8/7/2002 -- One way to put your hard-earned certifications to work is to get a great, high-paying job at a large company. But another way -- and maybe a better way, depending on your personality and ambitions -- can be to work for yourself at your own PC support business.

The Entrepreneur Personality:Is It Yours?
Industry upswings and downturns aside, most people succeed or fail at having their own business for one reason: their personalities. Either you are cut out to work for yourself or you aren't. Consider these factors:

• Are you good at lots of different things, not just repairing computers? As a small business owner you will need to be good at making detailed business plans, talking up your business at parties, dealing congenially with customers, negotiating relationships with other businesses, and making strategic decisions about advertising and marketing -- in addition to being a great PC technician!
• Are you a self-starter? Be honest, now. At your current job do you do the minimum you can get away with when the boss isn't looking, or do you try hard to complete every task conscientiously? When you're the boss there's nobody to supervise you, so if you slack off, you're only hurting yourself.
• Are you willing and able to work long, irregular hours? If you have family or social commitments that keep you very busy outside of work, or you have constraints on your work schedule because of child care or other responsibilities, a steady job at an established company might better serve your scheduling needs.
• Can you afford to not make much money at first? Most businesses don't make a profit the first year. That means you'll be working very hard for next-to-nothing initially. Is that acceptable to you, or do you have financial obligations that would not be met if your current income was cut in half next year?

Developing Your Business Plan
Business plans are not nearly as scary as everyone makes them out to be. A business plan is just a written statement of your goals and how you plan to achieve them. You don't need to spend a lot of money for business plan writing software; the Internet is chock-full of samples. Your business plan should include the answers to these questions:

• What, specifically, do you plan to sell?
• Who, specifically, are you going to sell it to?
• What makes you think that this target audience is interested?
• Who else is currently serving these customers with this product or service, and why will customers buy yours instead of theirs?
• How much is it going to cost to get started, and where will that money come from?
• How much will it cost per month to run the business? What will be your break-even point?
• What obstacles do you have to overcome in starting up this business, and what are your plans for overcoming them?

The scary part of most business plans is that financial institutions look at them when they decide whether to loan you the money for your startup costs. But a computer support business has such low startup costs that you might not even need to get a loan!

What's In a Name?
Like it or not, many people pick the company they will do business with because they like the name. You've probably done it yourself without even noticing. For example, suppose you're skimming the Yellow Pages looking for a plumber. The names of the companies give you an idea of what it would be like to do business with them. What do you think you will get from a company named Best Rate Plumbing? You probably expect a competitive price. What about The Well Experts? You probably expect them to specialize in well pumps. Or Day and Night Plumbing Specialists? You might expect them to be on call 24 hours a day. What about Williams Plumbing? All you know from that name is that someone named Williams owns it. It doesn't tell the new customer anything about how it will meet their needs.

Therefore, I discourage people from using their own names in their business names. Instead, go for something catchy and evocative that tells the customer what he or she will get by calling you. Here are some examples:

• Same-Day PC Fixes
• The Village PC Geek
• Affordable Network Help
• Rent-a-Tech

Setting Up Shop
Speaking of startup costs, let's look at what's involved. Remember, you can start modestly and then put more money into the business when the business is producing more money.

When you're self-employed, what's important is not just how much money you bring in, but how much of it you keep. That means keeping your overhead costs down initially is essential. You might find it economical and practical to start off by working out of your home, for example (as long as your local zoning allows it), and doing only outcalls to businesses and homes. If you decide to go this route, make sure you get a business telephone number (so you'll appear in the local yellow pages) and a post office box so the fact that you work from home will be less obvious to your customers.

What else do you need? It depends on what your specialty will be. For a simple PC support and repair business that makes outcalls to homes and offices, here's a short list:

• Business phone line
• Invoice forms
• Computer repair toolkit
• Antistatic wrist strap
• Multimeter with both standard and small probes
• Log book for tracking your mileage and other expenses
• File folder for keeping track of your receipts

Not a huge list, is it? The whole shebang can be had for less than $200. That's because your biggest assetthe one that the customers are actually paying foris your brain. You know how to fix things, and that makes your time valuable. And through your training and certification you have already paid for this valuable asset, so now all that's left is to reap the benefits of it.

If you have a little bit more money to spend, consider the following extras that can make your work a little bit easier:

• Cell phone that you can transfer the business calls to
  
• PDA organizer for client contact information
• A stash of spare, working computer parts (for swapping out suspected bad parts during troubleshooting)
• A computer and a small business accounting application like QuickBooks

You Don't Have to Do It All Yourself
Though it helps to be able to wear many different hats, a small business owner can make up for a lack of expertise in many areas by hiring professional help. Some areas in which this is customary include:

• Setting up any legal forms. If you are going to operate as anything other than a sole proprietor, there will be legal forms needed, such as a partnership agreement if you are starting the business with someone else
• Setting up your accounting system. You can probably keep it running on your own on a daily basis, and then meet with an accountant again at tax time.
• Filing the needed startup paperwork. In most states there are hoops to jump through to get set up with state and federal authorities. For example, you will need a federal tax ID number, and probably a state Retail Merchant Certificate. An accountant specializing in small businesses will be able to tell you what you need.
• Marketing. Although it can be a bit costly upfront, a marketing consultant can help you put together your advertising plan, helping you get new customers that you would otherwise not have reached.

Getting the Word Out
What about advertising and marketing? Here's an area that can really make or break a fledgling business. How are you going to make people aware of your business (marketing) and make them want to hire your services (advertising)? Those are two separate goals, but in the beginning they will probably be blended because of your limited budget.

Here are some ideas for grassroots-level marketing that won't cost an arm and a leg:

• Business cards. Carry a handful everywhere you go, and don't be shy about handing them out to people. Whenever you visit a shop that has a bulletin board or a business card rack, ask if you can leave some of your cards. Whenever you visit a corporate site on business, leave some of your cards in the break room. Spread your business cards like Johnny Appleseed.
• Print ads. Start small. Pick two or three local publications that people whom you want to target regularly read, and place small ads in them. Then whenever you get a call from a new client, ask how they heard about you. Targeting the right publications is critical. If you want to serve individual home users, try your local newspaper. If you want to serve large companies, try your city's business or trade journal. Try is the key word here. Experiment. Don't sign up for long-term commitments at first. Find out which ads work.
• Bulk mail. Again, targeting and experimentation is the key. If you are targeting home users, do a test mailing in a certain ZIP code only, or buy into a bulk mailing pack that contains ads from lots of businesses; these are usually more economical than doing a mailing on your own. And whenever you do a bulk mailing, include a coupon! People throw bulk mailings awaybut they save coupons.
• Brochure. Run off 100 or so nice-looking color brochures on your color inkjet printer. Then hand them out wherever there are potential clients, and get feedback. Only after you have collected some feedback and are confident that your brochure is perfect should you have them professionally mass-printed. Do not put your prices in your brochure; if you ever wanted to change them, you would have to reprint.
• Web site. Having a Web site is somewhat of a knee-jerk reaction -- everyone assumes they have to have one and don't give it a lot of thought. But if the majority of your clients will be local, you don't need something fancy; all you really need is a couple of pages that tell people how to contact you for service.
• Yellow Pages listing. By having a business phone number, you will at least get your business name and number in the Yellow Pages, but a larger ad will bring you more business. You will be amazed at how expensive Yellow Pages advertising is. Amazed, shocked and horrified. But depending on the nature of your business, it may be worth it. That's one of those tough decisions. Talk to other people in the same industry whose ads appear there already and see what they advise (if they will talk to you, since you're a competitor!)
• Local charity events. If you are marketing to individuals (rather than businesses), do not pass up opportunities to get your name mentioned. Donate an hour of your services as a prize in a silent auction. Sponsor a small ad in the program book for your local high school's drama club production. Anything you can do to inexpensively make people notice you.
• Send out press releases. Many small newspapers are starved for local news, and even the large papers have slow news days. Any time something happens with your business -- whether it's your grand opening or the fact that you've just started serving a new suburban region -- a brief, snappy press release about it is in order. If any newspapers pick up the story, it's free publicity for you.

What Will You Charge?
It's hard to generalize about "appropriate" charges because different specialties and different areas of the country have an effect on what customers will pay. Whatever you do decide to charge, however, make sure that it's high enough. Yes, that's right, I said high enough. Don't be a bargain basement. You don't want to be the cheapest technician in your areayou want to be the best. You also want to be making enough money per hour to account for the fact that some hours won't be spent making money at alllike time waiting for the phone to ring or time traveling to a customer's site. And that there will be many hours that you'll end up "giving away" in the interests of customer satisfaction (and future business), like when a job takes an hour longer than you had estimated because you aren't as familiar with a certain brand of hardware as you should be.

To gauge what's appropriate, try to find out what others in your area are charging for certain services. Then add or subtract from that based on what you'll offer. For example, suppose your local computer store charges $50 to install a CD-ROM drive when the customer carries it in and leaves it, and this service typically takes three to four days. If you are going to go to a customer's home or office, say, within 24 hours of their call, and install a CD-ROM drive on the spot, you could charge at least $65 for itprobably more. Most people will cheerfully pay extra for promptness and convenience. You can also charge higher fees for more specialized and technical work. For example, you might be able to get $150 or more an hour for a custom programming job, but only $60 an hour for teaching a novice end-user how to use the Internet.

And There You Have It...
While there's only so much one can discuss in an article this size, I hope I've shown that starting up a computer support business is a viable option that doesn't have to cost a lot. And there is real potential for making money at it. But make sure you understand the personality traits needed, the startup risks and costs, and the plans you need to put together upfront. If you do the research and work hard, you'll have an excellent chance at success.

Do you have experience starting up a computer support business of your own? If so, post your comments, experiences and tips below!

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