Moving Your Computer Repair Business Out of The House

Many of you started your computer repair business as a home based company. You don’t pay extra rent and you aren’t committed to a lease. At some point, you might consider moving out of the house and into another location. Although many owners think that means a retail shop, you have alternatives.

Why You’ll Want To Move Out Of The House

If your computer repair business is a side gig, your home is adequate. You won’t be seeing clients that often and you won’t have any technicians. You’ll be going on site or bringing many repairs back to your house.

When you move towards making this full time, your residence won’t let you grow your business. For liability and privacy reasons, you don’t want to meet clients or technicians at your home. Homeowners insurance won’t cover an accident or theft in your home and you might be violating local zoning ordinances.

You’ll also want boundaries between your work life and your personal life. When you’re fixing a computer at the kitchen table junior could spill orange juice onto a motherboard. If that happens, you’re on the hook for the replacement. The more you work, the more family starts bothering you or you get distracted by household events.

Option 1: Local Library

If all you’re looking for is a place to work outside the house, the local library fits the bill. Libraries vary, but most will let you sit and get work done. You won’t be able to bring in a computer to fix, but you can meet with a few clients. The library gets you out of the house so you can respond to emails, study, or do other quiet work. If your local library allows it, you can even make phone calls. If not, or if you chose not to, this can be a focused distraction free workplace. I go to the library all the time and I typically work on blog posts there and turn off my email client.

Option 2: Co-working

This option needs the least amount of commitment on your part. Co-working spaces are usually month to month agreements for a space designated for you. Some workspaces also have “drop-in” programs. You’ll pay by the day rather than the month. A daily pass lets you use any space available, but aren’t guaranteed the same space each time. It’s like a coffee shop without requiring you to buy coffee. Most have excellent wifi and charge around $10 a day for drop-ins. Rent for dedicated workspaces varies by location, but is cheaper than a full office or retail space. Some spaces are part of networks so if you go to another city, you’ll have usage rights.
Here you’ll get to network with other small business owners. These locations are mostly for entrepreneurs. The vibe is fast-paced and these are exciting venues with lots of energy. Most of them will give you a designated box for mail (instead of just a PO Box) so you’ll now have an address you can add to search engines like Google and Bing.

Option 3: Rent Space at an Existing Business

Sometimes businesses either downsize, or rent more than they need. They may have an extra office they just use for storage or an unused back room. The owner might want to make that into billable space. They won’t want a long term agreement with you because they want the flexibility to use the space later on.

With this arrangement you’ll get a desk and some storage space. The business lets you leave your stuff at the office and possibly meet with clients. Don’t expect to get a sign on the door, but don’t be surprised if they let you rent that as well. This option gives you visibility and a space outside the house for a low price. This option may not work long term though if the hosting business changes ownership, needs the space or moves. Instead, this is a get-your-feet-wet arrangement with few strings attached.

Find these type of locations by scoping around and asking. If you’re somewhere and see a spare office, ask if it’s for rent. I rented space in a real estate agency. They weren’t at full capacity and I’d have to move to different offices in the same space, but it worked for me. I didn’t care that it was the same desk all the time, but clients knew the location.

Option 4: Subleasing

If you’re not ready to make the plunge into a one or 3 year commercial lease, a sublease is the way to go. A sublease means you take over the existing agreement of the leaseholder. Not all leases allow it and you might need the landlord’s permission. The lease could be a few months or a few years and you’ll typically pay rent to the leaseholder, not the landlord.

I like these arrangements because they are often win-win. The existing leaseholder is stuck at their current location until the lease runs out. You give them the flexibility of moving to a new location without committing to an entire lease.

You’ll find these by word-of-mouth. Let people know you’re looking to sublease a space and you’ll run into someone who wants to move. I haven’t done this, but I know of colleagues who looked for Going Out of Business or Moving signs. The existing leaseholder might have decided to eat the cost of renting the abandoned place in the short term. You can save the day for them by relieving them of the burden of that old space and get a 3 or 9 month lease out of the deal.

When the lease is over and you’ve been a good tenant, the landlord might decide to rent the space to you at the same price you’re paying now. Of course they could decide to raise the rent or bring in another tenant.

Option 5: General Office Space

In my experience this is the option owners often forget about. Doctors and lawyers have offices outside the home, but see clients by appointment. Clients understand you need to make an appointment. Both Apple and Best Buy ask you to make an appointment for service. You might have to explain it to them that you have an office and not a shop or store.

This is the current state of my business. I’m in an office building along with various therapists. They don’t take drop in clients. We have a waiting area we all share and can offer coffee and water to anyone in the main hall. The hours on the door say “by appointment only.”

I don’t store much inventory in the office. It’s a desk, a few chairs and a few file cabinets. That’s it. I’ve got enough room to work on many computers and store small parts like hard drives and power supplies, but it’s not for show. This is a workspace that won’t get walk in traffic. Since many of the tenants are therapists, the place is private and non-descript. Visitors won’t disturb me while meeting with a client or working on a system.

Option 6: Retail Space

This is the option I see most computer repair business owners take after moving out of the home. They think of a storefront where they meet and greet customers, keep inventory and sell products. You don’t have to do that to be successful. Lisa Hendricks of Call That Girl talked about this in her podcast with Bryce. It’s often an ego thing for business owners. They have a storefront with a sign and their name on the door and they think success.

This is the riskiest option for your business. Retail space is expensive to rent and has a long standard lease (three years). Utilities are higher and you don’t always know the quality of the internet connection. It’s not just the rent you pay to the landlord, you’ll need a staff to run the store and pay for inventory. That inventory depreciates – I still have a 230 Gig IDE laptop hard drive I’ve never been able to sell.

A visible space may mean more walk-in traffic but also risk of theft. That inventory costs more to insure. Even if you focus on just the repair shop and avoid selling stuff, your time is money. Along with customers walking in the door, you’ll have guests who simply want free advice. That’s easier to control when you’ve got a small office. Once you open to the public, you open yourself up to everyone.

Don’t get me wrong, a retail store or repair shop can be successful. If you know the risks going in and have money saved up, go for it. Just don’t move without a detailed plan as Lisa explained in the podcast. The glamor of your name in lights on your own building fades quickly when the bills come in.

The choice of how to move out of the home is of course your own. There’s no right time, but there is a right way of doing it. Don’t immediately sign a three year lease to a large retail space without examining all your options.

Written by Dave Greenbaum