All I have to do is say "Yes." and someone with a building is willing to pay for everything I need. We have yet sit down to have more talks, as I need to prepare a list of what I would need to start. I want to start out small and work my way up.
Let me know what I should write down.
Starting small....
Yourself as technician and office manager.
A couple of PCs and a high speed internet connection, for updates, parts shopping.
At least 3 workbenches so you can multitask.
Meters to check voltages.
"motherboard simulator" so you can check power supplies.
Storage racks to get "repairs in progress" or "awaiting parts" off of the bench.
tools, soldering iron (actually used mine last week)
I salute your entreprenuarial drive, but I don't know how much $$ there is in a PC repair shop. Are you linking to another business? At the cost of most new PCs, I don't know anyone who pays to have them fixed anymore. I don't know that the upgrade business would carry a shop. Especially if you had to pay other employees.
I am interested in your plan and others reponses
So true.. There is business in data recovery... and SOHO networks.. SOHO repairs.. part time admin.. business that know the value of their employees do not have them wasting their time with pc repairs.. Aside from what fourdc had to say.. Know your market cell phone? people need to contact you.. where ever you are.. Oh.. Know how to use the tools that fourdc mentioned..Quote:
Originally Posted by fourdc
Thanks, guys.
This is going to be in a small town. Roswell, New Mexico. It has a population of ~45,582. I think in this case, the small population will help get me some notice and customers. ...I hope.
I will be hoping for the older crowd that don't know much at all about P.C.s and will just bring them in. For the most part I am guessing I will be doing the avrage clean up. I.E. - Virus/Spyware/Adware/Etc.
What about getting some parts in advance? Harddrives? Power Supplies? Or should I just wait on that and order as needed for now?
Roswell? Don't forget the visiting aliens!!!
I would refrain from having repair parts inventory, HDs just keep getting bigger and faster, video cards the same. Your repair parts will go obsolete. No matter what you have in stock, it will be the wrong size or form factor.
How is the shipping companies? FedEx, DHL, UPS and yes the USPS in your area?
Work on a getting a list of some parts wholesalers/distributers. A good trade publication for the repair trade is http://www.processor.com
You will also want to investigate disposal of bad parts, some communities can be touchy about throwing them in the trash, Joe Homerepair gets away with it but a businessman wouldn't.
I repair things in my basement as a side venture, it would never support my bad habits. I hope you make a good if you go for it.
If I think of anything else I'll add. I'm surprised we haven't heard from others.
Only thing I would add is to not forget the 'business' part of it:
Business cards
Professional looking flyers
An easy to remember name
Invoice printouts (office templates, etc)
Get a separate phone line / 800 number (vonage is good for this)
A couple hundred $$$ spent at kinkos will bring in more customers.