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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
612916	2007-11-20 19:45:00	pctek did that cost include all the incidentals such as travelling to and from the shop each day etc ?	drcspy (146)
612917	2007-11-20 19:56:00	YES! So I was told - customer had no reason to lie Sounds a bit like like Geeks on Wheels is in the business of selling franchises rather than the business of fixing computers then... Two hours, no fix and a bill is not acceptable.	Deane F (8204)
612918	2007-11-20 20:08:00	Two hours, no fix and a bill is not acceptable yes I would agree there......of course it's possible that a tech may spend an hour or so determining a problem and then have to tell the client that there is no 'fix' as such and they may need a new pc etc......(bad motherboard perhaps for example can take a fair bit of time to deduce sometimes) .....but that's different since the comp was fixed by someone much more competant.......	drcspy (146)
612919	2007-11-20 21:34:00	hm.........cheap........ My costs when i was running from home full time were more than that: 2005 post box: $10 advtt $202 bank fees $38 stationary $16 phone/net $160 vehicle $345 bus tools $79 (cd's, batteries, ink, tools) this is my yearly expenses divided into months.......the vehicle expenses included a large proportion of fuel but perhaps $1000 over the year in maintenance/rego etc etc.......i was claiming um......I think 75% of vehicle costs as its also my private car........tho most of the runnign around was for the business.......I didn't often claim travelling or 'callout' costs from clients unless they lived in the country say 15k or more from town....... so that's $500 per month excluding running costs for the vehicle I missed a few things out, like $25ish bank fees, and I didn't include my car as I have to pay the fixed costs of it, business or not. Business petrol doesn't count as I charge for travel, so I get it back from the clients. I don't do a lot of PC repairs - my figures would be similar if I went at it full time. Remember I'm doing this on the side while at school (or, I was at school...) If I included vehicle expenses and all petrol that'd be around another $300, but I'm only referring to the expenses you have to front up regardless of how much money you make. Those are the ones that can make a business fail in the early stages if its not well enough funded. My point was that if you don't have a shop, that's not really an issue. Even $500 a month would be sustainable for most/all starting PC techs if things started off slowly. But then, I started what I do with $250 in the bank and NO income. I just built things up slowly. It also helps if you start out having another source of reliable income, so you don't have to pull hundreds of dollars a week out just to survive. Starting a PC repair business and immediately relying on it for income is a good way to go bankrupt. I couldn't have done it if I had to pay rent etc while starting out, without a normal job as well. That's where being a student and living at home comes in handy.	george12 (7)
612920	2007-11-20 22:10:00	pctek did that cost include all the incidentals such as travelling to and from the shop each day etc ? Its everything except petrol. And lunch.	pctek (84)
612921	2007-11-20 22:20:00	The problem with calling other peoples fee expensive when your only doing it part time or as a hobby is that you are devaluing yourself and the trade. When you finally get around to doing it for a living and trying to support yourself you will get people moaning because your so expensive.	plod (107)
612922	2007-11-20 23:00:00	Some morons will complain no matter how cheap. Hell, I traveled to a persons house,fixed there PC in about 10 minutes, told them I would just charge $15 in total, I could see they had very little money. They hit me with "Why the hell should we pay you for something that only took a few minutes?" My reply, Because I FK'N said so. Lmao. Still, They were poor,and stupid. The had plugged the power lead in a loop back into the PSU.Poked the monitor cable through a gap in the case, and when the PC hadn't run, The had pulled the side off and yanked all the cables, IDE, everything. They paid me my $15 over the course of 3 months, They they asked for "personal credit" on a new PC. Glad I don't play that game anymore.	Metla (12)
612923	2007-11-20 23:53:00	I started what I do with $250 in the bank and NO income. I just built things up slowly. pretty much the same for me it also helps if you start out having another source of reliable income, yeh.....my wife......(grin) charge $15 in total, I could see they had very little money. They hit me with "Why the hell should we pay you for something that only took a few minutes?" some folks are complete morons.........after all THEY couldn't fix it and if they'd called out anyone else it'd be quite a bit higher in cost no doubt......as for paying off the $15 over three months.......some folks are sooooooo selfish bet they still had their beer and smokes and sky tv ?	drcspy (146)
612924	2007-11-21 01:54:00	The problem with calling other peoples fee expensive when your only doing it part time or as a hobby is that you are devaluing yourself and the trade. When you finally get around to doing it for a living and trying to support yourself you will get people moaning because your so expensive. I've seen how it works. The sole technician at a certain computer store I did work experience in for a day last year earns about $25 an hour for 40 hours a week, for charging customers $80 an hour. That's what having having employees and a store in the equation will do. Geeks on wheels is another matter. $95/hour is ridiculous, and they charge when they can't fix the problem...	george12 (7)
612925	2007-11-21 02:02:00	Better not let on my charge out rate then!...LOL	SolMiester (139)
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