Making The Plunge

[MHCG]

Thank you I realise that even if I am only talking on-line I should still give you the same courtesy that I give my essays in college.

For "older" people (I'm 35) such as myself, we're MUCH less likely to take anyone seriously if they can't even take a couple extra seconds to ensure their punctuation, grammar and capitalization are correct. Everybody makes typos, but unless you're texting me on a cell phone your earlier posts just make you look ignorant. Plus it's good practice to write professionally.

 

[anonymous Mac Tech]

well if you are in need of any help i will gladley make the comute to help you out hell if it gives me experience ill do it for juts enough to cover travel expenses

There you go. Professional networking in action.

 

[thebeardedone]

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk

Useful if you are planning to start a business in the UK and they run workshops to help decide if starting your own business is feasible.

 

[cmonova]

A bit concerned on your "I know I will not be taken seriously for a while" comment. Why? Because you are young? Because you are new to the field?


Self confidence is as important as knowing how to fix a computer. If you are not confident then why would anyone else be confident in your skill sets.


Obviously you are on the forums and you have the opportunity to learn from others just by reading all the threads that have already taken place. Plus, I think you just reviewed or are reviewing the Windows Renew kit so that also should help you to some extent.

 

[reesk92]

A bit concerned on your "I know I will not be taken seriously for a while" comment. Why? Because you are young? Because you are new to the field?


Self confidence is as important as knowing how to fix a computer. If you are not confident then why would anyone else be confident in your skill sets.


Obviously you are on the forums and you have the opportunity to learn from others just by reading all the threads that have already taken place. Plus, I think you just reviewed or are reviewing the Windows Renew kit so that also should help you to some extent.

what I mean is is that when people see a 17/18 year old offering pc repair there gonna be a bit weary of me,

but as soon as I show them my skills and prove to them I am competent they will recommend me time and time again. (remember when I first joined what you all thought of me and I wasn't asking for your money)

also THANK YOU for all the criticism so far some has been a bit blunt but i feel you've helped me pick flaws in my self I hope now I have the common sense to work on these issues.

 

[thebeardedone]

what I mean is is that when people see a 17/18 year old offering pc repair there gonna be a bit weary of me,

but as soon as I show them my skills and prove to them I am competent they will recommend me time and time again. (remember when I first joined what you all thought of me and I wasn't asking for your money)

also THANK YOU for all the criticism so far some has been a bit blunt but i feel you've helped me pick flaws in my self I hope now I have the common sense to work on these issues.

But being competent with your skillset and running a business are two totally different beasts.

There are many people out there that are fantastic with computers but they lack the other necessary skills (and, potentially, more important skills) to keep afloat.

For example:
- People skills
- Self motivation
- Self management

Don't just rush into starting a business and learn as much as you can before you "take the plunge".

 

[theFakeGeek]

what I mean is is that when people see a 17/18 year old offering pc repair there gonna be a bit weary of me,

but as soon as I show them my skills and prove to them I am competent they will recommend me time and time again. (remember when I first joined what you all thought of me and I wasn't asking for your money)

also THANK YOU for all the criticism so far some has been a bit blunt but i feel you've helped me pick flaws in my self I hope now I have the common sense to work on these issues.

Grow a neat beard. It does wonders for peoples attitudes.

 

[hondablaster]

Deleted by hondablaster

 

[hondablaster]

what I mean is is that when people see a 17/18 year old offering pc repair there gonna be a bit weary of me,

but as soon as I show them my skills and prove to them I am competent they will recommend me time and time again. (remember when I first joined what you all thought of me and I wasn't asking for your money)

also THANK YOU for all the criticism so far some has been a bit blunt but i feel you've helped me pick flaws in my self I hope now I have the common sense to work on these issues.

Keep in mind that the owner of this site started at this age!!!! Its very possible!!!! Ive heard of young entrepreneurs before. I would have never guess you were so young from you posts.

 

[iptech]

help WHAT DO I DO TO START UP?

Prepare a detailed business plan, it'll help you focus and will help you with your written communication skills.

Also make sure you are truly prepared to set out on your own, you say you've learnt from working on family & friends computers but I recall a couple of months back when you became frustrated by their lack of appreciation. Expect things to be much, much worse if you're working for yourself and charging a commercial rate for your services.

It's great that you've got yourself qualified (to what level BTW?), but you will also need real-world experience. To be honest judging by your posts on here over the past few months, I think you might be a little inexperienced yet to fully go it alone, it's an extremely tough market out there at the moment and customers expectations are very high. If you can't get a part-time job working for someone else, try and get some experience by volunteering your services for free to local charities and community organisations. What happened to the sub-contract work you were going to be getting from the market where your mum has her business, I thought that had picked up a pace for you?

You're young and enthusiastic and you're obviously keen to learn, but I'd hate to see your enthusiasm sapped by bad experiences in a brutal market. I guess your motivation to go it alone has been fired-up by the WindowsRenew package you were given (and promised to review for Technibble), but be careful, these get-rich-quick, turnkey packages peddled around the Internet paint a rosy picture based upon some very simplistic assumptions, the only people I ever hear of sing their praises are the ones that peddle them.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do, but if you do decide to go it alone, do so with your eyes wide open and your back fully covered and be prepared for some very quiet days/weeks and only take on work you feel fully confident you can deal with in a professional and efficient manner, else you could get badly hurt.

 

[OfficerLahey]

Contact your local business link, they should have a workshop and after that, they'll appoint you an advisor who will take information about the type of business you are running, and offer advice regarding what you need to do (HMRC, make sure your home can be used as a registered business premises, insurance etc etc)

I'm in the same boat myself, other than i've just been laid off after a year of working in tech support, doing on-site and bench work. for both businesses and home users, the experience is invaluable..

talking to friends, and even family of friends when your 'the guy that fixes computers' is very very different to dealing with customers and clients on a daily basis, endusers can be agitated! , and it's a different kettle of fish handing out a £120 bill, vs a "aye, a tenner will do nicely".

But by all means i understand what you mean about the job market, and thats exactly why i'm starting out myself, thankfully i currently have barely any over-heads to cover other than travelling expenses and some advertising. which is already covered by work i've managed in the mean-time from referrals, and a couple of quotes that i need to chase up will be some extra money to invest.

 

[reesk92]

iptech this is a follow on from that its been going great thats why im looking into some on site work and moving away from apayed hobby to more of a career

also im at present qualified at level 2 ill be taking level 3 this summer or i will be taking the aprentiship which will get me both qualifications and expirience.

 

[reesk92]

tomorrow im going to have a long hard think about all this, im going to find out costs of different aspects of the buisness e.g. acountant tax travel

(thats a hard one for someone who wants to look profesional but has no car yet)

and ill go on from there. ill be able to makea clearer decision when ive got everything on paper or silicon then ill put the whells in motion so to speak

 

[Doctor Micro]

I went back and read some of your older posts, and have been following this discussion. A couple observations and suggestions here:

- Take the spelling and grammar criticism to heart in all of your written and verbal conversations. It marks you as educated, mature and at least a little erudite. It's a good habit to have. Remember, you will be writing invoices and written reports to clients on what the problem was, what you did to fix it and what the final results were.

- Since you are still inexperienced, take stock of what level your skills are at, where your strengths an limitations lie. When you first start your business, concentrate on taking on smaller jobs that are within your skillset and politely decline invitations for work that is beyond you. As your knowledge, skills and experience grow over time, you'll be able to take on more complex jobs.

- You have a lot of things going for you - enthusiasm and a desire to work in a field you like not the least of them. Even though you are young now, the calendar marches on whether you like it or not. To counter what you think might be a negative perception based on your current youth, concentrate on things you can do to appear older than you are. As an example, wearing a nice pair of slacks, shirt and tie always helps. Take a look in a full-length mirror and try to imagine how your clients see you.

- Give each job 110%. Go the extra mile. Keep your customer involved and informed as to what you are doing and try really, really hard to explain things to them in the King's English using terms and analogies they can understand and avoid "Geek Speak" as much as you can.

- When you arrive at a client's location, introduce yourself, shake hands and offer two of your business cards. Why two? One for the client to keep and another for a spare and hopefully maybe pass on to someone else as a recommendation.

- Arrive at the client as prepared as you can be. When the client first calls you and you're first discussing the client's complaint and arranging the appointment, get as much information as you can about the client's system. Then, before you go, familiarize yourself with that system, do a google search on what you know about the client's problem, maybe download some drivers and put them on a USB stick to bring with you. Bring your basic tools and bag of tricks.

- Always show up on time for your appointments, where "on time" is defined as five minutes early.

Best of luck to you and... keep in touch. Lots of help, advice and resources here. Take advantage of them, but don't abuse them... I think you know what I mean.

 

[iptech]

thats a hard one for someone who wants to look profesional but has no car yet

If you have no car and no store how are you going to get (to) work?

 

[Dunne_Computing]

Looks like you got a slap in the face with the Mature stick. (Which is good to see)
Great to see you progressing on from college and from fixing computers as a pizza tech but as people have mentioned earlier it can be harsh world there especially if your just jumping straight in.
Business cards and flyer's will help a lot in your local area but without having transport it may be a bit more difficult to get work.
Unless of course public transport is decent and you can bring your full bag of tricks with you and fix the workstation on-site.

And definitely try get a day or a few days helping or being an understudy to another tech. Not just for the experience but by working with someone else as you will see ways of doing things or looking at issues differently to the way you may see it.
I often find it a great help to view things from a different angle.



Best of luck in your venture.

 

[PCERT_Tim]

Reesk92,

Glad to see you are following your passion for working with computers. As many others have told you I can not stress the amount of interaction you have when interning or working with another person first could bring to the table down the line.

This doesn't mean you can't start your own business but start it slow and as others have said it okay to say "I'm sorry but I rather not" when offered a job that you may not be prepared for. Many people can become clients of yours even more so knowing they can approach you and lead them in the right direction then even fixing the computer yourself.

The most important things are this:
Never stop learning: sure your out of college but don't stop there. - I went to college got my Associates and went into the industry after 2 yrs I went back to school for my bachelors. Why? Because depending on what kind of job you end up with you may decide that's just not what you want to do with your life. Ultimately IT only continues to evolve so if you give up on keeping up with things in the long run your only hurting yourself.

Failure: Its okay to fail, just because you do something wrong or the business doesn't work the first time around don't give up. I'm sure we all can tell you our own failure stories. What you have to remember is failing is only the first step in becoming better. If you fail - reflect upon it make it a life lesson that way its not a failure unless you look upon it as such.

Be honest: A lot of people try to lie to clients being over worked and set unrealistic goals for there work. If you know its going to take a few days to complete let the client know. More clients rather be told it would take a week to fix then for you to promise it to them two days later just for it to take you a week to complete.

Good Communication: Be proactive call your clients, give them updates on how the repairs going, unexpectant problems, etc. Clients like to know you care about them and there belongings do follow-ups. After you complete a repair call your client, send an email see how things are. This helps sell both your services and is a good marketing strategy.

Take it Slow: Don't take on more then you can handle. Don't setup 4 house calls back to back. If for instance the first one takes longer then expectant now you need to call 3 other clients and let them know you are running behind and that you may be late. You never want to make clients more anger than they may already be.

** Rome was not built in a day, so nearly should your business **

My business partnet and idea bounced ideas off our heads for almost a month before even going into it. Researching a business can be even longer then make it legal. I'm from the states so I had to do a bunch of stuff before I could officially be legit.

** Get an LLC or equivalent - protect your self and your assets; it said but true many people are very $$ hungry and can try to go after your assets so protect them **

** Going legit from the start is a lot easier then trying to go after you are set in doing things other ways. That was one of the best advice I recieved when starting my business. As I started from the get go the right way I don't have to worry about falling into bad habits as I don't have any **

Hope this helps,

 

[angry_geek]

One word of advice. When you're out and about on the weekends with your friends, don't tell anyone what you actually do for a living. My uncle is a family physician, and I never could understand why he got so frustrated when people at parties or restaurants would ask him medical questions. Now I know full well. This weekend I was introduced to some people at a 4th of July party. I already had several beers and hot dogs, and I was truly relaxed. Then my friend introduces me to someone, "This is Loring; he runs his own computer business." There began a complete stranger asking me for free tech help on Independence Day!

It may sound great getting your name out there all the time, but, after a few years, It will get real old real fast. When you're at work, be at work. When you're at play, forget all about work. Otherwise you'll get burned out and perpetually frustrated.

 

[Doctor Micro]

Then my friend introduces me to someone, "This is Loring; he runs his own computer business." There began a complete stranger asking me for free tech help on Independence Day!

This happens to me frequently also. It's really unavoidable, once people know you and what you do. I'd tell him, "I'm sorry, I don't drink and diagnose, but I'd be happy to help you during business hours. Here's my business card; please call me at work on Monday."

 

[angry_geek]

That was more or less my response. Usually I tell people that I run an IT consulting business. That heads off a lot of people; they don't have any idea what that means and, usually, are too afraid to ask.