Chris Sanders Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 Well, i have owned my own computer repair business for about a year now, and things are giong pretty good, i have some faithful clients, and business is slow but steady. The problem is that i seem to be in a slump and i cant seem to get any more business. Funding for advertising is very limited, so i figured i would see what my friends at neowin suggest, cause i know there is some smart cookies out there. The business basically builds computers for people, does computer repair, and web design (w/ coldfusion). Name of the biz is Ground Zero Computers. I more or less do this on the side with my job as a Network Tech, but would like to eventually make it my primary source of income with mostly web design. Any comments or suggestions are welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johngalt Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 Do you have a website? if not, check out 1and1.com for a hosting package - you'll like the prices. I think the major problem is that a lot more people are going out there and designing their own systems b/c the big boys are now offering configuration options with the systems that they sell. having built the last 3 systems that I own, I know that it would have been a lot easier for me to start a PC build and repair shop 5 years ago than it would be now - So many more choices when it comes to components, software, etc. And with the larger manufacturers moving away from proprietary components to standard, upgradeable components, and with soooooooooooooo many n00bs out there that have never used a computer before, price is almost a secondary consideration to 24/7 tech support. I'd do several websites for non profit organizations to build your portfolio if you are hard pressed to find paying customers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jelly2003 Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 I'm in a similar boat to you. I own a web design business, but I'm branching into PC hardware too. Unfortunatley PC hardware mobs here are a dime a dozen, and I'm not finding it profitable. You get so many companies that dont care about quality, all they care about is selling a few cheap PC's that usually fail within a month or 2. They then rename their business and sell more cheap PC's that fail under a different brand name. I can build similar priced systems to my compeditors, but the amount of profit I would make is minimal because I build quality systems, I dont like cutting corners. Unfortunatley most customers want cheap systems, and they dont understand the value of using good components. So the sale ends up sitting with the dodgy people. What even more annoying is the amount of people who will go and build a website for next to nothing (as a hobby), which usually ends up being a PHP Nuke site, or somthing very basic. I can do a quality job, but the customer always goes to the person who is going to do it for $50 (usually a boerd school kid on holidays, or some massive media company who can afford to do it that cheap). I have nothing against these people making sites, but they make it so damn hard for professionals to earn a living from the industry. Anyways for me things are looking positive for me, I have a massive web site contract and could have a way to get good quality components much cheaper then the prices I pay now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_Candyman Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 worked at a computer store for 6 years...the first 3 years were profitable, the next 3 years made enough money to stay afloat. More customers at the end of it, but prices were so low in order to compete that no money was being made Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldeCrow Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 Xtrolyte Im in the same situation as you, here in the northwest computer parts are VERY cheap basicly as cheap as you can find on the internet. Ive had to focus on service to make money and ive been doing it out of my home for several years. Like you advertising seems to be the key to steadily growing a business but money for advertising is never there ;) Focusing on webdevelopement has been an interest of mine as well however you will find after you collect a half dozzen customers who all want very dynamic content that its a 25 hour a day job .. of course if your charging 50 or 60 dollars and hour and charging honestly for your time there is good money to be made if your clients are prepared to pay for it but again there is the problem of your clients being led astray by some bored high school student who says he will do it for small change .. the only solution ive been able to come up with is to move the business out of the home and into some small retail space but then there is the pressure to pay the lease for the retail space which means even more aggressive advertising which means needing more money .. still the opertunity to grow the business seems greater once you've moved it out of the home .. the old saying "it takes money to make money" seems to be tragicly appropriate here... as you can see by my signature i do have a website but im basicly not useing it for business :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Sanders Posted December 25, 2003 Author Share Posted December 25, 2003 You all make very good points. Around where i live there is little money to be made in repair and building computers, thats why i want to focus on the web design aspect. In western KY there are VERY few web design companies, only two within 100 miles of me, one of which that is decent. So i see a big marketing hole which i am going to try to get in. Do yall have any suggestions for marketing other than building a good web portfolio? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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