On the verge of giving up

[NickCat11]

Gotcha, sorry about that. Thought you were getting a dig in at Instant Housecall

 

[Mushin]

Find a way to be different!

Hi folks, Well after many months of sinking money into my business on advertising with no call outs I am thinking about giving it all up, I am just not getting any call outs like i did last year infact its been 2 month's since i got a call out, i dont get alot of them I get around 2 to 3 a month or atleast i used too.

I've had to stop my driving lessons because i can no longer afford them and very soon i will need to sign on benefits its so bad but i do love fixing computers though and i dont want to give that up but their are no jobs around me for my skills at the moment.

I advertise in a few business publications and around my local areas but i'm getting nothing from it, What do you think i should do, give it up or keep trying to float a sinking ship. ?

At the moment I dont know what to do I really dont i cannot exactly force people to call me out.

One thing that is nice is that you have TIME. Use the lack of jobs to your advantage and find a way to get in front of people. Maybe Try FREE Diagnositcs. People love this and when you are there whey will probably have you fix the computer. This will set you apart from tohers in the area.

You might evenb raise your hourly rate at the same time. It is obvious that your rates are not the reason people are not callling you out so you have to maximize profit on every job. Since the lower rates are not really a competitive advantage because of the lack of job you might as well make more on the ones that you do get.

The big one though is the free diagnositscs it will get people talking about you and it will plant seeds for future business. Now keep in mind that you will have some jobs that don't pan out but since you have TIME this will not impact you much.

 

[K007]

Being pessimistic....

Andy, you must be doing something wrong.
Bad economy doesn't mean you go bust.

PRICE:
What is that B.S. you are talking about being afraid to raise your prices?
High, low, average means nothing.
YOU NEED THE RIGHT PRICES.... RIGHT PRICES..... RIGHT PRICES.... RIGHT PRICES..... DITTO, DITTO, DITTO + 10000 TIMES.

When you go sleep, for the next week repeat this mantra: "RIGHT PRICES" until you fall asleep.
Whow knows, maybe one morning you will wake up more of a business man than you currently are.

 

[JosephLeo]

When you go sleep, for the next week repeat this mantra: "RIGHT PRICES" until you fall asleep.
Whow knows, maybe one morning you will wake up more of a business man than you currently are.

Or he will forget his entire vocabulary and replace it with "RIGHT PRICES"

 

[K007]

Or he will forget his entire vocabulary and replace it with "RIGHT PRICES"

That was cool (the video clip).

 

[ell]

THE BIGGEST MISTAKE I EVER MADE: Thinking people dont look online for computer repair.

For years I didnt even have a website because I thought -"if their pc dont work how are they going to get online to search for a repairer?"

I increased my business by about 20% in the first year from having a website, combine this with various online advertising and SEO, I now get approx 45% of my work from online enquiries.

More households now have more than one pc, mobile phones can access the internet, people have computers in work.

Dont make the same mistake I did!

How is the guy down the road advertising? Is he busy? Go for a chat with him he might be so busy he needs a hand, or at least you can see if the area your in is quiet in general.

Personnaly I dont have much luck with Thompson Local but I do have success with a local Classifieds weekly paper. The trend seems to be different in different areas where one type of advertising works and another doesnt.

I can see from your postings tho that you seem "beaten"!!
Why not have a few days away from thinking of work, re-charge your batteries and come back with a fresh mind and crack on.

June and July used to be depressing months for me because it was so quiet and I would always consider giving up and doing other things. But now these quiet months allow me to "work the business" and catchup with all my loose ends and paper work, plan advertising and review tech tools.

The only money I've spent on advertising is my business card, seriously spend a few days on your computer making a professional looking website (I use google sites free) then submit your url to EVERY search engine on earth, google IS THE MOST IMPORTANT (90% of my hits come from google) you must have a local business listing in google and yahoo. The only way you get to the top is by the number of places and search engines your url is seen by google bots. My biz has doubled in 2 yrs this way. But most of all word of mouth, treat your calls like your best friend, spend time with them on the phone to find out whats going on, don't just give them flat quotes. At least half my biz is from referral. Hang in there-I did nothing in my first year but spread the word around!

 

[Wheelie]

A brilliant and very famous quote from Thomas Edison: "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work"

 

[JosephLeo]

A brilliant and very famous quote from Thomas Edison: "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work"

He also said "I will make energy so cheap, only the rich will be able to afford candles". Where are your promises Mr. Edison? My monthly lighting bill says different!

I was born and raised in Edison, NJ and you know what I think of the man. He was a patent thief, but one of the best businessmen that ever existed second only to Mr. Rockerfeller himself.

 

[bagellad]

Well I seem to remember Andy was working on getting his license, What ever became of that?

 

[K007]

In UK you can drive without passing theory and practice tests.

Well I seem to remember Andy was working on getting his license, What ever became of that?

Guys, in UK you can drive a car in virtually 2 weeks.
As soon as you are of age (17) you can apply for a provisional driving license.
Once you receive it you start driving, not tests passed, no lessons needed (if your father thaught you how to do it)
The provisional dirving license looks the same as the normal one, except it has a red "L" on it (learner) and the word "Provisional".

When you are ready you can book a theory test.
Once you passed the theory test you book a practice test.
After you passed the prcatice test you will receive your full driving license.

 

[MobileTechie]

I'm wondering how one would run a repair business offering call-out without being able to drive.

When I search on LEICESTER COMPUTER REPAIR the site doesn't come up. That can't be good. You don't need to be asking customers to supply model numbers etc for your contact form. You just want them to contact you so you can call them back. Too much detail on the prices too I think. No need for details about part hours and all that.

Re: leafleting for the hard-up. Here's an idea - take up a leaflet or yellow pages drop job and put your own leaflets through the letterbox at the same time. That way you get paid to leaflet!

 

[Mouse Mate]

Last visited site 14th August. I guess that means he's no longer in business

I think it's important to have some sort of side income coming in for those tough months when you only get a handful of jobs. Whether that's a reseller for A/V or computer parts or night shifts in a factory. I personally became a reseller for a utilities provider (gas, electric, phone, broadband) which is great because it means I can speak to my customers about it on site to pass the time. Anyone in the UK that fancies earning a few extra quid gimme a shout.

 

[Mushin]

I never noticed this thread before- so here is my input, sorry if it sounds harsh but that's the way the business world is.

If you're giving up after only a couple months of being in business then you've clearly never been a business owner and shouldn't be one in the first place. I believe one of Murphy's laws for business is "Everything will cost twice as much as projected" which in turn means "You will only make half as much as expected".

If you're advertising isn't working have you considered getting in touch with an advertising agency? How about a graphic designer to help build a brand for you? What is your current target market? Do you know the population statistics of your town? How many competitors do you have? Are your prices good for your local area?

These are all essential questions I think you should answer before anyone can give you any advice that will help point your company in the right direction.

I have to agree on this..... And I applaude you for your straight forward talk. Sometime I think people baby step around rather then laying all the cards out on the table.

It takes work... especially if you don't have a physical location. Essentially you have to Remind people constantly that you are OPEN for business. This means doing something every day to let people know how to contact you. Go door to door and introduce yourself. Don't try to sell... Just let them know you are around and give them a card.

If your not willing to knock on doors you should not be in business. Do what every it takes and make whatever sacrifices you need to make it work.

Take a part time job somewhere to fund your business. Take a full time job for that matter but you have to be 100% comitted to getting it off the ground. It may take years.... so be prepared.

 

[Tesla]

Guys, in UK you can drive a car in virtually 2 weeks.
As soon as you are of age (17) you can apply for a provisional driving license.
Once you receive it you start driving, not tests passed, no lessons needed (if your father thaught you how to do it)
The provisional dirving license looks the same as the normal one, except it has a red "L" on it (learner) and the word "Provisional".

When you are ready you can book a theory test.
Once you passed the theory test you book a practice test.
After you passed the prcatice test you will receive your full driving license.

This is untrue.

A provisional licence allows you to drive a car with a qualified driver with a minimum of 3 years experience (and at least 21 years old I think). A provisional licence sole purpose is for learning to drive.

It doesn't look identical to a full licence. A full licence is red and a provisional green.

How does the licencing work where you live?