How to get started in PC Repair business?

Real_Bullet · 07-19-2005, 10:17 AM

Just wondering whats all required for me to start my own PC Repair business?

I would be temporaily working from my home and all but need to know what all I need to make my small business legal and all. I seen someone where online where you need a Business license, some tax card, and a permit, I dunno what the permit is for though.

all help would be appreciated.

v-six · 07-19-2005, 12:02 PM

I'm not sure about what kind of licensing you need to make it legal... but one thing thats very good to have is insurance. If a system goes sour when you're working on it, even if it wasn't your fault, you better believe you're paying to have it fixed.

**LoneWolf071** · 07-19-2005, 01:28 PM

Yes, Also Some Type Of Certification, Although Not Needed, Would Be Nice, People Always Like To See Those...

Real_Bullet · 07-19-2005, 01:35 PM

Well I never got any certifications on anything, was about to once, but I been working on CPU's and the such since abou 1987 and really got involved in it back in 1992-93 with older dos systems and into windows 3.1 systems. so my knowledge of pc's I think is good enough to where I can make something of it.

Insurance, business license, I can see needing. But just to work at my home for time being, I just dont know where to go about in setting a business up like the first step and all.

**Jason** · 07-19-2005, 07:17 PM

Check with the local government office. I know here in Florida its around $13.50 a year for a sole proprietorship business license. Then you need to go to the local IRS office so you can do taxes. Again here in Florida you file taxes every month. Thats if you plan to buy wholesale and charge taxxes.

If you wish to incorperate (LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp), its going to be roughly $100 to do it yourself, or you can have a lawyer/tax person do it for you. I just paid $375 to have it done by a specialist.

If you wish to do a fictitious name (something other then your real name) in Florida they charge an extra $50 a year.

Not sure how much insurance will run you.

You may want to talk to someone from your local SCORE chapter, or the SBA

yustr · 07-20-2005, 04:10 AM

The first thing you need to do is prepare a business plan. You really need to think through how you're going to put food on the table before diving in. Do some research - how many others are in that business in your area? How much do they charge? Do they stay busy? What's your ramp up period going to be?

There may be help with this at the Chamber or at SCORE or SBA.

You might try to start as a side business until your customer base gets large enough to support it.

Many on this forum have posted experiences and suggestions and lessons learned. Look back through them and gleen what you can.

My advice in a nut shell: Under promise - over deliver.

Good luck.

Skie · 07-20-2005, 08:56 AM

If you want to do a "Doing Business As" name (sole proprietorship), then check with your county. Mine charges $5 to file and you need to put it in the newspaper for 3 weeks, once a week which costs $90 (for the newspaper I called). I'm sure other counties charge other rates. But doing a DBA isn't expensive.

If you're going to be a small company and you maybe want employee's in the future, then I would look at doing either an LLC or an S-Corp. This will need to be filed with the state, not the county. Again, costs for these vary by state and I think some states don't even allow LLC's. You can file within any state you want really, and operate as a foreign corp. Be sure you know everything you need to know before doing this. This will also give you some added legal protection against lawsuits and your own personal assests.

This URL can help tell you which is better for you in terms of LLC or S-Corp. http://www.bizfilings.com/learning/index.html.

Geekgirl · 07-25-2005, 07:15 AM

Quote:

The first thing you need to do is prepare a business plan

I totally agree

Your also going to need a name for your business, if you are not going to use your own name (Bob's PC Repair/ Smith's Computer Repair) you will need to file for a Fictitous Name. This Application will need to be placed in 2 local papers.
Also if your state requires you to charge tax for services you will need a tax ID. I pay my taxes quarterly via ETides/Internet

Advertise, advertise, advertise.....I advertise like crazy. Unfortunately my place of business is also in my home. Which thats not the issue, I live in the woods, you cant see my house from the main road, so I placed a sign at the end of my driveway. You can see it for a half mile both directions

I didnt need any permit for my sign either, at least the township has not been at my door yet

I have no employees, just myself. I get swamped at times then there are days I have nothing. I believe it is my location but I cannot afford the overhead yet.
April 2005 was 1 year for me, and in that 1 year I tripled my income/customers. My prices are the cheapest in the area and I make housecalls, which alot of people would rather have you come to them.

It takes time, so be patient. Once you get your name out there and they like your services they will return with friends/family.

Good luck

DubbaJ · 08-15-2005, 08:27 PM

Your business plan is not necessarily the first thing you have to do...well unless you're looking for outside financing.

I've had a business going on almost a year now but equipment and supply funding came out of my own pocket...severance from last employer and savings helps a lot if you have them.

Of course I do have a working business plan, I mean it's a work in progress but being that I am working out of my home...sandblasting glass, stone, etc. ... as a DBA and selling my wares at local flea markets and most recently...within past week on eBay I can still do my business and work on completing my plan.

If things get larger than I can handle out of my home...that's where the business plan will come in. Funding will be needed to secure a facility (including construction, modification, etc.) additional equipment I'm sure and possibly some employees.

I say don't let the lack of a completed business plan stop you from going forward. And, the SBA IS a great place to get started.

I live in the People's Republic of Massachusetts and can only guess that things are similar in other states. First, register your business with your town, city, or county as applicable. In my case, a $20 per annum fee with my town. Also had to register with the state Department of Revenue so that I can legally collect sales and use tax from my fellow state residents. Most of my stuff sells in New Hampshire though...no taxes to collect from there.

Being as I am Doing Business As (sole proprietor)...my business and I are one and the same. That is, at tax time I file it with my personal taxes. If I later decide to incorporate then that's another ball of wax. I started with the SBA and then went to my own state's business development sites. I also attended a three month entrepreneurial training class.

I can guarantee you one thing, if you ask 100 different people you are going to get 100 different answers. What I posted is my opinion and experience and is in no way telling you what you HAVE to do. It's your business...and you do what you gotta do...

EricT · 09-06-2005, 08:09 PM

My 2 cents-

Been doing this for 2 years on my own, in the field for about 10.

Licensing- every town is different. Most dont require tax on your service, but will if you resell. I got myself a license, so I could resell. Selling a set of servers and a network to a client now, gotta collect and hand off the taxes there. Depends what you want to do.

Biz plan- if youre doing this just for you, and that makes you feel good, do it. My biz plan is to work part time and make money. You just read my business plan. Oh yeah, I dont do macs either. Thats it.

Decide what services you want to provide. Then figure out your costs, how much you need to make, and charge whats fair. I run into alot of guys who think theyre worth 250$ an hour after passing some 2 bit microsoft certification. I get all thier business and do it better than they can, at a lower rate. To make the money, you have to be getting paid... charging imaginary fun rates in your head - hard to cash at the bank.

Certifications - I used to work in the dotcom engineering field, interviewed more people than I would ever care to think about again. I never saw a correlation between people who had certs, and who knew what they were talking about. IF anything, there was a slight tendancy for those who were certified, to not know what they were doing. Kind of sad. I dont spend money on certifications, to date - I have lost one client who wanted a cisco certified tech. Oh well!

I work in an interesting area - most of the residents in my town HATE pc guys. Heres why-

They get overcharged, the techs rarely show up on time, if at all, and they usually make things worse due to ineptitude.

Heres what I do-

Use a scheduler. I have to, I too suffer form the "techie syndrome" where I can solve complex virus problems, but have a hard time recalling where I need to be. And yes, I carry a PDA that beeps at me. Very necessary.

Advertise wisely- in my town, its yellow pages only. Everything else is a waste. Newspapers are often a pain.

Dress like you mean it. Show up in your futurama t shirt and yes, you will look as dorky as they expect you to.

Call ahead if youre gonna be late. Call again afterwards to make sure everything is still fixed. And, guarantee your work - I money back guarantee all my work (unless you have winme, saps!) and I have yet to have been asked to write a check on refund.

If you dont know whats up - DONT CHARGE. Youll learn whats going on, and be able to fix the problem next time when you see it again. And you will. That mentality will pay off in the long run, big time.

DONT FORMAT THE COMPUTER IF YOU CANT SOLVE THE VIRUS PROBLEM> EVER. Its unneccessary. Thats a total copout. Take it home and work on it if need be. In a few months youll be good enough to not need to do this.

Just because its in a box in the store, does not mean its good software...

Hehe, guess I have some pet peeves to work out here.

But, some of this is just lazy. The competition here in my town is SO bad that people think I am a shmuck by trade, no joke. But in the end, the home repair job is not that one of technical ability, its of personal communications, really. I have found its more about sales and explaining things in a non techie manner than just fixing the problem.

That said, I am myself trying to move into the business sector more as its a bit more consistent money. FYI, its very cyclical. Ask a plumber about thier work, very seasonal.

Be ethical. Not making an extra buck on one job may make you 10 later. Be freaking honest. Tell them that the winme box theyre working on thats 8 years old and is a compaq... is a POS and not worht putting much money into. Really.

If I can get an account with a major wholesale house (I have 3 different houses I use) then you can too. Dont buy your crap at the swap meet - my competitor does this. Jesus. Oh yeah - dont install Dlink anything either. I mean, really. Research your products you recommend. Friends dont let friends install Norton, and if they install Mcafee, they get backhanded.

Enough from me. Hehe. Good luck. Just be honest. I caught 2 other companies ripping people off this month alone. Honestly, if PC techs were held to the same standard as car mechanics, thered be a bigger dork ward in the local jail. Some of these guys deserve it, trust me. Honesty will pay off. Study online.

Eric

elf · 09-07-2005, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Oh yeah - dont install Dlink anything either.

I think you were doing pretty well up until here...there is nothing wrong with dlink equipment, I personally have had nothing but good experiences from them for the last 4-5 years.

I compare that to my friends linksys and he's had nothing but problems.

yustr · 09-08-2005, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricT

Biz plan- if youre doing this just for you, and that makes you feel good, do it. My biz plan is to work part time and make money. You just read my business plan. Oh yeah, I dont do macs either. Thats it.

Eric

I'm a big proponent of having a written business plan. It can be as simple as yours but it should be specific enough to tell you how you're going to keep a roof over your head and food on the table. And its not just for getting investors. If its just a part time thing to suppliment your income or help out friends, then its not really a business. If you're going to rely on this income then you better have an idea of how much you'll need to make, how many customers you're likely to get and how much to charge. These are the basic components of the plan. $ out versus $ in.

I agree with elf, avoid being condecending about brands. Nothing I hate more than having a tech (or more likely a salesman) say "Oh man, no wonder your having probelms, you have a XXX - they're all a POS". It makes me feel stupid for having bought it in the first place and that's not a feeling you want to instill in your customers. And, their experience with the POS might be better than yours has been.

ebackhus · 09-08-2005, 04:33 PM

Sometimes telling it like it is will make you money...

If I do work for someone and they plant the horrid WinME Compaq in front of me. I power it on and it begins to vomit. I power it back down and lay it down for them. Their PC is crap, but the sales guy at the store didn't tell them that so it's not their fault. I can build them a NEW PC with good reliable parts and a good OS for X dollars and even give them two hours of "free" training. Suddenly, my $75 job becomes a $200 job.

As for D-Link, I like them for the most part. The latest firmware for my 524+ wireless router is crap though and I had to downgrade to restore webservices again.

I'm looking into going for business for myself as well so I've been researching this all greatly. I'm getting a house soon (w00t) and I plan to use the converted carport as my "lab."

**Blitze105** · 09-29-2005, 01:20 PM

Thank you very much ericT you answered my questions and more. I'll have to do a little more research on my programs, now that you mention it.
Thanx again!
-blitze

brandon079 · 10-13-2005, 12:14 AM

First of all this was all very helpful information. I'm have been planning a mobile pc repair busness for awhile but am a little worry about things working out right. I know how to go about the insurance, permits, advertisement, anf a finicial support but I dont know the specific of everything to actually do the job. I need a good platform for service contracts and reciepts. I also need to know what tools i should bring and what to really expect on those first calls. I plan to have a pc in my car, possibly with wireless net since its offered here. But when all doesnt work out I may have to bring their pc home and I dont know how to go about this with the customer.

I am 21 and have been doing hardware and software repair since I was 14. I dont have any certificates but one from my vocational center for different programming skills but nothing that really shows that im not the average idiot. I fix about 15-25 pc a month for friends and family but I've only excepted money once and it was nice for a change.

I have scribbled down a 'pseudo' business plan but nothing in stone. What I'm asking for is some sort of templates for contracts or proposals, and the tools needed to do the job. I realize some of the basics, but what are some good freeware apps I could use? Is a laptop or pda going to be neccasary,

I know the first month or so im not going to make any profit but this is a good time to set up a good client base. I don't want to rip off the customer or my employees but the employees I have in mind will be willing to help with little pay to get me on my feet.

Feel free to email me with any tips, your own business plan, documents, and anyother information I should know before I start just reply I'll be back. Thanks brandon079@gmail.com

~~whodat~~ · 10-13-2005, 05:56 AM

just dont spoil your new clients with ridiculous cheap calls, because when its time to make a profit, you will give them cardiac arrest. imho

07-19-2005, 10:17 AM	#1 (permalink)
Real_Bullet Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Lumberton, MS Posts: 487 OS: Windows Vista Home Basic My System	How to get started in PC Repair business? Just wondering whats all required for me to start my own PC Repair business? I would be temporaily working from my home and all but need to know what all I need to make my small business legal and all. I seen someone where online where you need a Business license, some tax card, and a permit, I dunno what the permit is for though. all help would be appreciated.

07-19-2005, 12:02 PM	#2 (permalink)
v-six Manager, Design Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: High Falls, NY Posts: 2,064 OS: OS X for mac, XP Pro for PC	I'm not sure about what kind of licensing you need to make it legal... but one thing thats very good to have is insurance. If a system goes sour when you're working on it, even if it wasn't your fault, you better believe you're paying to have it fixed. __________________ mysql> --i-am-a-dummy Brewing up something good at vervesix...

07-19-2005, 01:28 PM	#3 (permalink)
LoneWolf071 Be Free Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Texas Posts: 833 OS: Windows XP, Linux	Yes, Also Some Type Of Certification, Although Not Needed, Would Be Nice, People Always Like To See Those... __________________ Suicide Command in Linux : rm -rf / ;) AIM:TheLoneWolf071@aim.com--If You Need Help, Don't Hesitate...

07-19-2005, 01:35 PM	#4 (permalink)
Real_Bullet Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Lumberton, MS Posts: 487 OS: Windows Vista Home Basic My System	Well I never got any certifications on anything, was about to once, but I been working on CPU's and the such since abou 1987 and really got involved in it back in 1992-93 with older dos systems and into windows 3.1 systems. so my knowledge of pc's I think is good enough to where I can make something of it. Insurance, business license, I can see needing. But just to work at my home for time being, I just dont know where to go about in setting a business up like the first step and all. __________________ I can speak Chinese, PPHUBK'YU.

07-19-2005, 07:17 PM	#5 (permalink)
Jason Shot the jukebox Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 6,824 OS: Windows XP My System Blog Entries: 2	Check with the local government office. I know here in Florida its around $13.50 a year for a sole proprietorship business license. Then you need to go to the local IRS office so you can do taxes. Again here in Florida you file taxes every month. Thats if you plan to buy wholesale and charge taxxes. If you wish to incorperate (LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp), its going to be roughly $100 to do it yourself, or you can have a lawyer/tax person do it for you. I just paid $375 to have it done by a specialist. If you wish to do a fictitious name (something other then your real name) in Florida they charge an extra $50 a year. Not sure how much insurance will run you. You may want to talk to someone from your local SCORE chapter, or the SBA __________________ Posting Tips \| Advice for New People \| Common Fixes \|

07-20-2005, 04:10 AM	#6 (permalink)
yustr Asst. Manager, The Conversation Pit Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Connecticut shore/California Desert Posts: 4,883 OS: PCLinuxOS, XP Pro My System	The first thing you need to do is prepare a business plan. You really need to think through how you're going to put food on the table before diving in. Do some research - how many others are in that business in your area? How much do they charge? Do they stay busy? What's your ramp up period going to be? There may be help with this at the Chamber or at SCORE or SBA. You might try to start as a side business until your customer base gets large enough to support it. Many on this forum have posted experiences and suggestions and lessons learned. Look back through them and gleen what you can. My advice in a nut shell: Under promise - over deliver. Good luck. __________________ I didn't mean to say it. But I meant what I said. J. McMurtry In Vino Veritas

07-20-2005, 08:56 AM	#7 (permalink)
Skie Manager, Alternative Comp Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Downers Grove, IL Posts: 1,821 OS: Gentoo Linux, Redhat Enterprise Linux, CentOS My System	If you want to do a "Doing Business As" name (sole proprietorship), then check with your county. Mine charges $5 to file and you need to put it in the newspaper for 3 weeks, once a week which costs $90 (for the newspaper I called). I'm sure other counties charge other rates. But doing a DBA isn't expensive. If you're going to be a small company and you maybe want employee's in the future, then I would look at doing either an LLC or an S-Corp. This will need to be filed with the state, not the county. Again, costs for these vary by state and I think some states don't even allow LLC's. You can file within any state you want really, and operate as a foreign corp. Be sure you know everything you need to know before doing this. This will also give you some added legal protection against lawsuits and your own personal assests. This URL can help tell you which is better for you in terms of LLC or S-Corp. http://www.bizfilings.com/learning/index.html. __________________ Last edited by Skie : 07-20-2005 at 08:57 AM.

08-15-2005, 08:27 PM	#9 (permalink)
DubbaJ Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Massachusetts USA Posts: 11 OS: XP Pro/W2K/98/OVMS 7.1	Opinion Your business plan is not necessarily the first thing you have to do...well unless you're looking for outside financing. I've had a business going on almost a year now but equipment and supply funding came out of my own pocket...severance from last employer and savings helps a lot if you have them. Of course I do have a working business plan, I mean it's a work in progress but being that I am working out of my home...sandblasting glass, stone, etc. ... as a DBA and selling my wares at local flea markets and most recently...within past week on eBay I can still do my business and work on completing my plan. If things get larger than I can handle out of my home...that's where the business plan will come in. Funding will be needed to secure a facility (including construction, modification, etc.) additional equipment I'm sure and possibly some employees. I say don't let the lack of a completed business plan stop you from going forward. And, the SBA IS a great place to get started. I live in the People's Republic of Massachusetts and can only guess that things are similar in other states. First, register your business with your town, city, or county as applicable. In my case, a $20 per annum fee with my town. Also had to register with the state Department of Revenue so that I can legally collect sales and use tax from my fellow state residents. Most of my stuff sells in New Hampshire though...no taxes to collect from there. Being as I am Doing Business As (sole proprietor)...my business and I are one and the same. That is, at tax time I file it with my personal taxes. If I later decide to incorporate then that's another ball of wax. I started with the SBA and then went to my own state's business development sites. I also attended a three month entrepreneurial training class. I can guarantee you one thing, if you ask 100 different people you are going to get 100 different answers. What I posted is my opinion and experience and is in no way telling you what you HAVE to do. It's your business...and you do what you gotta do... __________________ JJ Last edited by DubbaJ : 08-15-2005 at 08:33 PM.

09-06-2005, 08:09 PM	#10 (permalink)
EricT Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 51 OS: XP	My 2 cents- Been doing this for 2 years on my own, in the field for about 10. Licensing- every town is different. Most dont require tax on your service, but will if you resell. I got myself a license, so I could resell. Selling a set of servers and a network to a client now, gotta collect and hand off the taxes there. Depends what you want to do. Biz plan- if youre doing this just for you, and that makes you feel good, do it. My biz plan is to work part time and make money. You just read my business plan. Oh yeah, I dont do macs either. Thats it. Decide what services you want to provide. Then figure out your costs, how much you need to make, and charge whats fair. I run into alot of guys who think theyre worth 250$ an hour after passing some 2 bit microsoft certification. I get all thier business and do it better than they can, at a lower rate. To make the money, you have to be getting paid... charging imaginary fun rates in your head - hard to cash at the bank. Certifications - I used to work in the dotcom engineering field, interviewed more people than I would ever care to think about again. I never saw a correlation between people who had certs, and who knew what they were talking about. IF anything, there was a slight tendancy for those who were certified, to not know what they were doing. Kind of sad. I dont spend money on certifications, to date - I have lost one client who wanted a cisco certified tech. Oh well! I work in an interesting area - most of the residents in my town HATE pc guys. Heres why- They get overcharged, the techs rarely show up on time, if at all, and they usually make things worse due to ineptitude. Heres what I do- Use a scheduler. I have to, I too suffer form the "techie syndrome" where I can solve complex virus problems, but have a hard time recalling where I need to be. And yes, I carry a PDA that beeps at me. Very necessary. Advertise wisely- in my town, its yellow pages only. Everything else is a waste. Newspapers are often a pain. Dress like you mean it. Show up in your futurama t shirt and yes, you will look as dorky as they expect you to. Call ahead if youre gonna be late. Call again afterwards to make sure everything is still fixed. And, guarantee your work - I money back guarantee all my work (unless you have winme, saps!) and I have yet to have been asked to write a check on refund. If you dont know whats up - DONT CHARGE. Youll learn whats going on, and be able to fix the problem next time when you see it again. And you will. That mentality will pay off in the long run, big time. DONT FORMAT THE COMPUTER IF YOU CANT SOLVE THE VIRUS PROBLEM> EVER. Its unneccessary. Thats a total copout. Take it home and work on it if need be. In a few months youll be good enough to not need to do this. Just because its in a box in the store, does not mean its good software... Hehe, guess I have some pet peeves to work out here. But, some of this is just lazy. The competition here in my town is SO bad that people think I am a shmuck by trade, no joke. But in the end, the home repair job is not that one of technical ability, its of personal communications, really. I have found its more about sales and explaining things in a non techie manner than just fixing the problem. That said, I am myself trying to move into the business sector more as its a bit more consistent money. FYI, its very cyclical. Ask a plumber about thier work, very seasonal. Be ethical. Not making an extra buck on one job may make you 10 later. Be freaking honest. Tell them that the winme box theyre working on thats 8 years old and is a compaq... is a POS and not worht putting much money into. Really. If I can get an account with a major wholesale house (I have 3 different houses I use) then you can too. Dont buy your crap at the swap meet - my competitor does this. Jesus. Oh yeah - dont install Dlink anything either. I mean, really. Research your products you recommend. Friends dont let friends install Norton, and if they install Mcafee, they get backhanded. Enough from me. Hehe. Good luck. Just be honest. I caught 2 other companies ripping people off this month alone. Honestly, if PC techs were held to the same standard as car mechanics, thered be a bigger dork ward in the local jail. Some of these guys deserve it, trust me. Honesty will pay off. Study online. Eric

09-08-2005, 04:33 PM	#13 (permalink)
ebackhus Asst. Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 12,734 OS: WinXP Pro SP3 My System Blog Entries: 25	Sometimes telling it like it is will make you money... If I do work for someone and they plant the horrid WinME Compaq in front of me. I power it on and it begins to vomit. I power it back down and lay it down for them. Their PC is crap, but the sales guy at the store didn't tell them that so it's not their fault. I can build them a NEW PC with good reliable parts and a good OS for X dollars and even give them two hours of "free" training. Suddenly, my $75 job becomes a $200 job. As for D-Link, I like them for the most part. The latest firmware for my 524+ wireless router is crap though and I had to downgrade to restore webservices again. I'm looking into going for business for myself as well so I've been researching this all greatly. I'm getting a house soon (w00t) and I plan to use the converted carport as my "lab." __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

09-29-2005, 01:20 PM	#14 (permalink)
Blitze105 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 557 OS: XP Pro SP2, FC5	Thank you very much ericT you answered my questions and more. I'll have to do a little more research on my programs, now that you mention it. Thanx again! -blitze

10-13-2005, 12:14 AM	#15 (permalink)
brandon079 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 3 OS: XP	Service Contracts and Other help First of all this was all very helpful information. I'm have been planning a mobile pc repair busness for awhile but am a little worry about things working out right. I know how to go about the insurance, permits, advertisement, anf a finicial support but I dont know the specific of everything to actually do the job. I need a good platform for service contracts and reciepts. I also need to know what tools i should bring and what to really expect on those first calls. I plan to have a pc in my car, possibly with wireless net since its offered here. But when all doesnt work out I may have to bring their pc home and I dont know how to go about this with the customer. I am 21 and have been doing hardware and software repair since I was 14. I dont have any certificates but one from my vocational center for different programming skills but nothing that really shows that im not the average idiot. I fix about 15-25 pc a month for friends and family but I've only excepted money once and it was nice for a change. I have scribbled down a 'pseudo' business plan but nothing in stone. What I'm asking for is some sort of templates for contracts or proposals, and the tools needed to do the job. I realize some of the basics, but what are some good freeware apps I could use? Is a laptop or pda going to be neccasary, I know the first month or so im not going to make any profit but this is a good time to set up a good client base. I don't want to rip off the customer or my employees but the employees I have in mind will be willing to help with little pay to get me on my feet. Feel free to email me with any tips, your own business plan, documents, and anyother information I should know before I start just reply I'll be back. Thanks brandon079@gmail.com

10-13-2005, 05:56 AM	#16 (permalink)
~~whodat~~ Register user Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 5,931 OS: XP	just dont spoil your new clients with ridiculous cheap calls, because when its time to make a profit, you will give them cardiac arrest. imho

10-13-2005, 05:40 PM	#17 (permalink)
Deja-vue Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005