How to get people to work for me?

[Sir Asvald]

So I've finally setup my website. It's going to PC repair and consultancy. It's a startup. So no money at the moment. How do I get people to work for me. I've asked my friends, they are getting ready for university and some are too busy. 

 

 

What shall I do?

 

NEW POST HERE: 

 

 

[IKnight]

2 minutes ago, Abdul201588 said:

So I've finally setup my website. It's going to PC repair and consultancy. It's a startup. So no money at the moment. How do I get people to work for me. I've asked my friends, they are getting ready for university and some are too busy. 

 

 

What shall I do?

Start alone?... You can't exactly force anyone and it doesn't seem as if you have anything of value to pay them with on a regular basis. 

[Sir Asvald]

3 minutes ago, ImadKnight said:

Start alone?... You can't exactly force anyone and it doesn't seem as if you have anything of value to pay them with on a regular basis. 

I've started a while ago. It's been a month and a half. I've been working 7 days a week 10 am to 9 pm. I sometimes get called, other occasions. I don't

[IKnight]

Just now, Abdul201588 said:

I've started a while ago. It's been a month and a half. I've been working 7 days a week 10 am to 9 am. I sometimes get called, other occasions. I don't

Try advertising more. Get out in a costume and hand out flyers, put them up in town, etc. etc. 

[Guest]

There is no easy way to do it. If you can't compensate someone for their work then your options are pretty thin. 

Invest as much time as you can and if you do manage to get someone to work for you then be prepared to compensate them, even if it is out of pocket. The number of people willing to work for free is slim.

 

Basically, if you have the capital to invest in your business and need the hands, hire workers.

If you don't have enough work to justify workers yet, invest in other areas such as marketing and equipment. Just keep that work load to a minimum till you can afford to expand

[IKnight]

5 minutes ago, Syn Messer said:

There is no easy way to do it. If you can't compensate someone for their work then your options are pretty thin. 

Invest as much time as you can and if you do manage to get someone to work for you then be prepared to compensate them, even if it is out of pocket. The number of people willing to work for free is slim.

 

Basically, if you have the capital to invest in your business and need the hands, hire workers.

If you don't have enough work to justify workers yet, invest in other areas such as marketing and equipment. Just keep that work load to a minimum till you can afford to expand

I agree. OP, only start thinking about hiring when you can not get the work done due to the sheer amount. 

Work on marketing for now, as you need barely any equipment. 

[Sir Asvald]

5 minutes ago, Syn Messer said:

There is no easy way to do it. If you can't compensate someone for their work then your options are pretty thin. 

Invest as much time as you can and if you do manage to get someone to work for you then be prepared to compensate them, even if it is out of pocket. The number of people willing to work for free is slim.

 

Basically, if you have the capital to invest in your business and need the hands, hire workers.

If you don't have enough work to justify workers yet, invest in other areas such as marketing and equipment. Just keep that work load to a minimum till you can afford to expand

I see. I've spent the last month and a half basically doing everything. I've had people contact me. I've fix PCs here and there. I've been working 7 days a week from morning to late night. 

 

 

[Sir Asvald]

1 minute ago, ImadKnight said:

I agree. OP, only start thinking about hiring when you can not get the work done due to the sheer amount. 

Work on marketing for now, as you need barely any equipment. 

I plan on advertising. Everything is setup. 

[manikyath]

here's how employees work: you give them money, they work.

 

if there's no money for employees, you do the work. if you need employees before you can afford employees, your company is doomed to fail.

[Guest]

The advice given so far is pretty sound, so to add to that, you could attempt to take on an intern.

Though if you feel that you cannot provide guidance to someone at this stage of the business, please don't.

Contact staffing depts of local trade schools and colleges. Do this when you are ready since initially this will ADD to your workload before it starts to detract.

Some schools will have you prove that you can meet certain requirements, so prepare for that. Have proper business documentation and INSURANCE.

 

But as others have said, pay your dues first. Doing any of what I said without being ready will be a detriment to you and anyone you take on. This is more near-future advice than right now.

[Fahim Foysal]

I am a bit confused. If you are working 24/7 to repair PCs how come the business isn't profitable yet.

[Sir Asvald]

4 minutes ago, Fahim Foysal said:

I am a bit confused. If you are working 24/7 to repair PCs how come the business isn't profitable yet.

Because, I haven't advertised it yet. I'm not working ALL day. I'm only working from 9AM - 9/10PM. 

[Fahim Foysal]

3 minutes ago, Abdul201588 said:

Because, I haven't advertised it yet. I'm not working ALL day. I'm only working from 9AM - 9/10PM. 

What exactly do you mean by "working"? Aren't you talking about fixing PC for paying clients? 

btw 9AM  - 9PM is basically working all day

[Sir Asvald]

Just now, Fahim Foysal said:

What exactly do you mean by "working"? Aren't you talkiniicalyg about fixing PC for paying clients? 

btw 9AM  - 9PM is basically working all day

Working as in setting up the website, setting up the servers and repairing PCs. I get a number of customers. One week I get like 3, the next 1 or 2

 

How is that working all day? it's not. 

[Fahim Foysal]

9 minutes ago, Abdul201588 said:

Working as in setting up the website, setting up the servers and repairing PCs. I get a number of customers. One week I get like 3, the next 1 or 2

 

How is that working all day? it's not. 

I don't see why you would need more employees at this moment. 

[LogicalDrm]

On 9/6/2017 at 9:31 PM, Abdul201588 said:

Working as in setting up the website, setting up the servers and repairing PCs. I get a number of customers. One week I get like 3, the next 1 or 2

 

How is that working all day? it's not. 

Then maybe don't call it working all day. Getting more employees doesn't mean you would get more clients and more money. It actual is quite opposite. You will need to pay for them, invest time to interview and train them, work on contracts etc (besides hourly/monthly wage there's other things governments require from employers). When you have money to pay someone, book keeper would be the one. Having professional take care of paperwork will give you more time to do actual work. Meantime, Freshbooks.

[Not_Sean]

On 9/7/2017 at 5:34 AM, Abdul201588 said:

I see. I've spent the last month and a half basically doing everything. I've had people contact me. I've fix PCs here and there. I've been working 7 days a week from morning to late night. 

if you are serious about starting your own business get used to this. This will be the next few years of your life if you are serious. and be prepared for some serious grinds. IT is already nothing new and sure there are many competitors in your area. 

 

Setting up servers and building the website are not work, those are things that should have been done in the first week and now your only focus is on marketing, Following up with existing clients and getting anything you working on fixed with the fastest turn around time possible. 

 

Also where are you running your shop out of, have you rented a store front ? 

[OmJo93]

On 06/09/2017 at 11:21 AM, ImadKnight said:

Start alone?... You can't exactly force anyone and it doesn't seem as if you have anything of value to pay them with on a regular basis. 

Of course not....

 

*Crosses off 'slavery' from my list of suggestions*

Edited September 7, 2017 by OmJo93

[IKnight]

8 minutes ago, OmJo93 said:

Of course not....

 

*Crosses off 'slavery' from my list of suggestions*

Hahahahahhahahaha. 

You've still got minimum wage and screwing over the employee left so it's okay. 

[Teddy07]

is PC repair in 2017 even a viable business?

[dalekphalm]

On 06/09/2017 at 2:31 PM, Abdul201588 said:

Working as in setting up the website, setting up the servers and repairing PCs. I get a number of customers. One week I get like 3, the next 1 or 2

 

How is that working all day? it's not. 

I'm confused a bit here.

 

If over a week you're only repairing 2 or 3 computers, you're not profitable at all yet. Depending on the severity of each job, these computers should take 1-4 hours each to fix (not counting stuff like waiting for a loading bar, download, or file copy, etc).

 

In other words, in a 60 hour week (9 am to 9 pm, Monday to Friday), you're doing, at best, 12 hours of actual paid work.

 

You don't need staff at all. You need marketing. Lots of it.

 

Here's what I'd recommend:

1. Get a professional website (Self made or hire someone, as long as it looks good)

2. Create a Facebook Page (gross I know but just do it)

3. Make sure your business email address uses the same @ domain as your website above (Eg: abdul201588@abdulscomputers.com)

4. Make business cards - put your Name, title (owner, CEO, whatever), website, and facebook page link, along with the normal info (Business address, phone number, hours, etc)

5. Share your Facebook Page and website address to friends.

6. General marketing - do local newspaper adverts, do flyer campaign for the local area, do Google or Facebook ads if you want to market to online customers, etc

 

Don't hire anyone until you're busy pretty much every day and start to run out of time to do other tasks required.

 

Also, you're working a 12 hour shift - that might not be "all day" in the literal sense, but that's "all day" in a "working day" sense.

 

Once you're busy enough to actually need a 2nd tech, you'll be able to afford to pay him (and all the extra costs that surround that). Advertise the job ad using places like Monster, LinkedIn, Facebook, your own website (have a Careers section or something). Also check to see if there are any local/state job boards - especially government run ones. You could also use something like Craigslist, but you'll get a lot more spam/crap applicants that way too.

[Tsuki]

On 9/6/2017 at 10:17 AM, Abdul201588 said:

So no money at the moment

 

you cant.

if you cant pay them, they arent going to work for you.

 

get some clients, and obtain an income. then worry about getting people on board, once you can pay them.

[Fahim Foysal]

5 hours ago, Teddy07 said:

is PC repair in 2017 even a viable business?

if its laptop and desktop together than it makes sense but if its only desktop then not so much

[Sir Asvald]

8 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

Here's what I'd recommend:

1. Get a professional website (Self made or hire someone, as long as it looks good)

2. Create a Facebook Page (gross I know but just do it)

3. Make sure your business email address uses the same @ domain as your website above (Eg: abdul201588@abdulscomputers.com)

4. Make business cards - put your Name, title (owner, CEO, whatever), website, and facebook page link, along with the normal info (Business address, phone number, hours, etc)

5. Share your Facebook Page and website address to friends.

6. General marketing - do local newspaper adverts, do flyer campaign for the local area, do Google or Facebook ads if you want to market to online customers, etc

 

 

Thanks for the reply. The only reason why I get so little is of my location. I'm willing to go to the customers house's. I even say on my website I can only travel so far. 

 

1. I've got my own website, I've built it myself. It works. I've tested it made sure it working perfectly. It's secure, it has an SSL certificate. It has a contact form, the customers fill out what they need. I get it an email notification.
2. I've got social media accounts, Google+ and Twitter, I'll create Facebook today
3. I've got an Exchange server running with my domain name
4. I'm looking into them as well
5. I've shared all the links
6. I'll be handing out business cards and all the media will be on them. 

[Gale]

On 9/6/2017 at 1:22 PM, Abdul201588 said:

I've been working 7 days a week 10 am to 9 pm.

I've met people who have built successful businesses (as in, they now make $500,000-$1,000,000/year). That's how it's going to be at the start, and it might stay like that for years. You're going to be tired and miserable. You'll think about quitting. Whether this is worth it or not, it's all up to you.