In three years I only ever ran into 2 issues. One was with a carpet company where I recommended they buy hardware instead of my services. In that case I couldn’t help them without billing them for at least 5 hours and it would have been cheaper for the company just to buy a new hard drive (instead of having me back up to 5 1/4 inch disks – going back pretty far). The second issue was with a very large automobile company who failed to pay for 1 hour of work. In that case it was easier for me just to drop the client (it cost me 45 minutes each way, plus the hour I spent with the client) than to hound him and the company to pay up.

It helps to know an accountant. Most of my clients were gained through word of mouth or advertising left with my accountant (I did work for the accountant).

Be open to clients, but also know when to say no (e.g. home clients, jobs that will take too much of your time and produce too little revenue). I had clients in the travel industry, accounting, construction, carpeting, insurance, retail, automotive, and a few I can no longer remember.

Friends often don’t make great customers (unreasonable expectations), but they can get you work with people you don’t know. Try not to get into low balling yourself, especially if you know you have a lot of skill. Clients will come. Overnight success is really hard to come by in any business.

I formed an LLC back in October but got a new job in January and haven’t put much focus on the LLC. With the way things are going I’m looking to start this up as kind of a backup plan.

In the past month I’ve probably picked up a decent amount of hours (5-10/week) but these are close friends and I earn very little. I am solving wireless network problems (out of range, bad drivers) when I work daily with SCCM and other deployment tools. That’s okay, I love the work and like helping people but I know I am really underselling myself. I work just outside Manhattan in Jersey.

I have tried leaving business cards that just list services at liquor stores, convenient stores, on the bus to NYC, etc but I never get calls. I am thinking of advertising in some legal publications in New Jersey since I have a lot of law firm experience.

Trent, I am also interested in what you have customers sign. I too am worried about liability. Anything can happen.

Which provides a steady stream of income, consulting or blogging? This paragraph is confusing.

Thanks.

Ginny Lane

“As far as system consulting and advice on what computer someone should buy…how do you go about that? Do you go with them to Best Buy to make their purchase? How would you recieve payment for a service like this one?”

I do similar work on the side, just like Trent. When I got contacted about this, I don’t charge at all. I share with them the specs they should look for and contact me if they need help setting up their computer, printer, wifi, etc.

@Jeff

“Maybe a good question to ask is, how do you figure out the right price point?”

I can’t speak for Trent, but what I’ve done is contacted my competition and got their hourly prices. I simply subtract $10-$20 (depending on your market) in order to compete. Advertising that you’re “The cheapest place in town” is a great advantage.

@Tyler

“I have a friend who does house calls for computer repair. I think he charges about $30-$40/hr. This is the middle of Kansas, and there isn’t much competition. I’m sure there are quite a few variables that will change the rate.”

We charge $80 an hour, but we’re in the Philadelphia area and our competition charges $100+.

@Miguel

“By the way, I only do small companies, and stay away from homes, and individuals.”

Where I work, we do both. It’s worked really well. Quite ironically, working in homes and with individuals is much more rewarding. It really depends on your personality and interests, however.

@Vincent

“One thing that I have trouble with is confidence in the social arena. How do you gain the social skills necessary to become a familiar face to your community?”

Practice makes perfect. Everyone has points where they feel uncomfortable or out of their element, but the more you force yourself into those situations, they better you get. I worked customer service for three years and I still haven’t seen it all.

Try looking into your local Rotary organization, maybe a local business organization (BNI comes to mind), even sit in at community events or local politics.

***

Sorry to steal your thunder, Trent, but just giving my $.02.

One thing you haven’t mentioned is insurance. What’s protecting you from being sued? Are you a registered Sole Proprietorship, an LLC, what are you doing to protect yourself? This was a HUGE hurdle for me because of the time, money, and paperwork involved in protecting myself. I decided to work for someone rather then start my own business because I didn’t want to be sued and not have protection.

So my question is, what are you doing to protect yourself from a lawsuit? If you fixed someone’s computer and their system board shorted-out and their home caught on fire, are you protected?

-Erich

One thing that I have trouble with is confidence in the social arena. How do you gain the social skills necessary to become a familiar face to your community?

People seem to like me–I’m not socially awkward or anything, I look people in the eye, dress well, and am a great conversationalist. But I’m a skinny white guy with a neutral accent and glasses living in the land of good ol’ boys and construction businesses (AKA suburban northwest GA), and often, when I meet local businesspeople, I don’t feel as though I’m being taken seriously at all.

It’s probably just me–again, people like me, and they usually say so–but how do you overcome feelings of inadequacy when you’re out of your element, and become socially adept enough to be a “familiar face”?

By the way, I only do small companies, and stay away from homes, and individuals.

I’ve considered doing this myself a few times, at somewhere around the time commitment you’ve got into it. What I’m wondering is, with the relatively low income that would produce, and the relatively high taxes on that income, is it worth it?

Say you get $25/hr (I have no idea what the market is now). For 6 hours of work that’s $150/week. Minus 50% for taxes is $75/week, which is $300/month. For working what amounts to almost an extra day per week…. I guess I’m still on the fence.

Maybe a good question to ask is, how do you figure out the right price point?

As far as system consulting and advice on what computer someone should buy…how do you go about that? Do you go with them to Best Buy to make their purchase? How would you recieve payment for a service like this one?

Also, what sort of permits, if any, did you need in order to get started?