How to start

[jmcphe01]

I was just wondering how to start building computers for other people my friends are not into computers like I am so I would have to find other people I live in a small city to.

[givingtnt]

11 minutes ago, jmcphe01 said:

I was just wondering how to start building computers for other people my friends are not into computers like I am so I would have to find other people I live in a small city to.

ever built one ?
if you're gonna do it for others do it at least once. prefferably with mistakes (so you learn !)
talk about it, see if people you know have problems. suggest solutions, try to help. at some point, if you're helpfull they will come to you for help !

and the you're stuck with it forever

 

 

Edit : like @deXxterlab97 said, if you find yourself in a situation where you don't know much about the problem encountered or what is requied to complete the task. don't be scared to ask here. I found myself asking questions on the forum midway through trouble shooting a friend's pc because I coudn't get certain things to work properly.

[airdeano]

see what it takes to get a business license. taking money for a service requires business licenses/permits/tax filings in some cities.

be prepared to eat some of your profits, due to the nature of electronics, an unhappy customer could mean refunds and/or business issues.

[Guest]

Ask any question you have on LTT we will gladly help you. Even if it is dumb, we all were new at some point. Look up video guides of PC building, there are lots of them

[Trevor87]

It not worth the hassle just step way now from building pc for friends and family and as a business. 

Most people don't care what pc they get as long as it cheap and it runs what they want and they don't care what hardware is in the pc as long as it cheap. I am sorry to tell the truth but that how most people are.     

[Zeras]

I agree with Trevor.  It's just not worth it because no matter how much money you make, the time spent helping them troubleshoot everything and dealing with problems not even related to the build itself, though in their minds it will be, will more than wipe out whatever profit you made.

 

In the past, I would only build PCs for my family or close friends until I realised just how much time I was spending on follow-up issues long after the build was completed.  The last time my dad asked me to build him a new computer, I just bought him a laptop, though I did replace the HDD with an SSD, and he's been very happy with it.

 

From a business standpoint, building a computer is a one-time-every-few-years thing for your clients, and any problems or issues your clients encounter within the first few weeks will simply reduce your original profit, not add to it.  You are better off focusing on a recurring or semi-recurring business model unless you already have a large established client base.  In other words, focus on something that will have you generating revenue from clients regularly or periodically rather than once every 2-4 years.

 

My advice is focus on troubleshooting and support rather than building PCs.  That way, there's no cloudy area between what should and should not be billable time.  Be sure to set an hourly rate with a one hour minimum to cover your transportation time/costs and most importantly, make sure your client knows your time rate from the start.

 

Oh, and don't make money off family  

[spellmanuk]

try and get a job working for somwone else, thats what i curently do but in a few years when ive got enough experiance ill be setting up my own business

[Tieox]

Again if you want to get into IT work, you need to get certified, or start low working in an established shop and accept you will especially when working in normal consumer stores like PCworld, Currys etc be looking at the proprietary crap most of your working day.

 

Smaller family run stores, especially in little towns/villages in the UK, tend to have masses of Optiplex's and basic Dell units from 2002 which people adore since they can have a new computer which will work till Timmy's and Dorothys riddle it with enough malware to keep Malwarebytes creators able to afford a Maybach.

 

As for working for yourself, again people will come to you, wanting a new machine for £50 tops, it just plain is not worth it unless you are being given the Optiplex's which given how the small shops are hoovering them up right now for sale to families everywhere, are getting pretty thin on the ground.

[Trevor87]

Yea forgot to add most place if they are hiring people for there stores they expect you to know the basics of every thing that is in the store and you will probably work at minimum wage or just under  if you are starting to learn pc.