Extra Tidbits of Income

A few posts ago I wrote about spotting advertising opportunities. In this short article I will talk about spotting little tidbits of income you could be making, its nothing that will replace your core business with computers, but creating a little bit on the side.

My three favorite tidbits of income are:

ISP Affiliate Programs

If you are the type of technician who sets up internet connections for clients, why not sign up for an ISP affiliate program? Most major internet service providers have a program you can join that will pay you a commission for every successful yearly signup you send to them. With some providers, this can be up to $100. Call the sales department of your favorite ISP, tell them you are a computer technician and that you would love to send them more customers but want to know if they have an affiliate program.

Pickup, Dropoff and Plug in

If you are not busy or just starting out, why not offer to pickup, drop off and plug in a clients computer for a fee? In my experience most clients are afraid to unplug their computers because they fear that they wont be able to plug it all back in properly, or they simply don’t have the time to bring it to you. To prevent you having to go to the other side of town for a low fee, set up “zones” with different prices based on how far they are from your base location.

Priority Repairs

Last but not least as this one is my personal favorite. Priority Repairs; if you have a client is desperate to have a fast turnaround but you are too busy to be able to do so, instead of turning them away or telling them that you wont be able to get onto it until tomorrow. Tell them that you can push them to the front of the line for $XX extra. If they are desperate, chances are they will take you up on this offer.

These four fall more into the realm of upselling than tidbits of income, but are worth mentioning anyway:

• Computer Tuneups – Disable unneeded services at bootup, uninstall unused programs, clear temp folders
• Backup to CD/DVD services
• Teaching – How to email, download digital photos, scan, print, introduction to Windows Vista etc..
• Security Package – Install Antivirus, Windows Updates, Firewall and show them how to avoid nasties.

As I mentioned in our spotting advertising opportunities article, there is plenty that you can be doing, you just need to keep your eyes open for opportunities and see what works for your business.