The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Starting a computer repair / upgrade service
TL DR
Not at all confident in his reflexive opinions of thingsRegistered User regular
Not at all confident in his reflexive opinions of thingsRegistered User regular
Hi, and thanks in advance.
I've been out of work since being laid off in November, and I just had an idea of how to at least make some income while I job hunt. I want to offer general home computer services such as malware removal, hardware / software upgrades, etc. Something like Geek Squad I suppose, but I won't be stealing everyone's porn. I also thought it would be a neat idea to make it an 'on call' business, and meet people at their home or on campus for a (free?) estimate.
Potential problems:
-I don't really know shit about Macs / OSX
-I reckon that this sort of thing technically should be insured, licensed, that sort of thing. Pretty ignorant here as to whether there's an exception or non-enforcement for extra small time operations.
-Trust might be an issue. I doubt people are going to be willing to give me their hardware to take home and work on, and if I don't have a ready fix or need to research, things may get complicated. This also goes for hardware upgrades, if someone isn't willing to pay up front for a $250 video card I need to be sure that I can return it.
I also need a name to put on the flyers. "Joe's Computer Un-Fucking On Call" doesn't roll of the tongue. Thanks for any tips or info you can provide!
I've been out of work since being laid off in November, and I just had an idea of how to at least make some income while I job hunt. I want to offer general home computer services such as malware removal, hardware / software upgrades, etc. Something like Geek Squad I suppose, but I won't be stealing everyone's porn. I also thought it would be a neat idea to make it an 'on call' business, and meet people at their home or on campus for a (free?) estimate.
Potential problems:
-I don't really know shit about Macs / OSX
-I reckon that this sort of thing technically should be insured, licensed, that sort of thing. Pretty ignorant here as to whether there's an exception or non-enforcement for extra small time operations.
-Trust might be an issue. I doubt people are going to be willing to give me their hardware to take home and work on, and if I don't have a ready fix or need to research, things may get complicated. This also goes for hardware upgrades, if someone isn't willing to pay up front for a $250 video card I need to be sure that I can return it.
I also need a name to put on the flyers. "Joe's Computer Un-Fucking On Call" doesn't roll of the tongue. Thanks for any tips or info you can provide!
TL DR on
0
Posts
One thing you might want to keep in mind is that you have any certs, like A+, advertising them is a plus. Lots of professionals display their qualifications in their offices and advertise them for a reason.
Hell, I think it sounds like a swell idea. Wish I could offer more advice.
As for the returns, here is how that guy handled it: just send them the link to every part they need to buy on newegg. when the parts arrive, go over to their house and slap it together, test, etc.
I basically charged per hour regardless of the problem. A couple of them were quick web site design jobs I took for a flat fee (making sure to tell them upon delivery I relinquish control and support) and the rest were going to the person's home and helping them with whatever. It was usually something like hooking up a wireless network, troubleshooting their hardware problems, etc. Check your local paper(s) to see if similar services exist, but you can charge probably $20/hour and still be way cheaper than the big stores.
I doubt people will let you take their equipment home, so be prepared when you get there. Ask for a simple description of the problem so you know what you are getting into. A couple times I could not fix the problem or it required something beyond my control (hardware malfunction, etc) and at that point I simply put them in contact with the manufacturer and only charged for an hour to cover my trip out there. People seemed to be fine with this.
As far as liability - I was very informal and had no contracts or anything even really written. People could have probably stiffed me on payment and for all I know I could have been liable for any problems they blamed on my support. If you want to get serious form an LLC in your state (which is normally very simple and can be done by one person for a hundred bucks or so) and you can operate under that company to protect yourself from liability.
Like you, I specifically mentioned I couldn't work with Macs as I didn't know enough about them.
EDIT: Forgot about upgrade portion. In that case, if people had the hardware already I installed it for them. If they wanted assistance picking out the part, I had them order it themselves (with my guidance) and let them know it was their property regardless of whether they eventually asked me to help install it or not. I didn't want to be left holding equipment they changed their mind about.
Some thoughts:
- Macs comprise, what, 10% of the installed base or less? You're not going to lose much business.
- Nah. If you're really worried about it, you could probably get a lawyer to draft up a boilerplate liability waiver for pretty cheap. You may get into a sticky situation that involves small claims court, but if you keep good records of everything you do, and you don't make any stupid mistakes, you're probably not going to get into trouble. Just make sure you verbally communicate to people very clearly when there's the possibility of data loss, or when you're concerned that a problem might come back (like when doing a spyware cleaning).
- If you need to research, just tell them that and make a return visit. Don't charge them until the problem is fixed, but once it is, charge them for the sum total of both visits. If you need to do research while on-site, just subtract that from the total. "I got here at 2 pm. It's 6 pm now, but I had to spend 1 hour researching the problem, so I'm only going to charge 3 hours." Clients love that. Another similar sticky situation is if you end up waiting for files to copy or for an installation to complete... sitting there twiddling your thumbs can be awkward, so that's often a good time to go take a walk, or discuss with the client any general computer questions they may have.
- Prepayment of parts: when I buy something for a client, usually I'll just tell them exactly what they need and have them order directly from NewEgg themselves. I explain that I'm not a parts reseller, I don't have the standing capital to handle an inventory or returns myself but I'm happy to facilitate any returns for them. Most clients are perfectly okay with that.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Being the go-to guy for tech support for friends and family is what gave me the idea, really. I guess now I'll just start sending them invoices :P
What isn't so common is a professional demeanor and an ability to speak in plain language without sounding like you're talking down.
If you can show reliability, professionalism, and good communication, you will engender trust in your clients within the first 15 minutes of an appointment.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
In my home town, techies are a dime a dozen, and a guy I went to last year lost my buisness because of his holier than thou attitude.
Went a long way with my sales figures.
Have them order the parts themselves, give them a list, or make a wishlist for them, but have them purchase it, as has already been said.
Consider offering more than fix it services, and use free software to your advantage. I don't mean ripping people off by "selling" stuff like open office. But if they need an office suite, or some other programs set up, let them know they are free, can you can handle all the installation and configuration, and importing of files for them. For instance, have OpenOffice or Lotus Symphony installed, and tweak the options to set the defaults to Microsoft Office file types, as that's a de facto standard. Or set Picasa up, and make sure it imports all their images, and set other preferences up. Just charge for your time. Same goes with getting them antivirus protection from AVG or Avast!
I still need a name. Something cutting edge, like Cutco, or Inter-Slice...
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Good thinking. I should be so lucky as to have the taxes from this venture eclipse my return.
Oh my Lord. I've helped family and friends with computers and I'm not very advanced but damn I'm going to start asking around more if people need help. $100 for just a checkup. I built a computer and installed software/configured it for $50 total. Who do these people think they are!? Heh
My fliers might have something like "50% off Geek Squad prices, and I won't steal your porn"
I'm a Geek Squad agent, it can be pretty tough pitching those prices, and we know its a little nuts. Anyone who brings their computer in store, we try to do as much free work as we can to clear our conscious. In order to compete though, be sure to walk your customers through what your doing. Ultimately thats why people use Geek Squad, because we are salesmen first and techs second, meaning I can break down what I'm doing well enough to educate the customer on what I'm doing, and why it costs so much.
Fun fact though, Geek Squad charged TWICE that before Best Buy bought them. So in all seriousness, your time is important, do not be afraid to ask a reasonable amount. I think if you break it down, We charge something like 50-60 bucks an hour.
Although a word of advice, don't use the "half off of Geek Squad!" or put down any other company, because simply put, there is nothing more unprofessional, the cockier you are about your services, the faster people write you off as an elitist bastard. At worst if someone brings up an issue with a big company, just smile and say "Well thats why you call me first next time" The client chuckles, and you've got a lifelong customer.
I know all our sales reps (contractors) are required to have a corp, even though 99% are just one dude working out of his home.
An LLC is much easier to manage for one person, but it's the same general idea.
I think a cutting edge name would be a mistake. Think about it what you want to is not much different then what a plumber or a electrician sells. A service to people fixing something they can not do them self.
"Joe the computer guy" may be to plain but it is not far from what you need. In a sense any high tech cutting edge will make you sound like some corporate thing and many people will trust a local down to earth business a lot more.
Timothy Leary's Computer Turn On, Tune Up, Check Out.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
I need to get everything together for tomorrow. Business cards, I need to design a logo, print up some invoice sheets... Not to mention getting a drive together with all my necessary utilities.
Also, we expect to see a copy of the logo.
You'll probably want the latest copy of a few other apps. Firewall software, Anti-virus etc. etc.
Probably better to have a portable HDD or a CD if there are a lot of apps come to think of it.
Oh, and DEFINITELY get an Ubuntu live CD. This will allow you to access computer files even when the machine's been completely messed up and won't boot the OS.
Ubuntu Live is good, so is Ultimate Boot CD.
A portable HD is a good thing to have just for file backups too.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
I forgot about UBCD, yeah that's pretty much a one-stop shop of apps for diagnosing a PC.
I also found that Majorgeeks.com is a really useful repository of freeware apps that are useful for pretty much everything you'd want.
Ontrack Data Recovery is nice too but fucking expensive.
Keep in mind that if you are declaring this income on your taxes (and it's probably illegal not to) you might be able to write off purchases such as the one above.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Then you can buy a USB hard drive enclosure and - hey - cheap external hard drive.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
I personally prefer the laptop and IDE/SATA to USB adapter method over the live CDs. I've encountered a few machines every now and then (usually Dells for some reason) that just won't boot off whatever I throw at it (which was usually Ubuntu, Slax or DSL). Rather than stuff around trying to figure out why they won't boot, it's easier to just rip the drive out, plug it in and grab what you need. Course, it requires you have a notebook...
This is superb advice, I've done this as well. Just handle your parent's/family's/etc computer problems (as you may already) and let them know you're open for business.