I am a one man shop, and some times i am swamped and the other times nothing. in order to level out my income i offer businesses a service agreement like this: They pay a monthly fee which includes up to two hours of service(phone tech help, repair, etc)when needed. they also get 24-48 hour service,and emergency service at regular rates after the 2 hours.
i encourage them to call to have me install updates etc. this keeps me in touch with the business, and their computers. this has enabled me to keep them running much better(much easier to prevent than fix a problem) and has gotten me numerous referrals(due to the problem free computers). plus I can schedule routine things around my schedule(testing a backup, etc).
I currently have two companies, and think i could do 4-6 depending on size.
I doubt i am the only one doing this, and was wondering if you had any tips on how to structure this, and your experiences. if you don't do this, i would still value your opinion.



[This message has been edited by techs (edited October 07, 2000).]