btech

Hi. I have decided to start a small pc repair business out of my home for some extra income. Drop offs to me and advertising locally. Can I please get your input on what all I should have to get this thing going. Spare parts, what kinds of software & how to go about licensing if needed, and if the customer does not have their original pc software & pricing-- not sure what the going rate is these days. I have some ideas churning through my head but I would love some expert advise.

Thank you!

Cobalt

I'm not sure on what you should charge, though I would be inclined to have set prices for certain tasks as well as an hourly rate for ongoing repair work. After all, you could offer a PC healthcheck similar to what you would get in the likes of PC World for a set fee and so forth.

In terms of parts, you would probably need a range of components, and ideally the more you can get your hands on the better. Top of the range gear isn't essential, but you need to be able to swap out potentially problematic hardware and test it with known working gear. Of course you can do a lot of work with a voltmeter and an intimate knowledge of tech support, but having some gear to do repairs on site would be ideal. I'm not talking about having the entire range of AMD chips, just a couple of spare PSU's, fans, hard drives and so forth.

I would recommend setting up a dedicated area and having a spare PC to use to run the "business". Again you might want to use it for test purposes or to transfer updates from the web to a machine on the repair bench so you don't want to be using your own main machine really.

You also want to get flyers and adverts in as many shop windows and internet cafes as you can. It's not overly ambitious, but a lot of people are lacking a friendly, local tech support guy so you have the scope to do well.

Best of luck, I hope I've been of some help.

PanamaGal

Be careful about how much stock you have on hand. It's a delicate balance to have what you need but not what you don't. Prices change too much and you can get stuck. This happened to us when we started back in 1998, and it set us back a few bucks.

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yustr

I'm not in the repair business but I'd think the one thing you'd for sure want is a dedicated external HD to clone the guys entire HD before you do any repair (except maybe anti-virus/mal-ware purges). No better way to loose a client than to have to say: "I fixed it but all your family photos are gone."

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Zazula

Hello, btech, I wish you a successful course in the IT-Repair path you've chosen following.

You've already been given some pretty sound advice, I'd only like to add these:

a. Work out a co-operation with hardware providers, so that you can avoid overstocking, being allowed returns and having predictable lead times when you order components.

b. Set up a "troubleshooting rig" where you'll be able to plug devices and check & test them.

c. Keep handy all the troubleshooting software deemed necessary but don't over-equip yourself with programs; it's better to have some and know them inside-out and make them bring home the bacon, than to have virtually everything and remain uncertain on which one is better-suited for the case in hand.

d. Work heavily in acquiring issue-fighting experience, invest in yourself as a gung-ho troubleshooter.

e. Apart from the aforementioned "troubleshooting rig", maintain another high-end pc (if possible), where you can have a lot of different operating systems running on Virtual PC (which, by the way, is free from Microsoft). Use it to simulate different environments, run dubious operations without danger and re-produce issues reported by your customers.

f. Stay informed on anything current concering the IT industry; become a meaningful counsultant for your clients.

g. Become an "TSF-info-absorbing sponge". Check out regularly all TSF threads and keep learning (like we all do).

h. Do not keep a lot of hardware or software in stock. These become obsolete and/or overpriced (compared to what's currently in the market) really fast. And a negative side-effect is, when you advise a customer of yours e.g. to "buy this hdd" and they see you have a whole bunch of the very same hdd's lying around, they become quite skeptical if you are genuinely suggesting the best option for them or you simply want to get rid of your stock or if this is the hdd where you are given a heftier margin. It is far better to create the idea that you're only advising based on what's best for them, not for you. If you've successfully worked out a co-operation with hardware providers, then you can guarantee lead times and you show them you care enough to tailor your suggestions to their individual case.

i. Regarding small-IT-business advertising, I've started posting some insights in this thread.

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Meztiso

My erxperience is that the malware is either the cause of the problem, or is the major obstacle in identifying what the problem is. Either way, getting it off very quickly is a critical business consideration.


At this point, my SOP is to pull the HD first, install on my high-end machine and run the following, in this order:

chkdsk, to identify disk errors and if possible repair them before going any further

Clean-Up, to delete temporary internet files and other extraneous data that may be infected.

Then run malware scans. I'm not "wedded" to any in particular, and am always looking for better/faster. But AVG & Ewido are what I use now.

Ad-Aware & Spybot

Boot customer's computer with their HD (if possible), with as many peripheral devices removed as possible, and take a look at HJT log first. Fix what needs fixing there.

I do this no matter what the symptoms, as I do not like trying to interpret symptoms from multiple causes. Best to rule out malware first, as completely as possible and as quickly as possible.

One recent lesson for me was from a conversation with a local computer repair shop owner's employee. He was a loud-mouthed & obnoxious salesperson, and talking about the owner (who does all the tech work) while he was working in the back room.

The sales clerk said that the owner worked on about 6 computers all at the same time, like it was (my characterization) "weird".


This bit of knowledge actually connected a couple of questions for me that have come up during my computer repair experiences, which is "How are you going to make money when it takes so long to run critical diagnositic programs?"

The answer was apparant to me then. That you work on many computers at the same time so that you are not wasting your time waiting on diagnositic programs to finish. Didn't occur to me until that moment. Thought it might be useful to someone else.

Zazula

Meztiso made a very good point here, by bringing the malware-fight into the discussion. According to this thread: "American consumers spent at least $7.8 billion for computer repairs, parts, and replacement over the past two years to correct problems caused by viruses and spyware."

So, it is of paramount importance for a Tech to be anti-malware proficient; and I cannot simply imagine any better way for achieving AND maintaining this, other than becoming a TSF Security Analyst! It is no coincidence that the Analysts, Senior Trainees and HJT Trainees ranks in TSF's great Security Team have some exceptional Techs among them.

So, all of you reading this, you might also want to consider reading Applying To Join The Academy.

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TechDragon

My experience is that the problem is almost always either malware or faulty hardware. So, make sure you have several extra components you can swap out to see what the problem is. However, don't overstock on these components or you'll be wasting money that is valuable, especially to a fledgling business.

Dirkpitt289

Btech

I'm in the same boat as you. I've been toying with a side computer business for the last three years where I did ok but it was completely word of mouth. This last year was the first time I put a real effort forward to make it a reality. Along with some of the things I've read in this thread I have some other suggestions.

- What are the alternatives in your area where people can get their computers fixed? Do what they don't do. Offer what they don’t offer.
For my area there are the “Bring your computer to a shop” places. Well that’s all well and good but that is still a frightful task for some users. I had a user once who was given my name by a friend; she opted to take her PC to the local big store. 6 months later she called back for another issue. In our conversation I found that after she took her PC to get fixed it sat in a corner for close to a month because she couldn’t figure out how the thing went back together. Now this woman is a regular customer

-Another thing I found that the others don’t do is save data. I have people that tell me to just wipe it out. When I return it and all their stuff (docs , Pics) is still there they are elated.

-Another thing I found will help you out tremendously is how you treat your customers. I treat my customers like family. I talk to them; I ask them questions and get to know them. I make them feel like I’m interested in them as a person more than just the money they give me when I leave. This interaction goes a long way for me. Granted it takes time sometimes and I may only be able to see 3 clients a day as opposed to 5 but those 3 clients will most likely call me back again next time.

-Give your clients something for free. When I leave them I leave a few tools for them to help keep their computer running clean. Customers like it when they feel they got something free. Don’t you?

- Read read read read… you can never gather enough knowledge about fixing computers and what is going on in the field.

I hope this helps

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Dirkpitt289

infused

I charge $75+GST an hour, doesn't matter if i'm there 5 minutes or 12hours... same charge.... you have to or you will go bust.

Add %10 to your hardware.

You are set :P

Bear in mind, I only deal with other businesses... dealing with home computers is just too much work with too little pay... I suggest you stear clear of this if at all possible.

Bussinsess can provide so much business...

Get them on a contract... mail them some specials every month and away you go... I normally get a business on a contract for say 3 hours a month maintenance of their server (I setup Microsoft SBS 2003) and then charge anything extra at $75+gst an hour).

The contract is peanuts compeared to what they will spend with you. Example, one business currently spends $300 a month with a contract, but since then they have bought laptops, computers, software etc etc.. they currently spend $30k a year with me, just by hooking into a contract.

Once you have done that, they come to you with everything.

Just my 2c.