Open a business? 3

[Guest_imported]

Me and a buddy are planning to open up our own business, a computer repair shop, and network computers and also sell hardware and software etc

But captial is a big issue for us! dont know how much captial we'll need.

How do we even advertise our company?

What things do we need to be aware of ?

A friend of mine suggest we start off using my basement to save alot of money from renting a place. then we'll have ppl order online, we'll deliver etc or come to people's house and repair their computers.

anyone in here own a business? any good suggestions??

thanks you!!

 

[elizabeth]

I've had several businesses and my father and my 4 brothers and sisters have all had at least one business. My dad was in franchising, and here's a couple of interesting facts I came across when researching the success rate of businesses that were not franchises: Statistics show that the average person who is successful in their own business has failed in 5 previous businesses. Yes, five! Another interesting fact, undercapitalization is the number one reason for business failure. So you're in good company if you're hurting for money.

Many people don't know how long it takes to get a business off the ground. They borrow money and are still not breaking even when it's time to begin paying back. Your safest alternative is
(1) don't give up your day job. Start your business in your after hours. Most small business owners work significantly more than 40 hours for at least the first few years, so you might as well get used to it.
(2) Don't borrow money. Use your own money, and only what you can afford to lose. Alternately, use the customers money; buy only what is needed for each customer instead of keeping inventory.
(3) If you don't know even the basics of business, give yourself an edge by taking a course from the Small Business Association or at your local community college on how to put together a business plan. It's a better investment than inventory you may not sell, rent you may not earn, etc.

Best wishes!

 

[LoaferMan]

The first thing you need to have a business is a customer. More than one is certainly desirable. If your goal is to create a business, then you will need to stop and define your business. As Elizabeth said, take a course. Put together a business plan.

A business is essentially a machine that you put money in one end, turn a crank, and money pours out the other end. Actually, more money should come out than you put in. This is called Return on Investment, but you can just call it More Money.

Example: If you have $100,000 to invest and you and your buddy work really hard for a whole year and you end up with $200,000 at the end of the year, your Return on Investment is not 100%. You must subtract each of your salaries (say $50,000 each) for a net of $100,000. Your Return on Investment is then 0%. You would be just as well off to work at a regular job.

If you start with $50,000 and borrow $50,000 at 10% per year, and you have $200,000 at the end of one year, you must still subtract your salaries as well as $5,000 in interest payments. Now you actually have a negative return on investment.

Therefore, to reemphasize what Elizabeth said,

Don't borrow money.
Don't quit your day jobs yet.
Don't start till you build up your cash fund.
Don't start till you understand your business plan.
Don't start till you find your first customer and the source for a whole lot more.

Then, start your business. There is nothing more fun or more frightening.

-LoaferMan LoaferMan - There is no practice life. This is it. (Billy Crockett)

 

[Guest_imported]

$100 000 !! Wow, didn't think it would cost that much to open a small business. To be honest I thought it would cost us around $1000-3000 to start off. We are planning to do everything online, no office so that should save us alot of money. But I dont know if customers will trust a company without an office??

our main business plan is repair and network computers, people can vist our business website or call us, to come over their house and repair their computers.

we'll only need to buy some repair tools and a nice computer server, phone line etc nothing major. I think our biggest problem is advertising, dont have the money for that. the only advertising we have rightnow is word of mouth.

I am hoping it won't cost us much, this business for us is more like extra money on the side, we are not planning to become millionairs...HEHEHE

CHEERS

 

[LoaferMan]

Good points. I was using $100,000 as an example.

I did consulting for over 4 years. I didn't have to borrow money and had revenue right away, but when it was all said and done, I had really only rented some equipment and bought myself a job. If there is nothing to sell to someone else someday, there is no business. The real value comes not in just selling your time, but in making your money work for you. If you start out with 2 or 3K and reinvest your profits, you can grow pretty quickly.

Wireless networks are coming on big now because there is minimal conduit and cable required. You might want to do that. I made an arrangement with one of my clients to rent office space and equipment from him as a proportion of my billable hours. I paid him $1 per billable hour for the equipment each month. If I had no revenue, I paid no rent. If I had big revenue I still paid a reasonable rent. I would never suggest borrowing money. You want to be the one lending, but not borrowing.

I wish you well. -LoaferMan LoaferMan - There is no practice life. This is it. (Billy Crockett)

 

[forPCTECHS]

Talk about starting out on a shoe string, this is what we did over 12 years ago. We started out of the basement of my house and called our competition out of the phonebook to get our pricing on how much to charge. We were charging $75.00 per hour with no overhead at the time and made clear profit. We mainly did work for small business owners, and community residences. When we grew to over 100 plus customers and had more work then we could handle we hired some more techs for help.

To get customers, make up some business cards and flyers on your PC. Include these together in a company information packet that you can hand out to prospective customers. You'll want to include a sales letter explaininng your services, a labor rate flyer, and any other information you want your prospects to know about you and your service business. Keep a sharp professional image.

Most importantly, Say what you do, and do what you say.

If you have any other questions, let me know.

Best of Luck!

Matt Lowell

http://www.forPCTECHS.com

High-Tech Tools & Tool Kits for Techs -Publishers of:
"The PC Technician's Guide to Profits"