If only I could land 2 on-site calls a day...

[Edge Tech NY]

This is geared towards the more established business owners on here.. I have a perfect in house setup/office and I feel if I could land atleast 2 onsite calls a day, thats a easy $150+.. make that 5 days a week and I'm making almost as much as my 830-5 Full time IT job.. I've never tried paper advertising, only very nicely made club size flyers at the local microcenter parking lot, which do work..

For those of you who live off your business, if you dont have a store front, does 2 calls a day turn out to be a lot less $$ then I think? My goal is to run my bizz full time, and obviously making as many calls a day as possbile but I've been slacking since I started work a little over a month ago.. (lazy at night)

I work for a guy who started this business 5 years ago and has many school district contracts and offices etc. Basically I'm jealous and dont want to have to answer to anyone but myself or the client.

 

[repairit]

I am actually curious about this very thing.

I am currently working a Full Time IT job and my repair business on the side. I figured around the same number of on-site hours would net me what I need as well, but I could do a few less with some Pickup/DropOffs tossed into the mix. I would love to move to full time in my repair business but need to make sure I am well secured and have a good plan.

I have also considered moving to part time in my IT position to give me a more stable start, still considering my options.

 

[Alan22]

Getting 2 jobs a day sounds good, but it doesn't work out that way. Some days the phone won't ring, some days it won't stop ringing. Sometimes you'll need to take the system off-site, sometimes you'll need to run out for parts or need to order parts then go back, sometimes an anticipated 1-2 hour job will turn into 4+ hours (or 10 minutes). You'll get a call 20 miles to your north, then 20 miles to your south, then 20 miles east.....you get the picture. It can be alot of driving.

Taking that into consideration, there's gas, travel time, tolls, wear & tear on your vehicle, insurance.....and don't forget that Uncle Sam is your partner. You need to pay taxes on your profits.

I don't have a store front and if I did $150 a day I'd be struggling. Right now I'm in my office working on three systems that I'll deliver this afternoon. Each will have a repair cost of $125 - $150 not including any parts. Today will be a decent day. Christmas day nobody called - yeah, it was a day off, but when I don't work I don't make any money. New Year's Eve & New year's Day may be slow as well. Sunday is not usually busy by me either. So, although yesterday, today, tomorrow and Thursday may be good there are some days that aren't.

 

[PCERTtimh]

Although those two calls a day x 5 a week would be about what you make please all take in a count things that are more expensive when you are on your own.

Insurance - both for yourself&family and that of what you should have for your business

Travel Expenses - Gas/fuel & time spent traveling

** Parts/Expenses

Although I too would love to go out on my own the part-time side business and building up the clients is the safest way to start. Let the business you gain give you the ultimatium not yourself. Also if you do decide to go off create a buffer b/c there is never a guarantee for work unless you can establish contracts with businesses.

 

[repairit]

I definitely took into account taxes and insurance when gathering my numbers. My insurance is independent as is and taxes roughly a bit of an increase, but I judged based on my pretax current income. I guess I would need to tack on my travel expenses and figure other expenses.

 

[BlackHaxx]

2 Calls a day would be alright. My first month in business I was averaging 22 computers in a 5 week work day. (Apparently theres not many qualified IT's in my area) Like I said that lasted for about a month. Theres a new Bricks and Mortar Pc repair company in town about 5 miles for me. Business has gone down substantially. I'm lucky to get 8 a week now.... But I will persevere!!!!

 

[repairit]

Theres a new Bricks and Mortar Pc repair company

In light of this, has anyone made the jump to B&M? Are the expenses worth it? Does the visibility and customer perception of B&M really pay off?

 

[Blues]

I believe while we can't expect a consistant number per day if we average it out 2 per day is managable but I believe 3+ per day is your goal assuming 1 to 3 hours per call. Ultimately it varies with your pricing structure and services and other factors of how much you charge and what you need to be making. If you have a solid location which your current business can sustain then B&M is a good step as the object is to increase your work load by having a visible structure as advertising and a location for customers to make pick ups and deliveries. Basicly once you can justify the cost and have a solid location I see no reason not to have a B&M.

 

[Edge Tech NY]

I really got to stop procrastinating with my advertising.. It's time to start building my clientele enough where I can switch full time. I'm only 23 by the way.. Hope everything works out, quitting my job then not getting enough business would really F up my life hah

 

[Psychoticus]

Not sure about everyone else but the main thing i got here was money management, basically like with most businesses you will go through high and low times and you need to make your cash flow last so perhaps store some of that money away for a rainy day?

 

[Mushin]

This is geared towards the more established business owners on here.. I have a perfect in house setup/office and I feel if I could land atleast 2 onsite calls a day, thats a easy $150+..

For those of you who live off your business, if you dont have a store front, does 2 calls a day turn out to be a lot less $$ then I think?

From what I am reading you are charging around $75 for an onsite service call and two service calls would give you a good income to ditch your job.

Let me share with you some of my thought process on revenue. I have decided that I will not go out on site or dispatch a tech unless that service call will generate $150 in revenue. In comparison Geek Squad charges a minimum of $159 and the typical virus removal is $299.99. They average about 3 service calls a day per Agent.

To provide the best value we provide a triage diagnostic service via phone or remote support prior to scheduling an appointment. If the problem can be fixed by remote we quote the price, get approval, charge the client and perform the repair. If the problem can not be resolved by remote then we schedule an appointment and charge the client for the minimum service call.

I would rather make $50 off of a service call that eats up about 1 hour of time versus an onsite service call at $150 that would eat up 2.5 to 3.5 hours when you include travel time.

 

[repairit]

I am currently charging 90/hour for on site and 70/flat for pickup drop off service. I am in the middle of sorting out which remote service to utilize and planned on offering it for 50(not sure if by hour or flat). Then again, I am also considering raising my rates to 100, 80 and 60 respectively since I have gotten tips on quite a few jobs which makes me wonder if I am not charging enough or if they are just really appreciative. Any thoughts on this?

As for the rest, I am working on a marketing campaign which has proven a bit difficult due to the size of my city. I have only 1 real bit of competition other than big box in my immediate area. Once I get a decent marketing campaign going, I hope to see an increase. Right now I am running 5-6 jobs a week between onsite and pickup/drop off. So far my business has been from my website and the wrap on my vehicle.