Where to go next?...

[VashEXE]

Hello all. First thing I wanted to say is that I have been lurking around here for a while now and you guys seem to have a lot of good advice and tools so I think you are the ones I should come to with my questions.

Heres the story:
I had been working for a local repair shop in my city for about 2 years. It was just me and the senior tech there. Our Boss was a lady who... was nice but liked to give stuff away for free and give discounts. When I first got into this job it seemed like everyone who was working there at the time hated her and I couldn't figure out why. After a year or so I began to see what they were talking about. Countless computers just sitting on the shelf with no name or number or anything. She would discount everything and even give many things away for free. She would bump things ahead of the line and mess up the whole system that my senior tech and I had set up.(Sorry ranting)
Anyways Just recently we had to close our storefront(I wonder why) and started working out of the owners house. We were doing a mobile service(ie housecalls, pickup dropoff service, etc.) and it seemed like things were going ok. She was still messing things up, but with the senior tech and I there we knew we could keep her at bay.
My senior tech has just recently gotten a new job which is infinitely better that what we had at the old shop. The day he put in his 2 weeks notice was the day I did as well. I knew that just me running the shop would be horrible. I couldnt deal with the owner on my own and train some new guys how to do our cleanups and whatnot.

Now the question:
What should I do from here? Apply at other local tech shops? Try freelancing? I know you all have experience in the pros and cons of those situations and I'd just like to know what you guys have found. I'd really appreciate any feedback.

 

[Mushin]

Really this is a question that you have to figure out for yourself and it really depends on your situation. In particular you should really examine your specific financial needs to determine which direction you go first.

You could start your own business or you could get a job. To start your won business you may have an uphill climb for a while and this is not for everyone.

With another job you may run into the same types of situations that you had with you past employer so keep that in mind. Many people in the computer service industry start out as part time and work into a full time business.

 

[vdub12]

The only advice I can give is never leave a paying job unless you already have a plan.

You don't want to leave your primary source of income unless there is another source of income to support you.

 

[Alan22]

I think you're going to learn a very valuable lesson from this experience: don't quit one job before securing another.

You quit your job and are asking "what do I do now?" Good question.....what do you do now? I agree with Mushin - it's something you need to figure out yourself. However, are you still working at your job (has the two weeks come and gone?). If you're still there I would try talking to the owner and telling her what you've stated here. Maybe you can come to some sort of agreement. Look at the senior tech leaving as an opportunity, not something to be fearful of. You've nothing to lose and everything to gain.

 

[BryanVest]

Never leave a job without somewhere else to go. Thats the golden rule

 

[SpeedTechPC]

I definitely agree with all the above, however you have to live and learn. If you talk to your boss and she won't let you retract your notice, or if you decide to go through with it I would definitely look for another job, even part time. With a computer business, it takes a lot of time to get business rolling in.

I had a full time job that I wasn't happy with at all, I started doing my business part time with it and saving up money. My manager left the company so I was placed with a new manager that was horrible, I had enough funds saved up to cover me for 4-5 months with NO income, so I decided to go for the business full time instead of just part time. I am still in that period of using the saved money, however I will probably get a part time evening job soon so that I don't blow through all my money. My business has been up and running for about 5 months and its still not full time money. Even with that I was spreading word around a month or so before I officially started the business of what I do/was planning to do so that word of mouth could start working in my favor.

Of course, each person/company may have a different story or result but unless you have a good chunk of money saved up, I would definitely recommend either staying there, getting another tech job, or getting at bare minimum another job to bring in some money while building a client list.

 

[BOSS]

I agree with everyone else, I also started my business within this year, and work full time else where. Things start slow, but they have steadily pick up for me, main thing is to make sure you do awesome work, and "ALL" your customers are satisfied.

 

[AdamsAPlus]

I agree with everyone else, I also started my business within this year, and work full time else where. Things start slow, but they have steadily pick up for me, main thing is to make sure you do awesome work, and "ALL" your customers are satisfied.

I would not say "ALL" your customers are satisfied. To date (I have been in business since Feb.) I have only two unsatisfied customers that I know of.

1) Wanted me to fix his illegal copy of Windows. I told him that I would do it for $149 (the cost to make it genuine) + my normal on-site fee. He was pretty ****** and kept calling me for days to convince me to change my mind.

2) Remote Support job. The guy had a Dell. Wanted me to fix his problem. I can't remember what the problem was but he needed his Dell disks for me to fix it remotely. He wanted me to order new disks (pay for them out of my own pocket) and send it to him. Then he would call back for me to do the repair remotely. We ended up getting into a heated argument as to why I would not pay for the disks and send to him. (I told him if he paid me $30 I would get the disk for him because Dell wanted to charge me $20) That was like 6 months ago and he still calls me from time to time asking me when I will get those disks.

Anyways what I'm trying to say do your best to make every customer happy, except for those trying to get you to do something illegal or someone that is trying to scam you.

 

[16k_zx81]

Dont know how you're financially situated, so cant advise you about opening a shop. I would say you would be in a good position to do it in some respects as you already have some of the skills. There's quite a bit more to it as a sole-operator - you kind of need to be able to do everything - Im not just talking about repairs, but the social networking, accounts, promotion, advertising, business structure/plan, etc etc.

As far as going out on your own doing mobile repairs, much lower startup cost, but you have to factor in a timeframe before it will be a full income. The thing with a shopfront is that some of the workflow is taken care of by people passing by. With a mobile service, you have to get it up and pumping quickly using other forms of promotion.

The pattern for people entering into mobile repairs seems to be to have a steady income stream, do it part time, and grow it as you go until you can replace the primary income with what you're earning from doing repairs.

There's no short answer as to how long this will take, as it will depend on your startup capital, the wisdom of your advertising investments, and your capacity personally to attract and retain customers.

Sorry I cant tell you yes or no, but hopefully something I what Ive said will provide something for consideration. Hope it helps and good luck.

[edit] BTW, I posted this thread awhile back. It may be of interest to you.

 

[callthatgirl]

You're not prepared to run your own business. If you were, you would have stayed with the lady boss and kicked her butt into shape! Once you can run a good business for someone else and know you have the skills to do it, is when you feel best suited to run your own businses, or else you will be no better than her business model.

Get some years under your belt, learn how to run busineses, buy books to read up on it, read more technibble postings from owners and then decide in a few years. There is a lot more to running a business than the computer repair itself and just having old computers on shelves and giving away free stuff to deal with. I have staff, bookkeepers, 2 lawyers, contracts, manual of operations, etc... the list could go on and on. Owning a business means for many years, you manage a business. Sounds like you left her high and dry. Just saying. You could have stepped up and changed things to be in your favor and been a senior tech. Now you are a junior tech again, competing for junior jobs with the craigslist guys.

To answer your question, I think you should go apply with the local shops or retail stores. Do not freelance, do not start your own business yet. If you can't keep the lady boss at bay, I don't see you working with tough clients on your own yet. And these tough clients can kick your butt! You have to ready to tackle on every client.

 

[VashEXE]

Thanks for all of the replies guys. I have been applying at local shops. Hopefully I get a call back. I will continue reading up on technibble and hopefully open up a shop in the future.