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Computer Business Location: Work from Home or Have a Storefront?

November 15, 2011 By 13 Comments

computer repair businessIn a previous post I’ve talked about on-site versus in-shop repairs and how to choose the best business model for your computer repair business.  Now I’d like to take that a step further and explore the age-old question: Should I continue to run my business from home or is it time to open up a physical store?

As always, I like to explore the pros and cons of both situations.  This helps me understand which approach would be best for my business based on my goals.  Here are some points to consider when weighing the possibility of opening up a storefront.
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Filed Under: Growing a Computer Business Tagged With: , , , ,

Should I Charge Now or Later?

May 10, 2011 By 5 Comments

starting a computer repair businessIf you do onsite work for your clients you have two choices when it comes time to settle the tab: collect money on the spot or send them an invoice.

When I first started doing in-home consulting work, I would ask for money as soon as I was completed with my work.  I did this because I didn’t have any other mechanism in place to receive money from client.  Recently, however, I’ve had customers start asking me to invoice them.  This forced my to look into how invoicing works and if it’s a viable option for me going forward.

As I have done in the past, I always like to weigh the pros and cons of two choices to best decide which is right for me.
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Filed Under: Growing a Computer Business Tagged With: , , , , ,

Can You Hear Me Now?: Small Business VoIP Smackdown!

March 14, 2009 By 7 Comments

This is the second article in the Can You Hear Me Now? Series of blog posts in which I embark on a journey to find the most cost effective home office VoIP plan for my computer repair business.

In the first article of this series, I made a case for why I feel VoIP is the right choice for home office small businesses.  Now that I’ve narrowed down my choices to a few commercial providers, it’s time to really dig in to each one, cut throught the noise, and find the right plan for me and my business.

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Filed Under: Starting a Computer Business Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

PC Repair: On-Site Vs. In-Shop

December 07, 2008 By 24 Comments

There seem to be two schools of thought when it comes to the best way to run a computer maintenance or consulting business from home.  Some people believe that it’s impossible to do good quality work and get enough turn-over if you don’t take the customer’s computer back to your “shop”.  On the other hand, there are techs that work exclusively at the customer’s home and never bring work back home with them.

Which way is the best way to run a PC repair business?

As I’ve done in the past, I decided to weigh the pros and cons of each scenario and see how they stack up against each other using good old-fashioned reasoning.  Keep in mind, I’m not taking into account the possibility of opening a store front…that’s a whole different ball of wax and I’ll save that debate for a later time.  In the following lists I’ve lined out some of the more important factors that I could think of, drawing from my own experiences.

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Filed Under: Starting a Computer Business Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Part-time Versus Full-time Business: The Pros And Cons

October 22, 2008 By 10 Comments

While thinking about the long-term plan for my computer consulting business, I’m constantly struggling between two scenarios: continuing to run my business part-time indefinitely along side my “regular” job working for someone else, or making it my full time gig.  Should I try hard to turn my little computer repair business into an all-consuming career, or simply keep it as a side-operation to supplement my stable, well-paying corporate job? 

It’s a tough question with no easy answer.  I’m satisfied with my career and how it’s progressed thus far.  Some days I feel like it’s a bad move to throw a wrench in the spokes of a fast moving successful career working in the IT industry, but at times the fire in me burns for something more.

To try to alleviate some of my anxieties and make an attempt at understanding it all, I decided to pit full time against part time in a battle royal of ideals, realities, and everything in between. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Starting a Computer Business Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Top 5 Reasons Why I Probably Shouldn’t Start a Computer Repair Business

September 10, 2008 By 8 Comments

In July, I published an article called Top 5 Reasons Why I’m Starting A Computer Support Business. Being the kind of person that likes to see things from all angles, I decided to take the opposite view and look at some reasons why starting a computer business may not be such a good idea for me. This exercise was difficult, since obviously I DO want to start a business, but I feel it’s good to weigh the pros and cons of any major decision in life.  Starting a business is not going to be all roses and cupcakes, so this list may be a good slap in the face to anyone, including me, who thinks they’ll be able to breeze through a life as a computer consultant.  Here’s my list of the top 5 reasons why I probably shouldn’t start a computer business:
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