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| Thread ID: 84796 | 2007-11-19 01:48:00 | New Computer Business | spyderbytesrepair (13045) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 612896 | 2007-11-19 01:48:00 | Hey few wimple questions about what Kiwi's would want to see in a computer repair/build and networking business. I was running one in the States but moved here and things are of course run differently. My business is onsite support as well as remote support using my branded support tools. In the states I did free consulting and if the client chose my option I charged what the system cost plus 10% to build and set up. Networking was done on a consulting basis and charged per hour plus cable plus equipment cost to set up. Going rate is 60 an hour for support and networking. What do you think and whats a good way to get my business known? Thanks. |
spyderbytesrepair (13045) | ||
| 612897 | 2007-11-19 02:10:00 | what area of the country are you in? | Metla (12) | ||
| 612898 | 2007-11-19 02:19:00 | Wellington, I would service Wellington Central as well as outlying suburbs. | spyderbytesrepair (13045) | ||
| 612899 | 2007-11-20 04:23:00 | Wellington, I would service Wellington Central as well as outlying suburbs. So have you checked the competition? Have you put a business plan together? Have you yet thought about cash flow? Do you need a loan or do you have sufficient capital? Are you working out of home or have a shop? Going to employ or one person band? I could go on but not just yet. Good luck in your new venture if you put it together. |
Sweep (90) | ||
| 612900 | 2007-11-20 04:34:00 | What do you think and whats a good way to get my business known? Thanks.Good luck with your business but I should point out advertising your business in your signature is not one way of getting it known here. It is against the forum rules so I've removed it. | Jen (38) | ||
| 612901 | 2007-11-20 05:59:00 | Good luck with your business but I should point out advertising your business in your signature is not one way of getting it known here. It is against the forum rules so I've removed it. I guess I am lucky but also lacking comprehension. In my CP I have sigs off so I do not see them. I do not have a sig anyway. Did you remove the sig for the original poster and that is all at this time? For me I think that sigs should be used for Hardware & O/S only. There are posters here whom use software links and other posters use links to the signature from a person.. I would like to help people but I need to know what hardware, O/S and applications may be involved. This takes time. It means I need to read other posts from a person to elicit information. Some people make several posts over time and threads and we (PressF1)eventually may come up with a solution. |
Sweep (90) | ||
| 612902 | 2007-11-20 06:12:00 | To Jen. About to make a signature. I have deleted avatar. This in the event I actually have a problem I can not fix. |
Sweep (90) | ||
| 612903 | 2007-11-20 07:06:00 | I can help, I currently do computer work in Wellington. Business in general is easier here. You don't really need to worry about getting sued etc. Margins are tight here for small PC businesses, but 10% is a small margin anyway and you will certainly be able to make that and be competitive. The going rate is $60-80 an hour for a well-established business (eg, Geeks on Wheels charge $80 an hour). You might have better luck starting at a lower rate to build a customer base quicker. They'll accept it when you increase it eventually, as long as it's reasonable. I'm going to assume you know about business in general in NZ - if not we can give advice about that too. You want to get your business known. I started off by (believe it or not) putting flyers in letterboxes (no legal issues with that here). This may not be a good way for you because at the time I was only charging $25 an hour which made it easier to get customers. If you have a website I recommend getting Google AdWords (or is it AdSense? The one you pay for). It seems to make sites do better in the general search rankings and I do get the occasional customer from it. Remember that every customer is really worth at least two, because if you impress them with your service they tend to enjoy actively getting you customers. Make sure everyone you know knows that you do this work, as they'll always recommend you to their friends, who will recommend you to the public. Contrary to what Sweep said, I don't think cashflow will be a problem. It doesn't cost much to run this business if you don't have a shop. You will need the cost of the most expensive computer you're likely to build ready though. I recommend you get yourself a business phone number. WorldXchange's VFX is great for this as it's only $12.50 a month and calls are cheap. You'll find yourself making a lot of calls to people's cellphones and Auckland-based suppliers etc. From my experience, the NZ public expects to be overcharged for computer work. Horror stories are everywhere about techs charging $300 to not fix the problem, etc. If you make them feel that you're an exception to this rule and that they always get a good deal (which of course should be true :p) they'll always be eager to get you back in, instead of you being a last resort when the PC seems beyond salvation. |
george12 (7) | ||
| 612904 | 2007-11-20 07:56:00 | I can help, I currently do computer work in Wellington. Contrary to what Sweep said, I don't think cashflow will be a problem. It doesn't cost much to run this business if you don't have a shop. You will need the cost of the most expensive computer you're likely to build ready though. From my experience, the NZ public expects to be overcharged for computer work. Horror stories are everywhere about techs charging $300 to not fix the problem, etc. If you make them feel that you're an exception to this rule and that they always get a good deal (which of course should be true :p) they'll always be eager to get you back in, instead of you being a last resort when the PC seems beyond salvation. May I ask how you know cashflow will not be a problem? I just simply asked a few questions. "So have you checked the competition? Have you put a business plan together? Have you yet thought about cash flow? Do you need a loan or do you have sufficient capital? Are you working out of home or have a shop? Going to employ or one person band?" I certainly did not assert that a cashflow was not forthcoming at some point. Just asked a few questions. Eventually the original poster will get back I would hope. While I feel you have good advice please do not put words in my mouth. You are allowed to express your opinion. Had you noticed the punctuation in my post??????????????????? ? = question. And as to the NZ public expects to be overcharged etc. How did you come up with that? |
Sweep (90) | ||
| 612905 | 2007-11-20 08:20:00 | Is he a genuine member do you think, or was he just trying to advertise his business in his signature? | radium (8645) | ||
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