#227781 - 19/07/2004 13:46
Starting a home computer repair/upgrade business
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addict
Registered: 23/09/2000
Posts: 498
Loc: Virginia, USA
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I'm sure many of you play the role of computer expert for your family and friends. Computers are difficult and where do people go if they want to network machines in their house, upgrade parts, recover from crashes, etc? I'm wondering if I can turn this need into a small side business.
I live in a fairly rural area (but with lots of McMansions) where local businesses and personal service are more the norm then big box stores. I'd only be looking for a couple of jobs a week so I hope I could get that kind of business from local advertising. My advertising pitch would be that I will come to your home on your schedule (evenings or weekends) and help you do the things you don't know how to do with your computer.
Anyone else tried something like this? Any advice, particularly on what rate to charge?
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#227782 - 19/07/2004 13:57
Re: Starting a home computer repair/upgrade business
[Re: Dylan]
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old hand
Registered: 20/03/2002
Posts: 729
Loc: Palo Alto, CA
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Just make sure you give one of these to each of your clients. 
_________________________
- trs
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#227783 - 19/07/2004 14:29
Re: Starting a home computer repair/upgrade business
[Re: trs24]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 02/06/2000
Posts: 1996
Loc: Gothenburg, Sweden
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Maybe wear one of these. Might want to edit it slightly first though 
_________________________
/Michael
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#227784 - 19/07/2004 16:33
Re: Starting a home computer repair/upgrade business
[Re: Dylan]
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old hand
Registered: 27/02/2003
Posts: 777
Loc: Washington, DC metro
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Quote:
Anyone else tried something like this? Any advice, particularly on what rate to charge?
I did just this sort of thing for a while. It was a nice bit of spare change for toys, but every job involved at least a couple hours of just simply cleaning up garbage: old, not quite uninstalled programs, spyware/adware, etc. And it's tricky to figure out what is actually a needed part and what's junk on someone else's computer. Though they usually have the manuals (for software they actually bought), it's usually in a box under the stairs or some such.
I charged (and still do on the rare occasions I do this sort of thing these days) $50 an hour for residential and $100 an hour for business calls. Mininum of 4 hours on the first visit (for that clean up), and two hours for follow-up visits. And the owner needs to be close at hand to answer pesky questions about programs, such as "Which of these four sets of digital camera software packages do you actually use?"
Oh, and I try to make an image of the drive (usually on my laptop) before I start poking. Just in case.
[Edit: Ooh! I'm an enthusiast!]
-jk
Edited by jmwking (19/07/2004 16:34)
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#227785 - 19/07/2004 19:47
Re: Starting a home computer repair/upgrade business
[Re: jmwking]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3584
Loc: Columbus, OH
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About $50/hr with a minimum of 1/2 hr. (calculated by quarter hour thereafter) was the going rate at our shop when I was in the business a few years back.
Edited by JBjorgen (19/07/2004 19:48)
_________________________
~ John
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#227786 - 19/07/2004 22:53
Re: Starting a home computer repair/upgrade business
[Re: JBjorgen]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 31/08/1999
Posts: 1649
Loc: San Carlos, CA
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Quote:
About $50/hr with a minimum of 1/2 hr.
Geez, you guys where all underpayed I used to work for a small consulting company that did this type of work (as well as support for a lot of small add agencies and other creative types) in the bay area. Our rates ranged from about $70 - $120 an hour depending on if you had a contract with us and how many hours a week you purchased. Minimum time block was 4 hours. This was about 5 years ago.
Of course that didn't keep the owner of the business from paying the actual employees next to nothing 
-Mike
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#227787 - 20/07/2004 10:44
Re: Starting a home computer repair/upgrade business
[Re: mcomb]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3584
Loc: Columbus, OH
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There's a difference in the cost of everything between the Bay Area and Rocky Mount, NC, which probably explains the price difference.
_________________________
~ John
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#227788 - 20/07/2004 11:08
Re: Starting a home computer repair/upgrade business
[Re: mcomb]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 09/08/2000
Posts: 2091
Loc: Edinburgh, Scotland
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7 years ago I charged £83 per hour. Minimum 1 hour then by half hour thereafter. Travel time was also fully charged (many clients a five hour drive away so I had to) although I did try to solve problems on the phone, sometimes they still wanted me out. Reminds me of the "my monitor has gone pink" - no matter what I said, they wouldn't wiggle the VGA cable, so 3 hours later I got there, seated the cable correctly and left 5 minutes later. 
_________________________
Rory
MkIIa, blue lit buttons, memory upgrade, 1Tb in Subaru Forester STi
MkII, 240Gb in Mark Lord dock
MkII, 80Gb SSD in dock
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#227789 - 20/07/2004 22:37
Re: Starting a home computer repair/upgrade business
[Re: Dylan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/06/1999
Posts: 2993
Loc: Wareham, Dorset, UK
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My only advice - DON'T, you will regret it.
_________________________
One of the few remaining Mk1 owners...  #00015
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#227790 - 21/07/2004 02:13
Re: Starting a home computer repair/upgrade business
[Re: trs24]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/02/2002
Posts: 3212
Loc: Portland, OR
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Quote:
Just make sure you give one of these to each of your clients.
From the blurb:
Quote:
Real key with double-sided tape sticks to any keyboard key.
If your keyboard already has an any key to stick it to, why would you buy this any key? Like.... DUH!
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#227791 - 21/07/2004 09:29
Re: Starting a home computer repair/upgrade business
[Re: frog51]
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Pooh-Bah
Registered: 21/07/1999
Posts: 1765
Loc: Brisbane, Queensland, Australi...
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The shop i worked in briefly had a sign, $60/h; $80/h if you tried to fix it; $120/h if someone else tried to fix it
taking an image of the drive is a good idea, need a few drives hanging around to do it.
It's amazing how much crap crawls into people's computers. Make sure you equip yourself with a good sef of tools including a vacuum and an air hose (preferably outside).
You might do well to go to a local 'puter swap meet and get some 2nd hand drives to sell cheap. many people don't see the point in upgrading to a 40+ gig drive if the 2 gig was plenty big
_________________________
--
Murray
I What part of 'no' don't you understand?
Is it the 'N', or the 'Zero'?
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