Starting PC Repair Business
 

Im about to graduate from college this May(I did Business/Marketing) and i want to do a "regular" job for about 2 years before heading off to get my MB.

However, im very good with computers. I can assemble and fix computers. I fix computers for family/friends all the time and i even built my own $2,500 Super PC. Ive probably built at least 10 pcs for friends in the past year alone..

IM wondering if i should try to open a computer repair/service shop. It will probably make me more money then working in an office 9-5 with a business degree..

Do you have any tips/ideas? or know someone doing this?

Thanks a lot for your contribution.

bump.. thanks

Building/repairing computers is a tough business, at least here in Toronto. There are shops set up on every corner and prices are cutthroat, dominated by 1 major company who can afford to buy parts cheaper because of sheer volume). I think you'd have much better luck in internet marketing...

Actually I just remembered, my computer science friend started a similar company. They cater to local small businesses and I think they've a small client base already but it's been pretty tough for them. They do free delivery within the greater city area, free on-site warranty repairs etc and I don't think they are cashing in on it big time. They also had to rent an apartment "office" to store all the computer parts.

Think outside the box, and you'll bank.

:2 cents:

operated my computer repair / retail business for 5 profitable years before best buy came in with low cost pc?s and forced me to close down.

Here are some things I learned along the way that will help you to maximize profits

1. Offer a maintenance contract instead of the traditional first come first serve systems repair. I used to charge customers 50.00 per month on contract with the understanding that when ( not if) something went wrong with their pc I would fix it under the contract. I then made sure there computers were in tip top share ( antivirus etc etc) and I hardly ever had to service the contract

2. Set your base hourly rate very high? and push the contract. Believe me this is best for you and the customer.

3. Cytrix was my friend but in this day and age remote desktop can be used for most issues

4. Power supplies are one of the biggest points of failure on a pc.. under voltage.. over voltage? check this before anything else

3. never believe your customer? when they tell you they did not download or install anything? they mean within the last 5 minutes. Create restore points on the systems of your regular customers? this will save you a gang of time.

4. Exercise ? its really easy to fall in a slump in the pc repair biz

5. If a major chain moves in close by? do not hang around to see wether or not this will have an impact on your business? it will? get out


hope this helped good luck:thumbsup

Remember, the customer doesn't know shit about what's going on inside that box, so it's pretty much up to you to convince them that they've got an expensive problem. Swap out a couple of cards and tell them it's gunna be $1000 and you'll be golden.

Or get a job at Geek Squad.

I used to work doing technical support on-site for real estate companies.
WORST JOB EVER.

You know how like, problems suck? Well, your life will be one big fucking problem. Every hour of every day that you work, you will be dealing with problems and headaches. It's a sickening and stressful job. I personally could not live with constantly dealing with something being wrong.

tough biz - small margins - i just went by the shop where I bought my last PC about 9 months ago - FOR LEASE sign on the window :Oh crap

they owed me a GB of RAM - guess I won't be getting it!

I quoted you because it was simpler than typing everything you just did...

Independent PC repair is Dead. The Best Beys and other chains have taken all that business. Seriously, there is no money left in it. I owned a Computer store for 4 years.

I do not know about YOUR best buy's, but I know it's a month wait to get in at the one's here.

So there is STILL a market for those who know how to market.

Forget the hardware side.

Clean off all the spyware and crap customers have on their computers.

good luck for you!

How about a computer repair at home service.....

I help my family because they are family but the public I dont think I would have the patience.

Why not? Good luck!

I guess it takes time to build up a good db of customers...

friend of mine does computer repairs from home in a town of 5800 people. It's a small community, mostly older people - he's busy as fuck. It may work well for you if you were in a small community. Large metropolitan areas have it tougher for small guys, aka expensive advertising and big box stores you can't compete with.

I say no, i dont see how ur gonna make more money at a repair PC shop versus working at a normal place. dont forget ramp up time which ur going to be in the red.

Just sit outside a PC shop and see how much business they get through out the day. Ive never in the last 10 years went into a pc shop to find activity of any kind. And most end up closing. Perhaps its the location and most people buying PC's from dell / best buy type shops.

there can be lots of cash in that. I made quite a bit with a biz like that. a few things you should consider:
1. don't go for a shop - do house visits... people are buzy... at least the ones that have money
2. specialize in a specific area (security, networking, ...) If you are any good, you phone won't stop ringing
3. always make sure your customer is happy - I even did quite a few jobs for free or almost free... it always came back double... a happy customer comes back and brings his friends/family with him.
4. don't be cheap, demand good money for good work.
5. walk the extra mile for every single customer, even for those annoying smart asses - it does pay off. show them how to do things, teach them a trick, show them a application they might use, etc...
6. service is better money than hardware - I never sold anything but service



If you know your stuff and you know how to give good service - you'll bank.

I've become the defacto "computer guy" for my entire family. I told them all I was going to buy a van, load it up with parts and start charging for visits.

It's really not a bad idea.

much better idea than a shop little overhead. :thumbsup

Yeah I don't doubt it would be a great business...even as mentioned before
just selling services like cleaning windows of spyware, removing viruses,
installing new shit.....and let's not forget explaining people howto use
their computer and software on it.....no doubt you'd be busy from early
morning till late at night if you want :thumbsup

I had one and dropped it because its a shitty ass business to be in.

Don't do it, take my word for it.

If you are in a rural area you will make a killing. Everyone for miles will flock to you. If you are in a dense urban area forget it, the competition will eat you alive.

thanks so much for all suggestions.. heres what i was thinking before i posted:

#1. I will do home visits, if the stuff is really messed up, I will have you sign contract and ill take your computer and fix it at my apartment and return it to you when i finish.

#2. I did marketing in school, i know how to market myself..

#3. I will charge customers like $40/month, and tell them this includes fixing any problem under 1hr for free monthly, basically instead of paying me $80/hr, you pay $40/month and if something is wrong and will take under 1hr, ill fix it for free.

#4. I will give out flyers and on the flyer if ppl recommend their friend they both get 25% off..

#5. i know its a tough business, but my value will be that I offer lower prices than geeksquad and firedog, plus ill be honest with you.

#6. i was thinking of going to pc shops and giving them out cards, and the card will have 30min free training session with purchase of new pc, and they can give it out to their customers??

I know biz is tough, but sheesh a marketing job is like $40k/yr before taxes, thats about $3,500 a month, less than $1k a week..

If i try my pc business for few months and i dont make profit, ill just close down, my startup cost will be minimal because i already OWN a car and a PLACE and im doing house visits.. I just need my screwdriver and a bunch of CDs that have my tools and utilities...

Thanks

bump for ideas

Good idea, also get yourself a good USB memory stick and put your most
important stuff on there...handy when cdrom drives don't work properly :2 cents:

There was a guy some years back that did this. PC Doctor. He would make the house calls. Wasn't cheap, but when you are a webmaster, or impatient, you do not fuckin' care. He would be there same day.

He was making $150k+ a year as a one man show

Charge premium prices for premium service. Might want to focus on businesses. Home users are more of a pita and aren't as willing to pay as much. They always have computer problems and don't always have the in-house resources to handle them. Much easier to get a corp to fork out $500 to repair a few pcs than it is to charge a home user that much.

Also, offer hosting for the small businesses. Get a reseller plan with cpanel and you can charge sick prices for tiny accounts. Just make sure the customer knows you're going to give them awesome service. They don't mind paying as long as everything is up and running and they can always access their email.

I dated a guy who did this for years. It was extremely profitable (he loved emachines - he'd buy power supplies in bulk for those things). At the beginning he was also buying modems and such in bulk and selling them - this was back in the early 90's.

But as computer prices started going down, people were more willing to just buy a new computer than get an old one fixed. He sold the biz and now runs and interstate trucking business.

He said the worst part of the job was finding the amateur porn pictures of the owners (this was a small town where you knew everyone) on the hard drives. He also said the religious nuts had more porn than anyone else :)

Oh, another thing he said customers were famous for was leaving the computers there and saying to hell with paying to get them fixed. Get some sort of payment upfront.

thanks for suggestion peaches..

yeah i want to target small businesses..

But how do i do that? i have no clue...

bump again for night crew.. im getting lotta suggestions.. I figure my initial outla y will be cost of registering business and printing some business cards/flyers.. If it doesnt work.. hey, at least i tried..

The thing is i ENJOY fixing/working on computers and even if i make little money doing it, ill be happier than pushing paper all day.. plus i get to set my own hours and work from home..

Plus i get to meet people.. beats staying in a cubicle..

I walked away from a growing operation where I had contracts with 1/4 of all the registered businesses in the town. The chamber of commerce is your friend, get in there and quite a few businesses owners come and go from there, if they see you there you're in ;)

hit plenty of up scale bars.... In the town I was in there were basically 3 "upscale" bars, you know the ones that charge triple for everything than your bar does?

Hmm I let me put this as nice as I can. Go work for best buy / Comp USA or Mc D's . With the way the home PC market is this is your best bet. and since it sounds like your not going to be in for the long haul.

Just to give you a point of reference I am
A+ certified
N+ certified
AIX certified
SUN and Solaris certified
I used to build 30 + pc's a day.
The largest system I have build was a 1.6 million S70 12 power PC processors and 20 gigs of ram with 1.9 terabyte SSA array.

and I now do porn for a living....
Get the point. Find something easy to do that doesn't take money out of your pocket but puts it in.

NosMo

I don't get it though ... why such a competitive business? I mean you claim you're good with marketing but that's like me trying to get into the ringtone and viagra business with search engines.

If you like to set your hours and work from home then do internet marketing, if you like talking to people, do local internet marketing... wouldn't that be like - easier?

i say give it a try

The best thing that you can do is to follow what's inside you and focus and I'm pretty sure you get what you want.

u guys keep missing the point.. yeah i can work online and make X5 more, but its not about the money now.

i want to go to harvard business school or another top school for my MBA. I have the grades, i just want some experience running an offline business

anyway thanks for all the help

if you say you can make $5k/week who the fuck needs harvard ? :1orglaugh

my parents.lol

a good way to get your name out there and get some business is thru online search marketing. You can set yourself up to come up in the local listings on Google (i.e. when someone searches "PC Repair near [my city]).

Ive set up a number of campaigns for customers that have worked out really well. if you need some help, hit me up

let me just say don't waist time... if you really can make 5k+/week, stick to that, fuck everything else...

Go around old people hoods and put flyers on there door. You will def get biz.

do flyers in people's doors and cars actually work?

not sure I just know that old people always need help with there comps.

No everybody who does that is doing it just for fun.......of course it works:thumbsup

lol ill give it a shot

im still going ahead with this plan, if it doesnt work im out company registration fee, big DEAL

someone smart once said do what makes you happy, and choose a career that you dont mind doing for free!

Repairing computers makes me happy, and ill gladly do it for free for ANYONE.