computer repair as a business, still worth it?

[dude1]

Is computer repair as a business dead?
I recently ended a three-year contract with a big corporation and im reluctant to start the cycle over again I'm wondering what my options are and if starting a computer repair business could be a viable one

Currently I live in a small town of about 5000 people we have one tech shop.
before going off to college for computer science I worked there and I was making 9$ an hour while we charged $65
I don't know if it's the same as it used to be, but I don't want to talk to my old boss about it because he kind of screwed me when I left that job and opening old wounds doesn't seem like a good idea (plus I don't know how honest someone would be about assisting there future competition)

But I imagine since his prices are the same as they were I could carve out a niche being a one-man operation (charge say $40 or $50 a hour)
But most people I talked to have said it's not worth it and PC repair is the equivalent of the TV repair man nowadays.

What do you guys think?
Is it possible to be so proprietor starting from scratch (I'm thinking initially starting with working out of my home and going from there if it starts to pick up)
I thought other possible niches I could get into in addition would be data recovery and/or phone/tablet screen repair.


thanks

 

[Kaizen]

Is the computer repair business dead and can you make a good living at it in your area are two different questions(you only asked one question). The computer SERVICE business will be around for the foreseeable future, albeit changing. The question is can you make a go of it in a reasonable time in your area, who knows. It is a tough business to make it in.

 

[dude1]

In that case, does anyone have any recommendations on how I can determine whether it's worthwhile for me to give it a go in my area

 

[lan101]

Start out as mobile. Advertising is a must in my opinion starting out unless you got a lot of contacts that can be word of mouth. Keep expenses down. Do good work and keep in contact with your clients. I think service work will continue to be needed. It seems as if hardware replacement is becoming less and less as time goes on. I say give it a shot and see what happens. It's not too expensive to at least try if you go mobile and don't have shop expenses.

 

[tom11011]

First of all, low ball pricing is not a marketing plan. A race to the bottom is not good for either of you. When you lower prices like that you are saying to yourself that you have nothing to offer.

No don't do that. Price yourself fairly and do make a profit or why bother? I would at the minimum charge the same amount as your competition and maybe even higher. How high? Well that all depends on what you have to offer and what the market will bear.

Compete on differentiating yourself from your competition.

Fixing computers is dying, that cannot be the sole focus of your company, it should be one of things you do. But I wouldn't try and build a business around that by itself.

 

[frederick]

Starting out is going to require you to get your name out there. You say there is one guy in town already. Don't bad talk him, ever. There are many reasons to not do it, other than being unprofessional, but you don't want to start any kind of "turf" war. Don't base your prices off his prices, but do use his, and your economy of the area, as a guide. i.e. Don't charge $100 when he charges $50, and most of the people in the area are working 2 jobs to be able to afford rent.

Talk to people around town, what are their needs? Think about what you competition is doing, and what their not doing. Is there a way to fill that hole and start with a niche market?

 

[frederick]

Fixing computers is dying, that cannot be the sole focus of your company, it should be one of things you do.

I disagree the break/fix is dying. It's changing. Our focus with our residential customers is to keep them running. A lot of customers come to us needing their computers repaired, but they want more than just that. They want it to be kept running, and running smoothly. So we offer that to them. It's not dead, otherwise we wouldn't be making what we do in residential.

 

[tom11011]

I disagree the break/fix is dying. It's changing. Our focus with our residential customers is to keep them running. A lot of customers come to us needing their computers repaired, but they want more than just that. They want it to be kept running, and running smoothly. So we offer that to them. It's not dead, otherwise we wouldn't be making what we do in residential.

I guess it depends how you look at it. It's certainly not what it was back in the windows xp days. I think a few things have come together that have reduced the need for break fix greatly. 1.) Virus/malware control is much better than years past because MS is making a better OS product. 2.) Pricing has come way down. In the past when a computer cost $1500 all the time people would be more likely to invest more into keeping it longer. 3.) The invention of SSD drives means hard drives are not going to fail like they used to.

 

[Digital Sage]

Does the other guy do onsite, or run a shop?

You could offer onsite and ask $10-$20 more then he does with the advantage of people not having to drive to a shop. Look at what he doesn't do and offer that

 

[mraikes]

.... Currently I live in a small town of about 5000 people we have one tech shop...snipped...(they) charged $65/hr...snipped... I could carve out a niche being a one-man operation (charge say $40 or $50 a hour)...snipped...

I thought other possible niches I could get into in addition would be data recovery and/or phone/tablet screen repair.

Where in Canada do you live? A town with that small a population that doesn't draw significant customers from the surrounding countryside and nearby smaller towns may have difficulty supporting multiple repair shops.

What's your claim to fame? Towns that small already have their "Guys". You know what I mean - the "Guy" that owns the gas station(s). The "Guys" that owns the grocery store, the hardware store, the feed lot, the bar (or three), and of course the computer "Guy".

They can be tough markets to crack as a newbie. Unless that "Guy" is so known to be a cheating crook that everyone is relieved to finally have an alternative. But you haven't given that vibe except for alluding to some problem when you left.

Price alone WILL get you a certain amount of business (if you can get your name and pricing out there). But it's a double edged sword. You can burn yourself out for a pittance never earning enough to move beyond survival mode, much less save for rainy days/slow periods, finance day-to-day operations, hire help, buy software/hardware, etc. And frankly, $65/hour is a quite reasonable rate for someone that has to support a storefront, pay taxes and has employees.

On the upside - you might also become one of the town's "Guys". On the downside, it will likely be as the "Cheap Guy" in much the same way that the town already has a legitimate, licensed and good electrician that everyone knows - and also a backyard handyman that does electrical stuff on the cheap as long as you don't expect too much or inspect too closely afterward. Which would you rather be?

But the real questions that must be answered: Is there an untapped need in your town for another repair person? Does the existing guy have a backlog that forces customers to look elsewhere if they need fast service? Does the existing guy offer onsite services? On weekends? In the evenings? Is he stronger in residential service or commercial? Your ideas of data recovery and phone services might be good if those are areas he's weak in.

And what is the segmentation of your market? Although your town is small, does it nevertheless have a fairly strong and thriving business core? Or is it mostly a "bedroom community" to some other city? Over the last 10 years has the population increased, declined or remained stagnant?

In essence, you must do at least a basic market analysis and determine if there is excess/untapped need enough to support your lifestyle without depending on simply stealing enough of his customers to support yourself.

If there is an actual need and you possess the skills, you should be able to make a go of it.

 

[mlfixer]

I would agree with one of the previous responses. Going cheaper is not a marketing plan. Offering better value and service is the key. When you can achieve both then you can easily charge more than your competition and your business will grow because people will tell their friends/co-workers etc that your service is top notch. Go that extra mile, make sure your customers are happy, never make them feel "small" or not smart enough to understand computers. Provide extra services that your competition is too lazy to perform/offer.

And NEVER be cheap, unless that is what you want to be known as....

mlfixer

 

[pc-rebuilders]

Check my post out...
http://www.technibble.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57326

 

[frase]

Starting out is going to require you to get your name out there. You say there is one guy in town already. Don't bad talk him, ever. There are many reasons to not do it, other than being unprofessional, but you don't want to start any kind of "turf" war. Don't base your prices off his prices, but do use his, and your economy of the area, as a guide. i.e. Don't charge $100 when he charges $50, and most of the people in the area are working 2 jobs to be able to afford rent.

Talk to people around town, what are their needs? Think about what you competition is doing, and what their not doing. Is there a way to fill that hole and start with a niche market?

I have 3 people in my area, one cold called me the other day to pry for information lol. They are charging $69 for a "full system speedup"
- x2 system scanners [whatever that is]
- Dust blowout
- Anti - Virus
- Anti - Spyware
- Anti - Adware
- Reg clean
- System Cleanup

Now I charge $100 for this service, I believe mine is more than a simple app scan with malware, Dont know what they mean by Anti Virus etc if they check or just simply install AVG or some crap. I gather they simply use CCleaner for the reg clean and cleanup.

We dont just simply blow the dust out our service includes full stripdown of system and clean ie; case, cpu, gpu, fans and slots. This usually takes around 2hrs turnaround, which $100 is reasonable. I recommend an AV such as Kaspersky if they dont have a suitable AV - or install Avast if they dont want to spend $. I also update Java, flash and Reader and install any needed updates and check system drivers for issues.

 

[tylermcfarland]

I definitely think the break/fix business and electronics repair business in general is still viable. Most of my business is solely residential. I focus on computer, iPhone and iPad repair and don't sell myself short. My prices aren't the cheapest but they're not the highest either. I live in a town of about 80,000 and there are at least 10 other computer repair shops that I can think of off hand. And just as many or more iPhone/iPad/iPod repair stores. New stores are opening up monthly, existing businesses are moving to bigger locations and expanding services.

I've seen nothing but growth in this industry since I started my business 4 years ago. In fact this is my busiest month so far this year. The key to staying in business is keeping your name out there and providing great service. You also have to up-sell every chance you get to really make a good profit every month. Even though you can get a decent laptop for $300 people are still shelling out the extra money on a better computer with better specs. Even then I've got customers that will pay $165 to get their 15" laptop screen replaced because they don't want to have to transfer all their files and deal with the hassle.

I see the break/fix business being viable for at least the next few years. I plan on doing more MSP work in the coming years but I'll still do the break/fix stuff and serve residential customers.

 

[ell]

I definitely think the break/fix business and electronics repair business in general is still viable. Most of my business is solely residential. I focus on computer, iPhone and iPad repair and don't sell myself short. My prices aren't the cheapest but they're not the highest either. I live in a town of about 80,000 and there are at least 10 other computer repair shops that I can think of off hand. And just as many or more iPhone/iPad/iPod repair stores. New stores are opening up monthly, existing businesses are moving to bigger locations and expanding services.

I've seen nothing but growth in this industry since I started my business 4 years ago. In fact this is my busiest month so far this year. The key to staying in business is keeping your name out there and providing great service. You also have to up-sell every chance you get to really make a good profit every month. Even though you can get a decent laptop for $300 people are still shelling out the extra money on a better computer with better specs. Even then I've got customers that will pay $165 to get their 15" laptop screen replaced because they don't want to have to transfer all their files and deal with the hassle.

I see the break/fix business being viable for at least the next few years. I plan on doing more MSP work in the coming years but I'll still do the break/fix stuff and serve residential customers.

I hope this is true, I actually believe Windows 8 has helped us in that many are afraid of it and want to keep their old machines!

 

[Digital Sage]

I have 3 people in my area, one cold called me the other day to pry for information lol. They are charging $69 for a "full system speedup"
- x2 system scanners [whatever that is]
- Dust blowout
- Anti - Virus
- Anti - Spyware
- Anti - Adware
- Reg clean
- System Cleanup

Now I charge $100 for this service, I believe mine is more than a simple app scan with malware, Dont know what they mean by Anti Virus etc if they check or just simply install AVG or some crap. I gather they simply use CCleaner for the reg clean and cleanup.

We dont just simply blow the dust out our service includes full stripdown of system and clean ie; case, cpu, gpu, fans and slots. This usually takes around 2hrs turnaround, which $100 is reasonable. I recommend an AV such as Kaspersky if they dont have a suitable AV - or install Avast if they dont want to spend $. I also update Java, flash and Reader and install any needed updates and check system drivers for issues.

Just checked you out, as we're both in the same wider area of Melbourne. Am i correct in seeing that you only charge $55 an hour for onsite stuff? How is that viable?

 

[Sam Marlowe]

Awesome suggestions here. Much of what I would add has already been said. In any case, don't fall victim to the sunk cost fallacy. Don't be afraid to change course if, after you've made the initial investment, things just don't seem to be working out.

 

[pcx_jordan]

I disagree the break/fix is dying. It's changing. Our focus with our residential customers is to keep them running. A lot of customers come to us needing their computers repaired, but they want more than just that. They want it to be kept running, and running smoothly. So we offer that to them. It's not dead, otherwise we wouldn't be making what we do in residential.

Amen to this! I agree 100%.