Thinking of calling it quits...

[lsi]

I think the most important thing we have learned here today is?
Don't mention the economy or any one who has any control over it.

lol. we must not mention the economy or the highest office in charge of it if we are trying to run a business. economics are not a factor at all

anonymous mac tech - that was a great post. it reminds me of when i first starting doing IT work (as an employee) and the whole time I was working as an IT consultant I was dreaming about that cushy IT admin job where I sat around half the day reading and studying for my next cert. Well, a couple of years later I got the cushy job at a school district and it was exactly as I imagined: deal with some workplace politics, finish up some projects which were way too easy for me since I had previously been a consultant, and then I had all the time in the world to play games, setup a test lab, pass certifications, mentor some students, etc. Less than a year later I was completely bored out of my mind and started a business on the side. Within 6 months I had so much work I had to quit the FT gig. I've had ups and downs and even one year where I was selling things out of my garage to get money for food but I don't regret any of it.

 

[MaxT]

Hmmm, I'm beginning to wonder whether this is the best decision to try and build a computer tech business. It can't be that bad all the time can it?

 

[lsi]

Hmmm, I'm beginning to wonder whether this is the best decision to try and build a computer tech business. It can't be that bad all the time can it?

right now it is definitely harder than at other times. But If you have the right business model for your area and/or a better work ethic than your competitors you can definitely succeed. Businesses that figure out how to succeed in recessions have a very good chance of becoming even more successful in boom times. On the flipside, it can be very easy to hang a shingle over the door and go into business when times are good but then have to fold quickly when the next recession hits (usually around every 10yrs or so). Some business owners have the smarts and drive to succeed no matter what. Some of them are fairweather entrepreneurs only. At any rate, I would advise against dropping your FT job to start a venture right now. I would still do it on the side though - if you can figure out how to get it off the ground in this economy you'll be miles ahead of your competition. Of course, if you're not currently employed you've got nothing to lose (assuming you're going to start working out of your home and not stock a bunch of spare parts).

Once you get things going, your challenge is to create a business model that lets you step away so you don't get burnt out (no matter how much you enjoy computers). Some shops do this by subcontracting coverage from other shops. Some shops grow and hire employees. I think it doesn't really matter what business you're in. Pizza, automotive, medical, etc. If you don't have some sort of way out occasionally you can turn your dream job into a nightmare you can't escape.

 

[MaxT]

Well, I'm not employed at the moment, so I think (hope) it's worth a shot.

 

[SprinterTech-WI]

Hmmm, I'm beginning to wonder whether this is the best decision to try and build a computer tech business. It can't be that bad all the time can it?

I work 120+ hr weeks now but it's going places, times are often tight, time's even tighter, but if you have the business and technical know how do it!!

 

[EricClemens]

A few thoughts come to mind:
1) If owning a business was easy, everyone would be doing it. You gave it a good run, maybe you need to hang it up, maybe you don't.
2) Take a short break, try to clear your mind over a long weekend or something. When you come back, take some time to work ON your business vs. in it even if for a few hours and focus on the decision.
3) if you choose to leave it, consider things you might do to boost things as a pre-sale activity. Gather a mailing list of customers and start sending some direct mail. Engage the clients you have to maximize your sale price. Consider networking with some other local tech and feel out some people who might be interested in coming in with you - or be a future buyer.

I know how you feel... I hope this helps.

 

[RegEdit]

This is a bit of a rant...
Can someone explain why I should keep doing this?

I hate dealing with the 5 percenters too. About 5% of people out there are neurotic, paranoid schizophrenic, psychopaths, etc.
I hate the 30 percenters who think that "me explaining Windows functionality" is part of every repair, or every time their Internet connection isn't working then this is indefinitely covered by the computer repair.

I've been fading out of the business and looking to sell stuff on the Internet instead so I don't have to deal with crazies and stupid people.

 

[acesdeals]

i am in a stressful situation myself, just opened a repair shop and have gone through 3 admins so i am in the store doing everything all the time i have no breaks and no life

we are getting more and more business but having lazy and unreliable staff hurts quite a bit

 

[baccart]

I think the most important thing we have learned here today is?
Don't mention the economy or any one who has any control over it.

I feel I must contribute this:

If you voted for barak hussain obama to prove you were not a racist,now you must vote against him to prove you are not an idiot.

But I do agree with most, if your done and have a place to go, move on.
I am about 50% residential and I hate it, I would love to be in a position where I had no human contact

If you believe there is any difference between Republicans and democrats or "Barrack Hussain Obama" and "Mitt Romney", then I can also claim you are no different from Taliban. Why? Because It is my opinion.

 

[coffee]

If you believe there is any difference between Republicans and democrats or "Barrack Hussain Obama" and "Mitt Romney", then I can also claim you are no different from Taliban. Why? Because It is my opinion.

The problem we face is not only Barry in the office but the senate. They are against business and want to change America into a European style country. This does not work as we can see right now. We have had 4 years of Barry and the senate and things have not gotten better at all.

Looking at Uncle Mitty, I see a business man that knows how to succeed in business. I see a man that has morals and the democratics cannot find much wrong with him to persuade people not to vote for him. They tried Bain Capital but what they didnt tell you is that Uncle Mitty was long gone before they started laying off. UM left in 1999 and they started laying off and outsourcing in about 2002. They attacked his religion. I dont find much wrong with the mormon religion. They have more morals than anyone in congress. This isnt bad for the country in my opinion.

IMHO if Barry wins the election this time around then the good old USA has had it. Its pretty simple to see that we will no longer be the country we grew up in and loved so much. Instead we will be a welfare state that cannot support ourselves. If you really think that things are tough right now just wait if we get 4 more socialist years under out belt.

Do your homework. Dont just sit there listening to news shows and taking what they say for granted. Most of them will lie or twist the truth (or rumors) to forward the socialist agenda in this country.

As Ronald Reagan once said " The business of America is business". Which is quite true. Why then would you vote for a socialist ? All you have to do is look at Europe to see how its working over there.

I hear alot of people saying "I dont like any of the candidates and so Im not going to vote". Well, Then you have already lost. While the socialists are trying to secure the votes of illegal aliens and going to foreign countrys for campaign support those that dont vote will be doing there part to keep barry in office.

This is not just another election. This is a fight for freedom and capitalism Vs. Socialism. Plain and simple.

Im sorry to pollute this thread with political opinion. But you better realize that 4 more years of barry and you will not have to worry about running a business.

Best Regards,

coffee

 

[callthatgirl]

Well, I'm not employed at the moment, so I think (hope) it's worth a shot.

It's the perfect time to get started, that's how I got my start FT in 2007. I actively looked for jobs, but kept my eyes focused on my business. Unemployment encourages you to look for WORK, even if it's your own! I called them all the time to insure I'm doing what they recommended and they said yes. Not even 5 months later, I was off unemployment and bringing in my own money. I even had enough in my "budget" with unemployment to cover me for short weeks as I was getting going.

I am also one of those that works night and day, weekends, etc. But I have a lot going on with my social media life and extras that aren't usually on the computer repair owners plate. If I took off all my extras, I could probably run my business in 60-80 hours a week.

Remember, if you go out there and personally network to build your business, people will want you to email and that's when it all began for me...

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

The problem we face is not only Barry in the office but the senate. They are against business and want to change America into a European style country. This does not work as we can see right now. We have had 4 years of Barry and the senate and things have not gotten better at all.

Looking at Uncle Mitty, I see a business man that knows how to succeed in business. I see a man that has morals and the democratics cannot find much wrong with him to persuade people not to vote for him. They tried Bain Capital but what they didnt tell you is that Uncle Mitty was long gone before they started laying off. UM left in 1999 and they started laying off and outsourcing in about 2002. They attacked his religion. I dont find much wrong with the mormon religion. They have more morals than anyone in congress. This isnt bad for the country in my opinion.

IMHO if Barry wins the election this time around then the good old USA has had it. Its pretty simple to see that we will no longer be the country we grew up in and loved so much. Instead we will be a welfare state that cannot support ourselves. If you really think that things are tough right now just wait if we get 4 more socialist years under out belt.

Do your homework. Dont just sit there listening to news shows and taking what they say for granted. Most of them will lie or twist the truth (or rumors) to forward the socialist agenda in this country.

As Ronald Reagan once said " The business of America is business". Which is quite true. Why then would you vote for a socialist ? All you have to do is look at Europe to see how its working over there.

I hear alot of people saying "I dont like any of the candidates and so Im not going to vote". Well, Then you have already lost. While the socialists are trying to secure the votes of illegal aliens and going to foreign countrys for campaign support those that dont vote will be doing there part to keep barry in office.

This is not just another election. This is a fight for freedom and capitalism Vs. Socialism. Plain and simple.

Im sorry to pollute this thread with political opinion. But you better realize that 4 more years of barry and you will not have to worry about running a business.

Best Regards,

coffee

I am disappointed in you.

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

If you are unemployed it is a perfect time to start your own business. I hear from many on these forums that the Business to Business model of Computer support/IT is doing rather exceptional. That is not the case for the retail home user support in most markets. I suspect that is for several reasons not the least of which is that it takes more skill, better presentation skills, better communication skills to do the business to business model and there are fewer people who can do it. However with the recent lay offs there seems to be hundreds of people entering the home support fix your computer for $40 crowd which is hurting the retail business.

If I were not in the business today I think I would go buy a $550 Graco Spray paint machine, some Perdy brand paint brushes and print up some business cards and door knockers and hang them in 7-11 year old neighborhoods offering to do professional painting. One guy can paint a typical house in 1 week by himself. The cost of paint, primer, caulk and supplies is about 20% of the total job or less which is probably about $6000.

Paint is one thing that it is easy to see who needs it and you can stop house by house and leave a rough ball estimate on the door knocker. If you put out about 100-200 door knockers a day with rough estimates on each no doubt you'd start having some takers within a week or two.

Most people do not know how to paint but every paint store salesman does and they will help you a great deal, especially after you order your paint equipment from them.

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

i am in a stressful situation myself, just opened a repair shop and have gone through 3 admins so i am in the store doing everything all the time i have no breaks and no life

we are getting more and more business but having lazy and unreliable staff hurts quite a bit

Three things might help here:

Pay a bit more so your list of options of who to hire increases, put a big ad in the paper as well as online for hiring.

Be quick to higher and quicker to fire.

Let every new hire know he is on probation for 90 days and then teach him, mirror his every movement for at least a week or two so that he does things your way.

 

[coffee]

I am disappointed in you.

Well there is always tomorrow tony. We are not going to totally agree on everything but I can tell you Im quite happy to agree to disagree.

Take care,

coffee

 

[NYJimbo]

I think we need the moderators to stop people from politicizing any thread unless its in general chat.

Anyone who keeps doing it after being warned a few times should be banned.

 

[Tucson Techie]

I think another poster here hit the nail on the head about you having a lot of trouble with angry or disatisfied customers when he said that customers can sense it when you're not happy or are frustrated with your situation - negativity is contageous.

That being said, I've never seen customers so poor as they have been in the last 4 months. We've been deluged with price-shoppers. Almost everyone phone call begins with, "How much do you charge for . . ." This the Golden Age of the Craig's-lister. Is the economy improving? Doesn't seem so to me. I'm still comfortably profitable as a sole technician with a small storefront. I try to keep overhead small and am not interested right now in hiring. I think it's a better plan right now to stay small. I have a small handful of business clients which helps a lot. I started doing iDevice repair which does well to fill in the voids when computer repair is sluggish. This has forced me to learn a whole new skillset and keep a pricey inventory of parts. I still on most days like coming to work, even on Saturdays. Diversification not only creates an economic buffer zone for your business it also keeps things fresh and challenging. If 80% of my business was virus-removal I think I'd love that for a period of time because it is such easy money but eventually it would wear very thin.

If you really think about it most of us have it pretty good. I'd say that if your profitable in this economy you should be content with that ... for now, at least. You can easily become a victim of your own expectations if you strive for more than the market is currently prepared to give you or anyone else.

I can't tell you how many people walk into this small shop looking for work. Many of these people aren't even technicians. I almost want to say to them, Look around. What do you plan on doing here? But I understand times are desperate for many people. I feel very fortunate in my current situation and only hope that it will last. I started with no customers in the worst economy since the Great Depression. In 6 months I was profitable. Since then there have been busy months and not so business months.

But the one thing I never have is empty time on my hands. If business is slow I work on the backend of the business and marketing. I used to be sys admin for a mortgage company which tanked and I witnessed all these loan officers, who used to make big money and drive BMW M5's and Range Rovers, completely roll over when the housing market dropped. 90% of them are no longer in the mortgage business because they did nothing to adapt to the market, they just sat at their desk wondering why the phone wasn't ringing and eventually stopped bothering to come to work when they didn't feel like it. I learned from these peple what NOT to do.

 

[coffee]

I wish to apologize for getting political (and off topic) in this thread. I will also not ever express my political ideas in the forums again. I realize that its a distraction from the ideas that the forum was setup for and thus doesnt fit into the forums.

My apologies to the the OP and others.

Best Regards,

coffee

 

[MakoLogics]

The problem we face is not only Barry in the office but the senate. They are against business and want to change America into a European style country. This does not work as we can see right now. We have had 4 years of Barry and the senate and things have not gotten better at all.

Looking at Uncle Mitty, I see a business man that knows how to succeed in business. I see a man that has morals and the democratics cannot find much wrong with him to persuade people not to vote for him. They tried Bain Capital but what they didnt tell you is that Uncle Mitty was long gone before they started laying off. UM left in 1999 and they started laying off and outsourcing in about 2002. They attacked his religion. I dont find much wrong with the mormon religion. They have more morals than anyone in congress. This isnt bad for the country in my opinion.

IMHO if Barry wins the election this time around then the good old USA has had it. Its pretty simple to see that we will no longer be the country we grew up in and loved so much. Instead we will be a welfare state that cannot support ourselves. If you really think that things are tough right now just wait if we get 4 more socialist years under out belt.

Do your homework. Dont just sit there listening to news shows and taking what they say for granted. Most of them will lie or twist the truth (or rumors) to forward the socialist agenda in this country.

As Ronald Reagan once said " The business of America is business". Which is quite true. Why then would you vote for a socialist ? All you have to do is look at Europe to see how its working over there.

I hear alot of people saying "I dont like any of the candidates and so Im not going to vote". Well, Then you have already lost. While the socialists are trying to secure the votes of illegal aliens and going to foreign countrys for campaign support those that dont vote will be doing there part to keep barry in office.

This is not just another election. This is a fight for freedom and capitalism Vs. Socialism. Plain and simple.

Im sorry to pollute this thread with political opinion. But you better realize that 4 more years of barry and you will not have to worry about running a business.

Best Regards,

coffee

I agree 1000% I could not have said this any better. The truth is the only reason we do well is because most of our business clients are oil related. I cant imagine what its like for you guys struggling right now. We are adults here and the truth is politics does matter and affect us! I would hope that we AS ADULTS can have a friendly discussion about politics when it is on topic. Were not all going to agree and that’s ok.

 

[NYJimbo]

I agree 1000% .

Politics do not belong on this forum. Everyone knows how divisive politics are and once someone posts their sides view the other side wants to rebutt and then it goes back and forth. If you want to post political nonsense do it in the general chat area.

I know the moderators don't care, but this kind of stuff destroys forums and drives people away. Every time a thread gets hijacked like this it becomes dead and another important topic is lost.