Starting a computer service

[coollll068]

Hello guys my name is Ethan and I wanted to know what I need to start my own computer service. Im not talking a shop or anything but a service where clients would call me then so on. I am 18 I want to enter the business because where I live there is very little competition. I know some things that I have to do but I haven't yet I know I need to get.

• A+ certification  
• Net+ certification
• Various tools (help on what tools would help)
• possibly licenses ? 

I live in Ohio and I want to enter this market because It's something that I enjoy and currently is better than my current work at a place that rhymes with mall greens. I would like to hear any input that anyone has to offer thanks a lot  

 

Also as far as exposure should I create an add in the paper or stick to social media

[21rkosta]

its a very hard and complicated bussiness, newegg runs a program where you can do just that from the comfort of your home but have job and pay security... so i would reccomend that newegg program

 

[coollll068]

3 minutes ago, 21rkosta said:

its a very hard and complicated bussiness, newegg runs a program where you can do just that from the comfort of your home but have job and pay security... so i would reccomend that newegg program

 

Thank you I'll look more into this !!

[21rkosta]

no prob bro... good luck! @coollll068

[coollll068]

7 minutes ago, 21rkosta said:

no prob bro... good luck! @coollll068

http://www.newegg.com/HelpInfo/NeweggStudentTerms.aspx is this it ?

[21rkosta]

no its not that... i forget what its called but my friend does it

[coollll068]

2 minutes ago, 21rkosta said:

no its not that... i forget what its called but my friend does it

im not seeing anything on that its just the affiliate program and the new student program

[coollll068]

3 minutes ago, Cosmopath said:

As someone who operated a business exactly like the one you're thinking of opening, it's not as easy as you may think it is. I live in an area with literally no competition, and it was still incredibly tough finding customers. The sad truth is that the vast majority of consumers will just go out to their local Best Buy to pick up a pre-built PC, because it's convenient, feels more "trustworthy" to the average person (these corporations spend millions on marketing), and it's just plain simple. You'll be attempting to upsell a service that the vast majority of customers would have no knowledge of whatsoever: building computers sounds scary to many who haven't done it before. It's an incredibly hard business to run regardless of competition.

 

That being said, if you're absolutely sure that you want to do this, here's my advice:

 

• Try to make it as simple as possible. Don't try to wow people with technical specs. Try to use direct comparisons to other products or companies, for example.
• Attempt to make your company look as trustworthy and certified as possible, even if the certifications don't mean much. Potential customers will just look at the surface, not bothering to dig deeper into your claims.
• Have a good website for your business. It's very easy to create a simplistic and modern website with tools such as Wordpress. Hosting and domains are ridiculously cheap now. A website that breaks down your services in an easy-to-understand way, provides information about you as a person and a straightforward method to directly contact you will do your business extremely sell.
• It wouldn't hurt to expand your services a bit. Computer repairs are in much higher demand than computer building, and in my experience almost all problems that you'll encounter are extremely simple to solve if you know your stuff about computers.

I don't know much about the actual certifications as I only ran a smaller local business for a short while (not to mention it was in Canada), but I'd definitely get the certifications you mentioned. Anything that helps instill a sense of trust in your customers is valuable.  If you'll be creating a website, I'd highly recommend getting an SSL cert.

 

> Also as far as exposure should I create an add in the paper or stick to social media

 

Both, if possible. Demand for computer building is already low enough. Marketing is really what's going to make or break your business' success. Remember to keep things professional: that includes relations with other companies, as well as grammar or spelling. As someone who now works in public relations, it makes me cringe whenever I see a marketer for a big corporation use incorrect spelling or grammar.

Thank you for taking the extra time to go out of your way to give me such a descriptive response. I look forward to doing this now and the challenges that await me. I realize that im not only fighting direct competition in my area but also HUGE companies that offer pre-built pc's. 

[Donut417]

1 hour ago, coollll068 said:

Hello guys my name is Ethan and I wanted to know what I need to start my own computer service. Im not talking a shop or anything but a service where clients would call me then so on. I am 18 I want to enter the business because where I live there is very little competition. I know some things that I have to do but I haven't yet I know I need to get.

• A+ certification  
• Net+ certification
• Various tools (help on what tools would help)
• possibly licenses ? 

I live in Ohio and I want to enter this market because It's something that I enjoy and currently is better than my current work at a place that rhymes with mall greens. I would like to hear any input that anyone has to offer thanks a lot  

 

Also as far as exposure should I create an add in the paper or stick to social media

Are you going to make this a legit business? As in are you going to go to the process with the Government to start a business or is this a side line gig? If a legit business Id advise you to make it a LLC or a Corporation. For example If you sue Walmart the Walton Family is not held Liable for the Walmart business. So only the Walmart corp has the liability of paying a lawsuit. Depending on how you file your business, if your sued or anything bad happens then your personal assets could be caught up in the mess. Im going to school for a business degree BTW so this is stuff I have learned. Also, if you go legit, make sure you have a good accountant. The IRS likes to fuck over small businesses. 

 

Id recommend you decided what services you want to offer. As stated above, most people will just go to Best Buy to pick stuff up. However, you could offer Virus removal, Windows reinstall and simple upgrades. Also, consider phone, console and laptop repair. Are you going to be working for one location or traveling to the customer? You will need to decided at what distance you willing to travel and how much to charge for that. As far a tools are concerned, Id buy an iFixit Tool kit and have an dual band Android device with WiFI Analyzer on it if your going to be installing home networks. To me the most important thing is to be honest and ethical when dealing with people. As stated above, specs mean shit to most people. Be able to dumb stuff down for those you are not in to tech. 

 

For advertising I think Facebook is a good choice. I know our City has a Facebook page, and sometimes people will post things like " need a plumber or a roofer" Then tend to look for people who live in our city to do the work. An Ad in the paper might work, depending on how much it costs. Make sure you have a good straight forward website as stated above. I guess this is where we say: "Square Space, build it beautiful". 

[Rune]

Read all of this, though especially pages 24-26: http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Files/Publications-Files/Publications-for-Business/Complying-With-Ohio-Consumer-Law-A-Guide-for-Busin.aspx

 

You'll change your mind about opening a business the first time someone scams you into doing all of the work and then legally refuses to pay because of a loophole. I know I did, and only do it for friends and family now.

[JefferyD90]

2 hours ago, coollll068 said:

Hello guys my name is Ethan and I wanted to know what I need to start my own computer service. Im not talking a shop or anything but a service where clients would call me then so on. I am 18 I want to enter the business because where I live there is very little competition. I know some things that I have to do but I haven't yet I know I need to get.

• A+ certification  
• Net+ certification
• Various tools (help on what tools would help)
• possibly licenses ? 

I live in Ohio and I want to enter this market because It's something that I enjoy and currently is better than my current work at a place that rhymes with mall greens. I would like to hear any input that anyone has to offer thanks a lot  

 

Also as far as exposure should I create an add in the paper or stick to social media

Okay, so if there isn't any competition then you don't have to get a A+ cert or anything like that.  And as far as running your own business, you don't need to do anything other than keep up with your income and expenses.

 

If you buy a motherboard for someone, then make sure you keep track of that $100, if someone gives you $120 for the repair, make sure you keep track of it!  I don't care how tempting it might be to not keep track of that $20 fix, you do not want the IRS snooping around (and if you don't have a official job, they will snoop around because they want to know how you're paying the bills.

 

And with your question regarding marketing and advertising, I only have one thing to advise: DO NOT EVER let someone make the advertisement for you.  If you want to put a advertisement in the news paper, then make the ad yourself and give it to the newspaper yourself.  If you want a radio advertisement, then you need to record it and just hand a .mp3 file over to the studio.  Do not let someone else script it for you, they'll screw you over every single time (in both money and quality)

 

I've ran my own business now for about 7 years, so if you need any advice on what you do/don't need just let me know (I operate out of Kentucky and Indiana)

[dalekphalm]

My biggest suggestion is don't get screwed by Taxes or the IRS. I would suggest contacting the local government to get the info you need. Go down the City Hall or the Mayors Office, and see if they have a local businesses office. Usually there will be a place where you can find out all of the business licenses needed, and what kind of taxes you need to pay, to whom, etc.

 

Find out that tax info, and as you make sales, set aside that tax income into a separate bank account. You don't necessarily need a "Business Bank Account", but it depends on how people will pay you, etc. If they are paying with Cash, no need to worry. If they are paying with Debit or Credit, you'll need to get that setup through a POS (Point of Sale - a cash register basically) of some kind (You can do something as simple as a POS on your phone or tablet), or even through your website or something like Freshbooks. If you will be accepting Cheques, then I would open a bank account in your businesses name, so that people can write "Joe's Computer Repairs" as the recipient of the cheque.

 

I only mention cheques because older folks tend to love them, so depending on your local demographic, that might be a crowd draw. I would likely stick to Cash and Credit Card from an online payment terminal service.

 

Make sure to create receipts/invoices for EVERY PIECE OF WORK DONE. If you accepted payment for it, make sure there's an invoice saying as much, Make sure the invoice clearly states, in detail, how the service was paid, and if any balance is owing. You can use basic business software like Quicken or Quickbooks, or an Online Service like Freshbooks, or something totally different.

 

You could even just create everything custom using something like Excel, etc, but I'd recommend against doing that, since it'll be easier to track income/expenses using an actual invoicing business solution.

[Crossbred]

Gl doing that in Ohio.

Microcenter does it for free.

Id honestly just get a job there or at bb.