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Yeah, you may be right, Iceman.Quote:
Originally Posted by iceman
On another note, I do a lot of housecalls. You absolutely MUST have good people skills to do housecalls, and you have to know when the machine has to be pulled to the shop. Anything not trivial to you should not be done under the nervous eyes of the customer.
Totally! And communication is everything. If you scoop the pc(take it back to the shop) and it takes longer than you think, don't ever think the customer will be ok with the delay!
For me I have a bit of an advantage in terms of people skills based on my work at AT&T Wireless. Always set a customers expectations. Overcome objections. Etc. My job there was to sell voice and data plans to people. Imagine that! :D
Dude get out! Get out now! AT&T is about to go under! Hacked off their channel sales and now wrote off a few billion. Sounds to me like they are setting themselves up for a takeover(or buyout). Also the CIO said "We will be the Microsoft of the telecom industry". :confused: Run away while you can!:eek2:
One thing you can do is start working some evenings, in your spare time, and save ALL of that money to get started.
You need a workbench, basic troubleshooting stuff, and some reference parts, such as PSU units, CDROM drive. Things like a good usb pendrive, and usb NIC are always handy, and have bailed me out on numerous occasions.
I keep reference copies of Operating Systems in my kit, along with a Knoppix CD. People have been known to treat discs just horribly, and their product key works just fine with my disk. However, no license, no OS. I do not need that sort of grief. I MUST see a COA with any Windows install, or no deal. It would be even worse for you to do so in the Bay Area.
I got started with less than $1000.00 in 1996. I am unsure what that equates to in todays inflated economy, but it can be done pretty reasonably.
Best of luck, Wrbby. I think you can pull it off. :)
1> I don't work there anymore.Quote:
Originally Posted by iceman
b> Cingular aquired them. It was for the best as they are now the number one celluar service provider in the country. The new Cingular is basically the shear size and resources of Cingular, but being run by the good people of AT%T Wireless. Nice! :thumbs:
Thanks Tekboy. I will try my best. And thanks for all the advice. That helped me understand it a bit more.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tekboy
Crap! Why didn't I see the wireless at the end of AT&T? Just me
:guns: off my big mouth!
You may want to look up the SBA in the US. They have lots of programs to assist a budding small business. except money you will have to have some to get a loan. (if you plan on going with a storefront and selling components)Quote:
Originally Posted by WebHead
I personally have a stack of business cards and I do in home support and trouble shooting. Rates of $25 a hour with a free service call. also if the problem comes back due to my error Ill fix it for free. ( including another free service call)
My objective is to undercut the best buy geeks and still make a nice amount of side money while building a customer base to support a shop with a storefront.
Untill that happens Ill keep the 9-5 and scedule side jobs for the evenings and weekends.
I guess that's my biggest problem. I need to have a good solid plan and money to get started.Quote:
Originally Posted by thorian
Kinda like starting a trip without a map or a car! :p
Quote:
Originally Posted by WebHead
You never know one of my best clients is a guy I met who was to be an advisor in helping me write my business plan. I installed a wireless network at his place and he refered me to a small private school to do the same. (wired/wireless network) connecting 8 computers to the 25 in a wired lan in the computer lab.
See I am opposite, I need to find a way to get away from the customer. While, as a shock to most of you, I can BS with the best and get customer(ie the people in the offices I work in) to trust me and appreciate the work I do, I hate the customer. I really hate people and it is what gives me such a headache while at work and I won't even discuss IT outside of work, unless the person knows what they are talking about. I really need to find an aspect of the job away from the people.
As a service provider, you will ALWAYS have customers though. Even working in an office,.. your co-workers are your customers. It's just the nature of this business we have chosen.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cleetus
Do you need an assistant? :wave:Quote:
Originally Posted by Tekboy