No, job, no money, no benefits, can't do manual labour, or stand for long periods of time. No interest in graphics like I used to. So I thought, what about having a inital low outlay PC repair business. This would be based on a basic website with contact that I could make for myself, and basicaly do short course so I could at least have the paper to back me up. My difference would be I would travel and pick up the pc, or fix it onsite, at least this way it would be minimal outlay because I need a car daily anyway and I want to do a computer repair course out of my own interest. I do generaly fix other peoples pc's, but I never ask for a penny. What do you guys think? I need to be industrious and if there's no point I don't want to waste the time. I am not interested in building pcs as I think that may be too costly and dealing with warriantes may be a drain.
To be honest, I don't think you'll be able to make much money from this. First of all you need to get the word out about your business. A small note on the local supermarket won't do much. You need to get known by lots of people, and they need to remember you when their computer fails. People will call the first number they can find, which is the support number for the company that make the computer, or the shop they bought it from. Then you need to make a better offer than the shop they got the computer from. This will be hard, as the warranty will cover 1-3 years of the computers lifetime. And often customers will demand even more. If they want to pay for service the shop is still the place that pops into mid of most people. If you don't have much experience with repairing computers starting on your own isn't a really good idea. Remember that if people come to you they expect you to know "everything". You need to know every bios, every OS and all sorts of hardware and symptoms they give when they fail. Then there is the problem of volume. People won't pay you much for each repair. Computers nowadays are pretty damn cheap, so many people will just buy a new one. And if you also have to drive out to customers you will find that you quickly get short on time. You can't handle many computers a day. Your total profit won't be much. Have you thought about when your opening time will be? Remember that during normal working hours people are at work, and can't really be at home to wait for you to fix their computer. Businesses will be able to, but most will have a SLA anyway. Sorry to sound so pessimistic, but times are hard at the moment, and there isn't much money when it come to service in the computer industry. It may be OK to have as a side-income, but nothing to live of.
having been made redundant twice in 6 months, ive started doing this as well. its not a great money earner but its enough for a side job, a web page is one thing but you really need to do a lot of advertising to get noticed, I made around 1500 business cards initially and did a drop walking around the entere area I live in. if people do call you give them a rough estimate but tell them that you'd need to see the machine before giving them a proper quote DO NOT CHARGE FOR A CALLOUT!, also advise them that the machine may need to go to your "workshop" depending on the work needed and ask them if thats ok, if you do need to take it away with you give them a reciept with your name and address on to say that you have taken posession of the machine. most people dont have a clue on computers and you can usually tell this when you meet them to assess the machine more, remember the famous Montgomery Scott when talking to the user about thier problem well...dont go as overboard by a factor of 4 but give them an estimate of several days when you can do it in seveal hours, call them early and tell them that youve worked through the night for them, youd be suprised at the thanks you get for this and it helps with word of mouth advertising, drop the machine back to them with a few business cards for them to pass around to thier friends go the extra mile as well, this can be advising someone of using firefox over IE or when doing things like running AV or other timly things clean up the outer case, takes 5 mins ande will earn you rep+ tbh a lof it if is down to playing it by ear, choose your words carefully as sometimes a client can catch you when you dont have your gameface on and may not give you the job. hope that helps.
Really not worth the effort imho, it's not like you won't have competition, if you wan't a side job maybe you could check out the jobs at Novatech - http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/vacancies.html , or *shivers* - Overclockers UK... The computer repair thing would work if you can publicize well, I mean people in general are clueless, they're scared of their computers, all it takes is for them to move their computer, their Intel Retail HSF to come out of its sockets and BAM, overheating problem, and instant job for you , so if you can publicize then go for it but... its a lot of work for little gain
Another thing: Have you thought about where to get parts? Most people today have laptops, and parts isn't always easy to find. I almost forgot, be VERY careful when it come to handling data. NEVER delete anything without the customers consensus. If you need to reinstall make sure that you tell them that all files and programs will be gone unless you take a backup. Make absolutely sure that they understand this. Also make a document for them to sign if they hand you a computer that you are NOT responsible for any loss of data. I have called may customers to tell them that they pictures from the last 5 years are gone. Nobody take that likely. I would hate to do this if it was my fault.
Indeed... carry around a 1TB or maybe 2TB external hard drive incase they don't have one to backup on, maybe even a mini low power pc
Unless you know tons of people who trust you, don't do it, it's far too much of a hassle. Plus the profit margins are near none.
A standard laptop and one of those multi adapters for harddrives (USB thing you can connect sata, IDE and mini IDE to). Some sort of data recovery software and a UBCD/Bart PE cd is a must. (For recovering data when windows have crashed.)
I dont do it for a living, but i am the 'go to guy' when friends, family and family friends need something doing to their computer. I base my prices on what the majority would pay if they take it to PC world etc.. For instance The tech guys charge £19.99 for installing RAM that doesnt include the cost of the ram and can take upto an hour apparently, They also charge £29.99 to install an upgrade (Harddrives, optical drives, GPU, CPU etc...) that also doesnt include the cost of the component. Generally i charge £10 for a ram install (5min job), and £15 to install upgrades. Ive never known any 'normal' person need a cpu change, Ive had 1 that wanted a new GPU but once they looked at the price of what they wanted they soon changed their mind. If i do any work repairing computers i always give them all the options available to them, I find its easier to let them know exactly where they stand, I always offer advice on what would be best but ultimatly they make the final decision, This is where paperwork is very handy. Always cover your own back! Explain everything involved and what your going to do, and get them to sign saying they understand. If the customer wants something against your recommendation make them sign saying so. This has helped me out a few times. Just from friends, family and word of mouth i generally end up with 3-5 lappys a month and maybe 2 computers. If you think theres work available in your area then i would say give it a go, theres almost no outlay, Just dont be travelling to far and wide for custom because thats soon going to eat into your profits.
When I started my business I found business networking got me the most customers, check out things like 4networking, the business league and BNI. But steer clear of million impossible, they're a scam and don't leave you alone. Small and medium businesses will be good customers for you, if you can fix their computer on site it means they don't lose too much time or money. I know a lot of business owners who regularly use people who do what you do, in fact, if I couldn't do it myself I probably would. Good luck with it running your own business is probably the most rewarding yet stressful thing you can do
Thanks guys, this is really construcive advice and much appreciated. I have no job, I want to be my own boss and the way I see it, pc repair is only majorly an invesment of time that I already have and could be using to watch the Jermey Kyle show, so all things considerd even if it didnt work out I can say it's something I wanted to do and I gave it a good try, I'm already fixing everyone I knows computer as it is. I also beleive we are coming into an age were we are likey to hold onto things like computers and cars, I don't think were will in the next few years throw pc's away just because they have virus infections. I also think for a minimal out lay I don't have much to loose. This is my plan: I already have a good knowledge of computers, but I will do a course so I can have a more professional service, but a personal service Use my day driver estate diesel for the business collection. Use my graphics skill for advertising and use my contacts for printing. Try and find niches in this market to expand, like maybe run tutorials in people homes, or remotly update people computers and keep everything uptodate for them to keep their computers in tiptop condition and hav them set up a direct debit for me to do it. These are only ideas and may not work but I don't need allot of money I am single and only need to suport myself. I really want to pay for my sport and I am hoping this freedom of not working constantly for a boss may give me a bit more freedom and help me learn a bit about business.
I also suggest not just sticking to computers. There's quite a lucrative business within the AV installation sector. Just as long as you are familiar with power tools and know how to mount TV's you should be fine. Finally, try to set up for small businesses and get good with computer networking, those are invaluable services to small-medium businesses.
Funny you say that as I'm quite into AV, it's a good idea! Thanks man, i'll look into that. I really would like that to happen! Need to money. Really hope this will work out mate. Thanks for taking the time to write that out. I'll make sure to keep all this in my mind! Thanks mate, that is sound advice. All to take in here
I think I have found my magnum opus of post-merging. 6 into 1! We have multiquote and the edit button for a reason!
If I had a car I live close enough to them for that to be an option, and I want to have a shower now for actually considering them.
There are so many negative nancys on this forum!!! Yes gar, it can be done, just like anything else as long as you have the drive to do it. I will echo what others have said - aim for SMEs, you will very quickly get frustrated and bored with home computers; not to mention the lack of money there. So many SMEs have crap IT support and are dying for a better solution. There are plenty of things to think about though. Don't just keep your market in IT support as others have said - do a bit of website design too; if you are good graphically, there is so much money to be made there and the profits are ridiculous if you are working on your own. And don't listen to those designers who claim it takes years to get good, such a load of tosh. You need to register yourself as a sole trader. You'll need to file your own tax return and sort out your NI code, especially if other businesses are writing you down on their expenses, you just won't get away with it. If you are working on a business premises, I would seriously consider liability insurance; if you **** up, it'll be out of your own pocket if you don't have liability cover. I do wonder whether it might be a legal requirement actually... Apart from that, it's getting the word out. Word of mouth is always the best kind of business but it's worth doing a bit of advertising. Bear in mind where you advertising though - I have done it in crappy areas and thus got crappy clients that didn't pay and were a general pain to deal with.
The computer shop I go to often does little things for free, and that's why I go to him When I first built my computer it wouldn't boot, I checked pretty much everything but it still wouldn't boot. I took it to him, only to find out the cpu wasn't seated just right. He reseated it, put the cooler fan back on and everything. I asked him how much he wanted, he said nothing except to spread the word/business cards. I even offered twice to pay but he still refused so now he's the only guy I got to for computer help
