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PC Repair Business???

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atomikbohm:
As many of the people on this board, I've been fixing friends and family members PCs for years.  Recently I've been approached by a friend who has offered to "help" me make a business out of it.  I used the quotes because I'm not expecting much if any assistance but, the idea got my interest enough to take a look at the possibilities.

I guess I wanted to get an idea of if I'm remotely qualified to even consider this type of undertaking.   So here are the questions...

1) What skill set does one need in this line of work?  (Microsoft certificates, Hardware vendor repair training ect)

2) What kind of equipment should I have? 

3) What do PC repair shops charge?  Hourly and/or by the task.

I know small businesses are risky at the best of financial times but as a side line business I thought it might be fun.

Any info or suggestions are welcome.


hypernova:
You don't need any kind of piece of paper.  Although if you plan on advertising professionally in the phone book and such, it always helps.

I've always been interested in #2.  Just to be able to diagnose my own issues.  Stuff that works across more than just one architectural generation.  i.e. I can't accurately test my socket 478 cpu unless I have more socket 478 cpus to swap and see if it works or not.

atomikbohm:
Hypernova - the easiest / cheapest way I know of testing a CPU is to plug it into a mobo that you know works.  If you get to windows you should be good,  If you want to be certain that it's good run some CPU benchmarking software for a couple of hours and see what happens. If it doesn't last that long you now know either the CPU was bad or you forgot to plug in the heatsink fan.  Either way you might want to buy a new CPU.  ;D

SNAAKE:
post ads on craigslist

if you know the basics you'll be fine. I do it from time to time. competition is fierce(but I live in NY). and sometimes I have to go places and fix things.. :dizzy:

DaveMMR:
I've been repairing computers on the side for a few years now.  I occasionally post on Craigslist and maybe a flyer here and there.  I feel like 95% of my business is removing whatever stupid crap customers downloaded onto their computers (including one family that called me over at least four times; I finally told them they either need to learn how to use a malware/virus scanner or stop using Limewire.)

As SNAAKE said, there's a lot of competition (at least in NY).  If you're area is fairly populous, maybe do it for supplemental income for now; if you can get a few steady clients under your belt (small businesses), you may be able to make it a full time thing. 

BTW: I had training in a tech school but that was a waste of time/money. As long as you can keep your own computer running, you are more than qualified to handle home or small business computer issues  (most of your customers won't know what an A+ Cert is, and if they did - they probably don't need your help.) What you don't know, you'll learn - and Google is always your friend.

As for pay, I usually charge a flat rate based on how long I expect to take doing a job, figuring about $35 an hour (though I usually fudge it a bit in the customers favor depending on the circumstance.)

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