, Compaq, etc. In quite a few cases you need to be, an authorized reseller to get some of these parts, in other cases these parts are very hard to find. Nothing worse than telling a customer "Your mobo is toast, I can't get parts for it, and umm you owe me $45." . I believe this will be good experience for you in the long run though, so give it a whirl and see how it goes! Good luck!
adlep
Diamond Member
- Mar 25, 2001
- 5,287
- 6
- 81
Good luck....
I know that it works OK for me, but there is still a certain drawback to owning your own business...
I mean, in one week you can have 7~8 customers and your are going to make $500.00~ $600.00 of pure profit....
But the next two weeks (were you are going to need money the most) will bring you nothing....
This is kind of a pain which happens to me all the time...
Also, do not forget about web site, make yourself a decent business card, and an invoice with some sort of disclamer.
I know that it works OK for me, but there is still a certain drawback to owning your own business...
I mean, in one week you can have 7~8 customers and your are going to make $500.00~ $600.00 of pure profit....
But the next two weeks (were you are going to need money the most) will bring you nothing....
This is kind of a pain which happens to me all the time...
Also, do not forget about web site, make yourself a decent business card, and an invoice with some sort of disclamer.
05. A clean lab where you can store ~6 PCs
06. An Air Hose for cleaning dust out of PCs (I don't know where you get them, but they are like giant versions of those little cans of air -- you will need it)
07. 2 working test bed PCs where you can reproduce common problems and images to rebuild these PCs with when they get ugly.
08. At least 1 or 2 spair video cards / hard drives / cpus / etc
09. As many spair cables as you can get your grubby hands on
10. An extensive toolkit, especially for those little star screws
11. A port tester / fluke could come in handy
12. TIE WRAPS (sp)
13. One of those p-touch labelling devices can come in handy, or a giant pad of sticky notes (depending on how neat you are, but LABEL everything)
14. Cabinets to hold your spair parts
15. A subscription to technet or a nice pipe to download with
16. Make special sure you virus scan everything from your network to client pcs / etc
17. A new bank account because you are going to want one
Yea, I'm pretty sure I'm missing a few.. but it is a start.
06. An Air Hose for cleaning dust out of PCs (I don't know where you get them, but they are like giant versions of those little cans of air -- you will need it)
07. 2 working test bed PCs where you can reproduce common problems and images to rebuild these PCs with when they get ugly.
08. At least 1 or 2 spair video cards / hard drives / cpus / etc
09. As many spair cables as you can get your grubby hands on
10. An extensive toolkit, especially for those little star screws
11. A port tester / fluke could come in handy
12. TIE WRAPS (sp)
13. One of those p-touch labelling devices can come in handy, or a giant pad of sticky notes (depending on how neat you are, but LABEL everything)
14. Cabinets to hold your spair parts
15. A subscription to technet or a nice pipe to download with
16. Make special sure you virus scan everything from your network to client pcs / etc
17. A new bank account because you are going to want one
Yea, I'm pretty sure I'm missing a few.. but it is a start.
Screw people who want to blame you for their mistakes. And then, all the time you need to prove to them it was their stupid ass who "broke the computer." By that time you are in an argueing match with the customer and no longer on his good side. I refuse to build, repair PCs any longer. Customers called me any time of the day with support calls...I never sold them a warranty, I just disinfected the PC and I get blamed b/c his winamp/AOL/bonzai buddy doesn't work!!! I've actually almost moved out of the PC business...competition is so tight, I'm 23 and high school kids are competing with me not to mention Dell is also making killings around here. You cant beat 500 for a nicely configured dell PC, not one I would buy, but for your average schmuck its a bargain. I haven't built a PC in over a year...I just order Dells for my customers and charge them my time to come set it up and consulting fee to pick out the right components. I started my business in high school burning cds and repairing building PCs and I think i've taken my last customer 3 months ago...I also have a full time job as well. Is not worth it...the only thing I still do and advertise is home network, wireless and cabling houses/offices.
I think you're underestimating your market. First of all, your spelling and grammar needs improvement. I don't know how many times I've found a sweet deal on some part for my computer and decided against buying it because the website had all kinds of spelling errors. It may seem trivial to you, but attention to detail inspires confidence in the buyer. If you can't take the time to learn how to spell correctly, how can someone expect you to take the time to service their computer correctly?
Also, most people who don't know much about computers get some type of warranty with their computer so when something goes wrong, they can have it fixed. If you expect to have a snowballs chance in hell of surviving, you need to have a nice store front, certifications on the walls, and be prepared to offer a warranty on anything you replace/fix -- and you better be prepared for people to milk those warranties for all they're worth. You need funding, so unless your parents are rich that means you need a business plan to get some grants, and someone who's willing to co-sign on loans for any other funds you need. You will need to have backup parts for pretty much everything, meaning EDO ram, PC100, 133, DDR 2100, etc etc. You'll need lots of miscellaneous cables, different size power supplies, a nice stockpile of network cards, modems, CD-ROM drives, hard drives, video cards, and a couple motherboards and processors laying around. You'll need a nice clean work area, tools, anti-static bags out the yin-yang, and a couple monitors and keyboards/mice or a nice sized KVM switch.
I'm not trying to insult you or your abilities, since it's obvious that you're young. We were all young once, and it is good to have ideas and even follow through on them sometimes. However, the people who go far in life are the ones who plan, plan, and do some more planning, and work their way up from the bottom. I think you would be better off to start studying for some certification tests, maybe try and get a part-time job at a local ISP or something and get some hands-on experience under your belt. You would be surprised how 'average' people who don't know much about computers have a knack for screwing things up to the point of baffling even the most experienced techs. Most 'average' people save important things on their hard drives, have no idea what the word BACKUP means, and don't just want you to reformat and reinstall Windows for them. Most 'average' people, even after you fix their problem, will have no idea what they did wrong and will probbably do it again, but expect you to fix it for free the next time. Unless you are fully prepared to deal with every situation that might crop up in a cost-effective manner, you will just end up losing money.
Also, most people who don't know much about computers get some type of warranty with their computer so when something goes wrong, they can have it fixed. If you expect to have a snowballs chance in hell of surviving, you need to have a nice store front, certifications on the walls, and be prepared to offer a warranty on anything you replace/fix -- and you better be prepared for people to milk those warranties for all they're worth. You need funding, so unless your parents are rich that means you need a business plan to get some grants, and someone who's willing to co-sign on loans for any other funds you need. You will need to have backup parts for pretty much everything, meaning EDO ram, PC100, 133, DDR 2100, etc etc. You'll need lots of miscellaneous cables, different size power supplies, a nice stockpile of network cards, modems, CD-ROM drives, hard drives, video cards, and a couple motherboards and processors laying around. You'll need a nice clean work area, tools, anti-static bags out the yin-yang, and a couple monitors and keyboards/mice or a nice sized KVM switch.
I'm not trying to insult you or your abilities, since it's obvious that you're young. We were all young once, and it is good to have ideas and even follow through on them sometimes. However, the people who go far in life are the ones who plan, plan, and do some more planning, and work their way up from the bottom. I think you would be better off to start studying for some certification tests, maybe try and get a part-time job at a local ISP or something and get some hands-on experience under your belt. You would be surprised how 'average' people who don't know much about computers have a knack for screwing things up to the point of baffling even the most experienced techs. Most 'average' people save important things on their hard drives, have no idea what the word BACKUP means, and don't just want you to reformat and reinstall Windows for them. Most 'average' people, even after you fix their problem, will have no idea what they did wrong and will probbably do it again, but expect you to fix it for free the next time. Unless you are fully prepared to deal with every situation that might crop up in a cost-effective manner, you will just end up losing money.
I don't normally do this...but...
its spare
I was going out of my mind reading that post
And yea, this sounds like a bad idea to me, for reasons people have already pointed out.
There's no way in hell I'd trust you to work on anything of mine, and especially something as expensive as my PC, because your level of incompetence in the areas of grammar and spelling can only be indicative of less than desirable levels of knowledge in other areas (or at least that's the way the average person would see it).
Gunslinger08
Lifer
- Nov 18, 2001
- 13,234
- 2
- 81
Ah geez, those got me cracking up... I can't believe this is an actual person who knows how to surf the Intarweb.
leave the poor kid alone..
I am sure he had enough "advice" on his grammar & business plan already.
I am sure he had enough "advice" on his grammar & business plan already.
start small, once you get enough experience and clients, you'll be rocking. i started with two clients, busted my ass w/them. now, three years later, my friend and i have six medium businesses (we got the clients through original two's word of mouth).
we charge $65/hr for basic support and $125/hr for network consulting/design/site implementation. with citrix and vpn/rdp, we don't even have to be there, if we have to be on site - we can call another person for like $15-20/hr.
work the tax system and you can write off boatload of expenses. btw, this is in addition to a regular job. stuff like this takes time, but you can do it! it takes heart and willpower so i'll give you ups for starting out.
we charge $65/hr for basic support and $125/hr for network consulting/design/site implementation. with citrix and vpn/rdp, we don't even have to be there, if we have to be on site - we can call another person for like $15-20/hr.
work the tax system and you can write off boatload of expenses. btw, this is in addition to a regular job. stuff like this takes time, but you can do it! it takes heart and willpower so i'll give you ups for starting out.
This just crack me up too.....
I have a very hard time understanding his 3 posts....
ma hahaha...
Quote
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by: jumpr
Quote
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by: woowoo
Stick with cutting grass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More like, "Stick with posting insanely funny yet grammatically moronic stories on AT."
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
Exhibit C
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ah geez, those got me cracking up... I can't believe this is an actual person who knows how to surf the Intarweb
I have a very hard time understanding his 3 posts....
ma hahaha...
Quote
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by: jumpr
Quote
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by: woowoo
Stick with cutting grass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More like, "Stick with posting insanely funny yet grammatically moronic stories on AT."
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
Exhibit C
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ah geez, those got me cracking up... I can't believe this is an actual person who knows how to surf the Intarweb
ultimatebob
Lifer
- Jul 1, 2001
- 25,134
- 2,450
- 126
Personally, I wouldn't let anyone under the age of 18 work on my computer. I'd be afraid that they would do something careless, and screw up the system even worse than it already was.
I know from experience, because I royally screwed up a few systems when I was that age
I know from experience, because I royally screwed up a few systems when I was that age
alkemyst
No Lifer
- Feb 13, 2001
- 83,769
- 19
- 81
to be legal you will also need to set up a tax id (your own SS# works for that) with the IRS for the business, pay quarterly tax, and get a business license.
The problem with the last item is since so many people thought they could be consultants/PC techs, many places now do not allow it to be a solely home office business and require at least one office in a commercially zoned structure....I think warehouse space may qualify in some areas...and I am sure someone is using a 'real' address type PO box too.
Insurance is sort of important as many clients will blame you for everything forward from the moment you touch their box
I had a good start to my own consulting business, making about $1k-2.5k each month starting my third month in business and it grew a little each month, but after about 6 months it was too much of a PITA. It was too small to hire another guy, and too big to manage myself, plus I was in college full-time and it just killed any free time.
Also it's hard to budget time, you come over to fix one thing, and they try to slide in 10 other things "while you are here".
Then when the bill comes you will get the "it was so easy how come it costs so much?"
If I were to do it again, it would be drop off and 7 days turn around time for a normal rate, and if they want to pay a premium for in-home service or quicker service so be it.
The problem with the last item is since so many people thought they could be consultants/PC techs, many places now do not allow it to be a solely home office business and require at least one office in a commercially zoned structure....I think warehouse space may qualify in some areas...and I am sure someone is using a 'real' address type PO box too.
Insurance is sort of important as many clients will blame you for everything forward from the moment you touch their box
I had a good start to my own consulting business, making about $1k-2.5k each month starting my third month in business and it grew a little each month, but after about 6 months it was too much of a PITA. It was too small to hire another guy, and too big to manage myself, plus I was in college full-time and it just killed any free time.
Also it's hard to budget time, you come over to fix one thing, and they try to slide in 10 other things "while you are here".
Then when the bill comes you will get the "it was so easy how come it costs so much?"
If I were to do it again, it would be drop off and 7 days turn around time for a normal rate, and if they want to pay a premium for in-home service or quicker service so be it.
mechBgon
Super Moderator<br>Elite Member
- Oct 31, 1999
- 30,699
- 1
- 0
Yeah, this seems to be getting a bit on the vicious side. Ease up, people. I bet he could do significantly better with his English if he thought the Forums really called for it.
BmXStuD, if you're old enough to employ, my suggestion is to ask at some small-to-medium non-profit agencies in your area, see if they'd give you a chance at some PC troubleshooting and maintenance. The pay won't be stellar, but you avoid all the snags and traps that people have pointed out, and when you go home at the end of the day, you don't have forms, bills and taxes looming over your head like a business owner does. I do suggest keeping your nose clean on licensing issues. OpenOffice.org is your friend.
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