I've toyed with this idea for years. Maybe that's the case with others as well. I've got a load of tech savvy friends, rent is very affordable for storefront commercial buildings. I could even scrounge up some initial investment money. But it can't be that easy... can it?
I was sad to see this was the only post on the blog. I'd be very interested in knowing what steps went into setting up shop.
I, too, own a computer repair shop. We've been open for a few years now, and while I don't have any numbers on me at the moment, this seems very similar to our early days. We're in a very small town, so our numbers probably started off a bit lower.
We do a lot of: virus/spyware removal, replacing broken power jacks on laptops, hard drive replacement (with and without data recovery), in the spring/summer we replace a lot of power supplies thanks to all of the thunderstorms), format and reinstall (usually at their request, we rarely have to do it due to viruses, etc.), RAM upgrades, laptop screen replacements.
By far, the majority of the hardware problems we see are hard drives and laptop power jacks, which makes sense, since they tend to take the most abuse.
My first "computer job" (early in high school) started as gopher duty at a local PC shop in my hometown. I unpacked boxes of hard drives, swept the floors, and occasionally cleaned the bathroom (aside: every high school kid's first job should involve cleaning a toilet!). Eventually, I moved up to doing diagnostic and assembly work, and the owner realized that he could hire high school kids to do most of the tech jobs. The guy is still in business nearly twenty years later, and as far as I can tell, he's done quite well for himself.
The only problem is, it's not the most intellectually stimulating work in the world, and it's certainly not for the high-aspiration type of person. But when you can hire smart high school kids to do most of the labor, set up some basic process automation and establish a reliable network of customer recommendations, it takes very little effort or time to maintain the business. I'm sure I work longer hours in the bit-mines than he ever did.
> Most of my revenue has been been from virus and malware removal. I coupled the virus/malware removal with an antivirus installation service for $19 and most people gladly paid it.
Once a computer has become infected, it's fairly impossible to determine if the infection has been completely eradicated.[1] I wonder that that $19 buys you. A few executions of anti-malware software until they claim "Clean"?
[1] I realize that even in the absence of a known infection it's "impossible" to know whether you're infected.
(Previous 3 can be monitored with e.g. SysInternals AutoRuns)
* no browser / networking stack hijacking extensions showing popups / interstitials / DOM modifications etc. at random intervals
(As evidenced by e.g. HijackThis)
* no unsigned DLLs / drivers of unknown provenance loaded in any process or the kernel
(As evidenced by e.g. Process Explorer's Verify Image Signatures option - look in loaded modules of the "System" process to see all loaded kernel drivers and modules), with a representative sample of applications running (browsers, productivity, etc.)
* no apparent rootkit-style hijacking of the process / registry / disk inspection routines, as would be shown by e.g. RootkitRevealer
And of course, a commercial virus scan, for what it's worth. I personally don't run a real-time virus scanner; I rely on monitoring what the system is doing directly.
I agree with you completely in the difficulty of being certain that a computer is clean once infected, but some people (a la http://xkcd.com/694/ ) are not willing to deal with "starting from scratch" because it means having to backup their data, reinstall all of their applications, and redo their application settings.
I'd rather trust a geek with their own business than some HS dropout at BestBuy to run the anti-malware software. Or rather, I'd trust sending my friends and family to that person rather than BB. I can usually do the same pro-bono, but I just don't have the time anymore.
PC shops like this one are the market for our premium product and it is extremely interesting to see these numbers. It wasn't obvious to me before (I'm sort of slow with these things) but if you're selling a B2B product, checking out a customer's books is really enlightening.
What do you do with customers who don't have or can't find product keys for Windows, Office, etc.? I find the majority of people who ask me for help fall into this category. Unless they have a laptop with the product key stuck underneath, they rarely can find their original product keys. I'm then faced with telling them they need to shell out hundreds of dollars or switch to Linux. Some of the them switched, but unless they're willing to learn Linux, that's a whole new set of problems (e.g. they call you saying "I downloaded MSN but I can't install for some reason").
For Windows, you tell them they need to order recovery CD/DVDs from the manufacturer, and then we order them for them. It's usally between $15-25. If we happen to have restore disks from their manufacturer that will work with their model, we use them, so long as the computer had a valid copy of windows on it to begin with.
If it's a computer they've built rather than bought from a big box and have lost their key, well, they're out of luck, but most people who build their own computers don't bring them to a computer repair shop.
What do you guys think about doing this part time and on-site at people's homes? I'm looking for something to cover my basic expenses while working on another project. Yeah, I could get a full-time job. But I would rather have the time considering my expenses are very low right now.
One big benefit for me is that it would get me outside and dealing with people to counter my extended hacking sessions. Any ideas on a good rate and marketing strategy?
I did this through college, really was stressful compared to almost any other part time job. Paid better though.
It's very hard to be empathetic and be in the business, you end up undercharging but still going too far above and beyond to meet their schedules/needs, and ultimately feeling bad you didn't do a 100% perfect job after you give them the bill (because in hindsight, you could do any job in half the time)
Oh and you'll get calls 2 years after you close up shop.
Thanks. I think being empathetic might be a bit of a problem for me but the great thing is that I can always just stop doing it whenever I want. Is this where the stress came?
Any ideas on a good rate to charge? Do people look at on-site work as a premium service or do they look at you as the small guy and expect a really good rate?
How did you market your service?
I'd really like to hear more about your experience as the getting out the door aspect is really appealing to me right now.
What are your rates? Hourly or per Job? How much do you pay for overhead (rent, etc).
You state that they bring their systems to you so I assume you have a storefront.
Those numbers are impressive for just starting out, but it would be nice to know the full story such as your expenses regarding the running and the upkeep of the business.
I can't get by this guy's prose. Something just seems off about it. Maybe I shouldn't be cruising HN this... late.
It always seems like anyone qualified enough to fix a computer could make way more per hour doing programming or IT work. Computer repair seems like a great idea but I don't think it's efficient right now.
Possibly, but someone qualified enough to be a good programmer could probably also make way more in a financial or medical field. Having the ability doesn't necessarily correlate to having an interest. Many smart people may choose to repair computers because of the interaction with a variety of people daily rather than stuck in a cubicle somewhere.
Hell, I could make more money as a dentist, but I don't find the idea of poking around in people's mouths every day to be very appealing.
my personal definition of a 'startup' is a business that aims to grow rapidly, acquire venture funding, and hire more employees. this seems like a (successful) small business, not a 'tech startup'. the author's hope is not to become the next 37signals, meebo, facebook, google, etc.
I have trouble with limited definitions. To me, "startup" encompasses any newly started business, regardless of its aims. Why? Because I find most other definitions are set by someone with an agenda, or rule out companies most would agree are startups for arbitrary reasons.
"Acquire venture funding" was not a 37 Signals goal. Ask most venture capitalists and that will be in their definition, though.
"Hire more employees" is arbitrary. Why is that a goal any more than "buy office chairs?" Hiring employees is a side effect, not a goal.
Ask someone who thinks single founder companies don't work and their definition will likely exclude companies like del.icio.us.
Ask techies, and startup means "a tech company" but personally, I would call Ben & Jerry's in the 70's a startup.
In terms of goals, sometimes the process evolves--like hotornot.com and the goals aren't there at the outset. Sometimes the goal is "build a better search engine" and everything else evolves later.
For these reasons, I prefer an inclusive defintion of startups, rather than something that means "startup like mine, or startup I'm looking to invest in"
I buy the 'grow rapidly' part - but what does venture funding and hiring part have to do with it? Take 37Signals (your own example) as an obvious counter example.
I'd argue that 'scalability' is an important component of a startup though. I don't think anyone would consider a consultancy to be a startup - although many do meet your three criteria. They don't scale since there is an upper bound to revenue per employee (while a software product/website has no such bound).
That makes "startup" sound like a kind of disreputable thing. What's wrong with building a sustainable business that you enjoy running, and continuing to run it, instead of looking for the quickest way to sell out?
out of curiosity, what part of my comment made it sound like aiming to grow rapidly to scale was disreputable? i don't mean to pass value judgments on either small businesses or growth-oriented startups
That was my editorializing, not read into yours, sorry. My view is that "startup" is a pretty broad category, that's mainly based on someone who has an idea they think is interesting or will be useful to someone (possibly a large group, or possibly a small group). There's a certain subset of those people who are mainly in it for the money: they want to get big and sell out quick. If those are the only kind who really count as startups, then I'd have to take a pretty negative view of startups...
"Paying a college student $9/hr is a win-win in my opinion."
If you find college students who actually know shit about computers might they not have some other means for making better than $9/hr?
I have no idea what the market is like for these things, but I'm wondering if you'd be better off somewhat overpaying and making sure you had people you could trust to sort out problems when some repair routine doesn't quite work.
They might, but will they? My experience is that most people really don't want to run businesses. They want to come to work, do the job, get paid and go home. Most also go for a comfortable lifestyle rather than absolutely maximizing their income (too much work!). In that case, the college student who likes computers will probably choose to work in that field for $9/hour rather than for $10/hour at WalMart.
that's the what i normally mean by startup, but whenever there is confusion what we are describing is accurately described by the term: "growth venture"
It does not matter if he considers himself a startup or not.
Think about it. He does fairly well doing what he does. Must a dentist "scale", or is the dentist perfectly happy running her practice until she retires?
Why do people have to scale? Wouldn't you like yourself to earn that regular money every month doing something that you like without thinking of constant expansion?
I've heard, from assorted friends an d such, that one of "the problems with capitalism" is that businesses must grow or die.
I never quite got that. I mean, I understand that a business may be driven by shareholders to just keep going after that one extra dollar, but it's also quite feasible to have a sustainable business that earns its owners a good income, isn't always trying to grow, and leaves everyone happy.
I was sad to see this was the only post on the blog. I'd be very interested in knowing what steps went into setting up shop.