Is Break/Fix dead?

[Kerrya]

About a year and a half ago I wanted to start a computer repair business.

I never went ahead with it because of the feedback I got on this same question.

the consciences was the business model was dyeing and I’d be better looking somewhere else.

I’m just curious how things are looking today. Anything looking better?

id rather not do MSP work. I’m better suited to smaller jobs.

I would really like to do break fix, building custom computers, and data backup reselling.

So am I a fool or do you think this is actually possible today,

Any advise appreciated.

Kerry

 

[Porthos]

So am I a fool or do you think this is actually possible today,

It depends on location and possible clientele. The successful and the ones in a position to survive in the long run do Business MSP.
If you plan to make a substantial living at it break/fix in many locations does not work. Again it depends on the area and how important computers are to the market users.
Phone/tablet use for day to day activities is taking many of my clients away.
There might be a boost for actual computers until the corona outbreak goes away due to people needing a real computer to work from home.
But until this month I get many wanting to SELL the computers not fix or buy them.

 

[GTP]

+ 1 this ^^
Having an existing client base certainly helps and can keep you going.
But without new customers you stagnate and dont grow.
Starting a break/fix business today would probably not be a good idea unless - as stated by @Porthos above - you are in a good area where potential customers are computer users.
You need to attract those clients too. Advertising is expensive and fails miserably.
The best advertising is by far "word of mouth."

Many on here have completely exited from break/fix to concentrate on business because at least, for the time being, it is still lucrative.

I have a good mix of home users/SoHo/SMB and a couple of larger business clients.
I'm feeling the slowdown like everyone else, but I have an income atm.

Diversification is good too. I do mobile phone repairs (screens, batteries), MSP/RMM, break/fix, remote support (crucial now) and am an Emsisoft reseller.
But the need for antimalware is diminishing with Widows Defender becoming much better - still not great - but better.

And as Jerry also said above many people are ditching PC's in favour of mobile phones/tablets.
I get at least 3 laptops/desktops per month donated from people that have no further use from them.

 

[kwest]

We do 100k a month in break fix. Ok 10k of that is msp but yes there is a lot of break fix out there.

 

[Cambridge PC Support]

Doing fine on mostly residential break/fix here - but I think it does depend on where you are, the more affluent areas are obviously going to be better.

 

[johnrobert]

I would not recommend it for someone starting out there are more lucrative business models like computer security.
it's very important your in the right industry

 

[britechguy]

If one goes in to break/fix trying to make a living, it's virtually certain you won't, and that's even in hot, hot, hot locations. There are just "too many of us" out there now.

It reminds me of the days when my partner and I (he's a studio potter) used to do high-end craft shows. For years that was a way you could really make a living as a working fine craftsperson. Slowly, though, more and more and more craft shows started showing up, many in the category my partner called, "Art on a Stick," with very low quality wares. Over time, that posed a problem from two perspectives:

1. There was simply show overload. For the uninitiated there were too many to choose from, and you had no idea of the quality level you were going to encounter.

2. There's a relatively huge market for "Art on a Stick" and a much more select one for fine art and craft. They also don't intersect, so regardless of which grouping you were in, if you found yourself in a show of the other type you were dead in the water.

As far as computers go, there is a ton of break/fix work out there, but the corollary to that is that there are already a ton of people out there addressing that market segment. It's very difficult to break in these days and make a living out of that segment, at least not without tons of "bush beating" trying to stir up business, which is difficult to do at all under a break/fix model. After all, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," applies so unless you've got a cadre of midnight breaker ninjas at your disposal, and you limit what potential clients can see as far as options to only you, well . . .

 

[Philippe]

Going on for 14 years now. Residential, on-site & software only break/fix.
Best month was January 2020 (W7 obsolescence). Lot of old & wealthy people around here.

 

[Diggs]

Residential break/fix is alive and well. My thought is that it all depends on your market and do you have the resources to get going. My first couple of years were very slow. Took awhile for word of mouth, ads and Google/web SEO to grow the business. I'm also one of the only mobile residential techs in my area.

 

[britechguy]

Residential break/fix is alive and well.

As a money-making venture for those trying to enter the market? Really? [And I ask that without a trace of snark.]

I've been around for over a decade now and have nothing but 5-star reviews on my Google Business page and very decent "word of mouth" referrals. I'll admit that the Shenandoah Valley would be a "relatively quiet" area computer break-fix wise to begin with, but if my business increased many, many times over it would still not be enough to make a living on.

I dread to think what it would be like for those trying to break in at this time (and I'm not talking about the COVID-19 mess in any way).

 

[GTP]

I've been doing break/fix for 20 years now. It took at least 5 years, thousands of dollars in (wasted) advertising money, and a lot of walking putting out flyers to build my business enough to "support" me and my (then) family.

The glory days of the PC between 2007 and 2012 will never be repeated.
In those years my business grew substantially, but has faced a steady decline since.
Obviously there were good months in the following years (like May 2018) but nothing compared to those previous heady days.

Break fix is dying. Its inevitable.

 

[Diggs]

it all depends on your market and do you have the resources to get going

As I said - Markets are different. Mine took much longer than expected to get to where it's self-sufficient but it's comfortable now. I'm not trying to speak for you.

 

[VISA MC]

I think if it's done correctly, there is still and will be a lot of money to be made in break fix. I bought a break fox residential shop 2 years ago and quadrupled his revenue. But it absolutely depends on your market.

Here we have 2 MSP's and every single customer we talk to has nothing but bad things to say about them. High fees, poor support, you name it. I have picked up a TON of business break fix because those two MSP's won't talk to them. We do somewhere in the ballpark of $20-25k per month on just business labor that we do not charge MSP rates for. These are customers who just need help from time to time and do not want or need to spend hundreds of dollars per month on recurring fees.

One good one was a client that was told by her MSP at 1:30 pm on a Tuesday it would be considered an after hours emergency charge to come adjust the DNS settings in the router. Customer had a static IP and the ISP had made some DNS updates and hers was not adjusted ahead of time. So she pays this MSP a monthly fee for support and they wanted to charge more for this even though it could have been done remotely if they had done their proactive job and changed it ahead of time.

We charged her $170 spent almost 2 hours there addressing other issues she had. Come to find out she had 3 windows 7 boxes. No recommendation to upgrade from her current provider. Gave her a project price on swapping 3 boxes moving all data over and upgrading her POS software. Got a nice sale out of it and took a client from the MSP.

Oh and another thing. She paid them for data backup on a monthly basis. Checked the software on her workstations so we could do the data transfer, have not backed up in 14 months. Got that business too.

Yes it's definitely possible, but as everyone else had said it depends on your market.

 

[Your PCMD]

We do 100k a month in break fix. Ok 10k of that is msp but yes there is a lot of break fix out there.

Only 100k? Thats change compared to and according to @sapphirescales ..

I just couldn't resist. Although @Kerrya I would agree with @Porthos and @Barcelona. It wasn't too long ago that I went fully into MSP and honestly, never looked back and don't regret it at all. Dumping the residential side by 99% allowed me to make a lot more money than I did in strictly break/x. I still get the odd residential customer every so often, but doing any repairs and such is totally on my terms where as if you do residential all the time - especially brake/x - you're pretty much on the customers schedule because they are your bread and butter.

You should really consider MSP at some point. You CAN make it work for residential, though it would be challenging but businesses is where it's at. MSP is cheaper to do as well. You don't need a building - or a big one at least - a small office would suffice or a room in your home. When I started my business years ago I was spending $1200/mo for a building, then went 100% mobile for a time before I decided to get another building which I have currently at $400/mo on the main road in my city. It's not big, only about 800 sq/ft but 2 rooms and it works for what I need. Front office and back work area. With the rent, utilities, internet I'm paying out about $550/mo. I make enough off of MSP to pay up in advance 6 months at a time.

 

[kwest]

Only 100k? Thats change compared to and according to @sapphirescales ..

I just couldn't resist. Although @Kerrya I would agree with @Porthos and @Barcelona. It wasn't too long ago that I went fully into MSP and honestly, never looked back and don't regret it at all. Dumping the residential side by 99% allowed me to make a lot more money than I did in strictly break/x. I still get the odd residential customer every so often, but doing any repairs and such is totally on my terms where as if you do residential all the time - especially brake/x - you're pretty much on the customers schedule because they are your bread and butter.

You should really consider MSP at some point. You CAN make it work for residential, though it would be challenging but businesses is where it's at. MSP is cheaper to do as well. You don't need a building - or a big one at least - a small office would suffice or a room in your home. When I started my business years ago I was spending $1200/mo for a building, then went 100% mobile for a time before I decided to get another building which I have currently at $400/mo on the main road in my city. It's not big, only about 800 sq/ft but 2 rooms and it works for what I need. Front office and back work area. With the rent, utilities, internet I'm paying out about $550/mo. I make enough off of MSP to pay up in advance 6 months at a time.

please don’t compare me to that guy. We have three stores and break fix is still going strong.

 

[Markverhyden]

The break/fix model in computers needs to be balanced against reality.

One needs to look at the market place in terms of sales as well as the buyers. The stats are not in favor of consumer break fix. Many are not buying new computers and even, especially the younger generation, foregoing computers entirely. However there is a niche market I've been working on developing. Better Wifi. This is especially important since so many these days are streaming multiple devices and the ISP WiFi is garbage at best. Been successful in selling and installing UniFi AC's to consumers.

Business is where it's at these days. Not only MSP but cloud subs like O365 with Azure. And they still need workstations since many job tasks just can't cut it on a smart device.

Many of us have been around long to remember when a $2.5k system with a 14" color screen was a thing of wonder. And that low priced $300 inkjet printer could actually be repaired because the OEM's stocked spare parts.

 

[resolvetech]

Break Fix is not dead esp. right now with uncertainty in the economy. However, you need be careful how available you make yourself, know the drawbacks of this model and realize that it has the potential to stress you out real quick if you don't handle it the correct way. Don't get caught up in what MSP Guru consultants or vendors tell you...."Trust Your Gut".

 

[buzzcut]

Been doing break/fix for 20 years now, times have changed since 1999. Computers were expensive and worth fixing.
No Ransomware back then but lots of viruses. Now days with cells/tablets and cheap Walmart computers, consumers would rather buy another.
Sure data transfer, ram and ssd upgrades and Windows 10 kept me going but I'm glad that I have several business clients.
Working on expanding MSP.
I can't survive on b/f because my area is saturated with techs and pizza techs.
I was full time but had to drop it to part-time to make ends meet.
It does depend on your market.

 

[brandonkick]

As most others have chimed in, the demographics and population and logistics make or break it.

In my area, right now there are basically no real "official" businesses. There was one, in a small small small town, but he folded up about two years ago. He was the main player in the area for over twenty years. I wouldn't count on making a mint, but I could set up shop (he offered to sell me the building cheap a few years ago, never had the coin to buy) and do fairly well for myself. I could keep my house hold going anyway.

Break fix isn't dead, but it's not what it was 15 or 20 years ago.

 

[Porthos]

Break fix isn't dead, but it's not what it was 15 or 20 years ago.

Exactly