Slashdot Mirror
Building Up a Small Computer Business?
Hogg asks: "I'm a senior in high school, and feeling very industrious over the summer, I started a home business. Basically, I go onsite and service computers and charge far less than what the 'pros' with the MCSEs and so on do. It's been going fairly well so far, but I wonder if Slashdot has tips, advice, or pitfalls to avoid?"
Speaking as someone who has started a small home computer business few years ago (and have failed miserably -- now I'm a bankrupt) I can only advise you to not spend your investors money on hookers. I know, it seems to be a great life style at first and the girls are amazing, but trust me, you really need those money to buy hardware, because otherwise your investors (and the bank) will be really pissed off.
The pros charge so much to pay for their insurance. What happens when somebody's computer breaks a month down the line, and they think it's your fault? Are you going to buy them a new computer, or let them sue you?
Always have a disclaimer form that releases you from liability should something go wrong. If my customer won't sign the form, I won't touch the PC. That way, the user can't blame you if he screws up and loses everything from his drive a few weeks after you've done your thing.
"All universal moral principles are idle fantasies." -The Marquis de Sade
When people ask "OK, now how much do I owe you?", you say: "I dunno. What do you want to pay me?"
If the people where you live are anything like the ones around here, you'll end up getting paid more than you would if you set a price ^_^
Unless, of course, you were GOING to have them pay you 50$ an hour. I only charged 15.
Sometimes I'll show up at someone's house, and they'll have fixed the problem themselves, but then they give me 20$ just for the trouble of riding my bike a couple blocks to their house.
Don't expect too much, though. I only made 300$ this summer (half enough to pay for my new computar!). But for the amount of work I did, that wasn't bad. Far better than bagging groceries, anyway.
My kybard sucs tody.
Duct tape, XML, democracy: Not doing the job? Use more.
Watch out for problem customers. i.e. the one's who call you every week and try to be cheap about paying you. Don't accept food for work. Don't accept checks until you have verified their ability to pay you. i.e. never take a check on the first couple visits. If they bounce a check on you, terminate future business with them until they pay you for the check they bounced plus interest. Always charge them per hour the same rate.
...
Invest in the tools you are going to need. It's going to be expensive. You need to be a pro and recover almost any data and fix dead systems. Therefore, you are going to need spare hardware and a ton of software tools such as Winternals Admin Pak, etc. ($699 license) XP & NTFS is the need for this cost. NTFS is a real pain to mount and work with there are no decent free toolsets for NTFS. You can get around it but believe me, you need the AdminPak it has saved my bacon a bazillon times already and it's worth every damn penny! A really good laptop and possibly a small miniture desktop system so you can pull an IDE hard disk and mount it in your own semi-portable system, etc.
Not everyone has broadband, start building CD-R's full of drivers, etc. You may have to stop by a customer site and do a survey to find out what hardware they have so you can then go back to your office and download everything to CD because they have a 28.8kbps modem and it's barely working.
The reason the pro's charge so much is they have had to buy insurance to protect them against lawsuits. They have to invest in training and tools both hardware and software. They have rent and taxes to pay. Remember, in the USA you have to file tax returns quarterly with Uncle Sam even for a small consulting business.
I know a whole lot of kids and others who did what you are contemplating for a few years. Few made any money at it and most burned themselves out in less then 3 years; finally saying screw this and getting a real job. (something better then bagging groceries). Once you are out of High School and you get a real job, you will see how futile it was.
It's good training to put your feet to the fire and you will get a ton of experience. But watchout! One customer with a lawsuit and you are toast! Then get tagged by the IRS because you are dealing under the table and not paying taxes, etc.
You will have to deal with complete idiots who have 4 or 5 computers, broadband, and the boxes are full of spyware, trojans, viruses, etc. The user will have run ethernet cable outdoors and literally used two patch cables connected with an RJ45 splitter and wrapped in duct tape! This was hanging outside the house in Connecticut! It will be exposed to temperature extremes (contraction & expansion) and his connection will come and go, plus it will corrode (not gold plated). When I got there all of his boxes were so full of crap, viruses, trojans, and I am pretty sure they were all hacked and spending spam! It took me 2 weeks to rebuild everything and restore all his data, change all his passwords, install a firewall, and updated NAV licenses. I also offered to rerun the ethernet cable with a single run of cable rather then his mickey mouse patch cables + duct tape solution! Meanwhile, I had to contend with his Jesus Freak rhetoric and being happy about the end of the world!
Bottom line, get insurance (all it takes is for you to break something simply by accident, it happens to the best of tech's), get bonded, get the tools, get a car and not a bicycle, get a whole lot of patience, and be prepared to turn away customers who are trouble! Don't give anything away for free. Charge less then the competition but don't undercharge too much! Look for small business outfits rather then home consumer users. Start your own business rather then run under the table.
Oh and get a gun permit and carry a box of condoms!
Yeah, I've made house calls to horney woman and I've shot rats the size of small dogs in dirt floor basements. I've also met some very very weird people. Think, Silence of the Lambs weirdo's! Bodies in the basement, etc. Be prepared to show up and walk or run away quickly!
I know it sounds strange but be very strict about billing. Many small businesses are too trusting and too nice and allow other businesses to walk all over them.
Make sure you bill promptly and accurately and be sure to charge late charges on accounts. If a customer becomes past due do not perform further work for them. You can't work for free and make a living.
Also, don't charge *too much* below what the MCSEs charge. It's stupid but people will automatically think that you are of lesser quality. You have to have an air of confidence, and charging "high" prices shows that you feel you are worth that much.
Greg
There\'s no place like ~