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Fixing Computers for Fun and Profit
noobert
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm a dead broke student. I've been working in PC sales and repairs in a combination of full and part time for the last 4 years.
Due to lay-offs and the poor economy I haven't been able to secure more than one day a week since the holiday period. Even with pretty heavy saving and budgeting I am slipping further and further into the red. I have been applying for additional jobs, but most places are just "Not hiring".
So, I'm thinking I could stick some flyers around at local malls and what not, advertising PC upgrades, general repairs and virus removal at a significantly reduced rate in comparison to local shops. Really I don't need much more money a week, $100 and I would be set.
I need help with the implementation of this idea. How should I advertise, what services should i supply, what should I charge, do i need to supply a receipt or guarantee, will the tax man yell at me much/at all?
Has anyone here attempted this kind of thing in the past? Pretty much any help or advice would be appreciated!
Due to lay-offs and the poor economy I haven't been able to secure more than one day a week since the holiday period. Even with pretty heavy saving and budgeting I am slipping further and further into the red. I have been applying for additional jobs, but most places are just "Not hiring".
So, I'm thinking I could stick some flyers around at local malls and what not, advertising PC upgrades, general repairs and virus removal at a significantly reduced rate in comparison to local shops. Really I don't need much more money a week, $100 and I would be set.
I need help with the implementation of this idea. How should I advertise, what services should i supply, what should I charge, do i need to supply a receipt or guarantee, will the tax man yell at me much/at all?
Has anyone here attempted this kind of thing in the past? Pretty much any help or advice would be appreciated!
noobert on
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I had flyers up at all the local grocery stores and other places that had bulletin boards set up for the public to post things like that. I pretty much never heard anything. If you can get listed in the yellow pages or something, that could work out better, but it also costs money that you might not have and might never recoup (I'm not sure how much, could be $20 or could be $500, I have no idea).
I also found that the little bit of work I did get mostly fell into 1 of 2 categories.
1) So quick and easy that I felt bad charging anything for the work
2) A pain in the ass with someone standing over me or always questioning me on the phone because it wasn't going smoothly.
The other thing you'll want to consider is that you're probably not authorized to do warranty repairs, which limits what you can fix without voiding the warranty for your customer.
Things to consider:
1. You will not be able to do warranty work on any name-brand system. You also, more than likely, won't be able to find parts for out of warranty work on them either.
2. You could be held liable and sued for loss of data. Make sure you have a verbal or written agreement with the client that they won't do so before you even touch their stuff.
3. The easy stuff vs. the annoying client is a given. Some people you make a good profit on, some people make it feel more like a loss. Usually, though, the annoying people won't be a repeat, and if they are, you can adjust your pricing accordingly.
Also, don't feel guilty for charging money for the easy stuff. I just did a $50 job cleaning "SecurityTool" off of someone's laptop. It took me about 10 minutes + playing Xbox while waiting for the scan to finish and reboot. The local Geek Squad quoted them $129.99 to do the same thing.
I'm not an accountant, so I can't tell you about the tax man. I will probably have to deal with that soon, though. I know there's a point at which you can't legally take in money from this without reporting it.
If you do get serious with it, you'll need to get a business license and that means it's now necessary to report your income and pay the taxes.
Check with the Small Business Administration in your area. Things like SCORE and such provide free consulting and assistance with getting the ball rolling.
Handy link here.
PSN: Beltaine-77 | Steam: beltane77 | Battle.net BadHaggis#1433
As for warranty work, I guess I could refer them to my main employer.
I could make a book in sheet to cover my ass etc.
As for taking money of people? Knowledge is valuable, and I'd be taking much less than the local computer shop.
Every shop I've been employed by in the past has done this.
PSN: Beltaine-77 | Steam: beltane77 | Battle.net BadHaggis#1433
I think the worst part is, if something goes wrong, it's your head. If you can keep yourself clear of any issues that come along the way (being sued for losing someones data accidently) then you should be golden.
but it needs to be what people will find if they google "cheap pc repairs yourtown"
How you going to deal with tax?
Would getting the customer to sign a form stating that he won't blame me for any data loss or fuck ups be enough? It seems to be what the other local computer stores do.
Never had a lick of success with flyers, but Craigslist has been hugely helpful, as well as word of mouth. The best clients are small business owners who need regular networking done. Buying a receipt book makes you look more official and helps you keep records of your transactions. Business cards are also necessary if you want to be taken seriously.
First off I got a load of business card printed through Vista Print, £12.75 for 500, delivered. That gave me something to hand out if someone mentioned they had a problem. Secondly I needed to get myself out there, so I did a couple of leaflets.I posted flyers that didn't directly advertise myself, they gave advice on computers. Stuff like "if your Norton subscription is running out, why not try one of these free alternatives", also advice on how to get rid of spyware.That type of thing, some would argue it takes away from business but I found that showing I know what I'm talking about inspires confidence.
On the back of each leaflet I stuck one of my business cards. I put something along the lines of "if you're still stuck, or have another computer problem please feel free to give me a ring on 555-555 or email me at me@me.com. I'll gladly sort the problem out over the phone for you free if I can."
Double sided black and white photocopies are pretty cheap, I think it's been about £10 to get around 500 leaflets done, so that's £22.50 up to now.
I then plastered just my local neighbourhood when out and about on my bike. I cycle home from work so it was no extra hardship to go door to door and post my leaflets through. The first couple of jobs I got were people emailing me explaining their problem and I'd fire back some instructions. That fixed it for a couple of them, no profit to me,a couple more wanted me to check their pc out for them, so I called round and charged them £15. Very cheap over here.
Since then the people I gave advice to have been back in touch with paying jobs, I've provided some tuition thanks to a recommendation from one of the £15 jobs and I tend to get 3 or 4 a week.
It's not enough to take it full time, but I have no intention of doing it. I keep my prices as low as I can whilst still making it worthwhile and I get lots of repeat custom and recommendations. Also keeping business cards on you at ALL times can be worthwhile. I met a lady yesterday about covers for the chairs for our wedding, she was mentioning problems with her email...bingo, card comes out and I'm getting a discount on my rate
They're also handy to have when shopping in supermarkets that have technology sections. See a couple looking at a piece of shit hdtv? Give them some advice and point them in the right direction for a nice one, pass them your card and say you'll gladly help them set it up. I've done the same for people buying printers when I've been in a store to pick up a hdd caddy.
As for the tax side of things, I can't really comment being I work for the Inland Revenue (or HMRC as we're known now) and we can get in trouble for offering tax advice. Needless to say I have to do all my computing work by the book and keep records of all expenses.
Still, I enjoy doing it so it's worthwhile.
And on that note, I have a laptop to fix.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
A cash-only gig referred by a friend or family member is very different from Joe Sixpack cold calling you for work. Even at storefront-having-shops I've worked at, we would get the occasional already-fucked machine in and then have to deal with the mess that ensued. Claims it was working fine when it was brought in, etc.
It can be alot of work, especially if you plan to do it more "seriously"...AKA pay the tax man etc. Doing all the book keeping and invoicing (common when dealing with more businesses) can be alot of work. You get some freedom with your schedule and time, but it's all on you.
I will STRONGLY reinforce the need for a small disclaimer of sorts saying you are not liable for lost data. Hardware is always replaceable, but data can have the huge price tag attached to it with lawsuits etc. Now granted most of the work you would be doing is probably going to involve home and small business data...the latter being the problem area really.
Also having a receipt book, or even sales receipts you can fill out are great. It's good to leave a job/customer with Something showing that you did work on their system.
As for warranty work: A non issue usuall, Dell for example: most customers don't want to deal with Dell support in the first place, which is why you're there. If new parts are required it's usually a call on customers behalf, from their house etc, that puts the new part in the mail.
Along the lines of finding work:
1) Nothing is better than word of mouth. I get most of my own work this way. (and it's more likely to be a good honest job.) This can just take a bit to get rolling, but once it does it has a life of it's own.
2) Craigslist or free web postings work well, with the advantage of being Free!
3) Fliers are ok, alot of people throw these out from habit already. (don't spend too much on these!)
3) Paid advertising is very hit and miss. I advertise at a small local movie theater and have gotten maybe 4 calls from 3 months of paying for the spot. If you have money to spend on it, it might work well with other free options.
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Was just setting up a new laptop. Easy $50, got them to fill and sign in a book-in sheet, and gave a printed receipt and a business card.
Luckily for me I'm aiming for small volume, if i can get 1 - 2 jobs like this a week I'll be totally happy.
Edit: The book-in sheet basically says I'm not at fault if I lose any data and all work has no guarantee along with gathering all of their information and what kind of work needs to be done.
Look for small (1-4 person) law offices. They typically don't have the slightest clue what they're doing with computers, so they need the help, but you can still undercut Geek Squad and make quite a tidy sum. Charge by the hour and not by the job; they'll think "$20/hr? Shit damn, I charge $300 per billable hour!" and won't think twice. Plus, word of mouth spreads quickly; they all know each other. I must have done desktop support for like a quarter of the divorce lawyers in my hometown that vacation.
I did this a few times. One day they just flat out paid me 200 dollars to hook up like 3 network cables.
Yes, this. $20/hour is actually on the cheap side.