Seeking advice on how NOT to be a pizza tech.

[Taijitech]

Hello everyone.

New member here seeking advice, if you're inclined to offer it. Sorry for the long post.

I am considering opening a home based / mobile computer repair business, targeting home users. The area I live in has large amount of seniors.

Edit: My website via techsitebuilder http://techfitterspc.com/

My experience in regards to computers is:

1 Year as an "Computer Guy" in charge of maintaining a small office.

- A family member had started a business and asked me to help. I did the best job I could, but quickly realized I was hopelessly in over my head. At it's peak the office had about 50 - 80 computers. Work consisted of stripping old Dell desktops / repurposing old hardware and handling user issues.

As the business grew it became apparent they would need someone with real world experience and hired a IT admin to run the office. I stayed on as a helper. (The new IT admin later offered to go into break/fix business with me on the side)

4 Years doing App support for end users (Current FT Job)

- Basically the job consists of "clear your cache and cookies", or restart the device. Basic troubleshooting a script could do. There is some replicating and reporting as needed, but the majority of the work is dealing with user error. While I enjoy it here and am treated well I would like to learn and be exposed to new things.

My ideal customer would be elderly users who are not familiar with technology and how it can improve their lives, or a busy professional running a side business through their home office. I'd offer services like tutoring, lower level pc repair, Home theater installs, new device set up, etc. Basically handyman level services. If it matters I'm great with people (10+ years in Customer Service positions) as in I like others and enjoy fixing problems.

I had considered working for another shop but my work schedule conflicts with typical office hours. I do have friends who are more much knowledgeable then myself that I can fall back on for advice.

I consider myself to be roughly at the level of an A+ tech, which I realize is the IT equivalent of a Fry Cook. While I'd love to grow the business to the point where it is reliable part time income I'd also be happy with the idea of eventually working at a higher level in Corporate IT.

My question is: What advice would you offer to a new tech? I don't wish to do a disservice to my potential users nor do I wish to be incompetent.

 

[Mike McCall]

Maybe this will help:

https://www.technibble.com/categories/starting-computer-repair-business/

 

[GTP]

Stay legal!
Be honest with EVERYONE, respect your clients, even the ones that aren't any smarter than a "box of rocks."
Be patient with them, we all had to learn.
Be sure of your answers before you speak. (As Bob Dylan said "I'll know my song well before I start singing!)
Saying "I don't know" will not reflect badly on you if you are genuine!
Remember Google is your friend! And Technibble of course!
You can get your "certs" along the way, so, ok, you got your A+ and your a "Fry Cook!" How many Chefs started as fry cooks?
The experience you'll get just from the jobs you do will expand your knowledge exponentially.
There are many, many great Techs on this forum, so don't be afraid to ask questions!
@YeOldeStonecat @Markverhyden @callthatgirl @NETWizz @phaZed @lcoughey @nlinecomputers @Porthos @fencepost @Moltuae and many, many others (too many to mention here) have a wealth of knowledge and experience that they are only too happy to share!
I've been a tech for 20 years and I'm still learning much from the people on this forum!
Get into RMM/MSP now! I recommend Kabuto as an entry point!
Enjoy what you achieve, even a small step in the right direction, have fun and eat lots of Pizza!
Oh and call your Mum regularly!

 

[cypress]

You are definitely on the right path, I was basically just a tech when I joined the forums here in 2012. I really learned how to run my business the proper way when I read through all the articles. Even those back form 2007-2008 because they are still relevant. Read as much of those as you can because truth to be told they will answer many of the questions you have.

You are on the right track. Business card design looks solid as well as having a Tech Site Builder which I do as well. I took a look at your site and it looks pretty good so far. Continue to add content to it as you go.

@Barcelona made some great points. I second you checking out Kabuto at www.kabuto.io and giving them a shot. Right up your alley. Try out their Managed AV, monitoring and patch management. Install it on a couple machines and play around with it for a couple weeks.

 

[NETWizz]

Everyone has pretty much said all of the things I might be able to come up with, but I think the deciding factor that distinguishes a "real" tech vs a "pizza tech" is how much you have vested in your technical jog and ultimately how you earn your money that puts food on your table. If you are a business owner, and you took the time to do it all legal (i.e. licence and insurance), and that is your predominant source of income, then you are not a pizza tech.

Anyone can get in over their heads because there is no shortage of work when you are good.

I am just about all tapped out really. Last week I upgraded network devices in a State Park replacing half of the network devices. I still have to get network drops, replace the other half, and have a fiber pull to be ready for a VoIP project. Then right next to it, I have a network with over 400 computers and telephones... I have to do the same project AND scope crepe says I need ot put in a WiFi network, too.

Ultimately, I have quotes in to add roughly 20 strands of 50/125 micron multimode, duplex "OM4" fiber between the closets, then I have 14 network switches to install (did the router and WAN circuit change out last year). Anyway, this will provide PoE+ to ALL ports. Meanwhile on one of the floors, I need 96 copper network drops replaced with CAT6. Then I am adding 32 network drops for a Wireless network.

Going to at that point reconfigure the router to add a Voice VLAN, Wireless Management VLAN, and a Wireless Data VLAN. From there, I am going to populate our core network with some new subnets, stand-up three (3) new DHCP scopes, configure the Master AP and then stand up 31 more access points.

Then I have a Data Center migration and have to figure out a way to securely span "stretch" some Layer-2 VLANs across a WAN circuit via point to point fiber, but the customer is squeemish, so although I have a Layer-2 link, I am going to put IP addresses at both ends and use that to define a GRE tunnel to stand-up some Tunnel Interfaces, which will then be protected with IPSec Diffie-Hellman Group24 Key-Exchange, SHA-512 authentication, and AES-256-GCM Encryption... That should get me some virtual Layer-3 Interfaces that are completely secure. Then because it needs to be layer-2, I am going to *drumroll* L2TPV3 via Xconnect to Encapsulate layer-2 Frames into Layer-3 packets before sending them through the tunnel. Simply put, I am creating a virtual wire only it is encrypted. <== This is the kind of stuff real-world customers expect... Why make anything easy.

 

[trevm999]

Not being a pizza tech is more about accountability and your business practices than about technical skill. You can use so many turn-key solutions now that your technical skill can be quite low, while still providing quality solutions to your customers. Being thorough, having procedures, good client communication, good documentation, and interest in following best practices is what makes your business.

I have a few certs under my belt, but I don't consider them necessary. I do think Security+ is good training to take, not for any technical skills, but for the mentality it teaches you. All the time I have to point out issues to third-party services the business I work for uses ('why isn't this being sent encrypted? -we consider it personal information', 'everyone who uses your service could potentially see each other's client lists', etc.)

 

[Porthos]

My partial take.

Do not use/install or support unlicensed software of any kind.
Be aware of where you buy software from. (if the price is too good to be true) you know where I am going.
Do not break EULA's (see above) Use your tech software legally.
DO NOT risk client data.


As others have said ...Get the "business" stuff in order as well.

 

[NETWizz]

In my mind it comes down to only two (2) things to NOT be a "pizza tech":

1. Conduct everything above-board, honest, doing everything legit & legal accepting responsibility, filing registrations etc.

2. At least 51% of your income regardless of if self-employed or working for someone else needs to be from your career in "tech."

Basically, if you have dual employment, your "tech" job needs to be the more important of the two for you not to be a "pizza tech."

 

[sapphirescales]

The defining characteristics of a pizza tech are as follows:

1. Do shoddy, half assed work

2. Rather than fixing something properly, you either take shortcuts or use overkill methods (i.e. every time someone comes in with any sort of software related problem, you nuke n' pave the machine and expect them to come up with all the software and redo everything themselves). Sometimes a nunk n' pave is necessary, but try to salvage the machine if you can.

3. You charge pizza tech prices ($50 FLAT RATE COMPUTER REPAIR SPECIAL!), and badmouth the competition that's doing things the RIGHT way and charging accordingly.

4. You generally don't charge a diagnostic fee and therefore don't really do any real diagnostics. If you can't even run a quick SMART test on a HDD, then that's a definite pizza tech. Before you do ANYTHING you have to make 100% sure that the hardware is in working order.

5. You use improperly licensed software, or worse, you SELL improperly licensed software

6. A nuke n' pave is a BIG job if you do it properly. Installing all the proper drivers alone can take a long time. Just because nothing is showing up as an "unknown device" in the device manager doesn't mean that you have all the right drivers installed. And relying on Windows Update to install the drivers for you.......not good.

7. You're running a fly by night operation. If you have a website at all, it's generic and/or sketchy. You're not a real registered business and you get most of your business from places like Craigslist. You deal mostly in cash and don't pay tax. You usually don't give a receipt for your work, nor do you collect and remit the proper sales tax.

8. You use mostly used parts that you haven't even tested properly (well the HDD shows up so it must be good!).

If ANY of the above things describe you at all (even a little bit), then you need to work on it.

 

[NETWizz]

The defining characteristics of a pizza tech are as follows:

1. Do shoddy, half assed work

2. Rather than fixing something properly, you either take shortcuts or use overkill methods (i.e. every time someone comes in with any sort of software related problem, you nuke n' pave the machine and expect them to come up with all the software and redo everything themselves). Sometimes a nunk n' pave is necessary, but try to salvage the machine if you can.

3. You charge pizza tech prices ($50 FLAT RATE COMPUTER REPAIR SPECIAL!), and badmouth the competition that's doing things the RIGHT way and charging accordingly.

4. You generally don't charge a diagnostic fee and therefore don't really do any real diagnostics. If you can't even run a quick SMART test on a HDD, then that's a definite pizza tech. Before you do ANYTHING you have to make 100% sure that the hardware is in working order.

5. You use improperly licensed software, or worse, you SELL improperly licensed software

6. A nuke n' pave is a BIG job if you do it properly. Installing all the proper drivers alone can take a long time. Just because nothing is showing up as an "unknown device" in the device manager doesn't mean that you have all the right drivers installed. And relying on Windows Update to install the drivers for you.......not good.

7. You're running a fly by night operation. If you have a website at all, it's generic and/or sketchy. You're not a real registered business and you get most of your business from places like Craigslist. You deal mostly in cash and don't pay tax. You usually don't give a receipt for your work, nor do you collect and remit the proper sales tax.

8. You use mostly used parts that you haven't even tested properly (well the HDD shows up so it must be good!).

If ANY of the above things describe you at all (even a little bit), then you need to work on it.

I think the above is just knowledge and workmanship vs. being a Pizza Tech. That said, working on things for little to no pay is a Pizza Tech move. Today, a co-worker could offer me $140 to come out to her house and look at a a network printer that won't print, and I really don't want it because it is not worth the effort or my time. Back in the day, when I predominantly did desktop support, I was the best damned repair person and diagnostician around, and I would do things for people if they were on my good side for say $60 flat. The money was just there to make it cost enough to where my time had some value and to prevent calls every week.

 

[Taijitech]

I want to say thanks for all the amazing replies.

I am taking things slowly and trying to do it properly, as in taxes, insurance, licensing. I want to provide competent, friendly and honest service.

-I've looked at Kabuto and am intrigued, trying to figure how I should market that to home users. Some thread had mentioned it's an easy sell after malware removal.
-Definitely staying away from unlicensed software. I don't want the legal liability plus it would be completely dishonest to sell a user a cracked / unsupported copy of software.
-With so much stuff to learn I feel a bit overwhelmed at where to start. I'll definitely look at the Security+ track to learn the right mindset when it comes to keeping my clients secure.
-Any device I work I plan to make an image of the disk and then run diagnostics. From the threads I've looked at so far Acronis seems to one of the ones recommend.

The one thing I "know" is how little I know, and that a "little" knowledge can be dangerous. I do wish to learn and follow best practices. I want to do right by my users, and be the guy they can trust.

Thanks again for all the input and encouragement, it's heartening to hear from successful veterans and I'm greatly enjoying all the resources technibble offers.

 

[Briggsy]

You've got a lot of useful information to work with above already - so I'll just add my 2 cents rather than duplicating what's been said.

The first thing that stands out is your lack of confidence. You've put yourself down a couple of times in your post. You need to have confidence in yourself - otherwise you'll make mistakes through worrying. Clients / customers will also notice it. If you can't be confident in yourself, then clients certainly won't.

You don't need qualifications. You need knowledge. Most customers haven't got a clue what Comptia A+, Microsoft certs, Cisco certs, etc are - and they don't really care. If they have a fault, they just want it fixing. No amount of qualifications will be more important than knowledge. A year after sitting exams, that knowledge is out of date. The only way you'll learn about brand new technology on the market is by researching. If you do the job confidently, competently and within a reasonable timescale, you'll gain repeat customers.

If you're better at some things than others, "specialise" on that work. For example, if you're not particularly good at networking - but you're a genius at malware removal, then specialise in that to begin with - after all, most domestic repairs, certainly in the area that I cover anyway, are malware issues.

In your spare time, focus on your weaknesses - and improve on them. If you're rubbish at malware for example, infect a Virtual Machine deliberately - and practice malware removal on it. If you're not good at repairing registry errors - then deliberately damage registry files - then repair them.

I sat my Tech exams years ago to A+ standard. I'm now way more advanced than that these days - simply through self teaching, experience and research, research, research. You never learn everything - every day you can learn something new. New technology gets released. New software tools become available. Old software tools become obsolete. You need to stay on top of everything to offer a good service.

Pizza techs know the basics. They don't want to learn. They don't do research. They just want a quick £30. Their tools probably consist of screwdrivers, an anti static wristband, a £5 ebay PSU tester, Hirens Boot CD, Ccleaner, Spybot S&D, AVG free and some shady Windows installation ISOs from Pirate Bay complete with hidden computer versions of Chlamydia. My software tools alone span across an IODD device and several USBs - maybe 1000+ tools. I don't use them all - but they're there if I need them because one day I will have an obscure job that needs an obscure software tool - I bet a pizza tech has no more than 20 tools - the obvious ones named above.

Know your hardware and components. Know the hundreds, if not thousands of tech software tools out there. Practice, research, practice, research, practice, research, talk to customers well and offer a good confident service, and you'll be just fine. Oh, did I mention research?.......

 

[GTP]

...and don't forget! If you don't know the answer, someone here may! Just ask!

 

[glennd]

Procedures. ISO 9001. Controlled, repeatable procedures. Every task you do should be documented in the form of a procedure with lists, decisions, checkboxes etc.. eg:
Task: Malware Cleanup.
Step 1: Data backup.
Step 2: Clean boot.
Step 3: Disable A/V.
Step 4: CCleaner
etc

This ensures you always follow the same procedure and you don't miss or skip steps. Especially useful if you have to stop in the middle to answer the phone, talk to customer, get lunch, pass out etc or leave a long process running while you do something else. Imagine you have five machines on the bench, try to remember where you're up to on each one. You or anyone can look at the procedure for a job to know exactly what's been done and what needs to be done. Also gives you the quiet confidence that you're doing the job properly. Documentation for historical purposes to know what's happened to a specific machine in the past.

As for not knowing stuff, if you're facing the customer, don't try to bs them, just say something like I'll research that and get back to you, if you're not facing the customer then Google & Technibble is your friend. And don't forget rule number one, "Primum non nocere".

 

[GTP]

And don't forget rule number one, "Primum non nocere".

What? No Goats? No Custard?

 

[trevm999]

A year after sitting exams, that knowledge is out of date.

I know I'm nitpicking here, but I don't agree with that statement. Even if you sat a Window Server 2003 exam today, you would still have a good foundation for doing Window Server work. Yes, you would miss out on some of the new ideas of best practices (which the Server exams don't really focus on anyway), and you might not think of some of the new Windows Server features, but Active Directory still uses LDAPv3, which was published in 1997, so the same base knowledge still applies. However, keeping up with certifications is usually a losing game, it's much more efficient to just keep yourself up to date of the new OS features and not write a new exam every time one comes out.

But that being said, there are much more efficient ways to get a base knowledge of Window Server than to take any Windows Server exam in the first place.

 

[fencepost]

Understand how/why things work not just rote memorization, and know the terminology. There are a lot of things I can address from base knowledge, but there are a lot more where that base knowledge is what I need to find the solution and understand whether what I'm finding is relevant to the situation at hand. Heck, I have a server that after updates and a reboot was having problems with the print spooler hanging. I may have dealt with that once or twice in the past decade, but I certainly don't remember the details - in this case the "gets them printing immediately" steps were turning on print driver isolation and clearing a bunch of old spool files, and I'll get back on after hours and see if turning print driver isolation back off breaks it again.

Frankly, my Microsoft certifications were all back before they started using year numbers in Office products and I've not bothered pursuing any others. What customers like even better than certifications is someone able to talk to them - some want to know what actually happened (or at least to have you explain enough to see that you understand what happened), some just want to know if it's fixed and is it going to happen again.

 

[Briggsy]

I know I'm nitpicking here, but I don't agree with that statement. Even if you sat a Window Server 2003 exam today, you would still have a good foundation for doing Window Server work. Yes, you would miss out on some of the new ideas of best practices (which the Server exams don't really focus on anyway), and you might not think of some of the new Windows Server features, but Active Directory still uses LDAPv3, which was published in 1997, so the same base knowledge still applies. However, keeping up with certifications is usually a losing game, it's much more efficient to just keep yourself up to date of the new OS features and not write a new exam every time one comes out.

But that being said, there are much more efficient ways to get a base knowledge of Window Server than to take any Windows Server exam in the first place.

I perhaps didn't explain it properly as it was late.

What I meant was, learning info about hardware to pass exams in 2016 isn't enough - not keeping up with new hardware means that you can left behind. You may know everything about every bit of hardware out there up to 2016 - but if you're working on a machine in 2017 with a new piece of hardware with a new adaptor never seen before, if you don't know anything about it, you can't fix it.

Technology changes quickly these days - and it's so easy for our knowledge to become outdated if we don't keep up.

I've had to repair a few jobs in the past where customers have come to me after being unhappy with a previous tech that couldn't help - simply because he was lazy and didn't keep up. For example, a customer needed Windows 7 reinstalling on his laptop.

His laptop had USB3 ports only - and the previous tech couldn't do it because he couldn't get past the "A required CD/DVD driver is missing" screen during the Windows installation initialisation steps.

If that tech had kept up to date, he'd have been aware that on laptops with USB3 ports, he needed to inject USB3 drivers into his installation USB. Problem solved.

Without those, he was stuck.

Very basic - yet very problematic if you're caught on the spot with no workaround.

 

[mrbadgolf]

Some great advise here. I am tired of working for someone else and plan on working for myself now, and there has been some great advise in these forums.

 

[callthatgirl]

@Mike McCall Good find! I looked through all the years of those posts, great stuff. I found my first article too.

https://www.technibble.com/considerations-before-starting-a-computer-business/#more-4641