Medium range in demand IT products?

[mikehende]

Hey guys, I own a pc repair business but business here in NY with an over saturated field is almost non-existant so i have to try something to survive. I am thinking of reselling IT equipment but as I am sure you guys know, pc repair and IT are two separate fields so I don't have any idea of which IT products are in demand.

If anyone can help me with a small list I can look into please for a start would be nice? Thanks.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Doubtful. eBay has a LOT of gear - there's generally more retired enterprise-grade kit than there are customers for it.

Look into a couple network certs and add "small business IT consultant" to your resume. It's usually pretty straightforward: outsource everything to Google and other cloud providers, and install a robust LAN, router, switch, WiFi AP, NAS appliance, UPS, and dual/failover internet connections in the office. Then charge a fee for remote monitoring and per-incident support.

There's no money in selling hardware unless you own the factory that makes it, and as more and more people replace instead of fixing stuff... well, yeah.

Semi-related: you ever notice how cell phone repair shops are all in poor neighborhoods? Like, with the check cashing places and pawn shops?

 

[Insomniator]

You'd prob be better off folding the business and finding an IT job somewhere, even help desk.

I don't understand how PC and Cell phone repair businesses survive anymore, or even OPEN in the first place. I've seen a couple of laptop and device repair stores open, in two not so poor towns, and am completely baffled at how they expect to make money.

Like is that someone's idea for their 'big break'? You can buy a dell for 200 bucks these days. My father stopped doing PC repair as his main business ~15 years ago because it wasn't even profitable back then.

 

[mikehende]

Yep, thanks for the reality check guys. I had tried networking years ago but for some reason I really struggled with it and could not grasp some concepts. Then I tried web design and I am good at it but that field is over saturated too. Right now I am studying Digital Marketing but not overly confident if that field is profitable, for a freelancer.

I have an autistic son and other issues which forces me to work from my home office which is what is making this extremely difficult as work from home opportunities are almost non-existant.

 

[mvbighead]

Remote management would be something to try. I've seen the results of some remote managed businesses, and apparently it does not take much to get some business.

Granted, you'll need some experience in various things, but remote managed offices need IT help and cannot afford a full IT staff (think dentist offices, chiropractic offices, small law offices, etc).

It'd probably take some work, but if you can find a few clients you might make a little coin.

 

[mikehende]

I had thought that years ago but far as I can understand that still involves being good at troubleshooting networking issues. Since networking comes very hard to me it won't be right for me to approach any business when i won't have the immediate knowledge to troubleshoot when their systems go down.

I am very adept at pc repair and virus cleaning in particular and that is my main specialty but that is not a frequently needed service as when I clean a virus I also educate the customer to not get infected again. Even web design and marketing won't sell with these small businesses as they are not willing to pay a decent price for these services.

I have local ads on craigslist for remote office tasks and everything else I can do remotely but only getting scam replies mainly.

 

[frowertr]

Getting a Cisco Cert will help tremendously with learning networking. It won't replace actually on the job training, but it will certainly boost your knowledge level where you will be comfortable doing entry/intermediate level work.

 

[mikehende]

As mentioned in post #4

I had tried networking years ago but for some reason I really struggled with it and could not grasp some concepts.

 

[mvbighead]

As mentioned in post #4

I had tried networking years ago but for some reason I really struggled with it and could not grasp some concepts.

Having some grasp of networking concepts is likely to be pivotal for making money in IT. Everything is connected to a network, and if it isn't the data is only available on one system which isn't doing anyone any good.

Start with Network+ and then work to Cisco. Network+, IMO, is a networking cert for very basic stuff. It should help though.

 

[mikehende]

I appreciate the advice but remember the purpose of this thread was for reselling IT equipment. Networking is not for me otherwise I would have done it already so I have to look at something else. Networking is not for me in the same way that all of my other skills, not everyone can be good at it.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I appreciate the advice but remember the purpose of this thread was for reselling IT equipment. Networking is not for me otherwise I would have done it already so I have to look at something else. Networking is not for me in the same way that all of my other skills, not everyone can be good at it.

Sure, but the purpose of the reselling IT equipment idea was to get money.

Commercial support is where the money is, and networking is generally a requirement.

But, it's a requirement that your company offer the service, not that you in particular know it - if you could find somebody with the right skills to help you out on a pay-per-job basis, you'd be in the clear.

Always more reassuring as a customer if two guys show up to do the installs, too.

(Also, don't sell yourself short. Unless you have, like, undiagnosed dyslexia or something, you can probably get a handle on network config/troubleshooting with a bit of exposure and hands-on, even if you're not a read-a-book-and-take-a-cert-test sort of person. God knows I'm not. Might be an okay idea to set up a home "lab," if that's the case. An old router, a "smart" switch with VLAN support, and an old Linux PC with a couple extra NICs would be adequate to simulate pretty much anything you'd likely run into.)

 

[Gunbuster]

Get into security. Services and checks for small biz. Most don't have a clue about Server, network, PC security. Sell that fear and make some $$$$

 

[mikehende]

(Also, don't sell yourself short. Unless you have, like, undiagnosed dyslexia or something, you can probably get a handle on network config/troubleshooting with a bit of exposure and hands-on, even if you're not a read-a-book-and-take-a-cert-test sort of person. God knows I'm not. Might be an okay idea to set up a home "lab," if that's the case. An old router, a "smart" switch with VLAN support, and an old Linux PC with a couple extra NICs would be adequate to simulate pretty much anything you'd likely run into.)

Here in NY guys, almost every field of work is over saturated, IT techs like repair techs are dime a dozen so there isn't much demand for it. Yes, I am not a "read-a-book-and-take-a-cert-test sort of person" too. I have 4 pc's on my home network and can troubleshoot anything myself BUT that's a whole other ball game when trying to 'remotely help' a person troubleshoot theirs.

 

[mikehende]

Get into security. Services and checks for small biz. Most don't have a clue about Server, network, PC security. Sell that fear and make some $$$$

Isn't cyber 'security' even technically more complicated than networking?

 

[PliotronX]

Here in NY guys, almost every field of work is over saturated, IT techs like repair techs are dime a dozen so there isn't much demand for it. Yes, I am not a "read-a-book-and-take-a-cert-test sort of person" too. I have 4 pc's on my home network and can troubleshoot anything myself BUT that's a whole other ball game when trying to 'remotely help' a person troubleshoot theirs.

The only notable issues that cannot be remotely sorted out are power outages, certain printer issues (thanks Xerox for not making reboot an option via remote management in certain WorkCentre models), some monitor issues, special network problems, and faulty internal hardware. The MSP I work at performs the majority of its work remotely spanning five states and it's surprisingly helpful. It will broaden your horizon; all you need is for the user to set up the session if it's not in a general account like TeamViewer or LogMeIn, connect, and it's like being at the PC.

 

[mikehende]

The MSP I work at performs the majority of its work remotely spanning five states and it's surprisingly helpful.

Sorry, what does "MSP" mean please?

 

[PliotronX]

Sorry, what does "MSP" mean please?

Managed Service Provider; we are the administrators of small (three users) to mid size (nine hundred users) networks. It breaks up the monotony dealing with both the corporate cases as well as private walk-in computer stuff.

 

[mikehende]

Thanks so an MSP what I am supposed to look into?