[College] Starting a business

Do you plan on going to their machine to (try) and fix it or do you want them to bring it to you?

Also, don't forget to save all of your receipts for anything you buy related to the field. This includes paper, pens, ink ... lots of stuff. Write everything down and make sure that you make copies of all transactions.
 
FOURSTAR said:
Do you plan on going to their machine to (try) and fix it or do you want them to bring it to you?

Also, don't forget to save all of your receipts for anything you buy related to the field. This includes paper, pens, ink ... lots of stuff. Write everything down and make sure that you make copies of all transactions.
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Originally I will start by going to their machine, but in the long run I plan on offering both. Thanks for the receipt thing too, never thought of it.

So last night I went through a 6 pack of Yuengling and wrote out about 5 pages of a business plan. Quick question though, how do I project revenue for fiscal years? I have no idea how much business I can handle in that stretch of time, and I have only rough values for the cost of repair per hour (around $40).

BTW, still looking for a name, I don't think I could piggyback Geek Squad with names like Greek Squad (hilarious though), since I want this to end up being a real business.
 
IDRAH has the right idea by trying to start a business while still in college.

The problem is that tech repair really sucks. People who's computers break don't have money to fix them.

Seriously, keep doing research on the subject. See if GeekSquad actually makes money. I don't think they do.

What you need to do is find another business that makes tons of money. There are many web sites that tell the salary levels of different jobs.

Find a friend in college and partner up with them to start a business. The job you want may not be invented yet. It could be fixing iPhones or something like that.

Think about it, the iPhone battery can't be replaced by the end user. Many sites are already springing up saying they can replace the battery for $30. That's where you want to be. What about the glass screen? Same thing. People will need these to be fixed.
 
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i would think you might want to look at starting an llp to cover your ass. It may sound extreme for something like fixing pc's at school, but you'll be suprised how many people will probably bring ancient rigs to you that are taking their last gasp coming in the door, and it happens to die on the table while you are working on it. It will be your fault no matter what. Plus you never know if this will take off, most likely it will probably be bigger than you think.
 
post in classifieds

edit: and you're thinking about this way too much.. spend less time planning, your business model is probably going to change very quickly.. get a business license, advertise now, be confident on the phone with your clients, and if you're good at what you're doing you will grow
 
for your business plan you need to state your goals. Do you intend to build this business as big as possible? Or are you simply going for a "decent" business that helps you make money on the side as you complete your studies. Determine your goals.

Then you need to extrapolate a reasonable figure to help you make ballpark projections. You won't know this information for awhile. Things like, how much work can you accomplish in a day/week/month? How much demand is there for your services? And if youre aiming to grow, how successful are your various marketing strategies, based on your time and resources invested?

Also agree with the advice to go LLC, and get in touch with an attorney or do some heavy research into the legal issues. Anything that absolves you and your company from unnecessary liabilities.

Best of luck.
 
ruWank said:
I think starting an internet cafe with home made air conditioning is a better idea bro
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wouldnt have enough ice for my home made AC unit.

but yeah, i hope to create some type of user agreement that states what we do and do not do, with the main clauses being about how just because we fixed your first problem doesnt mean we caused and/or have to fix the second problem.

i am perfectly content with keeping this small (between three people or so) and i will hopefully be prepared if it takes off.

still looking for names :eek:
 
gabe said:
post in classifieds

edit: and you're thinking about this way too much.. spend less time planning, your business model is probably going to change very quickly.. get a business license, advertise now, be confident on the phone with your clients, and if you're good at what you're doing you will grow
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im seriously considering only posting facebook advertisements, but im going to create a small website first so I can link the ads to the site instead of flooding my own facebook. also planning on a small ticket RT system.
 
IDRAH said:
1. Business plan stating that my target demographic is college students, my goal being to eventually turn this into a small business with multiple repairmen/repairwomen while turning a profit.

2. Creating a website while grassroots advertising (probably Facebook, flyers on campus) builds up my client base. The website makes it seem as if it's a business instead of a 19 year-old student trying to make money in his free time.

3. Establishing credibility through positive transactions with clients.
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4. PROFIT

I approve of this newly revised plan.
 
My roomate this year is an IT major, and as a side-job he works at Best Buy with geek squad. They pay for ALL his uniform cost, software, cost, etc.

The benefit is that he receives a ton of free software for diagnosing and fixing machines, all flash-drive based stuff for his work at Best Buy. I bought a 100 dollar dell off the fourth owner with over 30,000 viruses on it, reformatted, and he fixed up all the shit left over after the format in under an hour while we were hanging out smoking.

He also has every piece of microsoft software available for free, I got power point, and word installed by him as well.

If you can get yourself the same type of software, you could make a killing installing warez and cleaning peoples computers.
 
IDRAH said:
Originally I will start by going to their machine, but in the long run I plan on offering both. Thanks for the receipt thing too, never thought of it.

So last night I went through a 6 pack of Yuengling and wrote out about 5 pages of a business plan. Quick question though, how do I project revenue for fiscal years? I have no idea how much business I can handle in that stretch of time, and I have only rough values for the cost of repair per hour (around $40).

BTW, still looking for a name, I don't think I could piggyback Geek Squad with names like Greek Squad (hilarious though), since I want this to end up being a real business.
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honestly, the forecasting should be a modest estimate on what you THINK the numbers are. if you think they are a bit high, they probably are.
 
i live in dc too. i'm actually moving to an apt on 24th and virginia in like a week LOLz..

as your attorney, i recommend you post this picture all over campus, but with your contact info. profit is sure to follow.

vagina21uq.jpg
 
Vermouth said:
i live in dc too. i'm actually moving to an apt on 24th and virginia in like a week LOLz..

as your attorney, i recommend you post this picture all over campus, but with your contact info. profit is sure to follow.

vagina21uq.jpg
Click to expand...

uh, 24th and virginia? youre moving to columbian plaza b? i live reaaalllly close to there haha
 
Id be to worried about being sued. People seem to know more about suing people then computers so anything you do wrong, and you would be liable.
 
Since this is a one-man startup requiring little to no outside capital, your rough draft business plan is fine. After operating unregistered and with little advertising for a few months, I would resume working on the business plan. Then you can register your business, ramp up advertising, and seek employees.

If you do quality work for a reasonable price, referalls should keep you busy as long as you are doing all the work by yourself.

Good luck.
 
Computer repair really sucks because people want you to fix their computer for $10, and then you become free tech support for them when they call later. It's really not worth it. Find something else.

The best thing right now would be to read business books about starting a company, make a business plan, and see of a college buddy wants to go in with out. Maybe they'll have a rich daddy that can give you the money to start.
 
after working a year and a half at my school's call center for tech support, i think this is a bad idea

a significant portion of the issues you will encounter will involve dead hardware or computers that need formatting (too much spyware/viruses/etc). in the first case, there is nothing you can do other than say 'get a new computer' and the customer will be pissed. in the second case you will tell them they need to format, but they won't have a windows install cd, at which point you will need to tell them to shell out a bunch of movie for xp/vista and the customer will still be pissed.
 
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