Computer builds/repairs

[AntiHeroUK]

Seeing as my search for a job to tide me over until I start College in September has had no success I have decided to have a go at building and repairing PCs in my local area.

I'd love some suggestions on what I could call the "business" (what else do you call it ) as my only idea so far seems a bit cheesey imo. Pete's PCs

If I do go ahead with it I will be making out some fliers and posters which I will put around the local shops in an attempt to get as many customers as possible.

One thing I need to take into consideration is older machines that I won't necessarily have the hardware to test. Is there a certain number of years I should ask how old the PC is before taking a look at it. I was thinking 3-5 years

Also does anyone have any advice of how much I should charge per hour? I don't want to rip people off as I would like them to return should they have any further problems, yet I don't want to give my services away for next to nothing.

Thanks for any support and advice you can offer

Hope you all like the new avatar

 

[deathwish]

you best bet is to start offering services for free and start charging once you have lots of work

 

[Brooksie]

do a no fix no fee, so if you get a older pc and dunno whats wrong, no fee

 

[AntiHeroUK]

I'm not going to start off for free. I have already repaired PCs for a few people in my area who have been more than willing to pay for my services. I will however do as Brooksie has mentioned and offer a no fix no fee policy.

 

[Sleekit]

For me to start with it was very hard for me to give people a price, I settled with a £20 call out charge then a fee for whatever i did ontop of that £30 usually...sometimes I got £50

 

[monkey7]

No fix no fee idea would be good, makes people think "what the hell, it's worth the try". You could however try concentrating more on building new pc's. I have built a few for friends and they were happy with my services and willing to pay.

Things you could do:

- Advice (I want to upgrade, what should I do?)

- Upgrade (I want to upgrade, could you do it for me?)

- Repair (I'd say 3 years as oldest unless it seems to be simple to solve like replacing a 20 quid psu)

- Advice (I want a new system and not a n00b, what would you advice for me to assemble?)

- Advice & Assemble (I want a new system but I'm a total n00b could you build it for me)

Where the first would probably be the cheapest and the last the most expensive. You do need to think about warranty though. Most people will want at least a year of warranty on their new rigs and 30 days on their repairs. And that's really an "at least".

Edit: didn't recognize you with the new avatar btw xD

 

[AntiHeroUK]

I was thinking a year of warranty and then a fixed payment for each year thereafter if they wish to cover it further.

Thanks for chipping in monkey7

 

[monkey7]

Just helping

Was thinking about this while browsing a site to configure my own BTO laptop: you could make a fairly simple site with 'base systems' which people can modify themselves. Of course make sure to include easy explanations.

An additional thing to add to the site would a 'performance index' of all components. So if you have a 'high performance class' gpu you would also want a 'high performance class' cpu. This way customers would be assembling their own system saving them some money and you some time.

EDIT: oh one more thing, register your company at the house of companies (or what ever it's called in britain) so you can get the VAT of purchased components back and put the company no. on your flyers.

 

[TopSecret]

If you are starting out on your own, keep it simple. You don't have to register for VAT until your sales (or income from services) hits +£67,000 and whatever VAT you get back for purchases has to be offset with VAT charged to your customers. It isn't something you want to be jumping into straight away as it will cost you and certainly cause you more paperwork. I have to do quarterly VAT returns and they aren't fun.

The best thing you could do before you start out would be to do some homework on the local competition and see how you can improve on anything they do. When I started out four years ago, most of my competitors were charging call out fees and hourly rates. I knew that most repairs are done within an hour so I decided to charge a flat fee for my services with no call out fee. This gave the customer an immediate answer to how much it was going to cost them and it really paid off. I may have lost out a few times when jobs took more than an hour, but I gained more in repeat custom, which is something every business needs.

You mentioned having a cut off age for PC's and not repairing any over that age. Well that really isn't going to get you anywhere, as there are still a hell of alot of older PC's out there. To dismiss older PC's regarding offering your services would really be to shoot yourself in the foot. Surely it would be easier and much more profitable for you to learn about legacy hardware and gear yourself up for testing? You could quite easily get hold of some old hardware, and cheaply, to use for testing out components on older PC's. Especially if you use ebay etc. to source the hardware. Learning is easy enough, but it depends if you are committed enough to spend a little time on it.

If you are serious about starting up, you would do well to visit you local Chambers of Commerce. They can offer free advice to those wanting to start up a business and point you in the right direction to any training etc. as you would be responsible for your accounting, marketing, management, services etc, there is alot more to running a successful business than some people appreciate, and you should jump at the chance of any free help they can find you. If you want your business to be successful, then the only person who can make it so is you. This will take a massive commitment from you and also really take over your life, especially in the first year, but the feeling is brilliant when it all pays off. Just be prepared for some very hard work if you do want to seriously start a business.

Good luck with it all!

 

[nathan]

I used to be a workshop manager for a company that did home computer repairs. They charged £25 call out and £25 an hour. But the prices will vary depending on location so i would do a little research first.

Anothing to think about is the amount of people who will be doing the same thing. As there are less jobs about and people loosing theirs, there will be a fair few people offering this service. I looked in the local chippy the other day and seen 6 business cards stuck to the board advertising pc repairs. So you will need to offer something better than these other people.

You could offer a fixed fee (software only). Say £75, you may get 3 customers that could take a fair while doing meaning if your pricing structor was different, but your bound to get jobs taking only 10 minutes making a big profit.

 

[Youngie1337]

There is a lot of work involved with this, it isn't just make up a name and post a few fliers. You need permission for the business and if I can remember correctly, you need to pay for fees to own a business. No matter how big or small.

 

[nathan]

There is a lot of work involved with this, it isn't just make up a name and post a few fliers. You need permission for the business and if I can remember correctly, you need to pay for fees to own a business. No matter how big or small.

if your a sole trader, you'll have to inform inland revenue with in 3 months (for NI and Tax) reasons else they will fine you.

You have to pay to register a business name. think its around £20-£30 for a 10 working day turn around.

 

[Rastalovich]

If you are starting out on your own, keep it simple. You don't have to register for VAT until your sales (or income from services) hits +£67,000 and whatever VAT you get back for purchases has to be offset with VAT charged to your customers. It isn't something you want to be jumping into straight away as it will cost you and certainly cause you more paperwork. I have to do quarterly VAT returns and they aren't fun.

That's interesting. I don't hit £67k with my co and do the VAT thing, along with claiming back the VAT.

Might be cos it's an umbrella type, and as such they may tie a bunch in together. Either way they do the paperwork too.

 

[nathan]

That's interesting. I don't hit £67k with my co and do the VAT thing, along with claiming back the VAT.

Might be cos it's an umbrella type, and as such they may tie a bunch in together. Either way they do the paperwork too.

Your entitled to be vat registered when ever you want. But if your over the £68k mark, your required by law to. In some situations its more of an advantage. What those situations are i do not know!

 

[TopSecret]

There is a lot of work involved with this, it isn't just make up a name and post a few fliers. You need permission for the business and if I can remember correctly, you need to pay for fees to own a business. No matter how big or small.

Agreed on the hard work part, but apart from you NI, income tax and the usual setup/running costs there aren't any fees charged for running a business. You don't have to register your company with Companies House either, and you can do business as a sole trader, like myself. Your company's legal trading name would then become 'whateveryournameis trading as (t/as) whateverbusinessnameyoudecide'. You can just use the last part when trading, but on legal forms you should use the full name.

When you register with Companies House, the company becomes Limited and is owned by the shareholders. You would then be paid an income and employed by the company. There is a lot of extra work when trading as a limited company, and isn't really something you should jump into without some knowledge. You could end up paying more tax too, as a Ltd company is taxed differently to a sole trader. As I said, when starting up, you really are best to keep things simple and only consider going VAT registered and a Ltd company when its essential.

I started out much the same as you intend to, and it is very very hard work. You will be going up against established companies who have the client base, marketing etc already in place. That's why it's essential that you really do the homework on what they offer. The biggest mistake anyone can make in business is to underestimate their competition. It's also essential for you to draw a business plan up, and have clear and defined goals for both you and your company. Setting up without doing so will probably keep your business at a semi pro hobby level. If you put some hard work into planning your company before you start, it will makes things clearer and easier for you in the long run.

 

[nathan]

agree on the business plan. Been working through one at the moment. It's amazing what it brings to light and makes you think about. I've been using the free template from microsoft word 07. It's recommended from businesslink.

On that note, have you had a read of the business link website. Full of info!!

www.businesslink.gov.uk

 

[TopSecret]

And if you want some advice or a chat with someone who has done it, drop me a PM mate. I think it's cool that you are willing to try it out and I hope it goes well for you. An old family friend, and my business mentor when I set up, passed on a valuable bit of info to me: Never be afraid to ask for advice! It's stood me well since I started out

 

[themcman1]

And if you want some advice or a chat with someone who has done it, drop me a PM mate. I think it's cool that you are willing to try it out and I hope it goes well for you. An old family friend, and my business mentor when I set up, passed on a valuable bit of info to me: Never be afraid to ask for advice! It's stood me well since I started out

Might be talking to you later on in the summer then.

 

[AntiHeroUK]

Thanks for the offer mate. I will do a bit of research myself and contact you about anything I am unsure about

 

[lasher]

Good luck with the new venture.

Remember establishing yourself will take time. the old marathon sprint scenario.

Few pointers from someone who has been in retail management for many years and done pc "repairs" for as long.

Always give regular updates on how the repair / upgrade is going.. even if theres no real progress.. always keep the customer informed .. makes them feel valued.

Never directly slag off the local competition.

Most of my income from repairing pc's comes from machines that are over 5 years old.

The best one is the old RAM upgrade, 5 min job and customers are amazed at the increase in performance. Small markup on the ram and a fixed fee. Job done.

I usually find new builds more awkward as the clients never really know what they want and as you're aware the market is changing almost daily.

If you're really savvy with the older microsoft products then advertise that more than "pc upgrades" .

Honestly you will find people will be begging for an hours worth of your time ( if competitive ) if you can explain excel or even the basics of MS office.

Any monkey... not you Monkey7 !! ... can knock a pc together nowadays.. it's not a skilled trade anymore. Its almost become too accessible.

Well thats my thoughts .

Good luck , i wish you great success... just dont stomp on my patch

Checks where anti's lives