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ForumsUnless you have been living under a rock for the last 6 months. You have probably heard that a recession is most likely going to happen this year. From what I have been hearing from many different people in many different fields, its already here. But, will it affect Computer Technicians? Read on.
Just today I was talking to someone who owns a printing business that prints promotional material. Apparently for him and all his printing buddies who also own printing businesses, business has dried up completely.
I have a few clients who own bricks-and-mortar stores where some are on the street and some are inside shopping malls. They are also saying that business has slowed down alot. People arent buying much and there isnt as many people walking around as there used to.
I beleive this is because basic items such as supermarket groceries and petrol have risen in price so much that there isnt much money left at the end of the week for non essentials.
But what about the techies?
Well, just about every technician I have talked to about the topic of recession has mentioned that their earnings are actually up over past years.
I feel that in recent years, computers have become another “essential” just like car petrol. I also feel that it will increase as we head deeper into recession and more people get laid off. People will need a working computer to update their resume and a internet connection to search the job sites. They will need us.
What do you guys think? Do you think the recession will be good for us? Are your earnings up?
I don’t think recession is good for anyone. Updating resumes and searching for jobs are not good enough reasons for people to hire a technician i think.
If you understand he said, makes sense.He meant recession of other markets will benefit us because the workers will need Jobs, and will need a “working computer” to find jobs. To find jobs, you don’t need a tech, but to get a computer working properly to find the jobs, oh yea, u need a tech for that. So I see the logic in your Article. Thanks.
Right now its the fuel prices in the U.S that are killing me. If things do not change soon I’m going to have to give up my out of town customers….about a 3rd of my customer base…and the price of parts is also being effected because they now cost more to ship…
Yes summed up nicely – ‘they will need us’.
As fuel continues to rise I only see the use of the internet increasing over the foreseeable future and more so than usual. People are going to become more home-orientated and reliant on the PC to communicate and stay in touch with the world and this will be to our benefit. Ive noticed this trend already and have been busier this last few months than previous years over the same time period. And people are not only getting their PC’s repaired but more of them are asking for new builds. I get the feeling many people out there are battening down the hatches to weather the coming storm..
Also by the looks of it, the sub-prime problem is taking the entire world with it. Japanese banks reporting losses and now we are seeing other Asian banks doing the same!
Well heck, I have seen a surge in business in the last few months. Basically since the start of the year I have been continuously busy, for a part timer like me that is good. I’m knocking on wood as I type this though…haven’t had a call in a few days.
I live in Iowa, so the gas prices are not quite as high as other places….$3 a gallon for the middle stuff. But, It’s still killing my budget and raising the prices of everything I have to buy. I’m thinking the next car might not have a V-8…
I thought recession is trouble to any kind of business. But reading your post, change my mind that…You are right, every kind of business need computer and this is why this business grows well even in recession. I would try this business if I have the skill and capital.
Actually the recession might do some good for the tech and internet business. time will tell, but i have personally had a bit of an upswing in my business during the last bit of time.
I think it is funny we all seem to want change but continue to do and think things the same ways and get the same failing results. A recession just might be the catalyst to cause us to consider doing things differently. We just might get resourceful. The leadership never states the obvious, they fear public panic and are not the experts of channeling and changing out comes.
I believe Bryce speaks for AU because thats where he lives. Im in New England USA and things have come to a stand still and people out here are called frugal Yankees to begin with, so it is harder.
One thing Ive noticed is that IT dept people get laid off and they start fixing PC’s like in alot of different towns and they dont charge much to fix anything, so people go to them because there cheaper sometimes. They cover all the local store boards with flyers with little rip tags with there number on it Right over my business cards!!!
I think that overall I.T businesses will actually reach a greater span of people than it already has since nearly everyone will virtually need a pc in the coming years both for business or pleasure.With that there will be data crashes, vista problems, etc.
Like it or not they’ll have to pay for qualified techs.
Or get a “friend” who knows something about computers to screw up their system more, which brings us more business
The more people that rely on computers, the more problems they are going to encounter and need help with. The average user doesn’t know much past sending an email and browsing the internet.
It’s not the cost of the gas that gets me, it’s the amount of time it takes to drive out there! I can always charge more to make up the gas bills… Can’t always recover the time.
This is typically a down quarter anyways… I know that the 4th calendar quarter we were completely slammed. We’ve slowed a little bit, but the 1st calendar quarter is usually a little slower than the previous.
I think in bad times people stop spending on projects . So bread and butter support is still around .
I was way up from the first of the year, the last 2 weeks have died. I think that when the customer runs out of money, they cant spend on anything. They will let those computers crash, and use just one, until they are forced to spend to fix them.
We should see an increase when tax refund checks start hitting, and hopefully stimulas checks.