Computer Guy’s Toolbox: Techibble’s Computer Business Kit Version 2

October 11, 2011 By 1 Comment

technibble computer business kit v2In the “Computer Guy’s Toolbox” series, I highlight a product or service that I think will benefit the independent computer tech.

A couple years ago I reviewed Technibble’s Computer Business Kit here on the blog.  I gave it a modest review, noting how it provided some good document templates most appropriate for new computer business owners.  I felt, however, that it lacked in certain areas and it felt a bit incomplete.

Well, Bryce Whitty over at Technibble.com, has released the next version of the kit and let me tell you, it is a HUGE improvement over the original.  I’ve had a chance to really dig deeply into this version of the kit, so without further ado, here is my review.
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What It Takes To Be A Computer Consultant

August 30, 2011 By 9 Comments

I was thinking the other day about how it takes an equal blend of different skills in order to be a good, effective computer consultant.  I drafted a simple Venn Diagram to really visualize for myself, and others, how those different skills work together to create the different facets of a computer consultant.

starting a computer repair business

 

If you are weak in any of these three skills, then being a computer consultant might not be the right job for you.  Lets take a deeper look at each of the facets mentioned in the picture.
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Finding a Niche: Stay at Home Parents

May 05, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Advertising your computer repair business can be a bit overwhelming.  68.7% of American homes have internet access, and the number rises sharply in more densely populated areas.  That means you have over half of your community, town, city, or county as possible customers.

You could take a generalist approach and randomly advertise to as many people as possible and hope you appeal to some of those people.  That works for well-established companies with large advertising budgets.  But there is a much cheaper and more effective method of advertising that involves targeting a small niche of your potential customer base.

In the Finding a Niche series of blog posts I will profile different possible customer niches that you can target for your computer consulting business.

Today we will focus on the unique needs of stay at home parents.  I’ve had some success with this niche in the past, and I feel if targeted properly, it can be a lucrative subsection of your business.
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How to Leverage Teaching to Improve Your Business

April 21, 2011 By 2 Comments

starting a pc repair business In my interview with Randy the Tech Professor earlier this week, I was intrigued by his quote that “To Teach is to Learn Twice”.  To me, it boils down to the fact that in order to be able to effectively teach something, you need to make sure you know it well enough to convey the concept to others.  In the process, you’re re-enforcing the information in your own mind.

Beyond that, however, teaching is great business.  By teaching, you become an authority on the given subject in the eyes of your students.  Your students will see you as the person who has all the answers and in the future if they need help, they’ll know who to contact.  Your students are all potential customers and you’ve already gained their trust through your teaching.

I’ve always been interested in including some form of teaching or training service in my consultancy.  Up to this point, however, I haven’t quite figured out how to go about doing so.  Thanks to my interview with Randy, I was inspired to spend some time brainstorming some ideas that I’d like to present here.
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4 Free Automated Advertising Strategies

March 14, 2011 By 3 Comments

Marketing is a constant struggle for solo consultants and small business owners.  It’s always a gamble whether your marketing effort will be worth the money and time invested, but it’s a necessary evil.  Without marketing, there’s no way for people with needs (customers) to know that we are here to fulfill them.

Without a large marketing department at your disposal, many traditional marketing techniques require a substantial upfront investment with unpredictable results.  Examples of this include direct mailings, fliers, signs, and ads in the paper, on the radio, and on TV.

I’d like to explore some advertising techniques that are not only completely free, but also automated.  What I mean by automated is that once they are set-up, they have the potential to continually provide marketing leverage for you over time.  Keep in mind, however, that these techniques do require some significant time investment up-front, and the results may be slow coming at first.  Often  that leverage is compounded over time, so the longer these free marketing techniques are in place for your business, the more turn-around you’ll see as a result.

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5 Ways To Be A Friendlier Computer Guy

February 10, 2011 By 5 Comments

Being an effective and friendly computer guy (or gal) requires both broad technical knowledge and exceptional people skills.  This is true whether you own your own repair business, work for the help desk of a big company, or fix your friend’s computers as a hobby.  People come to you because you’ve proven that you know how to fix computer problems, but they’ll only return if they like working with you.  The personal side of computer repair is often overlooked, but it is the single most important aspect of being an effective and sought-after consultant.

Having been running my business part-time for a few years now, here are some things I’ve found that have helped earn repeat business.

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5 Myths of Computer Consulting

January 25, 2011 By 6 Comments

So you want to be a computer consultant?  You have dreams of starting your own business so you can work on your own, make lots of money, and be your own boss?

That’s excellent!

Computer consulting is a great field to be in, and will be in demand for the foreseeable future.  But setting realistic expectations is a key component to getting your business started on the right foot.

I spend a decent amount of time browsing forums related to the computer consulting business and I find that many people who are just starting out can have similar misconceptions about exactly what it takes to be in this line of work.

Here are some of the myths I see most often, in no particular order:

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The Importance of Process (and an example of mine)

July 26, 2010 By 8 Comments

Before I get started I just wanted to let you know that posts on this website are going to continue to be few and far between.  The project that has put this website on hiatus has been plagued with delays and other things that I was not anticipating.  That being said, I still plan on posting when I have a spare moment here and there.  If you’re still subscribed to my RSS and email list, thanks for sticking here with me! I promise this website is going to continue forging ahead, I have some great plans for it’s future!  Meanwhile, I hope the archives of past articles and links have helped you in your journey!

On a positive note, this part-time business of mine is slowly, but steadily, growing.   This is due in large part to a successful hyper-local marketing campaign that I implemented in my immediate community.  There have actually been times when I’ve had to stop advertising so that I don’t get overwhelmed with too many service calls!

One of the key ingredients in growing my business in my spare time, without affecting the quality of my work, has been to develop processes around what I do. This allows me to consistently provide the same level of service to all my customers without having to reinvent the wheel every time I do it.

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Breaking into Tech: Certification

March 17, 2010 By 8 Comments

In the Breaking into Tech series of posts I will weigh the pros and cons of the three basic means of preparing yourself for a career in tech: certification, formal education, and experience.  For each category I’ll give separate advice for those seeking a corporate career versus those seeking to start their own computer business.  Drawing from my own experiences, as well as my observations of other successful people, I hope to give a realistic look at what it takes to break into tech.

Often those who are planning on beginning a career in IT, either finishing school or changing careers, will wonder if paying money to get certified is worth it.  The reason this question is asked over and over again is that there is no one right answer.  One person can point at their own experience as an independent technician and say that all it took for them to be successful was proper experience, while another might say the only way they were able to compete in the job market was with a certification or two under their belt.  There are a myriad of experiences and no two are alike.

Earning an IT certification is the most focused and least time consuming of the three categories I’ll be covering. There are numerous industry standard certification’s out there ranging from the basic PC comprehension shown by passing CompTIA’s A+ to elite advanced certifications like Cisco’s new Certified Architect program.  Whatever your specialty, there’s a certification you can earn to prove your understanding of it.  Lets take a look at how certification can help you in a corporate career versus a consulting career.

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Computer Guy’s Toolbox: Techibble’s Computer Business Kit

May 21, 2009 By 3 Comments

UPDATE: An updated version of the Computer Business Kit has been released! It’s a major overhaul of the original and therefore requires a new review.  

In the “Computer Guy’s Toolbox” series, I highlight a product or service that I think will benefit the independent computer tech, with an emphasis on affordability.

One of the unfortunate aspects of running a computer consulting business is the paperwork. Like it or not, if you want to run a legitimate operation and protect yourself, you’ll want to document everything. Work orders, contracts, service plans, waivers, advertisements, customer and vendor tracking, it can all be a bit overwhelming, especially when first starting out.

That’s where the Computer Business Toolkit comes in. Created by Bryce Whitty over at Technibble.com, the kit is simply a collection of useful document templates that a computer consultant can customize and implement in order to run a successful business. It’s available for purchase and download at Technibble.com.  I recently got my hands on the kit and had the opportunity to check out all the goodies it contains.  Being a wet-behind-the-ears newbie computer business owner,  I was curious to find out how useful the kit would be.

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