Computer repair business

[xxweekxx]

I graduate from college in May 2008(one month)

I got a marketing degree from a good university, graduated summa cum laude, honors lists since freshman year, Student WHo's who for 2007, etc, MY GPA after 130+ credits is over 3.7

Yet i cant find a job that will pay over $2.5k a month.

To me, thats really sad.

Now on the flipside, i am VERY good at fixing/assembling computers. I built my past 2 pcs myself and i built all my family's pc. I keep myself up to date on whats going on..

I live in Bergen County NJ and im thinking of starting a computer repair business over here. The problem i see with computer repair is you make money only when you fix/repair computers, so I'm thinking of trying to sell a service plan for say $29.99 a month, where people get 1hr of free pc fixing for that fee.

Basically, if i do it well, all i gotta do is make sure their computers are secure and they won't call me that often.. 1000 customers = Over $30k gross, and theres millions of people around here in this area.

What do you guys think?

[Sly]

Waste of time and too little money. Build sites.

[xxweekxx]

I dabbled in adult in 2002 but I havent done it since then, Won't be easy to build up plus i dont know how..

[Jake the King]

Juicy D. Links will pay you by the hour. Just don't ask what you have to do. I've made GREAT money over the past 4 months. Keep an open mind and don't bother bringing your degree.


Good luck my friend!

[After Shock Media]

Never under estimate the power of stupid people. Specially if you want to sell them a service plan.

[xxweekxx]

yeah After shock. Plus we are the richest county in USA i believe.

There's lots of rich people here, I just need a few hundred people signed up and im good. Plus i did marketing in school, i know how to sell and be different..

[st0ned]

Use the free classified sites (ie: craigslist) if you have no SEO knowledge, you will probably get ranked for terms relating to computer repair in your city. This of course is on top of any local marketing you might do.

I would personally take the approach of building sites as mentioned by Sly, but if you don't have the knowledge, take what you are good at to the next level.

[xxweekxx]

Im also hoping to get tips from someone who has done this

[u-Bob]

here you go:


you'll need it...

[Matt 26z]

Originally Posted by xxweekxx

I dabbled in adult in 2002 but I havent done it since then, Won't be easy to build up plus i dont know how..

Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 3,298



Try the repair business if you want. It's not like that sort of thing takes a serious investment if you are going to work out of your home and fix them on site. I don't think your $30 a month plan is going to fly though. If I paid $120 for four months and didn't need you, I want more than 1 hour of service if something goes wrong.

And your 1,000 rebilling customers number is probably a best case scenario for a small business.

[st0ned]

Originally Posted by xxweekxx

Im also hoping to get tips from someone who has done this

Well as far as the whole craigslist thing, that is how I found one recently to send to my grandmas house to fix her computer (I have been far too busy lately). Searched for "Computer Repair Tucson" and it came up with the craigslist result. They made $100 from me for less than two hours work. Give it a shot.

[AlienQ - BANNED FOR LIFE]

I invented Useless College Degree's.

[milan]

Please do the math a little better, nothing goes as good as it looks...

Most repairs will need more than 1 hour, meaning you will need employees to provide that good service (major Overhead!)

Waste of time, raise your prices and focus on business customers if you really want to do this biz (don't expect to make more than $4-6K per month if you work on your own).

Also rich people will want service at home.

Look at the geek squad model, they were on there way to bankruptcy when Best Buy took over and they did this only to save their computer sales business.

[NosMo]

I would either learn to do adult or start selling crack...


NosMo

[qxm]

service businesses are too limited...........once you hit the max of work you can do there is no more space to grow.....(unless u clone urself).....things on the interwerbz are a different story........

[kane]

I think it would be very hard to get someone to pay for this service at $30 per month. As was posted earlier most people go months on end without need for help. If I go 5-6 months without ever needing help then I just spent 150-180 on nothing. After a year I would have spent $360 for nothing and even if I needed you during one of those months it is still a lot of money when you consider I can just got to Dell.com and get a new computer for around $350.

I would think the better thing to maybe try would be to sell a service contract that they paid one fee for and it gave them so many hours of credit. Say for example they could buy a 2 hour contract for $50 and it was good for 12 months. Any time during that year that could call you up and you could come fix their computer. It is more like an insurance policy. the potential problem with them is you have to keep track of who has used how many hours and so on plus you have to always be selling new contracts.

You could also do some looking and see if you can buy components and build computers. Build people new computers then sell your service as part of the price. Your niche would be they get a custom built computer with a set number of hours of free tech support and on site support or something like that. A friend of mine does something similar here where I live only he focuses on higher end stuff. His computers aren't cheap, but they are very good, all use top quality parts and are custom built for people and gives every buyer a warranty and free support for a certain time period (I think 6 months). He isn't making bank, but it is a nice second job and he just got a contract to do all the computer for a small city which is pretty sweet.

It is hard to get people to pay $30 a month for a porn site with half a million pictures and movies in it and that site gives them orgasms, I think getting them to pay monthly for something they aren't using will be extremely difficult.

[Lycanthrope]

Bad idea. The reasons are pretty well covered in others' replies.

I would like to address the other issue though - and this isn't directed only at you, but at everyone with the entitlement mentality that thinks getting a degree is an immediate ticket to riches: College prepares you for an entry level job, not "Director of (your specialty here).

The general formula is a fairly easy one:

education = decent job
experience = decent job
education + experience = much better job

Yes, there are exceptions to the rule, but most people must spend some time at the bottom before they rise to the top.

Also, 3k a month in New York City wouldn't pay the rent, but in Northern Wisconsin, it would cover a mortgage on a fairly decent house and two car notes... so you may need to look elsewhere.

[xxweekxx]

Yea got you guys, thats why i didnt register the business yet.

However, i know college isnt ticket to richest.. In the past few years ive made lots of money but it was when mortgage was still good..

I made a killing with mortgage leads but now the market sucks

my plan after graduation was to open a biz and hire some loan officers and do mortgages but I guess that won't work out seeing as how the mortgage biz took a dump..

Its just hard for me to know that i was able to make $10k/WEEK doing mortgage online from home, and now I will go work for someone and make $10k/15 WEEKS, 40hrs/week..

Big difference you know.. I just cant get into the whole 9-5 working for someone mentality, especially since ive made 6 figures in one month online..

So you guys are saying cmoputer repair sucks?? Funny thing is I don't need a lotta money to be happy. If i can do computers repair/service and make $5k a month Ill be happy. The important thing to me is I work at my own schedule and I am my own boss..

[AlienQ - BANNED FOR LIFE]

OH how I remember when I made 10K a week in Adult....

Way back in the day...

[qxm]

Originally Posted by xxweekxx

Yea got you guys, thats why i didnt register the business yet.

However, i know college isnt ticket to richest.. In the past few years ive made lots of money but it was when mortgage was still good..

I made a killing with mortgage leads but now the market sucks

my plan after graduation was to open a biz and hire some loan officers and do mortgages but I guess that won't work out seeing as how the mortgage biz took a dump..

Its just hard for me to know that i was able to make $10k/WEEK doing mortgage online from home, and now I will go work for someone and make $10k/15 WEEKS, 40hrs/week..

Big difference you know.. I just cant get into the whole 9-5 working for someone mentality, especially since ive made 6 figures in one month online..

So you guys are saying cmoputer repair sucks?? Funny thing is I don't need a lotta money to be happy. If i can do computers repair/service and make $5k a month Ill be happy. The important thing to me is I work at my own schedule and I am my own boss..

Shit M8............u have the same background I have......... I used to play with hawt chicks at the mortgage firm I used to work.....it was a cool job, all u needed was guts on the phone and that's it.........about a year ago everything went to shit when new century mortgage came tumbling down.. from there it has just been a snowball effect..........

[Lycanthrope]

Originally Posted by xxweekxx

...So you guys are saying cmoputer repair sucks?? Funny thing is I don't need a lotta money to be happy. If i can do computers repair/service and make $5k a month Ill be happy. The important thing to me is I work at my own schedule and I am my own boss..

At first, working for yourself (I'm not talking online), usually amounts to longer hours and less pay than working for someone else. And that "you are your own boss bit..." doesn't really seem like it when you have people calling you at all times of the day simply because they forgot to re-enable their pop-up blocker after playing on pogo.com the night before. And if you manage to get some customers fairly quickly, you WILL need employees if you want to maintain your sanity, and having employees itself can be a full time job.

If you truly want to be your own boss - find your niche online. Whether it is adult, or mainstream mail-order or selling surplus Vans shoes on eBay :P

[DBS.US]

For a guy with a marketing degree, your not doing a very good job of selling yourself.

[rowan]

Originally Posted by xxweekxx

So you guys are saying cmoputer repair sucks?? Funny thing is I don't need a lotta money to be happy. If i can do computers repair/service and make $5k a month Ill be happy. The important thing to me is I work at my own schedule and I am my own boss..

If you're running a "hands on" service business then don't expect to be able to play golf every second day, or have an afternoon siesta between 1 and 4.

If you charged a flat rate of say $40 per hour then you would need to work 125 hours per month to make $5k. That ends up being about a quarter of your waking hours, or about 4 hours every day (including weekends). If you exclude weekends then you're up to nearly 6 hours every weekday, which is not really that far off a standard 9-5 job.

You're sitting in front of the computer, you appear to have at least basic internet skills, and you're posting to a webmaster board. Why don't you start acting like a webmaster, and build some sites that will make you some money while you sleep.

[Sly]

Originally Posted by xxweekxx

Yea got you guys, thats why i didnt register the business yet.

However, i know college isnt ticket to richest.. In the past few years ive made lots of money but it was when mortgage was still good..

I made a killing with mortgage leads but now the market sucks

my plan after graduation was to open a biz and hire some loan officers and do mortgages but I guess that won't work out seeing as how the mortgage biz took a dump..

Its just hard for me to know that i was able to make $10k/WEEK doing mortgage online from home, and now I will go work for someone and make $10k/15 WEEKS, 40hrs/week..

Big difference you know.. I just cant get into the whole 9-5 working for someone mentality, especially since ive made 6 figures in one month online..

So you guys are saying cmoputer repair sucks?? Funny thing is I don't need a lotta money to be happy. If i can do computers repair/service and make $5k a month Ill be happy. The important thing to me is I work at my own schedule and I am my own boss..

I really don't think you are giving your self enough credit. If you made a killing with mortgage leads, you can make a killing with other products. You keep saying what a great marketer you are. I am still of the belief that the Internet is the best medium to be marketing over. What the Internet provides you, the "real world" cannot.

Screw the storefront. Screw the office job. And screw the degree.

Get back to your roots. The Internet.

No job is going to give you what the Internet can give you. Don't cling on to your degree just because you finally have it. Use your true experience with making money and put your degree experience to work and start hitting the keys.

By the way... you mentioned $5,000 like it wasn't anything... to most people, $5,000 a month is a very, very good living. With your knowledge, you should have no problem picking up that income online with some good hard work. In an office job? Fat chance.

[payd2purv]

5k a month repairing peoples computers?

impossible.

[bdld]

the worst mistake i ever made in life was to get an education. more often than not, the boss is a dropout and all his employees are graduates.

[qxm]

Originally Posted by bdld

the worst mistake i ever made in life was to get an education. more often than not, the boss is a dropout and all his employees are graduates.

ain't that a partial truth.......

[Linguist]

Didn't you make the same thread a few months ago with everyone pretty much telling you the same thing as now?

On a serious note, I've a friend who's running a computer build repair business with his partner and the main % of their cash comes from website design/tech support to the businesses. You'll need to put down a fair bit of money downfront and a lot of effort. But if you're ready to do it, take a look into car pc market... be prepared to actually work 16 hour days though with not much income... and see if you can find a partner who would complement your skills (programming/rich daddy/etc)

[RTP]

Originally Posted by xxweekxx

I graduate from college in May 2008(one month)

I got a marketing degree from a good university, graduated summa cum laude, honors lists since freshman year, Student WHo's who for 2007, etc, MY GPA after 130+ credits is over 3.7

Yet i cant find a job that will pay over $2.5k a month.

To me, thats really sad.

Now on the flipside, i am VERY good at fixing/assembling computers. I built my past 2 pcs myself and i built all my family's pc. I keep myself up to date on whats going on..

I live in Bergen County NJ and im thinking of starting a computer repair business over here. The problem i see with computer repair is you make money only when you fix/repair computers, so I'm thinking of trying to sell a service plan for say $29.99 a month, where people get 1hr of free pc fixing for that fee.

Basically, if i do it well, all i gotta do is make sure their computers are secure and they won't call me that often.. 1000 customers = Over $30k gross, and theres millions of people around here in this area.

What do you guys think?

before you try any brick and mortar business you had better do some really in-depth competitive analysis and research. you're concept is ideal but it's theory..i wouldn't suggest risking your future on a simple concept with facts such as this country has money to spend, you are only justifying your idea to yourself.

i'm assuming you are around 21-22 and given your education and experience you've already had in financial there are so many options out there, i think a good move if you are to really go for a traditional gig (and able travel often) is start applying to consulting firms for practical experience eg. analyst or associate at a big 4 or consulting firm such as accenture, e&y, boston consulting, pwc or somewhere along those lines.

they are traditional accounting firms but the divisions under them are high tech, marketing and management consulting. fresh grads they will work you hard but you learn at an accelerated rate and your marketability is increased ten-fold. you might travel 2-3 weeks every month but to learn and start at 50-70k as an analyst is a good trade off. google the names i gave you and see, 8-10 years down the line if you are good then you get tapped to be a managing director of principal of a team and you are looking at 250k-300k annual

if you are looking to do something non-traditional and use your entrepreneurial drive, don't leave adult.

[LiveDose]

Sounds like way too much work for the time/effort.

Good luck in your search.

[fujiko]

If you really want to do this..
Then, i suggest you first of all, get a job working for a comp repair company.
This way, u can know the business & have an idea about the profit margin.
You need some serious research on this.. Its kinda risky, but what business isnt.

[fluffygrrl]

Originally Posted by After Shock Media

Never under estimate the power of stupid people. Specially if you want to sell them a service plan.

The man knows, listen to him.

[Madame0120]

We owned a repair and custom build retail store, and after 3 very successful years, with sales of more than 30K a month, Dell brought out their $1000 system, and people stopped reparing their machines. Just like the TV and VSH industry, most electronics are cheeper to replace, than fix.

When Best Buy built in our city, it was the last nail in the coffin, when we couldn't buy parts at wholesale, any cheaper than what BB was selling off the shelfs - and then the swan song began.


Be very careful of your marketing research, for your area. My very best suggestion is to go to your local branch of the SBA and get their take on the viability of your biz.



What a dang shame, when well educated and honored graduates are thinking about blue collar jobs - with white collar credentials. And here I am, community college educated, and I make 50K a year talking to wankers on the phone.

My Daddy was right .. find a hobby, and make it into a job.

[k0nr4d]

College is for people who want to work for other people.

[Ethersync]

Originally Posted by k0nr4d

College is for people who want to work for other people.

So true.

[Walrus]

If you enjoy fixing computers, woudln't you also enjoy Networking Computers? Why not take a Cisco Certified course at a local community college once you have your degree? I don't know how the market is these days, but that is what I nearly got into earlier in the decade. I took a Computer Repair course and then almost went on to do Networking, but I found I didn't enjoy it. I do remember back then looking at all the Contract work back then. If you don't want to work for others, look into contracting. There are plenty of IT contracting websites.

[Barefootsies]

Originally Posted by After Shock Media

Never under estimate the power of stupid people. Specially if you want to sell them a service plan.

Plus, I do not know where you are, but around my area if you want the "Geek Squad" or some of the others to fix your shit. You are looking at 7-30 days. If you can beat that, and be comparable in price. You will succeed easily.

[xxweekxx]

See, i keep getting mixed opinions.. Some people say do it, some say dont.

First of all, i worked my ass off in college to graduate with honors and crap..

Second, if i learned anything, its do what makes you happy. If i sit in a cubicle making $30k/yr working for a boss ill be depressed.. Trust me i did it one summer as an intern and i was extremely depressed, my life felt meaningless.


For my computer repair business I wasn't going to open an actual store. I'll go fix computers in peoples homes, and if i cant fix it there ill take it and bring it back to my house..

Seriously i keep thinking about this: If i can make THE SAME amount fixing pcs than working for someone, ill do it anyday..

I enjoy fixing computers, heck i do it for friends & family all year long.. If i go to someones house and their pc is slow, I get into fixing mode and fix it for free...

So its either I am depressed, or do something I enjoy doing.. Thats why i was trying to fix a business model that brings in some kind of recurring revenue..

I dont want to make $5k one month, then $1k next month.. Feel me?

So if I cant sell a service plan, what else can i sell thats recurring?

As for the computer repair, my strategic advantage will be that I can come to your house ASAP and I will offer better prices than geeksquad et al, I looked at their prices and they want like $300 for something that takes 30min.lol

[Violetta]

give it a shot... You live and learn!

[Jai]

Originally Posted by xxweekxx

yeah After shock. Plus we are the richest county in USA i believe.

There's lots of rich people here, I just need a few hundred people signed up and im good. Plus i did marketing in school, i know how to sell and be different..

lol if thats so then it should help you in adult..

degrees are just for respect, dont prove anything really

[MaDalton]

i had a business like that and i was happy when i got rid of it. it sucked - a lot

[Madame0120]

Originally Posted by Barefootsies

Plus, I do not know where you are, but around my area if you want the "Geek Squad" or some of the others to fix your shit. You are looking at 7-30 days. If you can beat that, and be comparable in price. You will succeed easily.

Oh boy! Minimum wage AND an ugly uniform!

[xxweekxx]

Dalton why did it suck?

[rowan]

Originally Posted by xxweekxx

As for the computer repair, my strategic advantage will be that I can come to your house ASAP and I will offer better prices than geeksquad et al, I looked at their prices and they want like $300 for something that takes 30min.lol

One major mistake many startup business make is to undercut the competition by TOO much. Don't set your pricing too low from the start, then realise you have to raise prices just to survive... returning clients will remember what they paid last time.

Consider trying high value/low volume rather than low value/high volume. You never know, you may find enough people who are willing to pay that $300 to get their comp fixed.

[xxweekxx]

Yea i wont undercut them... just will price myself 10-20% lower.. ill still command high $$ for good service.

[TheSenator]

Repairing computers is such a low level job these days. My cousin Jesus who is 13 fixes everybodies computer and also knows how to hack harddrives, tweak CPUs and knows how to fuck with the registry. He charges 0.00 but gets hooked up with stuff all the time.

[MaDalton]

Originally Posted by xxweekxx

Dalton why did it suck?

because you have to deal with idiots all the time - people who fuck up their computers with all kinds of shit (mostly by surfing porn sites - how ironic) but refuse to pay 50 bucks for antivirus and then cry cause their computer is dead. then you sit there for hours to fix everything and they argue over the $100 you ask for. whatever does not work on their computer: you are responsible - even when they forget to plug in the power cable. and so on and so on...

if you are really good do service for companies - network administration and stuff like that. you can easily charge $150 - $250 per hour.

but service for private people - forget it

[viencarl]

Originally Posted by u-Bob

here you go:


you'll need it...

[xxweekxx]

lol bump for more ideas

[GrouchyAdmin]

I did personal, retail, and SMB PC repair for years. It paid quite well, providing I did it for myself, and not someone else; going rate for "GeekSquad" is probably $10/hr, if you're lucky.

Make sure you file for an EIN, are fully bonded, and pay your state taxes.

Buy about $1,000 of semi-decent parts from an 'overstock-and-end-of-line' reseller like CompGeeks. An $8 modem that you sell for $15 is still $10 cheaper than buying it at Best Buy, and they'll realize that you're not fucking them, even if it is nearly a 100% markup (you must consider the storage, shipping, and taxes you paid) - it's still cheaper than retail.

It can't hurt to put out a few ads in the local free newspapers, such as "Big Nickel", "Thrifty Nickel", etc. However, most of your work will come from word of mouth if you keep your clients happy.

Sometimes you might get called out to fix a problem that's as simple as a cable being disconnected. If you don't charge for those, or pro-rate good customers, you'll have them for life. You will, however, have many idiots try to defraud you, and waste your time. Ensure that they know that once you leave, unless a piece of hardware 'dies', it will be another service call.

I haven't offered these services for years, and I still get email from former clients seeing how life as progressed, and often, begging me to come back and fix things.