PC building for extra money

[Cepheus_001]

Hey, guys!

 

I live in a fairly dense neighborhood and I was thinking as a part-time job, I would like build computers for people. I just want to make a little extra cash, but what I really want to learn is how would i go about doing this?

 

-How would I promote my business?

-How can I provide good support and understanding to a customer?

-How should I price my service?

-what options should be made available to the customer?

-hat tools do I need?

 

anything extra I should add to the list would be great! Thankyou!

 

[Marc Degasperi]

Promote: Have you ever built a pc for someone else than yourself and if yes ask them if they know someone that is in need of a new pc.

Support: Ask them what they need there pc for and according to that  and budget you can choose parts. Be careful most people that ask you too build them a PC dont know much about pcs so make sure to choose reliable hardware from trusted brands otherwise that will look bad for your business.

Price: Make it like a 5-10%  Fee

Options for the Customer: Give them choises come to there home or let them come to yours just make sure you have an internet connection to look up components and if they have and hardware which is for example a specific cpu brand or gpu then take that into consideration. (Use PC PartPicker)

Tools: Maybe get something like an iFixit Pro Tech toolkit for repairs and assebly and some screwdrivers like a Flathead and Philips.

 

Good Luck

[vong]

18 minutes ago, Slayerstealth said:

-snip-

Startup a facebook/craigslist page would be the first thing imo and state what sort of experience you have and show some previous builds. Offer to travel locally (I wouldn't trust some random person with hundred - thousands of dollars worth of pc parts).

Price depending on the build. If it's just a basic build then nothing over $100, upgrades $50 and if they want a custom loop then charge according to complexity.

As for tools, you don't really need much more than a screwdriver.

 

You're gonna need good knowledge of parts for recommendations for builds with a budget or certain task.

 

P.s I'm using aussie dollars so convert to whichever country you're in.

[Sevarsuab]

Regarding support, I say as long as you build computers correctly without causing any troubles for the customer when they're using it, It won't be a problem. But if something happens to the computer that the customer gets worried about, be damn sure that they're gonna come back to you and ask what's wrong. Building computers for others and then selling them could be just as fun as it can get tedious and frustrating, especially if you've got a customer that's certain you're the reason why their computer isn't working properly.

 

Don't screw up, and support shouldn't be anything more than general questions regarding the machine you built for them and how to use it.

 

Also, don't overprice your builds. If a customer finds out that you're building them a madly overpriced rig, they're gonna get pissed. If you wanna do it as a hobby or part-time job (nothing to live off of) have a set pay for each build you make, plus a bit extra for setting up Raids or installing water cooling and such.

 

Also, get an antistatic 'carpet' and something to ground the build with. There are guides on it, if you just do a quick search.

[Hans Christian | Teri]

How old are you? It may not seem like a big deal, but you can be sure it's going to determine whether you will get customers or not.

[Cepheus_001]

Quote

How old are you? It may not seem like a big deal, but you can be sure it's going to determine whether you will get customers or not

 

I'm currently 15, I know it's a bit young for starters, but I plan on starting in the summer when I get older. Age does matter and I'm well aware of it. I hope to be doing this with a friend if possible. I'm well informed of modern day tech and I'm good with computers. I've only built one PC, but I've fixed a few different setups in my lifetime. I have lots of tools good for PC building. if anything is possible with the path I'm following, it's probably best if I start fixing/building friends PC's.

 

thanks for the suggestions!

[vong]

Just now, Slayerstealth said:

it's probably best if I start fixing/building friends PC's.

I hope you're not gonna charge them.

[jbh110tdi]

4 minutes ago, Slayerstealth said:

it's probably best if I start fixing/building friends PC's

1 minute ago, vong said:

I hope you're not gonna charge them.

 

I would agree with this but this also lets folk see you are capable. get you're friends to tell folk of your service but don't get them to tell other folk you did it for free. 

[Marc Degasperi]

 

4 minutes ago, Slayerstealth said:

I'm currently 15, I know it's a bit young for starters, but I plan on starting in the summer when I get older. Age does matter and I'm well aware of it. I hope to be doing this with a friend if possible. I'm well informed of modern day tech and I'm good with computers. I've only built one PC, but I've fixed a few different setups in my lifetime. I have lots of tools good for PC building. if anything is possible with the path I'm following, it's probably best if I start fixing/building friends PC's.

 

thanks for the suggestions!

Im 15 as well ive done such things as well but have never charged for it i am well know for my PC knowlege and people just started aproching me and asked if i wanted to build a pc for them.but i allready had a bit more pc building experiance than you. Btw it depends where you live and how known your skills are.

[VerticalDiscussions]

I had a classmate who did this, but he only got like 200€ and he repaired computers for about 5 months. It started as a 2 month internship, but then he stayed another 3 months for some cash. He learned how to solder and a few other non required tweaks to be a pc builder.

 

What im trying to say is that depending on the place you live and how many repair shops are around, it can be really hard and he was in a shop that had only 1 store in the whole island and was in a good position ( near a roundabout connecting two different city councils, near a gas station which is heavily circulated everyday)

[SLAYR]

57 minutes ago, Slayerstealth said:

Hey, guys!

 

I live in a fairly dense neighborhood and I was thinking as a part-time job, I would like build computers for people. I just want to make a little extra cash, but what I really want to learn is how would i go about doing this?

 

-How would I promote my business?

-How can I provide good support and understanding to a customer?

-How should I price my service?

-what options should be made available to the customer?

-hat tools do I need?

 

anything extra I should add to the list would be great! Thankyou!

 

First if you do this then you will only make $30-$50 per pc anything more and you can go to a place like microcenter and get better service for that price.

 

If you do try to do this it isn't very profitable, and you will have to have some amount of starting money, as how most custom pc builders work is that they pay, and build the pc, then get paid for the computer, also you will have to tech support for these pcs, and possibly in charge of warranties on these since most manufacturers don't carry warranties onto the 2nd owner. 

 

Mow lawns and such if you actually want to make a decent amount of money.

[Elllz]

Just be aware of the potential cost to yourself should you breaks something. However experienced, there's still potential to short a customers motherboard or drop a CPU ect ect, and the customer will expect you to cover the cost (Unless of course you've already agreed that all liability lies with them, but I don't think anyone is going to agree to that).