START&RUNACOMPUTERREPAIRSERVICE

PhilipSpryandLynnSpry

Self-CounselPress

(adivisionof)

InternationalSelf-CounselPressLtd.

USACanada

Copyright©2012

InternationalSelf-CounselPress

Allrightsreserved.

Introduction

IlovecomputersandhavesinceIwasinmyearlyteens.Overthedecades,I’vewatchedthemdevelopfromgiantclunkyboxeswithgreenscreenstotinyworksofartthatprojectphoto-realisticgamesonmonitorsthesizeofwalls.IeagerlyreadeachnewissueofByteand PC Magazine, waiting for the next breakthrough in hardware and software; it’sprobablyfairtoclassifymeasacomputerenthusiast.

Asahobby,it’srelativelyinexpensive.Thinkabout it—themostexpensivedesktopCPUinexistenceatanygiventimeisusuallyalittlemorethan$1,000.That’sit!ImaginehavingtheabilitytobuyaFormula1racecarengineandpopitintoyourcarforlessthanthecostofcableTVforayear!Ofcourse,enginesdon’tdoubleinpowereverytwoyears,buttheeaseandsimplicityofcomputerupgradeshavemademostofusrelativeexpertsinworkingonourownsystems.

SixyearsagoIwasinthisposition.Ihadbuiltmyowncomputersforyearsandwastheguyeveryonecametoforhelp.I’dbeenanITprofessionalformorethanadecadesowhenmywifeLynnandIstarted lookingforbusinessopportunitieswesawacomputerstoreasanaturalfit.I’dmanagedpeopleforyearsandIlovedcomputers.Whatcouldbebetter?Ifoundaprofitablestoreforsale,boughtit,andpreparedtoenjoymyhobbywhilethemoneyrolledin!

Whatfollowedwerethemostgruelingthreeyearsofmylife.MywifeandIreceivedacrashcourseinretailsales,customerservice,follow-up,technicalsupport,marketing,andon-siteservice.Thelessonsinthisbookarethedirectresultofyearsoftrialanderror,andoffailingmiserablyandworkingthroughit,toemergesuccessful,happy,andprofitable.

Books,Websites,andOtherResourcesThisbookisfocusedongivingyouthecriticalinformationyouneedtobeginontherightfoot,but asyougrowyouwill run into situationswhereadditionalhelp is required.Asmuchaswe’dlovetohaveacomprehensivecollectionofanswersforeverysituationyoumightencounter,it’s justnotreasonableorevenpossible.Fortunately,welive inanagewhereinformationisonlyafewclicksaway!

For instance,whilewemay recommend inexpensivesourcesofadvertising thathavebeen effective for us, there are entire books andwebsites dedicated to finding themosteffective advertising for your business. Therefore, throughout this book, you will findlinkstowebsites,books,andresourcesthatcanhelpyoufindwhat’sbestforyou.

Thatsaid,wecannotguaranteethattheresourceslistedwillbethebestforyouoryourbusiness.Sure,thereareothersoutthereandyoumayfindbetterorworse,butthesearethe oneswe have used successfully and believe have fair prices and good service.Wedon’tgetanythingfromthesesitesformentioningthemandtheyarelistedherebecausetheyhelpedusandwehopetheycanhelpyou.

FormsThroughout thisbook,youwill findmanyreferences toformsandotherdocuments thatyoucanuseinyourbusiness.Beforeyoucreateoruseanyofthesedocuments,youshouldconsult your own attorney or accountant as the laws in your state or provincemay bedifferentand thedocumentsmayneed tobewordeddifferently tobeapplicable inyourarea.

1

ComputerRepair:AnOpportunityinAnyEconomy

Almostsixyearsago,mywifeandIdecidedweweredonebeingcorporatedronesandworking70hoursaweekclimbingtheladderofsuccess.We’dchasedthecorneroffice,we’d takenendless flights,andwewere tiredofour shouldersdrooping fromcarry-onspackedwithmultiplelaptopcomputers.Therewasnoendinsightandwerealizeditwastimeforachange.Fortunately,ourtimingcouldn’thavebeenbetter.

In2006,theeconomywasboomingandpeoplehadmoremoneythantheyknewhowto spend. The real estate market was going crazy and houses were appreciating at 30percentperyear.Theinstantequitycreatedallowedpeopletotakeoutloans—therewasdisposablecasheverywhere!Withthismuchcashintheeconomy,newconstructionandnew businesses opened daily. Instead of clawing and scratching for every dollar,manybusiness owners just hung out their shingles andwaited for people to show up— andshowuptheydid!

Assuitedcorporatemembers,wewereusedtospendingyearsworkingonprojectsonlytoseethemabandonedwhennewleadershipcamein.Weneededachange.Weconsideredopeningaconsultingfirm,butthemarketwasfloodedwiththemandwedidn’tknowhowwe could differentiate ourselves. A friend of our suggested we look into purchasing abusinessinsteadofstartingonefromscratch.Hesaidwemightbeabletosaveourselvessome time and money by plugging ourselves into a company with a proven revenuestream.Itsoundedgood,butwhichcompany?Therewerethousands!

Webeganourresearch.Ifmemoryserves,welookedatmorethan3,500businessesinthePhoenix area alone!Wecheckedout everything fromcoin-operatedLaundromats toprintshops.Thereweresomanyinterestingopportunitiesandaswecontinuedtoresearch,we realizedeachof themwasmissing something.Duringa strongeconomy, theycouldmakemoney,butifanythingweretohappen,theywouldbeinrealtrouble.Forexample,sellinghigh-endgranitekitchencountersisfinewhenmillion-dollarhomesarebeingbuiltfasterthanpeoplecanbuythem,butbullmarketscan’tlastforeverandwewerelookingfor something long-term. So, what type of business could grow during both economicgrowthandeconomicrecession?

Just when we were about to give up, we found one business that looked really

promising.Itwasalocalcomputerstoreanditwassellingcomputersasfastasthestaffcouldbuildthem!Thestorewaspackedwithpeople,itwasstockedfromfloortoceiling,and the employeeswere happy.This business looked likemanyof the businesseswe’dseenbutonethingstoodout—itdidn’tjustsellaparticularitem,thestaffdidrepairsaswell!This, combinedwithmypersonal interest in computersmade thisbusinessaverystrongcandidate.

When you run any business you can only sell two things: time and components.Computerbusinesses arenodifferent. If people aren’t buyingcomputers, theybetterbebuyingserviceoryou’reoutofbusiness.Fortunately,thesinglegreatestreasoncustomersenter our stores is because their computers are malfunctioning. Sure, some customerscometoourstoresbecausetheywanttoupgradeorjustneedanewcomputer,butlet’sbehonest,morethan80percentofthetimesomething’swrong.

However, the solution to thisproblem is to repair itor replace it.Whenpeoplehavemoney,theydon’twanttomesswiththeoldsystem.Theyshruglikeit’snothingforthemandpay$2,000onanewsystem.Whyshouldtheybotherfixingtheiroldsystem?Theyare people of means and see no reason to trifle with a dusty old piece of junk. Flashforwardafewyears;thehomeequitylineofcredithasbeendrained,therealestatebubblehaspopped,andthedustypieceofjunkthatwillcost$100torepairstartslookinggood.

Ifyoudon’thavetheabilitytotapintothistypeofneed,andyouronlyrevenuestreamiscomponentsales,it ismonumentallyhardertostayafloat.Youmightneedtoadapttothemarketconditions,butyoucansurvive.Businessesthatdon’thavethatcapabilityaredyingallarounduswhileweprosperandexpandbecausewehaveabusinessthatservicespeopleinbothanupandadowneconomy.

1.TheComputerBusinessduringaBoomOf course, if the economy is doingwell, people havemoney to spend and a computerbusinesscanmakehighprofits.Peoplebuynew,high-endgamingmachines,companieswant expensive high-capacity servers, and businesspeople start shopping for the bestlaptops available. If you are in business during this economy, you can find that customcomputerscanroutinelymakemarginsashighas30to40percent.Thismeansthatona$2,000gamingsystem,retailerscanmakeasmuchas$800ononesale!Duringaboomingeconomy,thecomputerbusinesswillrealizethefollowing:

•Customerschoosetoreplaceinsteadofrepairbrokencomputers.Customersoftendon’tfeellikeinvesting$150intoanoldcomputerwhenanewcomputerisonly$400.Plus,they’lloftengiveyoutheoldoneifyoutransfertheirinformationtothenewcomputer.

•Customersmaybringinolder,workingmachinesandrequestafullrebuildofthecomputer(replacingalltheinteriorpartstoupgradethemachine).

•Customersconsiderfastcomputersa“need”insteadofa“want.”Businesseswantbigger,bettercomputersandserverstomaketheiremployees“faster.”Individualswantbettermachinestoallowthemtoplaygames,editvideos,and,ingeneral,haveafaster,betterexperience.

2.TheComputerBusinessduringaBustWhentheeconomyisdoingpoorly,peoplecutback.Theystart lookingatways tosavemoney and repairing computers is often far less expensive than buying newmachines.This means that while other businesses are watching their customers dwindle, salesplummet,andfoottrafficreduce,acomputerrepairbusinessactuallystartstogrow!Thisiswhatthebusinesslookslikeduringaneconomicrecession:

•Customerschooserepairsbeforereplacementcomputers.Ifthecustomersfeeltheycanspend$150andgettheircomputerrunning“likenew,”thatisworthwhilecomparedtospending$400ormoretobuyanewcomputer.

•Customerschoosetoupgradeoneortwopartsonanoldmachine.Sometimesthesemodifications(e.g.,additionalRAM,biggerharddrive)arelessthan$100andwillmaketheoldcomputerasgoodasnewforthecustomer.

•Customersbuylower-endrefurbishedsystems.Whenpeoplearelookingtosavemoney,refurbishedcomputersflyofftheshelveswhilethenewonesgatherdust.

3.ABusinessThatGrowsinAnyEconomyComputerbusinessesthattypicallyrepairsystemsaswellassellcomputerscansurviveinboomingorbustedeconomies.Becauseweownabusinessthatcangrowinanyeconomy,whilemostbusinesseswerefeelingthepressure,wewereexpanding.Weopenedasecondlocation and later that year also began giving back through ourComputers for Soldiersprogram.Notbadforabusinessduringarecession!

What’sevenbetteraboutthecomputerbusinessisthatithastheopportunitytoexpandandgrowdependingontheservicesyouoffer.Ifyoustartgettingbusinessclients,youcangrowyourbusiness to includemaintenanceplansandeventuallyhandle the ITneedsofbusinesses all over your area. Or, if you enjoy rebuilding machines, you can get intorefurbished systems and sell online, in a retail store, or even become a wholesaler orrecycler.Inthecomputerbusiness,therearesomanywaystoexpandandgrowthatitisalluptoyouhowyougoaboutit!

If you want some personal guidance before you jump in, you may want to contactSCORE—CounselorstoAmerica’sSmallBusiness!Thisgroupspecializesinhelpingsmallbusinessesgetofftheground,grow,andhandlechallenges.Itisagreatplacetogetsomefreeadviceandfindlotsofusefulideasandassistance.(www.score.org)

4.HowMuchCanYouMake?Your revenue depends onmany things, including, but not limited to, number of hoursworked,location,skillset,servicesoffered,competition,andnamerecognition.Let’slookatsomeexamples.

4.1Parttime:Owner-onlybusinessYou’ve probably seen a part-time/owner-only business on Craigslist or other onlineclassified adwebsites. The ownermaywork a full-time job and do a small amount ofcomputerworkontheside.Thereisnodedicatedphonelineforthebusinessbutevenifthereis,onlyonepersonanswersit.Thisisthemostcommonofthepart-timecomputerbusinessesanditcanbeaverynicesourceofadditionalincome.

This type of business has a few regular customers and they all are serviced by theowner.There are no full-time employees and this one-person shop canhandle10 to20customers a weekwithmost of them on the weekend. The rate these types of ownerscharge is usually less than a full-time operation, but they can stillmake $30 to $40 anhour!Iftheycanupsellafewpiecesofhardware,theycanmake$600to$800aweek!Forapart-timegig,that’sprettygoodmoney,buttheyaretiedtotheircustomersandcannevergetabreak.

4.2Fulltime:Owner-onlybusinessIfthebusinessownerisadedicatedfull-timeemployee,heorshewillbeabletotakeonmanymorecustomers.Ingeneral,itwouldbepossibletohaveasmanyasthreeorevenfouron-sitecustomers inoneday—especially if someof thework iscompletedeitherremotelyorathisorherbusiness(orhome)location.Addthattotheotherworkbroughtbacktothehouseorplaceofbusinessandheorshecanmakeaveryniceliving!

Ifyoucanmultitask,youcandowellinthiskindofsetup.Forexample,ifyou’retheonlyoneworking,yougetupinthemorning,startthevirusremovalsgoing,maybestartupdatingafewPCs,thenheadout.Youworkasquicklyaspossible,getafewcustomerstaken care of, and then head back to your base of operation.Runmore antivirus tools,maybestartawipeandreload, thenheadbackout.Takecareofa fewmorecustomers,bringbackthePCsthataretoodifficulttodealwithandworkonthem.Ifyoudothisandbuildasolidlistofclients,youcandoverywell,butyouwillworksevendaysaweek.

Whenyou’retheonlypersoninyourbusiness,peoplethinkofyouastheircomputerperson.You’renotafirmwithwhomtheydeal,butyou’rethepersononwhomtheyrelyandifyoucan’thelpthemout,theytakeitpersonally.It’simportanttosetboundariesandlet people know from the start when you’re available. Stick to that and set pricingaccordingly.Neverunderestimatehowmuchyour timeisworth. In thisbusinessmodel,you’rethelinchpinformanycompaniesandtimegiventoonepersoncanbetimestolenfromanother.

4.3Fulltime:BusinesshasemployeesOnce a business expands to be big enough to employ others, your income is onlyrestrainedbytheopportunityforwork.Abusinessownercanaddemployeesastheworkgrowsandwillbeincreasinghisorherincomewitheachnewemployee!Aslongastheowneriscarefultoonlyaddemployeeswhentheyarerequiredthebusinesscancontinueto grow. The problem some owners have is that employees will always complain theyhavetoomuchworktodoandthatthereareneverenoughpeople.Wewerecaughtinthistrapearlyonandwehiredtoomanypeople.Funnythingwastheworkdidn’tgetoutthedoorfaster.Turnedout,wehadthewrongpeople,nottoofewpeople!

Itisabsolutelycriticalthateverysinglepersonyouemploypaysforhimselforherself.Youcanneverhiresomeonewhoisjustnicetohavearound.Iftheemployeedoesn’tdothetasksthatearntheamountofmoneyyoupayhimorher,getridoftheperson.

Asyougrow,youcan leverageyour employees to takeon larger andmore complexprojectsand,remember, themoreemployeesyouhave, themoremoneyyouareable tomake.As long as you keep your costs low, you can keep on growing!Once you startgrowingthereisnolimitontheincomethatcanbeearnedthroughthecomputerbusiness.You can franchise your business model or even sell it entirely! Once you start onebusiness,you’llbecomeaddictedtostartingmore.

5.AreYouQualified?First, you need to know what your role will be. Do you want to manage a team oftechnicians and handle the financial end of the business while leaving the day-to-dayservicingofcomputerstoyouremployees?That’sagoodgoaltopursue,butifyou’rejuststartingout,that’sprobablynotthecase.

Let’sfocusonsomeonewhowantstodotheworkinitiallyandthenbranchoutasheorshegrows.Withthisinmind,whatqualifiessomeonetorepaircomputers?Unlikesomeindustries that have rigid certification requirements, there are no rules for becoming agreat computer technician.Over the years, I have hired (and fired)many technicians. Ihavefoundgreattechnicianswhowereteenagersthatonlystartedworkingoncomputersafewyearsearlieraswellasexperiencedveteranswithdecadesoftimeinthefield.Ihavealsoseenpeoplewhohaveworkedascomputertechsforyears(usuallyatsomebig-boxstores) thatcouldn’tpassour initial screeningexam.So,whatdoes it take tobeagreatcomputerrepairtechnician?

•Patience:Firstandforemostyoumustbepatient.Notallcomputerproblemsaresolvedquicklyandnotallcustomersarewonderful.However,ifyouhavepatience,youcangetthroughjustaboutanything.

•Problem-solvingskills:About95percentoftheproblemsyouwillseearethesame(e.g.,iftheharddriveclicks,well,theharddriveisprobablybad).However,5percentofthetime,it’ssomethingthat’snotobviousandyouneedtobeabletofigureoutwhattheissueis.Thatmeanstroubleshooting,swappingcomponents,tryingdifferentsolutions,andperseveringuntilyoufigureoutwhat’swrong.

•Positiveattitude:Peoplewillforgivealotifyouhaveagoodattitudesobeupbeat,happy,andpositive.Whenyourunintoaproblem,asfrequentlyhappens,makesureyougivethecustomersolutions,notfacts.TellingacustomerthatviruseshavedestroyedtheMasterBootRecordisjustgivingtheminformation.Instead,tellthecustomerthatwhilethevirusscreweduphisorhersoftware,youhavethetoolstorecoverthedatabutitwilltakesometime.Thebetteryourattitude,thebetteryourcustomer’sattitude!Youdrivehisorherperceptions.Ifthecustomerseesyouasangryandirritated,heorshewillreactaccordingly.

•Loveofcomputers:Ifyoudon’tlovethem,youwillhatethem.Maybenotatfirst,buteventually.Computerrepairisaboutproblemsolving,research,andresults.Thetoughpartistherepetition.Sure,you’llgetafunproblemwherethecomputerrandomlyshutsoffalthoughallthehardwaretestsperfectanditonlyhappensafter9:00p.m.,butthisistheexceptiontotherule.Mostofthetimeyou’llgetmachineswithbadharddrives,badpowersupplies,oronesriddledwithviruses.Thosethreeproblemscomprisethevastmajorityoftheproblemsyou’llencountersoyoubettergetusedtofixingthem.Withthatsaid,you’lllearnsomethingneweverysingleday.Youcan’t

helpit.Therearetoomanywaysforcomputerstogetscrewedupandaseeminglyinfinitenumberofpeopletobreakthem.Sowhenyou’reworkingontheeasyones,letyourbrainfocusonthetoughones.Thatleadsnicelyintothenextpoint—multitasking.

•Multitasking:Themostprofitabletechniciansaretheonesthatcanworkonmorethanonesystematatime.Thisisbecausemanyrepairsrequirescansthatwilltakehours;softwareinstallationsthatcantake15to20minutesanddownloadsthatcantakehours,dependingonthespeedatwhichyou’redownloading.Whilethecomputerisworkingonthattask,youwanttoshiftandworkonanother.AcommonproblemwerunintoisWindowsshuttingdownunexpectedlyorevenbrieflydisplayingtheBlueScreenofDeath(BSOD).Whiletherearemanyreasonsthiscanhappen,acommoncauseisafailingharddrive.Totestforthis,webootthecomputerintoaspecialdiskthatautomaticallyteststheentiresystem,includingtheharddrive.Thiscantakeanywherefrom15minutestoseveralhours.Canyouimagineifyouonlyworkedononecomputeratatime?You’dsittherestaringatthecomputerandnothingwouldbeaccomplished.Instead,movetothenextcomputer,diagnoseathird,startscansonafourth,andgetasmuchworkoutthedooraspossible.Timeismoneyandyoumustuseyourtimewisely.

•Experience:Yes,thisislast,mainlybecauseexperiencewillbegained.Themoreyouworkoncomputers,themoreyouwilllearn.Mywifeactuallyworkedinourstoresforafewmonths.Althoughshewasn’tabigfanofhardwarerepairs(herbackgroundwasprogramming)afteramonthorso,shewascompletinghardwareandsoftwarerepairsforcustomers.Experiencecanbegainedquicklyandeasily,butittakesconcentrationanddetermination.Thereareuntoldnumbersofbooksonhowtofixacomputer.Forthatmatter,followingasimpletroubleshootingchartcantakeyouthroughmostoftheproblemsyou’llsee.There’sagoodexampleofaBootFailureTroubleshootingFlowchartyoucanfollowatwww.fonerbooks.com/poster.pdf.Themorecomputersyourepairandthemoreaccustomedyoubecometothem,themoreconfidentyou’llbeandthefasteryou’llsolveproblems.IthascometothepointwhereIhavesolvedaproblemwithoutevenseeingacomputer.Whenacustomerwalksinandsaysthathisorhercomputerdoesn’tturnonevenwhenheorshepressesthebutton,myfirstinstinctisthatthepowersupplyhasdied.It’scommontoseemanydeadpowersuppliesinplaceswherethepowerfluctuates.Whileitmayseemlikemagictoknowwhat’swrongwithaPCbeforeIevenstarttodiagnoseit,it’sjustbecauseI’veseenitsomanytimesbefore.Thesamewillhappentoyouandyou’llbeseenasawizard!

Ifyouthinkthatthesepointsdescribeyou,thenyoumaybeonyourwaytoowningasuccessfulcomputerbusiness!

6.WhyYouDon’t“Need”TechnologyCertificationsForthepurposeofactuallyfixingcomputers,certificationsprovideverylittlevalue.Youcan teach someone to troubleshoot a computer and in a few weeks he or she will beamazing,butheorshecanhaveall thecertifications in theworldandnotknowhowtoopenacomputercase.Therearesomecertificationsthatarecommonlyrequiredtoworkat many of the big-box stores but I’ve interviewed hundreds of people with thosequalificationsandtheyrarelydisplayanyactualknowledge.

The exception to the rule is certifications from Microsoft: They still don’t replaceexperiencebuttheyindicateadegreeofknowledgethatcanbeusefulwhendeterminingwhethertohireonecandidateoveranother.

Honestly,acertificationismostlyjustforshow.Despitethebuzzvalueplacedonthembysome,they’regenerallyonlygoodwhenyou’redoingadvertising.“AllourtechniciansareABCCertifiedsoyouknowyoucantrustus!”Soarewetobelievethatsomeonewithtenyearsofexperienceandnocertificationislessvaluablethansomeonewithanicepieceofpaper?

Certifications are nice to have and they show someone was interested enough inworkingoncomputerstogetthem,butthat’sprobablyit.Wehaveseenplentyofcertifiedtechnicians that are not half as competent as self-taught technicians. The difference isalwaysexperience.Sure,wipingacomputerandreloadingtheoperatingsystemiseasy95percentofthetime.However,itisthat5percentofthetimewheretheoperatingsystemdoesn’tload,theupdateswon’trun,orthedriverscan’tbefoundthatmakesthedifferencebetweenaqualifiedtechniciananda“certifiedidiot.”Withthatsaid,ifyouemploypeoplewhodohavecertifications,byallmeans,displaythecertificateseverywhereyoucan.

7.ThereAreEasyWaystoSolveNewProblemsNomatterhowmanyyearsofITexperienceyouhave, therewillbeproblemsyouhavenever facedbefore.Newproducts and services appear daily and it just isn’t possible tokeepcurrentwithallofthem.Withthesenewproductscomenewproblems.Solvingthemquicklyandprofitablyiswhatbeingacomputertechisabout.Don’tforget,thelongeraproblem takes to solve, the less you earn to solve it. In a perfectworld, everyproblemcouldbesolvedinlessthanaminutebutthat’sjustnotthewayitworks.

Those of us who have been doing computer repair for years know there is nothingbetterthanGoogletotroubleshootanissue.Istherearandombeepcode?Googleit.Doesthecustomerhaveavirusyouhaven’tseenbefore?Chancesaresomeoneelsehasalreadysolved it.Whatever theproblem,don’tbeafraid to leverageGoogle to find theanswer.Chat rooms and discussion forums are full of technical problems and solutions.Fortunatelyforus,GooglemakesiteasytonavigatetheWeb.Justtypeintheerrorcode,computer type, or whatever makes the issue unique and you are bound to get tons ofresults.

I’mlazy.Ifullyacceptthataboutmyself.Inmymind,whyshouldIspendhourstryingtofigureoutwhy something is brokenwhenpeoplemuch smarter than I amwhohavemanymore years of experience than I do have already solved it? It just doesn’tmakesense,butwehavehadtechnicians in thepast tooembarrassedtoadmit thattheydidn’tknowtheanswertoaproblem.Theyhavethisideathattheyaretechgodsandallshoulddefertothem,sowhensomethinghappenstheycan’texplainitdrivesthemcrazy.Theywillwastehourstryingtofigureouthowtosolvetheprobleminsteadofdoingasimplesearch.Theresult:Theyareslowandinaccurate.Idon’tpaythemtowastemymoney;Ipaythemtosolveproblems.Thatmeansasexpeditiouslyaspossible.

GetontheInternetandtypeinafewsearchterms.Oddsaregoodthatnomatterwhatitis,someoneelsehasfaceditbeforeandmentioneditontheInternet.Spending30minutesreading the forums and searching the Internet can replace days of frustration and lostrevenue.

8.GettingPaidtoPracticeSure,youhavefixedyourcomputerandyourfriends’computers.Maybeyouevenhelpedpeopleatwork.However,thatmayseemdifferentfromworkingonasystemthatisownedbyacompletestranger.Ifyouwantsomeextrapracticebeforeyoujumpintostartingyourown repairbusiness, there aremanyways that don’t involve takingonyour first actualpayingcustomer.Ifyoustartbydoingapaidon-sitejob,you’reprobablyworkingwhilethecustomerisbreathingdownyourneckaskingyoutoexplaineverythingyou’redoing.Thisaddsmorepressurethanyouneedtoyourveryfirstjob,sohowaboutgettingsomepracticefirst?

One of the best ways to practice before you start your business is towork on usedsystems.Thisisagreatwaytogetstartedforacoupleofreasons:

•Usedcomputersusuallydon’tworkordon’tworkwell.Afterrunningcomputerrepairstoresforyears,Icantellyouthisisverysimilartowhatyourcustomerswillbringin.First,youdon’tknowiftheywork;second,iftheydowork,youhavenoideawhatiswrong.

•Afteryourepairthem,youcansellthemasrefurbishedcomputersandyouwillbeabletogetpaidforyourpractice!

Thereareafewgoodplacestolookforusedcomputers.Usually,youcanfindlow-costmachinesatplaceslikeGoodwillandothercharitableorganizations.AnotheroptionistolookonCraigslistforcomputersthatmaynotbeinworkingcondition.Togetexperienceondesktoprepairs,lookformachinesthatmeetthefollowingstandards:

•CertificateofAuthenticity(COA),alsoknownastheOperatingSystemKey.Microsoftrequiresthateverycomputerthatrunstheirsoftwareisproperlylicensed.Tothatend,eachsystemhasaCOAonit,stucktotheside,theback,thetop,orthebottom.It’sawhiteandgreenishstickerwithabunchofsix-digitalphanumericgroups.Thatkeyisusedtoreinstalltheoperatingsystem.Ifyoudon’thavethis,you’llneedtobuyoneifyou’regoingtoremainincompliance.TrytofindcomputersthathaveMicrosoftXPorneweroperatingsystems(OS).AnyOSbeforethiswillnotbesupportedbyMicrosoftandishardtoworkonanyway.

•GettingusedRAMisalmostasexpensiveasbuyingnewRAM,sotrytofindacomputerthatalreadyincludesatleasttheminimumamountofRAMrecommendedforitsOS.Forexample,ifthecomputerhasXP,makesureithas512MBRAM.Anylessanditwillbesoslowthatyouwillbecomefrustratedworkingonit.ThegoodnewsisthatevenacomputerinbadconditiontendstohaveworkingRAMsothisisonepartthatisusuallyrecoverableonausedcomputer.

•Themotherboardhasnoblownorleakingcapacitors(caps);thisiscritical.Replacingamotherboardisexpensiveandifthemotherboardhasblownorleakingcaps,itwill

needtobereplaced.Somecomputerswillworkifthemotherboardhascapacitorproblems,butitwon’tworkwellanditwon’tworkforlong.Sincethisissomethingthatcanbeidentifiedwithasimplevisualinspection,itisaneasywaytoavoidaproblem.

•Unfortunately,therewillbenoeasywaytotelliftheCPUisworkingwithoutpoweringupthecomputer.ThegoodnewsisthatCPUsareoneoftheleastlikelycomponentstobreak.Therefore,ifitisinthecomputer,thereisagoodchancethatitworks;however,ifitismissing,gettinganewCPUcanbeannoyingandexpensive.IfthecomputerdoesnotcomewithaCPU,youmayaswelllookforanothermachine.

•Ingeneral,thecasesizedoesn’tmatterfromyourperspective,butifitisa“slimline”computer,youshouldbeawarethatreplacementparts(e.g.,powersupplies)areoftenbuiltspecificallyforthatmachine.Custompowersuppliesareafortunetoreplace.Whileareplacementpowersupplyonyouraveragecomputercancostyouabout$20fromawholesaler(lessifitisused),areplacementforaslimlinecomputerisalmostalwaysusedandoftenrunsaround$100!

•Ingeneral,onceacomputerisrefurbished,customerswilljudgeitsconditionbyitscase.Evenifyoureplacetheentireinsideofthecomputerwithnewcomponents,abeatupcasewillmakeyourcustomerswonderaboutthequalityofthecomputer.Thebetterthecase,theeasieritwillsell.

•TheCD/DVDdrivecomponentisnotascritical.Ingeneral,mostcomputerscomewitheitheraCDorDVDdrive.Iftheoneintheusedcomputerdoesn’twork,youcanprobablygetausedreplacementforaround$10to$15.

•Evenafteryoutakealltheseprecautions,oddsaregoodthatsomecomputersyoufindwillnotbecosteffectivetorepair.However,ifyougotthemforalowenoughprice(i.e.,lessthan$40),theexperienceyougain(andthepartsyoustrip)shouldmorethancoveryourcost.

Ifyouare looking to learnmoreabout laptoprepair, try to restrictyourselfat first toonetypeoflaptop.Don’ttrytobuyanHP,andthenaDell,andthenanIBM.Instead,findonetypeofmachineandtrytofindusedcomputersofthattype.Tryingtofixamachineby replacing a screen is expensive if you need to order new parts to make the repair.However,itbecomesmorecosteffectiveifyoucantakethescreenfromamachinewithabadmotherboard and replace it on an otherwiseworking computer. So,maybeyou canfindalotofIBMThinkPadsandjustcompleterepairsonthosesystems.Thiswillallowyoutopracticewithonemodelanduse theparts fromthenonworkingcomputers to fixthe laptops that are close to working condition. Otherwise, if you try to practice onmultiplebrandsandmodels,youwillfindthatmostlaptoppartsarenotcompatiblewithothermodels (except forRAMandharddrives) andyouwillwindup spendingagreatdealonreplacementparts.

Youwill also find that buying used laptops, even in nonworking condition, ismuchmoreexpensivethanbuyingusedworkingdesktops.Thisisbecausetheworkingpartsofnonworking laptops are still expensive.For instance, aused laptop screencan retail for$80ormore!Thegoodnewsisthatthemarketforusedlaptopsisalwaysstrong,sooncethecomputerisupandrunningyoushouldeasilymakebackyourmoney.

9.WorkingatHomeversusRetailStorefrontAlthoughwebeganour business through a retail storefront, you don’t have to take thesamepathwedid. Itmaybepossible to immediatelyopena retail storebut itmightbeprudenttostartslowly.

You can have a thriving business working out of your home using the exact samemarketing and advertising strategies we use in the retail space. You can create a widecustomerbaseandbecomeprofitablemuchmorequicklyworkingfromhomeratherthanif you had to recoup the start-up costs of a retail storefront. You can sell parts, repaircomputers, and even build custom systems from your home. Your growth potential islimitedworkingfromhomebutyourstart-upcostsaresolowit’saverysafewaytodipyourtoesintothewatersofcomputerservice.

9.1FindingalocationforaretailstorefrontThe answer to where to locate your business is extremely simple in this day and age.Everyoneusescomputerssoyoucanhaveasuccessfulbusinessalmostanywhere!Someplaces are better than others, but no matter where you go, it’s possible to create asuccessful business model that is flexible enough to take advantage of the localdemographics. Your fundamental goal is to provide a service that the local populationcan’teasilyreplicate.

Tailoringyourservicestothedemographicsoftheareacanhelpyoubecomesuccessfulinanyenvironment.Theonlyrequirement is that therearepeoplewhohavecomputers.Everythingelseisuptoyou!

Onecommonissuepeopleraiseisthepresenceofsomeofthelargercomputerstoresinagivenneighborhood.Don’tletthatstopyou.Nomatterwhatotherbusinessesareinyourarea,largeorsmall,therearestillopportunitiesforaprofitablecomputerrepairbusiness.For instance, one of our stores is right around the corner from one of the “big-box”computerstores.Thestorehastensofthousandsofsquarefeetoffloorspace,hundredsofassociates, and nearly any component you can imagine for sale, often with multiplealternatives.Nopointintryingtocompete,right?Wrong!

Big-box stores are very different from smaller, more agile shops. There are hugedifferences between the large, impersonal store and the close and personal service of asmall store. Instead of the larger store hurting our sales, we found that many of ourcustomersfindusastheyaredrivingtothat“other”business!Theyknowthatthepricesatlargeboxstoresareoftenveryhighforcomputerrepairandtheymaydecidetotryalocalbusiness instead. Imagine that;wegetcustomersbecause there is abig-box store in thearea that does computer repair.Also,many customers like the idea of dealingwith thesamepersonallthetime.That’sunrealistictoexpectinastorethatemploysahundredormorepeople,soinoursmallerstoreourcustomersgetthevalueoffamiliarity.

Another thing that people oftenworry about is that a large retailer will take all thecomputersalesfromthebusiness.Whatwehavefoundisthatthisisnotthecaseatall.Weactuallyhaveabusiness inaWalmart shoppingcenter.While there is the riskof losingbusiness to a large store such as Walmart, we still find bargain hunters that buy ourproductsinsteadoftheirs.Beingasmallrepairshop,wehavetheopportunitytotuneourofferingstocomplimentthelargebehemoth(e.g.,wedon’tcompeteonnewlaptoppriceswithWalmart).WhileWalmartdoessellcomputers,theydon’tbuildcustomsystemswithhigh-end parts. As a result, Walmart employees have actually been known to send usbusiness!

Inotherplaces,theremaybenootherstoreorcompetition,butthatdoesn’tmeanthatpeopledon’tneedcomputerrepair—justtheopposite.Insomeareas,alackofbusinessesmaymeanagoldenopportunitytofillarealneedinyourcommunity;inthiscase,thereis

evenlessneedtostartaretailstoreatfirst.Ifthereisnocompetition,itmeansthatpeopleareeitherlivingwithproblemcomputersortheyaredrivingdozensofmilesjusttogettoarepairstore!Youmayfindthatyourstorewillgrowquicklyjustfromwordofmouth!

Whereveryouare,oneofthebestpartsofbeinginthecomputerbusinessisthatitisabusinessthatcanexistinanytown,inanypartofanycountry.Withthelowentrycostsandhighimmediatereturn,itiseasytotestanareabeforeyoucommit!

Ifyouhaveexperiencerunningaretailstoreorhavesignificantcapital,startingwithastorefrontmaybethewaytogo.Weonlyrecommendthisifyouhavesignificantfinancialresourcesandaresure thisbusiness is foryou. Itmaybemonthsuntilyou’reprofitableandyoudon’twant toput all of yourmoney into aventure, signmultiyear leases, hireemployees,buyequipment,geteverythingsetup,andthenrealizeyoudon’tactuallywanttodothisasaprofession.

9.2WorkingfromhomeOneofthebestpartsofgettingintocomputerrepairisthatyoucaneaseintoit.Youdon’tneeda special permit, expensive equipment, or even a special license. It’s just you andyourownhardwork!

Thebestadvantagetostartingthis typeofbusiness is thatyoucan test thewatersbystarting part time and increasing your hours as your business becomes profitable. It’stempting to jump right in and open a store, but if you haven’t done anything like thisbefore, takeouradviceand treadwithcare.Youmayhaveastrong ideayoueventuallywanttoopenastore,butifyouwanttosaveafewdollarsandstartslowly,theeasiestwaytogetstartedistobeginasapart-time,home-basedcompany.Thiswillletyouinvesttheavailabletimeyouhaveforthelowestamountofmoney.Asthebusinessgrows,youcandecidehowtoexpand.

Ifyouarecurrentlyemployed, starting a computer repairbusiness is an easyway tosupplementyourincome.Beforeyoustartrunningads,decidewhenyouwillbeavailable.Ifyouhaveadayjob,youmaywanttofocusonfindingcustomerswhoneed“afterhours”service.Thiswillletyouchargeapremiumforyourservicewhilebuildingyourcustomerbase. It’s important to decide this in the beginning. A critical part of creating satisfiedcustomersismeetingexpectations. Ifyouknowyourbosshascalledameetingfor9:00a.m.thenextdayyoucan’texpecttoworkuntil2:00a.m.onthesideasyourprimaryjobwill suffer.With this inmind,createa timerange inwhichyou’recomfortableworkingandsticktoit.Customerswillnaturallypushyoutoworkoutsideofyourtimeframe,butifyousticktothestatedtimes,theywillrespectyourboundaries.Youmustbeconsistent.Ifyouarrivelateordon’thavetheexpectedworkdoneontime,customerswillexpectyoutomakeupthattimeelsewhere.

RichDad’sBeforeYouQuitYourJob:Tenreal-life lessonseveryentrepreneurshouldknowaboutbuildingamultimillion-dollarbusiness,byRobertT.KiyosakiwithSharonL. Lechter: This was the first bookwe read about owning a small business and theinformationinitwasveryhelpful.Thediscussionisn’tjustaboutopeningabusiness,butalsowhyyoushouldandwhatitwillentail.Thisbookcoverstherisksandrewardsthatcomefromleavingapermanentpositionandpursuingbusinessentrepreneurship.

10.HowMuchWillItCosttoStartYourBusiness?Oneof the firstquestionsyoumayconsider ishowmuch itwill cost to startyour owncomputerrepairbusiness.Theshortansweristhatitdependsonwhatyouwanttodo.Oneof the best parts about starting a computer repair business is that the start-up costs aredramatically less than they are for other businesses. If you want to open a restaurant,you’llneedovens,sinks,disposal,venting,atheme,tables,chairs,glasses,dishwashers,afullstaff,andmenus—it’seasytospend$150,000gettingitready.

As a point of contrast, when we opened our second retail store we spent less than$30,000.Thatsoundslikequiteabit,butconsiderthatincludedtheentireinteriorsetup,all the inventory, the signs, the computers to run the place, the software, the lease, thesecuritydeposit, aswell as the phone system and all the tools. In addition,we becameprofitableinoursecondmonthofoperationwithoutanyadvertisingwhatsoever.I’mnotsuggestingyougothisroute;it’sadecisionnottobemadelightly,butknowinghowmuchlessitistobuildaturnkeyoperationcanhelpyoumakethatcall.

Ifyouchoosetoforgoaretaillocationandsimplyworkfromyourhome,thestart-upcosts are almost nonexistent and you can easily get started for less than $1,000. Thebiggestreasonforthisisthatyouprobablyalreadyhavemostofthethingsyouneed.

Thefollowingaresomeofthethingsyouwillneedtogetstarted:

•Website:Doyouneedawebsiteonyourfirstday?Ofcoursenot.Withthatsaid,manypeopleusetheInternettofindlow-costcomputerrepairsothere’snoreasontoneglectthisformofadvertising.Purchaseanamethat’seasytoremember,getithostedthroughoneofthemanyhostingservicesandyou’llbewellonyourway!Asinglepagewithyourservicesandtelephonenumberwilldotostart.Youdon’tneedafulle-commercesitetogetacustomer.Everytimeyou’rethinkingofspendingmoney,askyourselfthisquestion:“Whenwillthispurchasepayforitself?”Whenyou’rejuststarting,especiallyifyou’reworkingfromyourhome,ifyoucan’tanswer“immediately,”don’tspendthemoney.(SeeChapter3formoreinformationaboutbuildingyourwebsite.)

•Contactnumber:Youshouldhaveadedicatedbusinessphoneline.However,acellphonecanbeagreatwaytodedicatealinewithoutbreakingthebank—initialcostbetween$0(ifyoualreadyhaveacellphoneyoucanuse)to$100permonth.AnicewaytohaveadedicatedlinewithoutspendinganymoneyistouseGoogleVoice.Theywillgiveyouanumberthat’s100percentfreeandwillforwardcallstoyourcellphonewhenyouwantthemto.Thatway,youwillhaveaseparatelinebutcanchoosetoansweritornot.

•Equipment:Ingeneral,youwillneedsomeequipmenttogetstartedbutitdoesn’thavetobeexpensive.Theonlypiecesofhardwareyou’llabsolutelyneedareapowersupplytesterandascrewdriver.It’shelpfultohaveanexternalharddrive,aflash

drive,anexternalfloppydrive(yes,sometimesthey’reneeded),extrasticksofRAM,etc.,butyoucangetstartedwithless.Youwillneedsoftware,buttherearesomanyfreeapplicationsavailablethatthere’snoreasontospendmoneyonthecorporateversionsuntilyou’veexhaustedtheusefulnessofthefreeones.(SeeChapter5formoreinformationabouttoolsofthetrade.)

Ifyoutry,youcankeepyourcostslowandyourprofitshigh.Justmakesurethateveryitemyoupurchaseisneededandnotjustwanted.

Notsurewheretostart?IntheUS,theSmallBusinessAdministration(SBA)hasalotofgreatresourcesforthesmall-businessowner—andit’sallfree!Youcanfindlinkstoeverythingyoursmallbusinessneedsincludingideastoreducetaxburdens,waystogetgrants and loans, instructions on finding business licenses, and much more! (Seewww.sba.gov.)

2

StartingYourBusiness

Onceyoudecide that a computer repairbusiness is right foryou, it’s time to startyourbusiness!

1.CreateaBusinessPlanOneofthemostvaluablethingsyoucandotostartyourbusinessistocreateabusinessplan.This is considereda livingdocument thatyoucanuse to consolidateyour currentideas and future plans for your business.A good business planwill include everythingfromhowyourbusinesswillbefinancedtohowitwillgrowandexpand.Itisbasicallyarepositoryofallthatyourbusiness“plans”todo.

Firstandforemost,realizethatabusinessplanisaliving(orworking)documentanditshouldbecreatedtofityourpersonalityaswellasyourbusiness.Thereisnooneanswertowhatshouldgointoabusinessplan.Somebusinessplansarehundredsofpages longandincludeextensiveinformationaboutthebusinessowners,theirfinancialsituation,theplansfor thebusiness, five-yearplans, etc. Ifyouplan toobtaina financial investment,this is the type of document you will need. Investors (e.g., financial institutions andventurecapitalists)willwantalltheinformationtheycangetandyourbusinessplanisthedocumentinwhichtheyexpecttofinditall.However,ifyouarecreatingabusinessplanthatrepresentsasmallhome-basedbusiness,yourdocumentwillbeconsiderablyshorter.Thereisnoneedtoaddtaxreturnstoadocumentonlyyouwillbereading.

Ingeneral,donotexpectabusinessplantotakeonedayorevenoneweek!Abusinessplan is simply a repository of all that you learn as you “plan” to open your business.Therefore,whileyoumaycompletea roughdraft inoneafternoon,asyoustartmakingdecisionsaboutyourbusiness,youshouldcontinuetoupdatethedocument.Forinstance,did you take the weekend and visit local computer stores to learn about how they dobusiness? If so, take what you learned and update the “competition” section of yourbusinessplan.Haveyou foundagreatonlineplace to advertise?Write about it in your“marketing”section.Areyouthinkingaboutyourfive-yearplantofranchise?Don’tjustkeep it in your head, get it down on paper! Every day that you are thinking about orplanningforyourbusiness isanotherdayyouwill learnmoreaboutwhatyourbusinesswillbecome.Useyourplantocaptureallofyourgreatideasandplansinoneplace!

Beforeyoubegincreatingyourbusinessplan,herearesometipsthateveryoneshouldfollow:

•Thelengthofthedocumentisneverasimportantasthecontent:Makesureyourplanisclearandconcise,buthasthedetailyouneedtoshowyourideaswillwork.

•Rememberthatyourbusinessplanisalivingdocument:Donotexpectittobe“done”—ever.Plantoupdatethisdocumentregularly—evenafteryouopenyourbusiness.Inthefirstyearortwoyoumayupdateiteverysixmonths.Movingforward,youmayupdateitonlyonceayear,butremember,itwillneedtobekeptcurrent.

•Bespecific:Yourplanissupposedtohelpyouaddresstheproblemsyourbusinesswillencounterwithspecific,well-thought-outanswers.Ifyouaren’tsurewhattherightansweris,researchituntilyouarecomfortable;don’tjustskipthesectionorproblem.

•Getfeedback:Ifyouhavepartners,accountants,orfamilywhoareinterestedinthebusiness,gettheirfeedbackonwhatyouwrote.Makesurethattheyseeyourplanasrealisticandnotoverlyoptimisticorpessimistic.

Thefollowingsectionsgiveasummaryoftheimportantpartsofabusinessplan.

OnlineBusinessPlanTemplate:Onegreatresourceforcreatingausefulbusinessplanis the US Small Business Association (www.sba.gov). This site has everything youneedtocreateauseful,clear,andconcisebusinessplan.Theyevenofferanonlineformthathelpsyouwalkthroughyourbusinessplancreation.

1.1ExecutivesummaryEverybusinessplan,nomatterthesizeofthecompany,shouldhaveasolidsummary.Ingeneral, the summary shouldbe short and to thepoint andat theverybeginningof thedocument. It should give an overview of your company, and your long-term goals;however,itshouldnotbemorethanafewparagraphs.Remember,ifyouarelookingforinvestors, thiswill be the first thing that they read.A good executive summarywill beinteresting, show profit potential, and make the reader want to learn more about yourbusinessasaninvestmentopportunity.

Althoughthisisasummaryofyourbusinessandthefirstsectionofyourbusinessplan,don’ttrytocreatethissectionfirst.Instead,youshouldplantowritethissectionlast.Thereason is that this section is basically a summary of the whole business plan whichoutlinesyourcurrentsituationandyourfutureplans.Untilyouhaveathoroughlycreatedplan,youwon’tbepreparedtocreatethissection.Skipitfornowandreturntoitafteryouhavecompletedyourfullbusinessplan.

1.2BusinessdescriptionandvisionIn this sectionyoudescribewhatyourbusiness is about,how it fits in themarketplace,howyouwill advertise it, and howyouwill operate. In general, as you start gatheringinformation about your competition, figuring out your targetmarket, etc., you can startenteringtheinformationintothisarea.Thefollowingpointscoverthesectionstoincludeinthispartofyourbusinessplan:

•Missionstatement:Thissectionisusuallyashortsentenceortwothatsummarizesthepurposeofyourbusiness.Typicallythismissionwillbesharedwithallofyourcustomers,clientsandemployees,andbeplasteredonyourwebsites,hungupinyourstore,etc.

•Businessvision:Thisisthelong-termvisionforyourbusiness—orastatementofgrowth.Itshouldincludewhatyourbusinesswantstobecomeandhowyouintendtogetthere.

•Businessproductandservices:Thisareawillallowyoutodescribewhatyourbusinesswilldo,howitfitsinthemarketplaceandhowitwillmakemoney.Outlineallofyourservicesandtheproductsyourbusinesswouldliketocarry.Ifyouhaveanyproductflyersordetailedbrochures,youcanaddthemtoyoursupportingdocuments.

•Marketingandsalesstrategy:Outlineyourplanforadvertising,marketing,andnetworking.Includeyourcosts,andyourreasoningforchoosingdifferentvenues.

•Competition:Thissectionmaybeoneofthemostimportant.Itshouldincludedescriptionsofyourstrongestcompetitors,theirlocations(comparedtoyours),theirspecialties,andhowyouwillcompeteagainstthem.Also,considerwhatwillmakeyourbusinessdifferentfromyourcompetition.

•Operatingprocedures:Includehowyourbusinesswillrun.Itshouldincludeeverythingfromhowyourbusinesswillbeorganized,managed,andstructured.

•Businessinsuranceandlicenses:Thissectionshoulddocumentwhatyourbusinesswillneedtooperate.Includealldocumentsinthesupportingdocumentssection(seesection1.4formoreinformation).

1.3FinancialdataOneof themore exciting sectionsofyourbusinessplan is thefinancialdocumentation.Thesedocumentsshowhowmuchyourbusinessexpectstomakeandwhatthereturnonyour investmentwill be.Unfortunately, this is also the sectionwhichwill get themostscrutinyfrominvestors.Afterall,yourprofitabilitywillbebasedonassumptionsandyourinvestorswillwanttoknowjusthowyoumadetheseassumptions.Itisonethingtosayyoucanmake$10,000amonth;itisanothertoproveit.

The best part about completing the financial section of your business plan is theconfidenceyouwillhaveaboutyourbusinessonceyouaredone.Providingenoughdetailinthisareawillmeanthattherearefewquestionsfrominvestors.

Thefollowingsectionsshouldbeincludedinthefinancialdatasection:

•Start-upcosts:Thisincludesallequipment,supplies,bills,andsoforthtogetyourbusinessofftheground.

•Break-evenanalysis:Thisareaofthedocumentdescribeswhenyouthinkthebusinesswill“breakeven”ormakeitsmoneyback.

•Profitandlossstatement:Everybusinessshouldregularlygenerateareportlikethisasitshowshowmuchyourbusinessmadeorlostonaregularbasis.Whiletheoneyouinitiallyputinyourbusinessplanwillbeanestimate,youshouldupdateitregularlytorepresentyourrealvaluesasyourbusinessgrows.

•Detailedmonthlyfinancialplan(firstyearonly):Adetailedplanwillshowallofyourmonthlyexpensesandincomeforyourfirstyearofbusiness.Beasdetailedaspossible.Thissectionisinvaluableasaplanningtool.Everytimeyoulearnaboutanewexpenseorpotentialrevenue,addsomethingtothissection.Makesuretoaddacorrespondingnotetoyourassumptionssection.[1]

•Detailedquarterlyfinancialplan(yearstwoandthree):Showinghowyourbusinessshouldgrowinthecomingyearsletsyoumeasureyourprogressasyougo.Remembertokeepyourassumptionsrealistic.

•Three-yearexpectedsummary:Thiswillshowyourthree-yearfinancialplan.Whileyoumayjustbreakevenormakeasmallamountofmoneyinthefirstyear,subsequentyearsshouldshowaprofitoryourmodelmaynotbesound(makesuretoaddanynecessarynotestotheassumptionssection).

Onethingtocheckisthatyourassumptionsarebasedondatainsteadofhope.Alwaysdouble check all of your numbers tomake sure that your assumptions are accurate andrepresentrealisticsalesandexpenses.Ifyouaren’tsure,andthinkthata“range”wouldbemore accurate, create your financials using a “worst case” and “best case” set ofassumptions. Although this may not be included in most formal business plans, as a

business owner, I know that showing your financials like this will give you a greatbaseline foryourbusiness.The“worst case”willhelp toprepareyou for a slower thanexpectedstartandthe“bestcase”willhelpyouprepareforunexpectedgrowth!

1.4SupportingdocumentsThesupportingdocumentssectionofthebusinessplanisusedtoprovidedocumentsthatyourbankandinvestorswillrequire.Ifyouplanonlaunchingahome-basedbusinessthatwillnothave investors,youcangenerallyskip this section.However, ifyouwant tobepreparedforwhenyourbusinessgrowsandyouwould like togetan investor,youmaywanttocompleteitnow.

Eachofthefollowingdocumentsisprovidedtoprovethatyouareasolidinvestmentandthatyourfinancialmanagementissolid:

•Taxreturnsofthebusinessownerforthelasttwotothreeyears:Manybankswillonlyrequiretwoyearsoftaxreturns,buthavingthreeavailablemeansthatyouwillbepreparediftheyrequesttheadditionalinformation.

•Personalfinancialstatementsofthebusinessowners:Thefinancialstatementsshowwhereyourmoneycomesfromandwhereitgoes.Typically,statementslikethesewillincludeallofyourassetsandliabilities.Yourbankcanhelpyoupreparethesestatementsandwilltypicallyhaveformsthatyoucanuse.

•Franchisedocuments:Ifyouareopeningacomputerrepairfranchise,youwillneedtoprovidecopiesofallthefranchisecontracts,agreements,etc.

•Locationdocuments:Ifyouaregoingtobeleasingorbuyingastorefront,youwillneedtoprovidetheproposedlease(forarental)orpurchaseagreement(forabuy).

•Résumés:Mostinvestorswillwanttoknowyourpastexperienceandabilities.Providingrésumésforeachbusinessownerwillhelpinvestorsorbankersunderstandwhyyouarequalifiedtoownthisbusiness.Makesuretofine-tuneyourrésumétoshowhowyourpastexperiencequalifiesyouforthisbusiness.Forinstance,ifanyofyourpastpositionsincludedmanagingtechnologyequipment—evenifitwasn’t“officially”inyourjobdescription—makesuretoincludeitonthisversionofyourrésumé!

•Legaldocuments:Ifyouhavementionedanylegaldocumentsinthebusinessplan(e.g.,licenses,resellercertificates),youcanincludetheminthesupportingdocuments.

2.ChooseYourBusinessStructureBeforeyoubegin topracticeasacomputerrepairand/orcomputersalesbusiness,makesureyouhaveyourbusinessdetailssetup.Youwillneedtocompleteallthedifferentlegalhurdlesinyourcity,stateorprovince,andcountry.

Oneofthebiggestdecisionsthatyouwillneedtomakeisyourbusinessstructure.Yourchoicesinclude:

•Soleproprietorship:Thisisusedtorefertoabusinesswithasingleownerwhodoesnotsetupaseparatelegalentity.Theriskofthisformisthatifthereisalawsuit,you,notyourcompany,canbeheldliable.

•Partnership:Thisincludestwoormorepeopleastheownersofthebusiness.Itissimilartoasoleproprietorshipinthatitiseasytosetupandtherearelowerstart-upcosts.Alsosimilartothesoleproprietorshipisthatyouandyourpartner(s)canbeheldpersonallyliableshouldtherebealawsuit.(Seesection2.1forimportantinformationaboutpartnerships.)

•LimitedLiabilityCompany(LLC)andLimitedLiabilityPartnership(LLP):Theseentitiesareoftenusedbysmall-businessowners.Unlikeasoleproprietorshipandpartnershipinwhichyouarepersonallyliable,anLLCorLLPhaslimitedliability.Thismeansthatyouarecreatinganewentity(thecorporation)andifthereisalawsuit,itisthebusiness,notyoupersonally,thatwillbeheldliable.Theseentitieshavelimitedreporting,andtaxescanbe“passedthrough”totheownerinsteadofbeingtaxedseparately.OnesignificantdifferencebetweenLLCsandLLPsisthatwhileanLLCcanbeformedbyoneowner,anLLPrequirestwoormoreowners.

•ScorporationsandCcorporations(intheUS):Forasmall-businessowner,corporationscanbeabitmorecomplicatedtomanageandmaintain.However,ifyouintendtogrowusingventurecapitaloreventuallysellthebusiness,thismaybeabetterstructure.

Incorporation is important formanyreasons,butprimarily it isaway to reduceyourrisk. You want to protect yourself from liability, especially when you’re working insomeone’s office or home and run into a problemwith the person’s computer or data.However, it’snotnecessarytobeofficiallyincorporatedtofixaperson’scomputer. It ispossibletostartthebusinessfirst,andincorporatelater.Then,whenthingsworkwell,andyoudecidethisisthebusinessyouwanttobein,youcanincorporate.Therearehugetaxadvantagesanddisadvantagesforeachsodon’tputthisofftoolong.Therearequiteafewtypesofcorporationsandyouwanttochoosetheonethatfitsyourbusinessbest.

There aremanydifferent resources available tohelpyou chooseyour legal entity. Ifyou aren’t sure, you can always create an LLC and convert the business to an ScorporationoraCcorporationlater(althoughyouwillneedtopaylegalandaccounting

fees).However,intheend,thebestthingtodoistodiscussyourpersonalsituationwithyour lawyer and accountant before you choose. Discussing it with both of them at thesametimewillhelptoreduceyourrisk,managementoverhead,andtaxburden.

Dependingonyourstateorprovince, thecostsofincorporationcanvary.ThecostofcreatinganLLConyourowncanbe less than$200but ifyouchoose togetassistancefroma lawyer, anaccountant,or anon-site service theprice canballoon to asmuchas$1,000.

Sincetherulestocreateanentitywillvarydependingonyourlocationitisgenerallyworthwhiletodosomeresearchandgetsomeprofessionaladvicebeforeyoufileyourself.Forinstance,inArizona,thereisatwo-pageformthathastobefilledout,notarized,andsenttothestate.Afterthatanotificationneedstobepublishedinanapprovednewspaper.However, inother states, suchasOhio, there isnothingmore todo than fillout a shortform.

Oneof themostcommonstructuresusedbysmallbusinesses in theUS isaLimitedLiability Company (LLC). They are easy to create, manage, operate, and taxes arerelatively simple. If you are considering forming an LLC for your business,How toFormandOperateaLimitedLiabilityCompany:Ado-it-yourselfguide,byGregoryC.DammanwillhelpyouunderstandtheinsandoutsofformingandoperatinganLLCinyourstateanditwillsaveyousomemoneywhenyoucreateyourentity.

2.1AnimportantnoteaboutpartnershipsMany people who consider creating a business often feel it would be easier to start abusinesswithapartner thanitwouldbetorunthebusinessalone.Havingapartnercanhelp the business grow formany reasons. A partner can provide a second perspective,more help running day-to-day operations, and invest financially, reducing themonetaryburden of starting a new business. However, partnerships can be difficult becausedecision-making is not centralized, functions are distributed, and fights can ensue.Therefore,ifyouchoosetorunyourbusinesswithanotherperson,makesuretocreateapartnershipagreementbeforeyoubegin.

Apartnershipagreementisdesignedtoincludetheexpectationsbothpartnershaveforeachother.Itshouldincludedetailsregarding:

•Theterm(duration)ofthepartnership

•Investmentofcapital(includingwhetherinterestwillbepaidonthatcapital)

•Profitandlossdistribution

•Salaries

•Managementdutiesandlimitations

•Banking

•Terminationclause—howthepartnershipwillbedissolvedandwhathappenstothebusiness

•Deathclause—informationaboutwhathappensuponthedeathofapartner

•Arbitration—documentfullyhowproblemswillberesolved

In some cases, you may want to include these items in the corporation documentsinsteadofaseparatepartnershipagreement,butyourlawyerwillbeabletodirectyoutothe correct format for your situation. Make sure you contact a lawyer to draw up apartnership agreement to protect all parties involved as well as the business. If thepartnershipgoessour,itcanaffectthebusiness.

3.ApplyforanEmployeeIdentificationNumberoraBusinessNumberAfteryourbusiness iscreated, there isonemorestep thatyoushould take—obtainanEmployeeIdentificationNumber(EIN)intheUS,oraBusinessNumber(BN)inCanada.Thisnumberwillbeusedinthefutureforeverythingfromtaxfilingstobankaccounts.

IntheUS,theEINisobtaineddirectlyfromtheInternalRevenueService(IRS)andisfreeifyouapplyyourselfonline.Thepageisa little trickytofindsincetheURLisnotsimple:https://sa2.www4.irs.gov/modiein/individual/index.jsp.

Remember,creatinganEINisalegalobligation.OnceyoucreateyourID,theIRSwillexpectyoutoeitherfiletaxesortoatleastcanceltheEINifyoudon’twindupusingit.

InCanada,theBNcanbeappliedforthroughtheCanadaRevenueAgency(CRA)atwww.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/rc1.

Don’t forget to look intobusiness licensesand seller’spermits foryourarea.Talk toyour local city hall or business association in your area to find out more about thelicensesandpermitsyoumayneedastheyvaryfromregiontoregion.

4.SeparateYourBusinessandPersonalAssetsOne thingmanypeopledon’t realize is thatcreatinga separatebusinessentity isn’t justabout branding.The purpose of the entity is to protect you personally and provide youwithlimitedliabilityincaseofalawsuit.However,creatingalegalentityisnotenoughtoprotectyoufromlegalconsequences ifyourbusiness runs into trouble. Inorder tokeepyourbusinessaseparatelegalentity,youneedtoalwaystreatitlikeaseparatecompany.In short, this means you may not use the business as an extension of your personalfinances.Youcan’tjusttake$100fromthecashdraweranduseittobuyyourselfanewtoy.Youhavetotreatthecorporationasifyoudonotownit.Ifthatwerethecase,taking$100wouldbestealingandyoumustknowthattheIRStakesthisveryseriously.Ifyoudon’tkeepthetwoseparate,youcanopenyourselfuptotheconsequencesofalawsuit.

Let’ssayyou’reworkingonsomeone’scomputerandhisorherharddrivedies.Thepersontellsyouthatallhisorher informationison itandit’syourfault thedrivedied.Evenifitisn’tyourfault,thepersoncanchoosetosueyouforlossofrevenue,thecostofthedrive,andanythinghisorherlawyercanthinkof.Ifyoukeepyourpersonalfinancesseparatefromthebusinessfinances,themostthepersoncandoissuethebusiness.Ifyouhaven’t—ifyou’vetreatedthebusinessasyourpersonalbank—theperson’slawyerwillarguethatyoudidn’trespectthelegalcorporatestructureandthis“pierces thecorporateveil.”Ifheorsheissuccessful,youwillbepersonallyliableforeverythingthebusinessisliableforandyoucanbepersonallysuedforyouassets,includingyourhouse,yourcar,anyfinancialresources,andmore.

Inordertoshowthatyourbusinessisseparatefromyourpersonallife,youneedtodothefollowing:

•Separatefinances:OnceyourbusinessentityiscreatedandyouhaveanEINoraBN,youshouldcreateanaccountatyourlocalbank.Allbusinessexpenses,payments,etc.,shouldgothroughthisaccount.

•Separatetaxes:Makesuretotellyouraccountantthatyouhaveanewbusinessandmakesurethatyourtaxesarefiled.

•Separatebusinessspace:Ifyouaregoingtoworkatyourhome,youshouldhaveadedicatedofficespaceforyourbusiness.Thisspaceandtheutilitiestomakeitlivablewillthenbetaxdeductibleasabusinessexpense.

•Representyourselfasabusiness:Ingeneral,youshouldrepresentyourselfasabusiness,notasyourself.Thismeansthatallofyourpaperwork,businesscards,emails,etc.,shouldrepresentyouasanemployeeofthebusinessandnotasJoeSmith.

Ifyoualwayskeepyourcompanyseparate fromyourpersonal life, thenyouwillbebetter prepared to defend your business as a separate entity.Once you start using yourbusiness to pay for personal expenses or mix your personal funds with your business

funds, youwill be proving that the business is not a separate entity and youwill openyourselfupforlegalandpersonalconsequences.

5.InsuranceSinceyouwillbeworkingoncustomerandbusinesscomputerseitherattheirlocationsoratyourown,youwillwanttoinvestininsurance.Insurancewillcoveryouincasethereisaproblemoryoucausedamageatacustomer’ssite.Theeasiestwaytogetinsuranceistocontactaprofessionalinsurancebrokerwhocanfindyouinsurancetomeetyourneedsatalowcost.

Justbecauseyouhaveinsurancedoesn’tmeanyoushoulduseitfrequently.Weknowonecomputerbusinessthatactuallyhadtocloseitsdoorsbecauseoftheirinsurancecosts.They began with reasonable rates and a retail store. Then there was a computer theft,which they reported to insurance andhad insurancepay.A littlewhile later, they lost acustomer’s data and instead of resolving it with the customer (which is possible) theysimplyhandedtheproblemtotheirinsurancecompany.Littlebylittle,alloftheseclaimscausedtheirinsuranceratestoskyrocket.Soon,theirinsurancebecameunaffordableandsincetheyhadtopayiteachmonth,itwasdramaticallyreducingtheirprofits.Intheend,they closed their store. The moral of the story is that while insurance is important, itshouldn’tbeusedtooliberallyifyouwanttokeeplowinsurancerates.

1.Assumptions:Asyouwroteupyour financials,youmademanyassumptions.Sincemanyof theseassumptionsapply tomore thanoneareaof thebusinessplan,havingasectionwithallyourassumptionsisagoodwaytoconsolidateyourideas.Makesuretolist the details behind your reasoning and expectations. Themore detail you have themoreconfidentyouwillbeinyourfinancials.

3

BuildingCredibility

Beforeyou start your advertisingor even takeonyour first customer,youcanbegin tobuild your credibility. There aremany things that you can do to create a business thatcustomerswilltrust.Buildingyourbrandshowsthatyouareaprofessionalcompanythatintendstobeinbusinessforthelonghaul.

1.DesignaLogoDoyouneed a logo? It certainly isn’t critical but it can come in handy.Logos stick inpeople’smindsandhelpidentifyyourbrand.ArizonaComputerOutletshasasillylookingpeachwith its tongue sticking out (blame the old owners; we do). Dowe like it? No.However,thecustomersrememberit.Peoplewhohaven’tbeentoourstoreinyearscomebackandlookforthatlogo.Anamecanbeforgotten,butalogotendstostaywithpeople.

Fortunately, in today’s Internetworld, you can get a professionally created logo thatyou provide feedback and guidance on for as little as $300. The website,LogoTournament.com, is a great place to get your design. All you do is put up yourpayment ($300) and describe what you are looking for (e.g., color scheme, style).Designersfromaroundtheworldwillhelpcreateanimagethatmeetsyourexpectationsand will stick in customers’ minds. Plus, during the “tournament” you can providefeedback to the designers.As each designer submits his or her entry, you can let themknowhowyoufeelaboutit.Soon,thelogosstarttogetcloserandclosertoyourideal.Bythe time the tournament is over, youwill have a logo that you love at a price you canafford.

2.CreateaProfessionalWebsiteAnotherwaytoaddcredibilitytoyourbusinessistodevelopaprofessional-lookingwebpresence.Agreatwebsitewillbringinrevenueandbuildyourmarketreputation.Youcandirectyour advertising traffic to the site by adding theURL to your business cards forthose individuals who want additional information about you and your business.Also,when you are doing Internet advertising on sites such as Craigslist, you can use yourwebsitetostoretheimagesyouwilluseinyourads.

Gettingawebsite is relativelysimple. Itcanbepurchased throughGoDaddy.comforlessthan$100(includingallthebellsandwhistles).Ingeneral,trytostaywithawebsitethatusesthe.comextensionandonethatiseasytoremember.Whilemanycompaniesusedashesandhyphens in theirname, it is lessconfusing ifyouuseanURLthat isalloneword.Ourwebsiteaddress,www.ArizonaComputerOutlets.commaybelongbutsince itmatchesourstorename,itiseasytoremember.

GettheWebNameVariations!

Whenyoufirstpurchaseawebsite,youmaybetemptedtojustbuytheURLyouneed.Whenwebought thewebsite forArizonaComputerOutlets,wemadesure toget thefull name of the business, www.ArizonaComputerOutlets.com and trademarked ourname.However, itwas still gallingwhen another local computer storepurchased thesamedomainname,onlywithoutthe“s.”So,planaheadandgetallthenamevariationsthatcouldstealyourtraffic.

2.1BuildingyourwebsiteTherearemanywaystocreateaveryprofessionallookingwebsitethatisfastandeasytomaintain.Evenifyoudon’thaveagreatdealofcodingexperience,itisnowpossibletobuild professional looking websites. If you choose to build the site yourself, there aremanygreatoptionsoutthere.ThefollowingaretwotoolswhichIhaveusedbefore:

•GoDaddy’sWebsiteTonight:Ifyouwantasupportedwebsitedesign,GoDaddyoffersits“WebsiteTonight”product.Thistoolallowsyoutocreateacustomwebsitebasedonhundredsofavailabletemplateswithaninfinitenumberofcombinations.Thereisamonthlyfeeforthisservice,butitmaybeworthwhileifyouwanttohavesomeonetocall.

•WordPress:MycurrentfavoriteisWordPressbecauseitiseasytouse,easytomanage,andcontinuallyupdatedwithnewplug-ins(i.e.,pre-createdtoolsthatyoucanuseonyourwebsiteforfree).Ingeneral,allthetoolsherearefreeandtheycanbedownloadedtoanyhostingsite(includingGoDaddy).Thisisoneoftheleastexpensiveoptions.

Ofcourse,ifyouwantyoursitetouseflashintrosorspecialshoppingcarts,itmaybeworthwhile to invest in a professionally built and managed site. Just be careful aboutinvestingtoomuchmoneyupfront.Whileprofessionalsiteswilllookbetter,theymaybehardertomanageandupdate.So,ifyourbusinesschangesgreatlyinthefirstyearortwo,itmaybeexpensivetokeepyourwebsiteuptodate.Ingeneral,it’sbettertostartcheaper(think free) and expand the site as your business grows. The temptation is to go withsomething fancy. After all, the business is a reflection of you, and the website is thecustomer’sportaltoyourbusiness.Rememberourmaxim:Ifitdoesn’tmakeyoumoneyandpayforitself,don’tdoit!

2.2CriticalinformationtoincludeonyourwebsiteOnceyouhavethebasicsofyourwebsite,youcanbegintofillinthecontent.Somethingsthatyoumaywanttoaddtoyourwebsiteinclude:

•Warrantyinformation:Includeyourservicepolicyaswellasthehardwarepolicy.Thisletspeopleknowthatyoustandbehindyourproductandservices.

•Contactinformation:Createadedicatedemailaddresswhichmatchesyourcompanywebsitename(e.g.,computertech@yourwebsite.com)notagenericGmailorYahoo!account.Peopletendtotrust“real”emailaddressesmorethanthefreeones.Whateveryoudo,don’tuseanAOLaddress.Noonewilltakeyouseriously.

•Productlist:Ifyousellusedcomputers,makethemavailableonline.Althoughyoumaynotgetmanysaleslikethisyouwillgetsome.Whenwepostedourproductsonlineweweresurprisedwhenwestartedtoreceiveoccasionalordersinthefirstmonthwithnoadvertising!

•Feedbackarea:Alsoknownasabragsheet,thisiswhereyoupostallthegreatcustomerfeedbackthatyoureceive.Ifyoureceiveanysupportivecustomeremailsorthank-younotes,makeacopyandpostit!Justremembertorespectyourcustomers’privacyanddon’tusetheirfullnameswithouttheirwrittenpermission.

•Newsandnotices:Asabusinessowner,anycoverageyoureceivefromnewspapers,websites,ormagazinesshouldalwaysbeposteddirectlyonyourwebsite.Youmaynothaveanyatfirst,butonepublicrelationsprofessionalwemetdescribedthisareaasyourpedigreetoinfluencecustomersales!

•Aboutyou:Ifyouarerunningthebusiness,includesomeinformationaboutyourself.Youmaywanttomentionyourexperience,training,certifications(ifyouhavethem),andotherinformationthatshowsyouarequalifiedtofixthecustomer’scomputer.Brag!Themoreinformationyougiveaboutyourself,themorecredibilityyou’llbuildandthelesstimeyou’llspendgainingthecustomer’strust.

•Advicearea:Anotherwaytoshowcustomersyourprofessionalismistoincludeafewtipsandtricksonyourwebsite.Whileyoucancreatethisyourself,youcanalsousetipsfromothersites(makesuretocheckthecopyrightinformationbeforeyouputanythingonyoursite).

3.VehicleWrappingIf youplan to completeon-site jobs, you shouldhave somewayofdistinguishingyourvehicleasacompanyvehicle.Thisisnotrequired,butitisagreatwaytoincreaseyouradvertising(alltheothercarsontheroadwillseeyoursignage).Ifyoudon’thavearetailstorefront,thismakesyouseemmoreprofessionalwhenyouarrive.

Whileafullwrapcansetyoubackafewthousanddollars,doingthewindowsordoorsprofessionallyisusuallymuchless.Ifyou’respendinganhourperdayontheroad,you’readvertisingyourbusinessatleastonehourperday!Thinkabouthowmuchitwouldcostyoutogetanhourofradioortelevisionadvertising.Plus,you’llbeshockedathowmanycallsyou’llget.Youneedsomethingcatchythatpeoplecanrememberandasimplephonenumber.Youhaveabouttensecondstosellyourselfandyourbusiness,somakeitcount!

Theotheroptionpeopleoftenconsideraretwosmallmagnetsoneitherdoor.Let’sfaceit,thisrarelylooksprofessional.Ifyouchoosetogothisroute,realizethatlittlemagnetsonthedoormaygetyousomebusiness,butonlyalittle.Someonehastobeparkednexttoyouata light tosee themorhas tostopandread it ifyou’reparked.While thiscanbedone professionally, most of the time, it looks temporary and peoplewon’t think yourbusinessispermanent.Also, it ruins thepaintunderneath themagnet,so think longandhardbeforeyoucommittodoingthis.

Whateveryouchoose,makesurethatitiseasytoreadandeasytoremember.Simpleadvertisingwillworkbestforyourcarsincemostofthepeoplewhoseethisadvertisingwillbedrivingintheirowncarsandwon’tbeabletotakenotes.Beforeyouchoose,lookaroundatwhatotherpeoplearedoingwiththeirvehicles.You’renottryingtoblowtheirmindswithyourartisticability,you’reconveyinginformation.Givethemyourname,yourservice, your competitive advantage, and a means of contact. They’re not going toremembermorethanthatanyway.

4.ProfessionalFormsandDocumentsThis isanotherareasomepeople try toskimpon.Tosaveafewbucks, theyoftenprintformsdirectlyfromtheircomputerinsteadofgettingformsprofessionallycreated.Thisisamistake.First,whenyougetformsprofessionallycreated,youhavetheoptionofgettingcarbonlessforms.Thismeansthatyoucanhavethecustomerwriteonthetopcopy(yourcopy)andthengivethemthebottomcopyastheirreceipt.Thisensuresthatyoubothhavethe same information of the work completed and appears more professional overall.Second,itensuresthatyoualwayshavetheformsthatyouneedwithyou.

Ifyouchoose toorder forms,keepyour first set small. Inevitably, asyouworkwithyourcustomers, therearechanges thatyouwillwishyoucouldmake.Orderingasmallamountthatyouwillgothroughquicklywillletyougetyoursecondorderright.Sure,asmall order costs more, but using forms that are missing information or worse yet,throwingthemoutissignificantlymoreexpensive.

Asalways,youdon’tneedtodothisonDay1.Youcanprintoutyourownformsanddocumentsuntilyougetgoing,butyouwillspendthemoneyininkandpaperplusyouwilllosetheadvantagesaprintedformprovides.

5.ProfessionalBusinessCardsEvenifyoudon’tlistentomeaboutthevehiclewrapsandforms,pleasedon’tprintyourbusinesscardsonyourprinter.Theylookcheapandunprofessional.Worseyet,theylooklikeyouonlythoughtofbecomingacomputerprofessionalearlierthatdayandatthelastminutedecidedtoprintoffsomecards.Especiallyifyouareworkingoutofyourhouse,thiscouldscareoffcustomers.Spendingahundreddollarsorsoonbusinesscardswillbeworthwhileadvertisinginthelongrun.Thereareplentyofonlineplacesthatwillprintafew hundred cards for the cost of shipping, so take advantage of these services. Ink isexpensive,sodon’tspenditonbusinesscards.

Oneway to give out your business cards is to affix a small packet of cards to yourvehicle’swindow.Thatway,whenpeoplearewalkingbyyourparkedvehicle, theycangrabacardforlater.Makesureyouhaveagiantarrowthatpointstoitsopeopleknowit’sthereforthem.

5.1CriticalinformationtoincludeonabusinesscardSometimesabusinesscardistheonlyinformationacustomerhasaboutyourbusiness,somakesure thecard is somethingofwhichyoucanbeproud.Thegoalofyourbusinesscardistogiveyourcustomerstheinformationtheyneedtocontactyou.Therefore,makesureyourcardiseasytoread,clear,andconcise.Thefollowingaresomethingsyoumaywanttoincludeonyourbusinesscard:

•Certificationsandspecializedtraining:Whiletrainingisn’trequiredtobecomeacomputerrepairperson,itisvaluabletolistanycertificationsthatyouhave.Aswe’vementioned,thecertificationswon’treallyhelpyoufixacomputer,butcustomerslovethemandcertificationsbuildconfidence.

•Contactinformation:Thinkabouthowyouwanttobefound.Ingeneral,youshouldlistanywayacustomermaywanttocontactyou.Thisincludesyourbusinessaddress,website,emailaddress,phonenumber,faxnumber,emergencynumber,etc.Justremember,ifyoudon’thaveabusinessaddress(orareworkingfromyourhome)makesurethatyourphonenumberandemailareprominentlylistedonyourbusinesscard.

•Logo:Itmayseemsilly,butpeopleseemtothinkacompanyismorecredibleifithasitsownlogo,soaddittoyourbusinesscard.

Atourstore,wegeta lotofpeoplewhohaveviruses.To remind themhow toclosewindowswithoutlaunchingviruses,wecreatedsomebusinesscardsthathaveinstructionsforusingAlt-F4toclosewindows.Thisencouragescustomerstokeepourbusinesscardsandhopefully thenext timetheyhaveamorecomplexproblem, theywillstillhaveourbusinesscard!

Onceyoufigureoutwhattoputonthecard,makesurethatthecardsyoupickhaveadecent paperweight. If the cards are too flimsy, theywill seem cheap. If they are too“slick,”itmaymakethecustomerswonderifyourpricesaretoohigh.Findingabalancemaytakeawhile,butnicecardswillberememberedbyyourcustomers.

Makebusinesscardspeoplewanttokeep.Asyouworkwithmoreandmorecustomersyouwill find that therearesomequestionspeopleoftenask.Createsomespecializedbusiness cards that have answers to commonquestionsonone side andyourcontactinformationon theother.Thiswillmake surepeoplekeepyour cards andhaveyourinformationwhenevertheyneedit.

4

Free(orAlmostFree)Advertising

Oneofthethingseverybusinessownerlearnsisthateveryonewantstosellyoumarketingandadvertising.EverythingfromYellowPagesads,topagesintheschoolyearbook;youwillbeapproachedtobuyitall.Unfortunately,mostofthisadvertisingdoesn’twork.

At one time, we were paying more than $6,000 per month in advertising. We hadmultipleadsrunninginallthelocalpapers,wehadfull-pageadsinmagazines,wewereon thebackofsupermarket receipts,andevenonbulletinboardsatRVparks.Wewereskepticalthatitwasactuallypayingforitselfsowetookamonthandaskedeverysinglepersonwhowalkedinorcalledhowthey’dheardaboutus.Wewereastounded.Thegreatmajorityhadheardaboutusfromfriendsorhadjustwalkedby.Thisrancountertowhatwe’d thought and when we ran the numbers we were just sick to our stomachs. Theadvertisinggeneratedmanycallsbutitdidn’ttranslateintorevenue.Theissuewehadwasthatpeoplewerecallingfromalloverthevalleyanddidn’twanttodrive45minutestogettheircomputersfixedwhentheycoulddrive3minutestoamorelocalstore.Inaddition,thecallschewedupmostofthedaysowefoundwewerefallingbehindonactualwork!Basedon this,we dropped the advertising and, although our call volume declined, ourprofitremainedaboutthesameandwewereabletogetmoreworkoutthedoor.

Asanewbusinessowner,insteadofspendingthousandsofdollarsonadvertising,takeadvantage of all the free advertising you can get. As soon as you launch, you will bedelugedwithpeoplewhowanttosellyoueverykindofadvertisingunderthesun.Don’tbe fooled. They will promise you the world and you’ll rationalize and justify howspendingafewhundreddollarswillturnintomanythousandsofdollarsinsales.Itmay,butitisnotguaranteed.Oncewesentout280,000flyersandgotonlyonephonecall.

Spendyourtimeadvertisingforfree.Intheearlystagesofyourbusinessthisiswhereyouneed toputyour time,not inworrying that the thousanddollarsyou just spentwaswasted.Freeadvertisingincludes,butisn’tlimitedto,everythingfromwebsitestowordofmouth. There are many resources you can use; this chapter includes the forms ofadvertisingweliketouse.

1.CreatingCraigslistAdsIf you are looking for customers immediately, the fastest and least expensive place toadvertiseisCraigslist.Thiswebsiteallowsyoutopostyouradforfree;however,inmostareasthereissignificantcompetition.Ingeneral,youshouldstarttheseadsassoonasyoulaunchyourbusiness.Somecompaniesmakealivingfromtheseadsalone.Onecomputerstoreweknowbelievestheseadsaresovaluabletheyhavehiredapart-timepersonwhopoststheseadsforthemeveryday.

Although Craigslist discourages you from putting up multiple ads, if you offersomethingdifferenteachday,youwillbeabletohaveyouradsavailableregularly.Hereareafewtipsandtricks:

•Createmultipleversionsofthesamead.Craigslistwillnoticeifyoupostthesameadoverandover,butdifferentadswithdifferentwordingwillbeaccepted.Becareful,ascompetitorswillflagyourpostsasunacceptablejusttokeepyoufromadvertisingservicestheyprovide.

•Reuseoldads.Craigslistletsyou“renew”oldads,soyoucanjustreusepostingsagainandagain.

•Craigslistallowsyoutoreferenceimagesonothersites.Ifyoucreateaslickadthatisa.jpg,postitonyourwebsiteandjustreferenceitinthead.TheimagewillbedisplayedonCraigslistandCraigslistdoesn’treaditasaduplicate.

•Postatdifferenttimesduringtheday.Craigslistcanbecutthroat.Sometimesothercompanieswillreportyouradstodiscouragecompetition.Therefore,repostduringvarioustimesofthedaytoensurethatyoualwayshaveanadavailable.

•Thereissoftwarethatyourcompetitioncanpurchasethatwillauto-flagpostswithcertainkeywords.Ifyouadvertise“virusremoval”andtheyarescanningforthosekeywords,yourpostwillbeauto-flaggedanditwillberemovedminutesafteryoupost.Toavoidthis,trytolinkimageswheneverpossible.

•Don’tgetdiscouraged.Justbecauseyourfirstaddoesn’tbringinanycustomersdoesn’tmeanthatyoushouldstop.Sometimesittakessomead“tuning”tofindtherightadthatwillreturnresults.

2.InvestinginHappyCustomersWhateveryourbusinesssells,happycustomersarealwaysyourbestadvertising.Typicallytheyliveinyourarea,theyknowotherpeoplewholivenearyou,andoftenhavefriendsandneighborswithsimilarproblems.Happycustomersliketorecommendanewbusinessbecausepeoplefeelgoodwhentheyareabletotalkaboutagreatexperience.Ourbusinesscurrently spends no money on monthly advertising and yet we get plenty of newcustomers.Almostallof themare recommendations fromotherpeoplewhohadagreatexperiencewithus.Thistypeofadvertisingisworththetimeittakestoearnit.

There are plenty ofways to earn happy, excited customers.While itmay takemoretimeandeffort,itiscertainlyworththesalesitgenerates.Somewaystogetpeopleexcitedaboutyourbusinessinclude:

•Saveyourcustomersmoney.Manybusinessestakeadvantageofignorantcustomerstoupsellunnecessaryproductsandservices.Ifyourrecommendationssaveyourcustomersmoney,theywillappreciateitandfeelgrateful.Lettingthemknowyoucanfixtheircomputerfor$100insteadofsellingthemanewonefor$400maymakeyouthesameamountofmoney(typicallynewcomputershavelowmargins)butsavethecustomers$300!

•Becompetitivelypricedandletyourcustomersknowit!Whenyouaresavingthemmoney,don’tbeafraidtoletthemknow.Althoughyoudon’twanttomentionanycompanybyname,youcanmentionthepricesatthelocalbigboxstoreandletthemknowhowmuchloweryourpricesare.

•Thankyourcustomersfortheirbusiness.Letthemknowhowmuchyouappreciatetheirpatronage.Ifyourcustomerswanttothankyou,askthemtoreferafriend.Wegetcustomersthataresohappythatwesolvedtheirproblemthattheywanttodosomethingniceforusorleaveatip.Insteadofacceptingagift,wegenerallyaskthemtojustreferafriend.Usuallytheywillleavewithastackofcardsinhandandapromisetogiveoutthecards!Youcan’tbuythattypeofadvertising.

Withthatsaid,unhappycustomerscansinkyourbusiness.Howoftenhaveyouhadafriendaskyouaboutalocalrestaurantorstore?Youknowthatwhenyoutellyourfriendsaboutaterribleexperienceyouhaditstayswiththem.Unlessitisunavoidable,alwaystryto resolveproblemswithyour customers to everyone’s satisfaction. It used tobe that 1angrypersonwouldtell10to20peopleabouthisorherexperiencewithabusiness.Now,that1personcanspreadnegativecommentsmuchmore.Inafewsecondsheorshecanposttotheripoffreport.comoryelp.comandwhenpeoplesearchyourname,thefirstthingthey’ll see is a bad report about you. Do everything you can to keep your customershappy.

3.WritinganInternetBlogPostingnewcontentonyourwebsite isagreatwaytogetnewhits—especially ifyouoffer online sales. Even small articles on current events, new viruses, recently releasedcomputergames,orspotlightsonnewtechnologywillhelpbringtraffictoyoursite.Thisisanespeciallygoodthingtofocusonwhenyouarefirstbuildingyourbusiness.Writingthesearticleswillhelpyoulearnmoreabouttheindustryandwhatcustomersarelookingfor. In general, try to update your blogdaily.Oneway to do this is to read recent technewsandblogaboutit.

4.SocialMediaAnotherwaybusinessesgeneratetrafficisthroughsocialmedia.Thisareahasgrownsolargeinrecentyearsthatyounowhavemanydifferentchoicesandmethodsofexpandingyourbusinesswiththesefreesocialsites.Somesitesthatyoushouldconsiderinclude:

•Facebook:Createapageforyourbusiness.Youcanstartmanagingupdatesthatgiveyourcustomersinformationabouthowyourbusinessisgrowing,anyspecialdealsoroffers,ormaybejustsometechtips.

•Twitter:Thesefeedsallowyoutosendoutupdatestoreaders.Asyouareregularlyworkingonrepairs,youmayfinditemsofinterest.Haveyoujustfoundanewvirus?Isthereanewproductrelease?Tweetaboutit!

•Google:Googleoftentracksbusinessinformationandallowsyoutoupdateyourbusinessinformationdirectlyonitssite.Themorehitsyouget,thebetter.Recently,Googleevensentaphotographertooneofourstorestophotographitinsideandout!

•MerchantCircle,andothermerchantgroups:Today,manymerchantassociationsareforming.Thesewebsitesusuallyallowyoutocreateapageforyourbusinessforfreeandoftenletyoulinktootherbusinessinyourarea.

Takeadvantageofeachofthesesitestostartcreatingbuzzaboutyourbusinessoryourservices.WhenwestartedComputersforSoldiers,acharitableprogramthatofferslaptopsanddesktopcomputersataffordablepricesforthemilitaryandtheirfamilies,westartedaFacebookpagefortheprogram.Sinceourprogramisabouthelpingmilitaryfamiliesfindaffordable computers,wedidn’t sell the computers on our Facebook page.Most of ourupdates are about visiting military families, getting the word out on army bases, andgettingfeedbackfromourcustomers.Whatwasamazingwashowmuchexcitementandtrafficitgenerated.

Just remember to keep your web presence professional. Don’t include cute storiesaboutyourpetsoryourkidsandcertainlydon’tgetinvolvedin“wars”withcustomersandcompetitors.Remember, the Internet is forever; once you hit submit, the comment youmadewillexistsomewhereontheInternet.

Marketing in theNewMedia, byHollyBerkley:Thisbook is agreat start ifyouarelookingformoreinformationonhowtomarketusingtheInternetandmobilemedia.Itcoverstipsonusingsocialmarketing,boostingwebsite traffic,andmonitoringonlinecustomerbehaviors.

5.NetworkingwithComplementaryBusinessesIf you choose to open a retail location, you can networkwith other business owners inyourarea.Ifyouareworkingfromhome,whynottrytodothesamething?Gettoknowyourneighborsand thebusinesses inyour immediatearea.Walkaround, talk topeople,askthemhowtheirsystemsarerunning,andjustbefriendlyandapproachable.

Takeeverychancetotellpeopleaboutyourbusiness.Forinstance,theotherdayIwasinasmallcoffeeshopdoingsomewriting.Iaskedtheownerifshehadwirelessaccessforcustomersandcouldn’tbelievehowconvoluteditwastoconnect.Shestartedtellingmeaboutall theproblems theyhadbeenhaving,howtheycouldn’tevenchange theaccesscredentials to something simple, and people had to input a long alphanumeric string toconnect.Ofcourse,Iofferedtohelp.Afewminuteslater,Ihadhernetworkbacktogetherandshewas thrilled.Now,was itprofitable?A littlebit; shegavemea freecoffeeandsoup,butmostimportantly,shenowknowsthatIamatechnicianwhocansolveproblemsquicklyandeasily.Takingadvantageofopportunities like thisbuildsyour reputation inthebusinesscommunityquickly.

Another way to grow in your community is to get involved with a local charity.Donatingyourtimeisafreewaytogetsomepublicityforyourbusiness.Evenifitdoesn’tresult in any sales, you can use these experiences to build your online and in-storereputation. If you are at a charity event or donate an item, add that to yourwebsite. Ifcharity organizers thank youwith a plaque or certificate, hang it in your business andmakeacopyavailableonyourwebsite.Whiletheseactivitiesmaynotresultinimmediatedirect sales, itwillbuildyour reputationand showyour customers thatyouare reliableandcaring.

6.PaidAdvertisingTherearemanybusinessownerswhoswearthattheiradvertisingkeepstheminbusiness.The key is to knowwhat advertising costs and what it brings in. Before you buy anyadvertising,youneedtomakesure thevendorcanshowyouhowmanypeopleactuallyreaditsadvertising(versushowmanypeople“could”readit)andwhattheresultsarelikeforbusinesseslikeyours.

Keep in mind, vendors will exaggerate. If the advertising salesperson tells you thevendorhasacirculationof50,000,askhimorherwhat thatmeans.Is thecirculationinyour immediate area? If your business targets families, does the advertising go toneighborhood homes or is it distributed at college campuses? Make sure that theadvertisingisactuallygoingtobedistributedtoyourcustomerbase.Manytimes,we’veseenstacksofmagazinesinagarbageandwonderedhowmuchpeoplepaidtoadvertisewiththem.Beverycareful.Asktospeaktootherpeoplewhoadvertisewiththem.Makesureyouaren’tcompetingagainstmultiplebusinesseslikeyours.

If, after all your research, you think that a particular type of advertising is for you,beginworkingontherightad.Thecontentoftheadoftenmakesabigdifferenceintheresults.Forinstance,ifanadistoowordy,somepeopledon’tevenbothertoreadit.Ifanad looks too unprofessional, peoplemay doubt the quality of your computers and yourservice. Therefore, spend the time to make your ad look professional. Get as muchfeedbackasyoucanbeforeyoueverrunthead.Askyourfriends,family,andcustomersandlistentotheirfeedback.Askthemforcandidfeedbackandneverbeinsultedbytheirresponses.Afterall,youwantanadthatsells.

Anotherthingtoconsider is tracking.Once thead is runningyouwillneedaway tomeasuretheresults;therefore,includea“calltoaction”intheadvertisement.Forinstance,askingthecustomerto“bringinthiscoupon”isaneasywaytoknowthatyouradvertisingworked. If you aredoing Internet advertising, provide a link to a custom-madepage orcreateacustomemailaddresssothatyoucantrackeverysingleresponseorhit.

Onceyouhaveanad thatappears towork,continue to fine tune it and track results.Change small elements and try to improve your sales. If most of your customers arecallingaboutyourlaptops,seewhathappenswhenyouraddedicatesmorespacetosellingyourlaptops.Whateveryoudo,continuetomeasurenotjusthits(e.g.,calls)butalsosales.Wehadonead,anewspaperclassified,thatresultedinmanyphonecalls,butlittletonosales.Asaresult,wenotonlyspentmoneyonthead,butwespentourtimefieldingcallsfrompeoplethatlivedtoofarawaytobecomecustomers.

Do not sign a long-term contract. Salespeople will suggest you advertise with theirvendorforsixmonthsasifthatwereashortperiodoftime.Itisn’t.Tryforamonthandtracktheresults. If thesalespersonwon’t letyou test theresults,heorshedoesn’thaveconfidence in his or her product. If the salesperson truly believes you’ll be successful

throughhisorhervendor,thepersonwillhavenoobjectiontoyoutryingit.Ifitbringsincustomers,keepgoing!Ifnot,dropitandtrysomethingelse.

5

ToolsoftheTrade

Runningacomputer repairbusiness shouldbeavery low-cost endeavor.Unfortunately,wehaveseenmanypeoplewhospentsomuchmoneystartingabusinessthatitwasnearlyimpossibletosustainthecompany.Oneexampleisanewcomputerstorethattookmorethansixmonthstobuildtheinterioroftheirbuilding.Thismeansthattheownershadthebusiness(e.g.,payingrent,utilities)forsixmonthsbeforetheyeveropenedthestoreforcustomers!Whentheyfinallyopenedtheirdoors,itwasadisaster.

Theowners spent a fortuneon thedesign and layout of the interior. It hadgorgeouswooden floors, which looked very nice, but hard floors will break any parts that mayhappen to fallon them.Thestorehadabeautifuldesk forcomputer repairbut thebackwasclosedoff.The techsonlyhadaccess toonesideof thesystemsand thecomputerswereintheenclosedspace,whichmeantthecomputerswouldoverheat.

Anotherproblemthestorehadwasthatcustomerscouldn’tseethestorefromtheroadandtherewasn’tanyparking.Itwasasifwhoeverbuiltthestoreboughtamanualonhowtodoeverythingwrongandfollowedittotheletter.

Wefelt reallybadly for thembut theworstpartwas that theyhadspent somuchonremodelingandcarryingcoststhattheyhadnomoneytosurviveuntiltheycouldbecomeprofitable.Wefoundoutaboutthembecauselessthanthreemonthsaftertheyopened,thebusinesswasforsale.

Whenyoudecidetostartyourbusiness,allyourdecisionsshouldbemadetoobtainthehighest possible value for the lowest possible cost. You can always invest in differenttechnologiesandequipmentasthebusinessgrows,butbeforethat,thelowerthecosts,thebetter.

1.SoftwareYouShouldOwnIngeneral,youwanttoownanysoftwareyouuse.WhatImeanbythisisthatyoushouldnot be using pirated versions of any software even if it is a widely accepted practice.Whileitmaycostmoreupfront,thesecurityitprovidesyourbusinessisworthwhile.

1.1MicrosoftTechNetandMicrosoftActionPackTheMicrosoft TechNet andMicrosoft Action Pack are definitely worthwhile products.TheMicrosoftActionPackwillgiveyoudozensoflicensestosetupyourbusiness,fromWindowstoServer2008.Getit.Youwillnotregretit.

TechNetwillgiveyoutherestofwhatyouwillneedsuchasdownloadablecopiesofeveryOSeversold,includingDOS6.22andearlyversionsofWindows.It isabsolutelyimperativethatyouhaveaccess to this. Ifyoudon’t,you’llendup trying to torrentoneonlineandhoping it isn’t riddledwithviruses.Whensomeonebringsyouanodd tabletcomputerwithastrangeOS,youcanjustdownloadit,burnadisk,andreloadhisorherOSwithnotrouble.

1.2LogMeInRescueIf you plan to do any type of computer repairs, LogMeInRescue is amust-have. Thisproductallowsyoutologintoanotherindividual’scomputerandtakecontrol.Takealookatthefollowingtwoexamples:

•Acustomercallsyoucomplainingaboutarecentrepair.IfheorshecanconnecttotheInternet,youcanlookatthecomputertogether.Wehavehadmanysituationswhentheproblemthecustomerisconcernedabouteitherdoesn’texistoriseasytofix.Eitherway,LogMeInRescuesavesyouoryourcustomeratrip.Thewayitworksisyoutellyourcustomertogotowww.logmein123.com.Whenheorshedoes,you’lllogintoyourconsole,andgenerateasix-digitPINwhichisusedtoallowyouaccess.ThePINisonlygoodfor20minutesbutifyoulogintothecustomer’scomputerduringthattime,youwillbeworkingonitasifyouweresittinginfrontofit.Thistoolisamazingandweuseitdaily.

•Acustomerasksforanewservicecall.Insteadoftravelingimmediatelytothesite,youcanaskifshewantstheservicecallcompletedoverthephone.Withoutleavingyourhomeorbusiness,youcancompletemanytypesofrepairs.Ifyouofferalowerrate(e.g.,$20oreven$30offperhour),yourcustomerwillprobablygoforitandyouwillbeabletomultitaskwhileyoucompleterepairs.

Althoughthesoftwarecostsabout$100permonth,thecostisoffsetbytheworkyouwillbeabletocompletebyusingitandthecustomercomplaintsyoucanresolve.Evenifyouonlyusethesoftwaretodealwithcustomercomplaints,itisaworthwhiletooltohavebecauseitwillincreasecustomersatisfactionandhappycustomersbuildbusiness!

1.3AccountingsoftwareBeforeyouget too far inyourbusiness,youneed toobtainaccountingsoftware.Whiletherearemanyexpensiveproducts (e.g.,QuickBooks)on themarket, you can also findlessexpensiveandsometimesevensharewaresolutions.Findingsoftwarethatyoucanusetotrackallyourexpenses,sendoutinvoices,andtrackinventorywillbebeneficialinthelongrun.

Bookkeepers’ Boot Camp: Get a grip on accounting basics, by AngieMohr: If youchoosetodoyourbooksyourself(anditmaybeworthwhileinthebeginning)thisbookwill help you learn what to track, how to track it, and how to understand it. Withdetailed instructionsonall the financial statements and trackingyourbusinessneeds,thisbookisagoodwaytogetstartedbeingyourownbookkeeper.

1.4OpenOfficeConsideringthecostofMicrosoftOffice(onelicensecanbemorethan$100)theremaybetimesthatyouwanttoopenfilesanddon’tnecessarilywantafulllicenseofMicrosoftOfficeonyourmachine.Agreat freealternative isOpenOffice.ThisproductwillallowyoutoopenmostfilescreatedintheMicrosoftsuitewithoutpayingforafullMicrosoftinstallation.Ofcourse,ifyoupurchasetheMicrosoftActionPack,youwon’tneedtobuythisbecauseitprovidesyouwithtenlicenses.

1.5NortonGhostKeepimagesofyourcomputers.Youknowthisalready,but itcan’tbestressedenough.Computersregularlyhaveharddrivefailures,blownpowersupplies,andviruses,somakesuretokeepanimageofallyourworkcomputers.Sinceyourmachinesaregoingtobeused regularly and connected with customer systems, you will probably find yourselfwipingandreloadingthemmoreoftenthanbefore.Keepinganimageonhandwillmakethisjobeasier.Onceyourworkstationisconfiguredthewayyoulike,useNortonGhostandcreateafullcloneofthedisk.Storeitsafelyandwhenyouneedit,youwon’thavetowastehoursgettingyoursystembacktowhereitwas.

2.NecessaryWebsitesHaveyoueverinstalledaproductontoyourcomputerandgottenfrustratedatalltheextrasoftware you still need?Most systemsdon’t comepre-installedwithFlash, Java, and ahostofotherusefultools.Onecompanyhasbuiltthesolution.Ninite(www.Ninite.com)isagreatwaytocomplete installationsofgroupsofproductsallatonce.Justclickon thesoftwareyouwanttoinstallandselect“install”atthebottomofthepage.Afterthat,theinstallations are automatic. This is a great site to use to help you set up your workmachines—especiallyafterawipeandreload.Keepinmindthattheydohavelicensingrequirementsthatyoumayneedtolookintoifyouarechargingfortheinstallationofanyoftheseproducts.

Ifyouhaveeverpurchasedanewcomputerfromabig-boxstore,youknowthattheyputeverypieceofsoftwareunderthesunonthatcomputer.Thedownsideisthatitisalltrial software.Thismeans that although theywill not function after30, 60,or90days,theycontinuetobeloadedeverytimethecomputeristurnedon,consumingmemoryandslowingdown the computer.Oneway to fix this problem fast is the tool called thePCDecrapifier(www.pcdecrapifier.com).Thisgreatsite letsyouremoveall thejunkonthecomputerwithoutmuchfussandtrouble.

Lookingforaprogramorapplication?CNET(www.cnet.com)istheplacetogo.Withthe latest downloads for all major programs, this site is a great place to find theapplicationsyouneedwhenyouneedthem.

3.YourWorkAreaNoteveryonewhochoosestorunacomputerrepairbusinesswillneedaretaillocationorcommercial office space, but everyone should have at least one space that can be usedexclusivelyforcomputerrepairs.Thisareashouldcontaineverythingyouneedtorepaircomputers.However,don’tgetcarriedaway.Thelessyouspendonyoursetupthebetter.Remember,youareinthisbusinesstomakemoney!

3.1InexpensivetechbenchesTherearemanytypesofbenchesavailable,buttheleastexpensiveandsimplestsolutioniswhat our stores use. Rather than spending money on high-end benches that can costseveralhundreddollars,webuyinexpensive“gorilla”racksfromhardwareorofficesuperstores. These benches are sturdy and give you access to the back and front of thecomputer.Ifyouaregoingtocompleterepairsonmultiplecomputersatonce,theseracksareamusthave!

Eventuallyyoumaywantenoughspacefor16computers(thisisusuallyabout three,four-foot long shelves); at first, you should be able to get away with just one or twoshelves.

3.2ThenecessitiesOnceyouhavethebenches, thenextthingtosetupisyourworkstation.Youwantyourstationtobeeasyforyoutouse,comfortableandconvenient.Todo this right,youwillneedthefollowing:

•Onelargemonitor:Makesurethescreeniseasytoreadandnottoosmall.Remember,youwillbeusingitalldaylong.

•Researchcomputer:Ingeneral,youneedacomputerthatyoucanusetoresearchproblems,writecustomerestimates,etc.Thiscomputershouldneverbeconnectedtoanyothercustomercomputertopreventitfromgettinginfectedwithviruses.

•Keyboardandmouse:Makesurethesearecomfortableforyou.

•Uninterruptablepowersupplywithautomaticvoltageregulation:AUPSisevenbetterthanasurgeprotector.Youshouldbeusingavoltageregulatortoprotectyourcustomers’machines.

•Printer

•Datatransferserver:Thisisn’tstrictlynecessary,butit’sextremelyusefulwhenyou’reworkingontransferringmultiplecustomers’dataatonce.Ourstorecanhandlesevenconcurrentdatatransferstoonecomputer.

•1-to16-portswitchbox:Ingeneral,onetechcanhandleabouteightcomputersforrepairandanotherfivetosixiftheyareusedcomputersthatarebeingwipedandreloaded.Theworkstationshouldhaveenoughspaceforatleastthismanycomputers.IbuyportswitchboxesonCraigslistforlessthanahundreddollars.Therearesomeverysophisticatedonesoutthereandeventuallyyoumaywanttoupgrade,butsaveyourselfsomemoneyandstartoutwiththelessexpensiveones.

Thegreatthingaboutswitchboxesisthattheyallowyoutomultitaskeasily.Withjustoneswitchbox,youcanworkoneightdifferentcomputersatthesametime.Asyourbusinessgrows,thiswillberequired.Forinstance,repairssuchasvirusremovalsandOSinstallationscantakehourstocomplete.Duringagreatdealofthistime,thecomputerissimplyrunningwithnoinputfromthetechnician.Usingaswitchboxallowsthetechniciantositinoneplaceandmoveallthecomputersalong.

As a computer repair business, you are going to need many types of screwdriversincluding:

•Powerscrewdrivers:Whileyoudon’twanttousepowerscrewdriversforlaptoprepair,havingonehandyisalifesaverwhenyouarebuildingorrepairingdesktopcomputers.

•Finescrewdriverset:Evenifyoudon’tintendtocompletelaptophardwarerepair,youwillneedasetofsmallscrewdriverstoopenandcloselaptops(e.g.,RAMand

harddriveupgrades).

•Manualscrewdriverset:Forwhenyoudon’twanttousethepowerscrewdriver.

•Apowersupplytester:Thetestermakesiteasytofindoneofthemostcommonreasonswhyacomputersimplywon’tturnon.Allyoudoisunplugthebigflatcablefromthemotherboardandplugitintothisdevice.Greenisgood,redisbad,andyellowisbad.It’ssosimpleandyou’vejustfiguredoutyourproblem.They’reinexpensivetobuy—abouttendollars—soit’sworthhavingoneinyourofficeandoneinyouron-siteequipmentbag.

Itisalsoimportanttohavethetechniciantoolsyouwilluseeveryday:

•Largeflashdrive:Oneoftheeasiestwaystotransferfilesistouseaflashdrive.Investinginalargeflashdrivewillgiveyouenoughroomforallyourcommonfilesandafewspecializedapplicationsaswell.Notethattheycangetcorrupted,soalwaysbackthemup.

•BlankCDsandDVDs:Asyoutroubleshoot,therewillbetimesyouwanttotransferfilesfromonecomputertoanother.Keepingthesediskshandywillmakelifeeasier(lookforsalesatlargeofficesuperstorestosaveabundle).

•ExternalCD/DVDdrive:OccasionallyyouwillfindcomputersthathavefailingCD/DVDdrivesorpossiblynodriveatall.HavinganexternalCD/DVDdrivewillletyoutestthesecomputerswithoutmuchhassle.YouaregoingtohavetobootoffofaCDinmanycasesandifthedriveisbroken,you’llbeoutofluck.

Whileyoumaynotneedthesepartsimmediately,youmayfindtimeswhenyouwishyouhadthemtoworkonacustomer’ssystem:

•USB/PS2convertersforkeyboardsandmice

•VGAtoDVIconverters

•Universallaptoppoweradapter

•Thermalcompound(ArcticSilverworkswell)

4.PaymentOptionsOnceyoustartyourbusiness,youwillhave tochoosewhatmethodsofpaymentyou’llaccept.Ifyourequire“cashonly,”youareguaranteedyourmoney,butyouareprovidinglessflexibility;forexample,somesmallbusinesseswillnotbecomfortablepayingincashonly.However,ifyouacceptothertypesofpaymentsyouwilleitherincurfees,takeariskonnotgettingyourmoney,orboth.

4.1ChecksThe general rule of thumb is that most businesses now don’t accept checks. There issimplytoomuchfraudwithbouncedchecks.Evencompaniesthathavebeeninbusinessforyearswillsometimesbounceacheckandthecosttoyourcompanycanbesignificant.Manytimesyourbankwillchargeyouabouncedcheckfeeandthenyoumusttrytogetthe funds plus the fees. As a result, you can be working hard to get a check to cashproperly.

4.2Moneyordersandcashier’schecksWhilemoneyordersandcashier’schecksusedtobetrustedpaymentmethods,today,theyhave become synonymous with Internet scams. People who pay with these itemssometimesrequest“cashback”andthenthepaymentbouncesaswell.Donotconsiderthebillpaiduntilthemoneyorderorcashier’scheckhashadtimetoclear.

4.3CreditcardmachinesThestandardcreditcardmachinesthatwehaveseenalloverarerelativelysimpletouseandoperate.Theeasiestwaytogetoneoftheseistocallyourbankandfindoutifthereare any vendors that it recommends. Compare all the rates, pricing, and obligations.Dependingonwhichcompanyyougowithyourratescanchangedramatically.

Also,readthefineprintinyouragreement!Alowratedoesn’tmeanyou’llnecessarilysave money. If you do many small transactions, you’ll get hammered by the per-transactionfees.

4.4PayPalIfyoudon’tfeellikeinvestinginacreditcardmachine,youcanalwaysusePayPalasasimplesubstitute.WithPayPal,youcanchargeyourcustomersforworkandevenemailthemareceipt.Theeasiestwaytosetthisupiswithasimplewebsiteformthatyoucanuseyourself.

Therearemoredownsidesthanwehavetimetogothrough,buttherearethreemajorreasonsnottousePayPalsobeverycarefulifyouchoosetouseit:

•PayPalcanholdyourmoneywheneveritwants.

•PayPalfavorsthecustomerandwillsimplyrefundthecustomer’spaymentnomatterwhatyousay.

•PayPalcancancelyouraccountwithnowarning.

4.5BarterOneofthemostfunwaystodobusinessisthroughbarter.Todaytherearemanydifferentbarteragenciesaroundthecountrythathelpyoufindothercompanieswhoareinterestedinbartering.What’samazingaboutbarteristhatevenwhenpeoplearereluctanttospendactualdollars,theyarereadytotradegoodsandservicesonbarter.

Here’showbarteringworks:Isignupwithabarteragencyinmyarea(weuseValueCardAlliance).Weadvertiseourservices.Peoplewhohavealsosignedup(all typesofbusinesses)contactmetopurchaseservices.Theypaymein“barterdollars”andthoseareapplied tomyaccountwithaValueCard.Themorework Ido through thisagency, themorebarterdollarsIaccrue.Icanusethoseonanyofthegoodsandservicesofferedbymembersoftheagency.

When you’re starting a business, this service can be particularly valuable. Let’s sayyou’regoingtostartamobilecomputerrepairservice.Youjointhebarteragencyandputoutafreeadonitssitethatyou’dbethrilledtocomeandworkonsomeone’ssystem.Yougetafewcalls,makeafewbarterbucks,thenyoutradethebarterbucksinforoneofthelawyers to create your company, one of the many printing companies to make yourbusinesscards,oneof thesign-makers tocreateyoursigns,oneof thegraphicartists tocreatealogoforyou,oroneofthewebdesignerstomakeyourwebsite.It’samazinghowmanydifferentwaysyoucanspendbarterdollars.

6

Services

Although computer repair is a very personalized service, the type of work you willcomplete on systems is usually routine. There are a few major services that everycomputer repair business completes day in and day out. Therefore,make a list of yourstandardservicessoyoucancompareyourselftootherbusinessesandconsultingservicesinthearea.Itwillalsohelpyoudesignyourofferingsanddrawinnewcustomers.

1.TheDiagnosticThefirstserviceanycomputerrepairbusinesshastothinkaboutisitsdiagnosticservice.Formanybusinesses, this is the service that brings customers to your company.At ourretail locations, we offer a “Free in-store 15-minute diagnostic.” This means that anycustomerwhowalksincanbringinhisorhercomputerandfindoutwhat’swrongwithitfor free!As a result,we getmany customers coming to us instead of going to anotherbusiness.

Inordertobeabletoofferthisserviceforfree,wegenerallyrestricttheteststothoseatechnician can run in about 15minutes.Now, that doesn’tmean that the customerwillhave the diagnosis 15 minutes after he or she enters the store, although we’ve had acustomerortwoovertheyearswhotriedtoholdustothatinterpretation.Insomecases,the testswe runonacomputer can takehours,butbecausewearen’tworkingwith themachineduringthattime(wejustsetitupandkickoffthetest)itisstillincludedinthefreediagnostic.

Othercompaniesfeel thatgivingawaythisservice isnotcosteffective. Instead, theyoffer a free diagnostic on the condition that work is performed. For example, if theydiagnose a bad hard drive and you agree to have them replace the drive, then thediagnosticwasfree.Ifyouchoosetohavenoworkdone,thenyouowethem$40.Whilethisisagreatwaytoadvertiseandgetcustomersinthedooryouhavetobeupfrontaboutthe charge.Wehavehad some customers complain about businesses like these becausetheyfelttheyweretrickedintopayingforaservicetheythoughtwasfree.

Somecompaniesofferthediagnosticasjustanotherservice.Big-boxstoreshavebeenknowntochargeasmuchas$80totellacustomerthathisorhercomputerwasjustnotworthfixing.Ifyouchoosetogothisroutemakesureyouareupfrontwiththecustomerbeforethediagnosticisperformed.

Ingeneral, about99percentofourcustomersgeta fulldiagnosis for free. However,thereare three typesofdiagnostic requests (discussed in sections1.1,1.2, and1.3) thatwillcauseustorequestanextendeddiagnosticfeeifthecustomerisinterestedingettingthistypeofcustomizedinformation.

1.1CustomestimateforlaptophardwarerepairIn general,we can usually provide a repair estimate on a broken laptopwithout takingapartthecomputer.However,ifthecustomerwantsustotakeitapartandprovideanexactestimate,wechargeanextendeddiagnosticfeethatcanbeappliedtotheserviceifheorshechoosestohavethelaptoprepaired.Thereasonwechargeforthisserviceisthatanytechnicianneedsdedicatedtimetotakealaptopapart,findthepartnumbers,lookthemuponline, and then put the entire system back together again. Because this is so time-consuming,weneedtobepaidforthiseffort.

1.2FulldiagnosticaftermultipleproblemshavebeenidentifiedIn general, once we know a computer isn’t worth repairing, we consider the freediagnosticdone.Otherwise,sinceitisfree,customerswillwantustospendhoursofourtimetotesteverysinglepart.Forinstance,onecustomerbroughtinanoldcomputerwithabadpowersupply,amotherboardwithbulgingcapacitors,andjust256KofRAM.Werecommendedthatitwasn’tworthfixingbecauseabetter,refurbishedsystemwouldcostlessthanfixingtheoldcomputer.However,hestillwantedtohaveusruntestsonallthepartsofthecomputerjusttofindoutifanythingcouldbesalvaged.Weagreedwecouldtest the system,but itwouldcost anextendeddiagnostic fee.Hechangedhismind andsaid,“Well,thepartsareprobablyallbadbecauseithasbeeninmygarageforthelastfewyearsandIthinkmyneighbordroppedacanofsodaintoit!”

1.3ReproductionofintermittenterrorsOccasionally, we get computers that have no signs of a problem. The customer mayoccasionallygetanerrorbutthereisnowaytoreproduceit.Inthiscase,ifthecomputertestsoutasworkingandthecustomerwantsustoexploretheprobleminmoredetail,wewill charge an extended diagnostic fee. However, we usually recommend that thecustomeruse thecomputer awhile longerand takenotesevery time theerror is found.Afteraweekorsoofkeepingthislog,ifheorshebringsitback,itismuchmorelikelythatwecanreproducetheissueswithouthavingtochargethefee.

2.OtherCommonServicesChoosingtheservicesyourbusinesswillofferisthefoundationofyourservicepricelist(seeChapter7formoreinformationaboutpricing).Themostcommonservicesthatyourcustomersrequestshouldformthebasisofthislistandhavingthislistwillmakeiteasierforyoutomakecustomerrecommendations,quoteprices,andevenprovideestimates.

Most computer repair businesses have services in common. The following sectionslookatthemostcommontypesofrepairsaswellasthetips,tricks,andpitfallsassociatedwitheach.

2.1Tune-upAtune-up isoneof thesimplestservicesyoucanoffer.Typicallycustomersneeda fewsimple thingsdone to their computer thatwill speed it up andget it running right.Thefollowingaresomeoftheservicesthatweincludeinatune-up:

•Defraggingtheharddrive

•GettingandinstallingallWindowsupdates

•Validatingthatantivirusiscorrectlyinstalledandworking

•Shuttingoffunnecessaryservicesandapplicationsthatarerunninginthebackgroundeverytimethecomputerstartsup

•Checkingvirtualmemorysettings

Atour store,wedon’t require any special paperwork to complete a tune-up becausethereshouldnotbeanyspecialmodificationsmadetothecustomer’scomputerthatheorsheneedstobeawareof.Instead,ournormalpolicycoversmostoftherisksandfunctionsassociatedwiththistypeofwork.

Tomakesurethatyoucompletetherighttasksforatune-upeverysingletime,ithelpstokeepachecklistthatyoucanuseoneachcomputer.Sincetechnologychangesquickly,you may want to create a tune-up checklist. However, you will need to update thisregularly as new technologybecomes available or as you find better, fastermethods ofcompletingrepairs.

2.2VirusremovalUnfortunately viruses are one of themost common problems facing computer systemstoday.Theproblemsvirusescancreaterangefromslowingdownthesystem(forthemoreinnocuousbugs)tostealingallthebankinginformation(forthemoreextremeitems).

In general, virus removals are too time-consuming to complete on-site. A thoroughvirusremovalwillrequireyoutoscanthecomputermultipletimesusingmanydifferenttoolsbeforethevirusesaretrulygone.Therefore,todothison-siteisoftentoocostlytobeaffordable(imaginepayingfor15hoursofon-sitelabortoremoveavirus).Forbothourbusinessandprivatecustomerswerecommendallowingus todoavirus removalatourlocation.Thisletsusworkonmultiplecomputersatonceandgivesusthetimetoremovethevirusasthoroughlyaspossible.Wechargeasimpleflatratefortheservice.

2.2aAntivirusprograms

There aremany antivirus programs and they each changemonth-to-month and year-to-year.Mostcustomerswanttoknowthebestproductonthemarket,andalthoughmanyareverygood,noantiviruscanstopeveryvirusout there.Therefore,we tellourcustomersthatthebestwaytopreventvirusesistolearngoodsurfinghabitswhichinclude:

•InGooglesearches,stayawayfromsitesthatyoudon’trecognize.Obtaininginformationdirectlyfromthevendorispreferabletoanotherthird-partysite.

•Don’tclickanywhereonapop-up.UseAlt-F4toclosethepop-upwithoutlaunchinganycodeinthewindow.

•Don’tdownloadsoftwarebasedonapop-upor(ingeneral)anysoftwarethatyoudon’tknow.

Therearealwaysfreeandpaidantivirusprograms.Whilesomearegoodandsomearebad,thereisnowaytouniversallyrecommendoneortheotherforever.Inourcompany,wechangedourrecommendationovertheyearstomatchthelatestindustryinformation.Dependingontheyear,wehaverecommendedandsoldaboutfivedifferentproducts.Ingeneral,thisisanissueyouwillhavetokeepuponregularly,andupdateyourcustomersonaswell.

However,whenyourcustomerasksyoutorecommendanantivirusprogram,alwaysgowithasupported,paidproduct.Thereasonisthecustomerhassomeonetogotoforhelp,questions, and complaints— and that person isn’t you!When you recommend a largecompanysuchasKasperskyLab,McAfee,orNorton, thecustomer isbuyingaproductfromanothervendor.Whensomethinggoeswrong,andhisorhercomputergetsavirus,orheorshehasaproblemwiththeinstallation,thereissomeonetocall.

Whenyourecommendafreeproduct,oddsarethereisnoformalsupport.Asaresult,guesswhogets thecalls?Youdo.Why?Becauseyou tried to save the customer a fewbucks.Ifitgoeswrong,guesswhogetstheblame?Youdo,again.Whenitworks,guess

what?Noonecares.Anotherbenefitoffindingapaidproductthatyoulikeisthatyoucanusuallysellthisproducttoyourcustomersandevenaddaservicefeefortheinstallation!

Onethingwehavelearnedthroughtrialanderror is tonever installor recommendafreesoftwarepackageevenifthecustomerasksforitandiswillingtopayfortheinstall.Forsomereason,onceyoudotheinstallation—especiallyifyouchargefortheinstall—thecustomerwillbelievethatyouaresupportingtheproduct.

2.2bVirusremovalsarenotincludedintheregularservicewarranty

Youcannotwarrantyviruswork.Becausecustomerscangetvirusesatanytimethereisnoway to ever guarantee that a virus removal will remain “clean.” Don’t even try. Acompanythatguaranteesthisworkcouldfinditselffixingthesamecomputerweekafterweek for free. As a matter of fact, the few times we have helped a customer by “re-removing”viruses,ithascausedmoreproblemsthanitcured.Onecustomerhadavirusremoval and came back a few days later saying the virus wasn’t properly removed.Althoughweknewitwasarecurrence,weremoveditbecauseitwassoclosetogether.Acouple weeks later, she was back again with the same problem. When we wouldn’tcompleteanotherfreevirusremovalshewasupsetandstartedcausingascene.Explainingupfrontthatvirusremovalscanneverbeguaranteedisalwayseasierthandealingwithahostilecustomer.

To prevent this problem, you need to follow these stepswhen you complete a virusremovalcheck:

1.Checkthatthecustomershaveantivirus.Ingeneral,allcustomersshouldberunningsomesortofantivirusprogram.Iftheydon’thaveantivirus(orifitwascorruptedbythevirusorvirusremoval)—

•letthemknowtheydon’thaveanyactiveantivirusontheircomputer,

•makeitclearthatalackofantivirusopensupthecomputertoallsortsofproblemsandtheywillmostlikelygetvirusesagain,and

•offertosellthemanantivirusprogram.

2.Educatethecustomersaboutviruses—howacomputergetsinfectedandhowtopreventthem.Remindthemthatsiteswhichsupportmusicandmoviepiratingarealsonotoriousforpromotingviruses.

3.Havethecustomerstrythemachineinyourshopaspartofthecheck-outprocedure.Thenyoubothwillknowthatthecomputerwasworkingwhenheorsheleft.

4.Ifthecustomershaveanyproblems,tellthemtocallimmediately(i.e.,withinthefirst24hours)andexplainthatanyproblemfoundbeyondthattimecouldbetheresultofthemgettinganother,newvirus,sotherewillbenoguaranteeontheremovalbeyondthatpoint.

Ingeneral,wehavefoundthatcustomersareveryacceptingaboutthis.Becausetheseruleshavebeenexplainedupfront,thereisnoconfusionlateron.Occasionallyacustomerwillindicatethatheorshedoesn’thavetimetocheckthecomputerforafewdays—atthatpoint,youcandecideifyouwanttoextendthewarranty(weusuallydo).

Sincevirusremovalstypicallytakeafewdaystocompleteitisimportanttotrackeverytaskyoudoasyoudoitsothatyoudon’tlosetrackofwhereyouare.

2.2cAnsweringthe“porn”question

At some point you will receive the age-old question: “Why is there porn on mycomputer?”Weallknowthatpeoplewatchporn.Someofourcustomersarereallyopenaboutit.Oneactuallyaskedustomakesuretobackuphisentirecollectionbeforewedidanywork.However, this is not thenorm.Most people are very embarrassed about youfindinganypornontheircomputerandareevenmoreupsetwhentheyfinditonsomeoneelse’scomputer(e.g.,spouse,boyfriend,child).Insomecases,thefileshavebeenaddedbyviruses;however,ifwearebeingcandid,inmostcasesithasbeendownloadedbytheuser.Thethingis,itisnearlyimpossibletotellwhichiswhichandasacomputerbusinessowner,itisnotyourjobtospeculate.

Occasionally,wegetamadspouseinthestorewhowantstoknowifthevirusisfrom“watchingporn”orsomeothersuchquestion.Eachtimeweanswerhonestly;thereisnoway to know for certain how a virus/porn was obtained, but you can get them fromanything and any site. Even if the question seems innocent, we still don’t make anygeneralizations. After all, computer repair stores exist to fix broken computers, not tobeginorendmarriages!

2.3WipeandreloadOneoftheeasiestfunctionstocompleteisawipeandreload.Usuallythisisdonewhenacomputer’s operating system is corrupted, or when a virus is so bad that it can’t beremoved.

2.3aFindtheoperatingsystemkey

Beforeyouofferthisservicetoacustomer,makesurethecustomerhasalegaloperatingsystem (OS) key. The only way you know an OS is legal is to find the certificate ofauthenticity (COA)eitheron themachineor tohaveacustomerbring in thekey. Ithasalways amazedme howmany people use pirated versions of theirOS. If you start theinstallationand then realize the key ismissing, the customermay become frustrated todiscoverheorsheneedstospendmoremoneyonanewOS.Or,thecustomermaytrytoconvince you to reinstall the illegal version he or she used to have (which you shouldneverdo).

WeallknowhowtograbtheOSkeyoutoftheregistry,butchancesareifyouhavetoget thekey thisway, it isnot a legaloperating system.Theonlyway tobe sure thatyourcustomerhasareal,legitimateoperatingsystemistoseethekeyyourself.Ifyoucan’tseeit,don’tinstallit.

2.3bBeclear

Makesurethecustomerunderstandswhatisgoingtohappen.Theproblemwiththewipeandreloadisthatthecustomerloseseverything(e.g.,photos,applications,data)andoftendoesn’tunderstandwhatthatmeans.WheneveryouarereinstallingtheOS,makesuretobeveryclearwiththecustomerwhatwillbe lostandwhythework isbeingcompleted.Gooverboardonthisexplanationandmakesurethatthecustomercanclearlyexplaintoyouthatheorsheunderstandsallofhisorherdataisbeinglost.Ifheorshecanclearlysaywhat isheor she is losingand isokaywith that,youknow thepersonunderstandswhatishappening.

One of the easiestways to do this is to read them yourwipe and reload agreementbeforetheysignit.

Somecustomersareokaywithlosingtheirdatabutwouldprefertokeepacopy.Makesurethatyourcustomersknowthatthisisanoption.Notonlywilltheybehappytohavethechoice,butyoucanmakeanotherservicesale:adatatransfer!

2.3cUpsellabetterOS

Anotheroptionthatyoucanofferduringawipeandreloadis toupgradethecustomer’soperatingsystem.WithMicrosoft releasingnewoperatingsystemseveryfewyears,youmayfindthatsomecustomersarestillonolderoperatingsystems,evenifthereisabetteroneonthemarket.Offeringthistypeofupgradewillhelpboththecustomerandyou.

For instance, in 2011, there are still customers that have XP or Vista instead ofWindows7.Whilebothoperatingsystemsarefine,Windows7doeshavesomebenefitsthat make customers with newer computers interested in upgrading. From a customerperspective,awipeandreloadmaybeaperfecttimetogetthenewestoperatingsystem.Froma techperspective,offeringanupgrade toWindows7 is anotherway to saveyoutimeandproblems.EvenifyouoffertheWindows7OSatyourcost,theinstallationwillbe much faster than if you were installing and finding drivers for Vista or even XP.Thereforeyoucansavetimeandmakethesameamountofmoney—awin-winsituationforyouandyourcustomers.

Although wipes and reloads are one of the most fundamental functions, it is stillimportant to follow a checklist you’ve created o ensure all steps are complete. At ourstore,atechnicianmayhandleasmanyas20differentsystemsinagivenday;therefore,evensimpletaskscouldbeoverlookediftheyweren’tproperlytracked.

2.4DatatransfersversusdatarecoveriesMostpeopledon’tcomeinfordatatransfersjusttomoveinformationfromonemachinetoanother.With theadventof largeflashdrives,DVDs,andoff-sitebackups,moreandmorepeoplecompletetheirowndatatransfersanddatabackups.Therefore,theusualtimethatpeoplewantadatatransferiswhentheirharddriveisfailing.Thismeansthattheyarealreadyhavingproblemswiththecomputer,filesaren’tbeingread,thecomputerhasblue-screeneda fewtimes,and itmayno longerbeaccessible.Asa result, theywantyou torecoverthedataandtransferittoanothermachine.Adatarecoveryisnotthesameasadatatransfer,somakesuretohaveseparatelistingsforeach.

2.4aWhatqualifiesasadatatransfer?

Iftheharddrivecanberead,thedatacanbetransferredeasilytoanothercomputer.Ifthisisthecase,youcancompleteadatatransfer.However,makesurethecustomerknowsthatwhenaharddriveisfailing,eventhetransferprocessitselfcouldcausetheharddrivetofailfurther.Therefore,thiscannotbeaguaranteedservice.Youcanguaranteetoattemptthe transfer, but you cannot guaranteewhatwill be recovered. Explaining this up frontprevents problems down the line. To be clear, use a data transfer agreement you cancreate.Having thecustomersignupfrontwillhelpmake itclearwhatcanandcan’tbetransferred.

2.4bWhatqualifiesasadatarecovery?

Ifyouhavetocompleteanyspecialworktorecoverthedata,youareembarkingonadatarecovery.Likeadatatransfer,youcannotguaranteetheresults,sothecustomerispayingyoutotrytorecoverdata,notbasedonthedatayourecover.Makesurethatyouareclearwiththecustomeraboutthefactthatyouarenotchargingforthedatathatisrecoveredbutfortheattempttorecoverthedata.Thisisaveryimportantdistinctionandifyouarenotclearaboutitupfront,thecustomermaynotagreetopayaftertheworkiscompleted.

Also,becarefulaboutattemptinganytypeofrecoverythatwilldamagetheharddriverfurther.Ifyoudonothavea“cleanroom”orthetoolstocompleteamoreaggressivedatarecovery,youdon’twanttodamagetheharddrivebeyondrepair.Knowyourlimits!

Onewaytotrytorecoveradriveistofreezeitforashorttime.Justtaketheharddrive,putitintoastaticbag,thenplaceitinaZiplocbagandputitinthefreezerforaroundtwohours.Whenyoutakeitout,placeitimmediatelyontheserverandattempttopulloffthedata.Ifitworks,youwillprobablyhaveatleast20to30minutestogetthedataoffthedrive!Itwillwork1in100times,butwhenitdoes,youwillhaveacustomerforlife.Thisisalast-ditcheffortbytheway.Notforthefaintofheart.

Whilemanyofuscanworkwithharddrivestorecoveragooddealofdata,therearesomesituationsthatmoststoresjustaren’tpreparedfor.Ifyouneedtoactuallytakeapartthedrive inaclean room,you areprobablynotgoing tobe able tohandle that at yourlocation. Instead, trypartneringwithanothercompany that specializes in these services.

One of the companies thatwe partnerwith isDriveSaversData Recovery, a nationallyrecognized company that actually pays local computer stores referrals and gives thecustomersyoureferadiscountforservices.Witharangeofcustomservices(includingaphotos-only option) and the ability to recover data even after fire, flood, deletion, andmore,youcangiveyourcustomersadditionaloptionsforrecovery.

It’simportanttonotethatrecoveryisn’talwayspossible.If thedrivefailswhileyoursystem is trying towrite a file, it’s possible for the heads to actually touch the plattersinside.Ifthishappens,thereisnorecoverypossible.Theplattersspinatmorethan5400RPMandsometimesupto10K.IlostdatathroughthisandeventhoughIwaswillingtopay,thecompanytoldmetherewasnothingitcoulddo.Mywifewasnothappy!

2.4cValidatethedatarecoveryordatatransfer

After you have completed a data recovery and/or transfer, and you believe you have acustomer’s data, make sure you validate the data with the person before wiping orrecyclinghis or her hard drive. In some cases,most files are transferredbut not all thefiles.Makingsurethecustomerhaswhatheorshewantsbeforeyoudoanyotherworkwillmake it easier to resolve any problems. The easiestway to do this is to invite thecustomertocomein(oruseremotetools)andlookatthefilesthatwererecovered.

Note:Whenyouareshowingacustomeradatarecovery,therearetimesthatyouwillcomeacross family (or sometimesmorecolorful)photos,butnevercommentonanyofthese.Remember,insomehouseholdscomputersareusedbymultipleindividualsandthepersonwhobroughtinthecomputermaynotbetheprimaryuser.Makingcommentsonphotoscanonlyleadtouncomfortableconversations.

We have all heard horror stories about technicians who have poked around on acustomer’scomputerandgottencaught.Don’tletthishappeninyourbusiness.Customerdata is confidential and should remain confidential. While you may choose to keep acustomer’sdataonyourserverafterpickup(it isagoodideatokeepabackupuntil thecustomerconfirmsthateverythinghasbeentransferred) it isnotagoodidea toreadthefiles,lookatthephotos,orscanthedirectories.Inourcompany,it’sanoffensethatmeanstermination.

3.LaptopRepairsToday, more and more consumers are buying laptop systems. They can have all thefeatures of a desktopwithmore portability. College students, businesspeople, and evenchildrenarestartingtoleantowardlaptops.Thismeansthatyourbusinesswillprobablyseequite a bit of laptop repair. The downside of laptop repair is that laptops aremuchhardertofix.

Let’ssaytheproblemisasoftwareissue.Ifyouhaveatechbench,itiseasytohookup8 to 16 desktops immediately to the system. The customer doesn’t have to bring inanything except for the tower, and you can easily hook it up to your switch box tomultitask.Unfortunatelyitisn’taseasywithlaptops.

Laptopsallneedtheirownpowercordsoalwaysaskthecustomertoleaveitwithyou.Evenifyouhaveacompatiblecharger,itisbettertousethecustomer’spowercord.

When you are taking apart a laptop you will need a lot of space to work on thecomputer.Itisn’taseasytohookupintoyourswitchboxsoyoumaychoosetojustleaveit on top of your bench taking up almost as much space as two desktops! If you arewaitingforspecializedparts,youcaneitherrebuildthesystemoryouwillneedtoobtainalargeplasticbintohousethelaptopanditsparts.

Whenyouaretakingapartalaptopitmaybetemptingtoleaveitonyourdeskinitsdisassembledstate.However,ifyoudothis,youruntheriskoflosingparts—everythingfrom screws to hard drives could bemoved and lost for good.Always track the laptopparts(e.g.,externaldrives,powercords)andlabelthemwiththecustomer’snameassoonasitischeckedin.

Now, let’s say the laptop had a hardware problem. Laptop hardware repairs aresomewhatmore difficult than desktop hardware repairs. The best way to start a laptoprepair is to lookup the teardown instructionsonlineand follow those.Laptophardwaretakesmore time todiagnose.Whereasdesktop systemsshould takeyounomore thanafewscrewstopullapart,laptopscantakeahalfhour,orsometimesmore,justtogettothepointwhereyoucanvisuallyinspectthemotherboard.Itwillthentakeanotherhalfhourtoputthecomputerbacktogether.Thismeansthatbeforeyouevenstarttestingtheparts,youhaveinvestedanhourormoreinthediagnosis.Therefore,werecommendcharginganhouroflaborforhardwarediagnosis.

Laptoppartsareusuallyproprietary,meaningyoucan’teasilyswaponemotherboardorgraphicscardforanother.Instead,thepartsusuallyneedtobespecial-orderedforeachsystem.

Keep these things inmindwhenyouarepricing laptopwork and estimating repairs.Becauselaptoprepairsareabitmorecustomized,youwillneedtochargefor thisworkdifferently than your desktop repairs. Even experienced technicians find that with the

extensivevariationsinlaptopdesigns,someworktakesmuchlongerthanexpected.

3.1OrderingcustomlaptoppartsOnce again, laptop repair is customwork. Evenwhen you knowwhat part is bad, youhavetoresearchavendor,findthepart,andorderitonline.Then,youneedtomanagethenew vendor relationship and if the part fails, the customer will go to you for areplacement.Therefore,youneedtochargeforthenewpart.Werecommendaddinga20percentsurchargetoanypartsorderedwithaminimumthatisaboutthesameaswhatyouchargefor15minutesofwork.Sincethesearecustomparts,werecommendinstitutingthefollowingpolicies:

•Customermustpay100percentofthepartcostupfrontforacustompartorder.Ifyouwant,thecustomercanpayforserviceaftertheworkiscompleted.

•Customordersareallfinalsale.Thismeansthatacustomercannotreturnthepartorchangehisorhermindonthework.

•Customworkisnotguaranteedtofixallthelaptopproblems.Thismeansthatevenifthereplacementpartdoesn’tfixalltheissues,thecustomerstillowesyoufortheworkcompleted.Forexample,ifascreenproblemisn’tidentifiedbecausethecomputerdidn’tboot,youaren’tresponsibleforfixingthatproblemforfree.

Wehavehadafewcustomerswhohavetriedtogetustoguaranteeallthelaptoppartswhenwe replace just one.Replacing amotherboard doesn’t guarantee that thewirelesscard,screen,orharddriveisstillworking.However,becauseofthecostsofsomecustomparts,customersfeelthatyou“owe”themmorerepairsbecauseoftheamounttheyspent.Make sure to explain your warranty policies and limitations before you complete anycustomworkorcustomorders.Tobeclear,usealaptophardwarerepairagreementwhichyoucancreateandhavethemsignbeforeyoudoanywork.Thisisaneasywaytoensureyourcustomersareawareofyourpolicies.

Ingeneral,wechargehourlylaboronrepairswithflatchargesforcertainservices(e.g.,keyboardandscreenreplacements).Theresultisthatthecostofrepairstendstobemuchhigherforlaptopsthanfordesktops.

3.2MotherboardreplacementsOnecommonpart thatgoesoutonlaptopsis themotherboard.Inmanycases,whatisacost-effectiverepaironadesktopisawasteofmoneyonalaptop.Forinstance,let’ssaythatacustomerbringsinalaptopthatishavingmotherboardissues.Whilethisrepairmaybea reasonableoptionwithadesktop,youwill find thatbuying the replacement laptopmotherboardsatyour cost canbehundredsofdollars.Thismeans thatonceyouadd inlabor (at least an hour,maybe two) plus the cost of amotherboard, handling fees, andshipping, therepairona laptopmotherboardcouldcost thecustomerbetween$300and$400.What’smore,aftertherepairiscompleteyoumayfindotherproblemswhichhadn’tbeennoticedbeforehand(e.g.,thewirelesscardisn’tworking).

In these cases,when the costof the repair is close to thepriceof anew system,wehighly discourage the repair both for our sake and the customer’s. As a technician,chargingacustomer$400foraservicemeansthecustomerwantstheservicetobeperfect.Unfortunately,thiscannotbeguaranteedwithlaptoprepair.Thereplacementpartcouldbedefectiveandmostreplacementpartsarerefurbishedonesthatcomewithonlyalimited30-to60-daywarranty.Othertimes,whatbrokethemotherboardimpactedothersystemsaswell.Meaningaftertheworkisdonethecomputerstilldoesn’tworkandthecustomerdoesn’twanttopayforthework.

3.3PowerjackrepairsOneofthemostcommonpartsthatfailonalaptopmotherboardistheconnectionbetweenthepowercordandtheboard—thejack.Becauseofroughhandling,thepressurefromthe cord pushes the jack off the motherboard. The effect is that the power no longerreachestheboardsothecomputerdoesn’twork.Thisiseasytodiagnosesincethejackisusuallyveryloose.Ifyouapplyevenslightpressuretotheplug,itwillmovesignificantlyfromsidetoside.

Somelocalshopswillagreetoopenthemachineandsolderthejackbackdownontothe motherboard for around $100. This is not very hard to do and usually fixes theproblem.The issue iswhathappens next:Typically, soldering a part backonto a boarddoesnotguarantee therepair.Thismeans thatalthough theparthasbeensecured to theboard, roughhandling(orsometimesevengentlehandling)canmake itcomeoffagain.So,canyouguaranteethiswork?Also,isthisa“real”fixevenifitdoesn’thavethesamesecurityasanewboard?Andlastly,issolderingaboardrisky?

Ingeneral,wedon’trecommendcompletingthisworkwithoutathoroughexplanationtothecustomer.Explainhowthisproblemarises(customerhandling)andexplainthatitcouldeasilyoccuragain.Makesurethecustomerunderstandsthatsincethisisaresultofabuse,thereisnoguaranteeonthework.Itcouldhappenagaininamonthornever.Itisuptothecustomer,notuptotheworkmanship.Communicationisthekeytopreventingcustomerconflict.

4.ResearchWhatYourCompetitorsOfferAway to findoutwhat servicesyoushouldoffer is to researchyourcompetition.First,look at local big-box stores that offer computer repairs. Companies such as Best Buy(Geek Squad) and Staples often have price lists that they can share thatwill provide adetailedlistingofalltheirservicesandthepriceforthoseservices.Ingeneral,thepriceata big-box store should be your upwardmaximum.Don’t try to price your services liketheseretailers; instead, figureout justhowmuchyourcustomerscan savegoing toyouinstead of a large box store. This information may be a strong selling point duringconversationswithpotentialcustomers.

Next,visitanysmall,localcomputerstoresinyourarea.Althoughtheydon’thavethesame information readily available (mostwill not have forms to give out to customers)theyprobablyhavesomeormostof theirservicepricesprominentlyposted.Talk to thetechnicians, find outwhat services customers usemost, and how long they take. Thesestoreswillbeyourbiggest competition, soknowing their cost and turnaround timewillhelpyouunderstandwhatyourcustomerswillexpectfromyou.

It may sound counterintuitive, but it is sometimes helpful to be friendly with thecompetition.Youmayfind thatalthoughyouare in thesameareayoudoverydifferenttypes of work. Although it doesn’t happen often, sometimes you will find yourselfreferringyourcustomers toanothervendorandviceversa. Insomecases,youcanevenbuildreferralfeesintothistypeofrelationship!

5.KnowYourCustomersAswithanybusiness,youhavetoknowwhoyourcustomersreallyare.Doyouplantotarget small-business owners? Seniors who don’t want to mess with their computers?Younggamerswhowanthigh-endsystems?Ingeneral,eachofthesegroupshasdifferentneedsandgoals.

Thebenefitofknowingyourcustomersisthatitgivesyoutheoptionoftargetingyourservices.Ononehand,ifyouareinthemiddleofacollegetownyouprobablywon’tfindmany studentswhowant you to install software for them.Maybe someof the studentswouldlikethisservice,but themajorityofcollege-agedpeoplearecapableof installingtheirownsoftware.On theotherhand, ifyou livebya retirementcommunity,youmayfind that this service is one that is frequently requested. Older computer usersmay becomfortable with computers but often don’t like making modifications to their ownsystems—evenifitisonlyinstallingsoftware.

Identifyingwhat type ofmarket is in your general areawill also help you to designeffective ads that get the attention of the customers you are looking for. In general, itwouldbebettertohavemanycustomads,thanoneortwogenericads.

6.DeterminingYourServicePolicyAsacomputerrepairbusiness,youneedtofirmlyestablishyourservicepolicy.Youneedtoaskyourselfsomequestionsaboutwhatyourecommendforyourcustomers.

Whathappenswhenyoursolutiondoesn’twork?Ifaserviceisattemptedbutdoesnotresolvetheproblem,isthecustomerresponsibleforthecostoftheservice?Doyouchargethecustomerornot?Manystoresdo.Asamatteroffact,mostcheck-inpaperworkwilltell you that the customer is responsible for paying for all authorized work even if itdoesn’tresolvetheproblem.Whilethismakessensebecauseyouhaveinvestedtimeandeffortintosolvingtheproblem,thecustomermaybeabitirritatedifheorsheispayingforaservicethatdidn’thelp.

At our store, we indicate that we can charge our customers for services that arecompleted(eveniftheydon’tresolvetheissue)butwegenerallydon’t.Wehavethislistedon our paperwork to protect us from completing requested work that is beyond ourcontrol.Forexample,let’ssaywecompleteadatarecoverythatgetsback50percentofthedata,butnotthespecificphotothecustomerwaslookingfor.Inthatcase,wewouldchargethecustomerfortheservicebecausewecompletedtherequestedservicetothebestofourabilitybutwecouldn’tcontrolwhatdatawasrecoveredandwhatwascorrupted.

What if the servicewe recommended didn’twork?Let’s say a customer brings in acomputer that has intermittent problems. After looking it over, you conclude that theoperatingsystem(OS)iscorruptedandrecommendthatitbereloaded.Heorsheagreestopaythe$120youchargefortheserviceandyouperformawipeandreloadforher.Afterthework iscompleted,younotice that theproblemsarestillhappening.You then runadetailedharddrivetestandnoticethattheharddriveisgoingbad.Whatdoyoudo?Therearereallyonlytwochoices:

1.Chargefortheserviceyouperformed,eventhoughitdidn’tresolvetheproblem;or

2.Don’tchargefortheservicethatdidn’twork.

Thatisthedecisionyouwillhavetomake.Afterall,theworkwascompletedingoodfaithand,inmostcases,thisservicewouldhavefixedtheproblem.However,atourstore,wewouldnotchargethecustomer.Why?Wechoosetoguaranteethataservicewillfixtheproblemorthereisnocharge.Thereareafewreasonswhywethinkthisworksbest:

•Increasescustomerconfidence:Lettingthecustomerknowthatyourserviceeitherfixestheproblemorit’sfreeletshimorherknowthatyouareconfidentinyourdiagnosticskills.

•Mostcustomerswillagreetoadditionalserviceseveniftheycostmore:Whenyoucallthecustomertolethimorherknowthattheservicedidn’twork,heorshewillusuallyberesponsivetolettingyoutrysomethingelseiftheproblemwasn’tresolved.Thismeansyouwillstillbeabletoearnmoneyforcompletingtherepairevenifit

takesyouabitlongerthanyouexpected.

•Diagnosticscanbedonefaster.Ifyouaren’twillingtoworkonamachineunlessyouare100percentcertainthatyouknowexactlywhattheproblemis,youwillfindthatyouspendwaymoretimeondiagnosticsthanyouneed.Forinstance,ifyoususpectviruses,startavirusremoval.

Now, let’s say that you choose to guarantee your recommendation.You can call thecustomerandsaythatwhileyouwereworkingontheOSreloadyounoticedthattheharddriveisalsofailing.Ifshewantstorepairthecomputeritwillbenearly$220;ifshewantstoscrapthecomputer,youcanrecycleitforher.Atthispoint,shehasachoice.Someofourcustomersdoagreetodotheadditionalwork.Otherschoosetoreplacethecomputerandoftenwillpurchaseanewmachinefromusandrecycletheoldonewithus. Idon’timagine theywould do either ifwe told themwewere going to charge them $119 fornothing.

Anotherquestionyouwill receive fromcustomers iswhether or not the computer isworthfixing.Unfortunately,thereareneveranyhardandfastrulesaboutthis.

Whentheeconomywasbooming,customersusedalmostanycomputerproblemasagreatexcusetobuyanewcomputer.Haveviruses,getanewcomputer!Badharddrive,getanewcomputer!Needdrivers,getanewcomputer!Well,almost.Thetruthiswhencustomershavecashtheysometimesjustwanttospendit.Onecustomersentherhusbandinwithheroldcomputer.Whenwediagnoseditwerealizeditwasagoodmachinethatcouldbedramatically improvedwith justabitofmemory.WeaddedtheRAM,and thewomancamebytopickitup.Shewasfurious.Apparently,shehadsentherhusbandtoour store to get a new computer. Even though hermachine was now as fast as a newmachine,shewasstillupsetthathehad“takenthecheaproute”!

Inasloweconomy,themarketiscompletelydifferent.Customersarelookingtospendtheleastamountofmoneypossible.Almostanything ispreferable thanhaving tospendmoney on a new computer or even a refurbished system.We have had customerswhowanted to replace the hard drive, reinstall the operating system, and even replace themotherboardonanoldcomputerbecausethetotalwaslessthananewmachine—eventhoughforalittlebitmoremoneytheywouldhavehadamuchbettersystem!

Ourperspectiveonfixingcomputersistogivethecustomerthebestoptionsavailable.However, not all computer stores adhere to this philosophy. On the one hand, a newcomputer for $400 usually has a low margin, maybe about $80. On the other hand,completing software repairs on an old computer could run up to $300 and thatmoneywouldbeallmargin.Therefore,youwillfindsomebusinessesthatrecommendacustomermake an expensive repair in place of spending a few dollarsmore and getting a bettervalue.Whilethisisnotillegal,businessesthatdobehavelikethiswilleventuallybuildareputationofrecommendingunnecessaryservices.

The best thing to do is to give the customer all the information and make arecommendationthatisnotbasedonwhatmakesyouthemostmoney,butwhatisbestforthecustomer. In theend, thiswillnot justbenefit thecustomerbutalsohelpbuildyourbusiness with customers that trust you. In addition, we’ve found that many timescustomershavegonetooneofthebig-boxstoresbeforetheycametous.Theyweretoldtheyneededan$800systemandwhenwetoldthemwecouldfixtheirproblemforlessthan$200,theywereoverjoyed.Theytoldeveryoneandwegotmorehappycustomers!

7

PricingYourServices

Onceyouknowwhatservicesyouwanttooffertoyourtargetedcustomers,youneedtogetanideaofwhatitwillcostforyoutoprovidetheseservices.

1.CalculatingWhatYourTimeCostsYou may have started your business in your garage (a starting place shared by manysuccessfulcompanies)toreduceyouroverhead.Yourfirstcustomercallsandyoudecideyou’regoingtocharge$49foronehouroflabor.Howmuchmoneywillyoumake?Itistemptingtosay$49;afterall,thatisyourgrossprofit,butintruth,youractualprofittakesintoaccountalltheothermoneyyouarespendingforthemonth.Thequestionbecomes,“Can I beprofitable at $49per hour? If I get enough customers,what is themaximumamountIcanmakeatthisprice?”

Fortunately, there is an easy way to answer these questions. The easiest way tocalculatethisistototalallyourbusinessexpensesandthendividethatbythenumberofpaidhoursyouexpecttowork.

Whenyoucalculatethis,youcanseethatifyourexpensesareupat$2,000permonth(which is very high for a small business without a retail location), the cost of doingbusinesseachhouris$11.63.Thismeansthatifyouhavecustomerspayingyou$49perhour,yourprofitwillbeabout$37.37perhourorapproximately$6,400permonthafterexpenses!

This also tells you how much you can lower your price to still be competitive.Obviously, any service that costs only $20 per hourwill be priced too low as thiswillleaveyouaroundminimumwageforyourhardwork!Determinewhatyourexpensesareperhourandfromthereyouwillunderstandyourpricingminimums.

2.CalculatingFlat-RateServicesIn computer repair, calculating flat-rate services is one of the harder measurements toaccomplish.Let’ssaythatyouare“working”onavirusremoval.Youmayspendahalfhouratfirstgettingaroundtheviruses, installingscanningtools,etc.,butafter that,youmaynolongerbestaringatthecomputer.Insteadyouwillhavekickedoffscansthatrunfor hourswithno interference fromyou.However, youhave tobeon-site towatch thesystemsandmakesurethatthenexttoolisstartedontime.So,ifthecomputertakestwoto threedays tocompleteall these scans,howmuch timedidyouactually spend?Howmuch time should you charge the customer or, in other words, how do you price theservice?

Oneyouknowwhoyourcustomersareandwhatyourcompetitorsareofferingandforhowmuch, you are ready to create your service list. To do this you need to define thefollowing:

•Whatistheserviceyouareoffering?

•Whatisthedescriptionoftheservice?(Makesuretothinkaboutwhatworkthisincludesanddoesnotinclude.)

•Howmuchofyourtimewillittaketocompletethework?

•Howmuchisthecharge?

Onceyouhavecompletedasamplelist,youmaywanttomakeanabbreviatedversionfor your desk or office. For this version, you can eliminate the description and timeestimate (which can vary based on the actual computer and could bemisleading if anycustomersawit)andjustkeepitsimple.

3.EstimatingCustomWorkIfyouarecompletingaserviceoratypeofservicethatyouhaven’tpricedbefore,trytokeep the work in line with your other prices. In general, let the customer know theexpectedpriceupfrontandgiveyourselfsomeroomforerror.Forexample,iftheserviceyouwanttoofferwilltakeyouthreehoursorsoofstraightwork,youmaypriceitaround$159; but if you think that theremay bemore customwork involved, youmay let thecustomerknowthatthebillcanbeashighas$199togiveyourselfsomewiggleroom.

4.CheckYourPricingOnceyouestimateyourprices,youstillneedtodetermineifyourpricesarereasonableforyourmarket.Thereareafewfactorsthatgointocompetitivepricing:

•Retailversushome-basedbusiness:Ingeneral,youcanchargemoreifyouworkoutofaretailstorefrontthanifyouareworkingoutofyourhome(becausetheoverheadislower,peopleexpecttopayless).Ifyourpricesarethesameasalocalcomputerstore,theyareprobablytoohigh.

•Compareyourpricingtobig-boxstores:Yourpricingshouldletyourcustomersknowthatyouareprovidingsignificantsavingsoverthebig-boxstores(youmayevenwanttoputthisinyourad).Yourpricesshouldbeatleast20to30percentless;insomecases,youmaywanttoreduceyourpricesevenfurthercomparedtothebig-boxstores.

•Compareyourpricestoothersinyouradvertisingspace:Anotherplacetocheckyourpricingiswhereyouplantoadvertise.Ifeveryoneelseinthatmarketiseithermuchhigherormuchlower,yourpricesmayneedtobeadjusted.

Youmayalsowanttoaddanhourlyrate.Thiswillallowyoutoexpandtoservicesyouhaven’t anticipated. As you work with your customers you may find that they haveproblems thatyoucan solve,but it isnot a serviceon the list.For these itemsyoucansimplyestimatetheamountoftimetheworkwilltakeandchargebythehalfhourwithahalfhourminimum.Forinstance,whenwefirststarted,wehadafewpeoplethatcameinasking for driver updates. At first, we completed this service as a half-hour labor.Eventually,welisteditasaseparateservice.

8

DiagnosingaComputer

Whenacustomerpresentsyouwithacomputer, it is tempting to justget rightdown tobusiness.Manypeoplestartbyfindingoutabouttheproblem,openingupthecomputer,andtryingtosolvetheproblem.However,thisapproachcouldputyourbusinessatrisk,costyouasale,orjustcausemoreconfusionthanitsolves.

Wheneveryoudoanyworkonacomputer,youshouldalwaysstartbyusingastandarddiagnosticprocess.Even ifyour customer is not going to leave the computerwithyou,youshouldalwaystracktheworkonthecustomer’scheck-inform.Whilethismaysoundtime-consuming,itwillactuallysaveyouagreatdealoftimeandeffort(andsometimesmoney).Thecheck-informcanservemanydifferentpurposes:

•Thecustomerreceivesacopyoftheformandthisservesashisorhercheck-inreceiptaswellasgiveshimorheryourcontactinformation.

•Collectscustomerinformationsothatyoucancontacthimorherwhentheworkisdoneorifyouhaveadditionalquestions.

•Yourpoliciesareclearlyoutlinedtothecustomer.

•Thecustomer’sproblemisdocumented.

•Thecustomer’sapprovalisdocumented.

•Theworkyoucompleteisdocumented.

•Thecustomersignstheformattheendoftheworktoshowheorshehasacceptedtheworkthatwasperformed.

Atourstorewealsousetheblankbackofformslikethesefordetailednotesaboutthecomputer. Everything from the problems we encountered during the diagnostic to ourinteractionwithourcustomers is recordedon thebackof theform.During thecheck-inprocess,theformistapedtothecomputer.Afterworkiscompleted,theformissavedandfiledincaseanyfutureproblemsarise.

1.DesigningYourCheck-inFormThe forms we use were actually developed over the years to meet the needs of ourtechnicians.Theyhavechangedovertime,andyourswilltoo.Everytimewereorderourformsfromtheprinter,weaskourtechniciansiftheyneedanychangestotheformfirst—manytimestheydohavesuggestionsthatimprovetheform.

Createyourownformaandasyouworkwithit,feelfreetocustomizeitasneededtomeet the needs of your business. Because the check-in form contains so much criticalinformation, itwillbecomethemost important forminyourbusinesssomakesure youtake the time to ensure that the form meets your needs. The following outlines whatshouldgointothecheck-inform.

Check-insummary(acrossthetop):Onethingthatweliketoputonourformsisablanklinewhereweboldlywritethecustomernameandcheck-indate.Thisletsustrackourcheck-ins.

Store information (across the top): Across the top we list our store information,includinglogo,address,andphonenumber.Eventhoughthecustomerhaslefthisorhercomputerwithus,wefoundthatheorshestillmaynotknowwherewearelocatedorhowtocontactus.Weaddthisinformationtothetopoftheformsothatthecustomerhasthisinformationafterthecheck-iniscompleted.

Thisisalsoagoodplacetolocateawelcomemessagetoyourcustomers.Wealsoaddinstructions for the form at the top althoughwewalk each customer through the formpersonally.

Customerinformation(topleft):Thissectioncontainstheinformationthatyouneedtohaveaboutthecustomers(e.g.,name,address,andphonenumber).Iftheyforgettofillinaphonenumber,youwillbeunabletocontactthemwhentheworkiscomplete.Wehadonecustomerwhodidthisandcameinfuriousaboutamonthlater.Whileitwasherfaultforskippingthisinformationontheformandnotcallingforanupdate,itdidn’tstopherfromyellingatus!

Wealsoaskforthecustomertoindicateifthisisabusinessorconsumermachine.Thisis an important talkingpoint foryou. If it is abusiness computer, youmayneed togetotherinformation.Forinstance,istheproblemhappeningonorofftheirnetwork?Isthiscriticaltohavefixedbeforeaparticulardate(e.g.,apayrollcomputer)?Doesthecustomerwantadatabackupbeforeanyworkiscompleted(weusuallychargeforthisservice)?

Lastly,what is thepasswordon themachine?There is nothingworse thanhaving towait toget thepasswordor, ifyoucan’tgetaholdof thecustomer,havingtobreakthepassword.Eitherway,itwastesyourtime,sogetthisinformationupfront.

Computer check-in information (top right): When you collect a customer’scomputer,sometimesthepersonhasotherthingswiththemachine.Forexample,alaptop

mayalsohaveacase,anexternalCDdrive,etc.Donot let thecustomercheck in theseitems!Asatechnician,youdon’tneedthecase,oranythinginthecase.Allthiswilldoisclutteryourworkareaandgiveyouthingstolose.Thethingsthatgetcheckedinshouldbelistedontheform.

Company policy information (middle): This is where you show your criticalcompany policies.Make sure to list any disclaimers or other notifications youwant tomakesureeachcustomerisawareof.Also,includealinewherethecustomercansignanddatethepolicy.Thiswillprotectyouincaseofanyproblemsinthefuture.

Makesuretokeepthecheck-informsaslongaspossible.Whenthecustomerssignthepolicy information, they are agreeing to the risks associated with computer repair.Therefore,keeptheseformsevenaftertherepairisdone.Ifthereisanyproblem,thisformwill show that thecustomersknew the risksandaccepted the risks.Their signaturecansaveyouhundredsifnotthousandsofdollarsinlawsuits.Theywouldn’thavebroughtinthecomputer if therewasn’tsomethingwrongwith it,but they tend to forget thatwhensomething bad happens. As an example, a virus removal will stress a hard drive farbeyondwhatitcommonlyexperiences.Withthenewpower-savingdrives,thenumberofhours they actually spinhas beendrastically reduced.Whenwedo a virus removal thedriveworksat100percentcapacityfor12hoursormore.Theycanfailsobeforewestart,wetellthattocustomerstoensurethey’vebackeduptheirdata.

Afterafewyearswhenyouarereadytogetridoftheforms,don’tjustthrowthemout,scanthemin!Therearesomegreatscannersonthemarket(e.g.,NeatReceipts) thatcanscanyourformsandturnthemintosearchablePDFdocuments.Whilethesearchfeaturemay not alwayswork on handwritten text, storing the forms electronicallywill let youhavethereportsfortaxpurposesorlegalreasonswithouttakingtoomuchspaceinyourhomeorbusiness.

High-level technotes (bottom left): This iswherewe put the high-level tech notes(rememberwealsokeepmoredetailednotesonthebackofthepage).Makethisareafityourbusinessandcontaininformationthatisimportanttoyou.

Sign-offs(bottomright):Attheendoftherepair,youwanttomakesurethatbothyouandthecustomerhavetestedthesystem.Usethisareatotrackbothofthosefunctions.

In general, there are a few things that we realizedwe didn’t need on the form. Forinstance, the form is not numbered. This is becausewe (unlike a Laundromat) use theform itself as the “ticket,” not the number. Since the customer has filled out so muchunique information, there is no need for a unique number. (Plus the cost of numberedformsishigher;don’tgetitifitdoesn’taddvalue).

Anotherthingwedon’thaveiscustomhighlightingorcolorlogos.Thecostofaddingadditionalcolorstotheformcanalmostdoubletheprintingcosts.Trytokeepyourformin black andwhite. If your business is doingwell, you could go through thousands of

theseformseachyear,andeverypennycounts!

2.HowtoCompleteaDiagnosticandMakeaSaleItmayseemobvious,butitisimportanttousethecheck-informtherightway.Ifyouskipanyofthefollowingsteps,orifyoufailtocompletethemintheirentirety,youwillfindthatadditionalproblemswillhappen.Using the formhelpsyoucorrectlydiagnoseyourproblem,buildacustomerrelationship,and,mostimportantly,makeasale!

2.1Step1:AskthecustomertocompletetheformFirstandforemosthaveyourcustomercompleteyourcheck-inform.Thisshouldincludeproviding information aboutwho the customer is. Specificallymake sure to understandwhousesthesystem.Isthisabusinesssystemwithacriticalfunctionorisitacomputerusedbyathree-year-old?Knowingwhotheuserisandwhatthemachineisusedfornotonlyhelpsyoumakeyourdiagnosis,but if there isacritical function that thecomputerhas,youwillknowifyouneedtoofferexpeditedserviceforanadditionalfee.Normally,expeditedservicewouldbecompletedASAP,workingnightsandweekendstogetthejobdone.

2.2Step2:ReadthecustomeryourpoliciesPoliciesarethereforthecustomerstoread,butgivethemabriefverbaloverviewofwhatyourpoliciesareandwhyyouhavethem.Thismighttakeaminuteortwo,butitisworthit. After all, many people sign documents without ever reading them. Sure, they aresupposedtoreadthedocument,butreadingittothemmakessuretheyhavethechancetoaskanyquestionsandmakessureyoucanemphasizeanyconcerns.

2.3Step3:HavethecustomersignthedisclaimerEvery computer repair has risks. Even if the only risk is that your place of business iswiped away by a storm, things can happen. Getting the customers to sign off on thedisclaimermakesthemawareofandacceptingoftherisksinvolved.Thisalsogivesyouthe chance to discuss the risks of any type of work. For instance, if the hard drive isstartingtofail,thiswouldbeagoodtimetoexplainthatharddrivescanfailatanytime—evenwhileyouaretryingtodoadatatransfer.Settingtheseexpectationsupfrontreducestheproblemsyouwillhavelateronifthereareanyissues.

2.4Step4:HavethecustomerexplaintheproblemEventhoughthecustomerswrotetheissuesontheform,takethetimetolistentowhatiswrong.Askquestions, and show thatyouare interested in their situation.At this point,youareshowingthecustomersthatyoucareabouttheirindividualsituationandthatyouunderstand what they are saying. This is not just important to help speed along yourdiagnosis,butitwillalsohelpbuildyourrelationshipwiththecustomer.

Bytheway,somecustomerswilllie.IftheydroppedtheirNotebook,itmightnotcomeout untilmuch later. If they poured a soda into their computer, theywill only admit itwhenyoupointtothepoolsofdriedsoda.Iftheircomputerisriddledwithpornandpop-ups, theyblame theirneighbor.While it’suseful toget information from thecustomers,youmighthavetotreatthemas“hostilewitnesses”!

2.5Step5:ReproducetheproblemOnceyouunderstandtheproblem,itisimportanttoreproduceityourself.Insomecases,yourcustomerswillbeadamantthattheyknowwhatiswrongandtheydon’twantyouto“waste”timecheckingit.Tohandlethesecustomers,letthemknowthatyouneedtoseetheerroryourselftoseewhatelseishappeningwhiletheerroroccurs.Takenotesasyouworkbecauseyouwillwantthemlater.

Alwaysstartyourinspectionofthecomputerbyturningiton.Thisstepmayseemsilly,especiallyifthecustomersaysthecomputerwon’teventurnon,butyouwillbesurprisedatyourresults.Insomecases,thecomputerthepersonclaimsisn’tworkingwillactuallyturn on (what the customer meant was that the computer won’t boot). In other cases,peoplewillclaimcomputersworkwhentheydon’teventurnon!Eitherway,itisbesttocheckthispointyourself.

2.6Step6:IdentifythecauseoftheproblembutdonotfixitOnceyouthinkyouknowthecauseoftheproblem,stop:Donotfixtheproblem!Evenifthe problem is a small setting that you need to change, never fix the problem beforespeakingwith the customer andgetting approval tomake the repair!This is a commonmistakenewtechsmake.Becausetheproblemisaquickfix,theyfixtheproblemfirstandthentrytochargethecustomerlater.However,thiscancreateconflict.

We have had customers come in with all sorts of odd problems. Occasionally, theproblem is something simple such as a small setting that needs to be changed.Unfortunately,ifyouchangethissettingfirstandthentellthecustomerheorshewillbecharged theminimum(i.e.,ahalfhourof labor), thepersonwillgenerallybeupsetandfeel cheated. The problem is that when you fix it without mentioning the charge, thecustomerassumes it is freeandheor she isdisappointedandupset that there is a cost.However,ifthepersoncomesinwiththeproblemandyoutellhimorherthatyouthinkyoucanfixitbutheorshewillbechargedforahalfhouroflabor,thecustomernowhasachoice.Ingeneral,mostpeoplechoose therepairandtheyare thrilled that itdidn’tcostmore.

Don’t assume that the only problem the computer has is the problem the customerreported.Wehaveseencustomerscheckincomputersforoneproblemandthenwefoundafewotherproblemsthatweren’tmentioned.Alwaysgivethecomputerathoroughonce-over when you are checking it in. If you find any other problems, bring these to theattentionofthecustomerrightawaysothatheorsheunderstandstheproblemsweretherebeforetherepairwascompleted.Remember,ifyoureplacethecustomer’spowersupplyand three weeks later the person’s hard drive dies, he or she will blame you for notknowing itwas going to fail. Check everything you can as long as you have time andspace.

2.7Step7:ObtaincustomerapprovaltocompletetheworkToobtaincustomerapproval,youwantthecustomertounderstandthreebasicthings:

1.Whatiswrongandhowmuchitwillcosttofix?Onceyouknowtheproblem,tellthecustomeringeneralterms(notwithsuchspecificitythatheorshecoulddoitathome,justthehigh-levelproblemstatement)whatyouthinktheissueis,howyouthinkitcanberesolved,andhowmuchitwillcosttoresolvetheproblem.Then,askforcustomer’sapprovaltofixtheproblem.Ifthepersondoesn’tapprove,yousimplyputthemachinebacktogetherandlethimorherwalkoutwithjustthediagnosticcompleted.

2.Whatcangowrong?Ifthecustomerapprovestherepair,youcangetstarted.Makesureheorsheunderstandstherisksoftheparticularservice.Letthecustomerknowwhatcouldgowrong.Werethepowersupplyandmotherboarddamaged?Makesureheorsheknowsthatotherpartscouldbebrokenaswell.Isthecomputerblue-screening?Talktothepersonaboutallthethingsthatcouldcausethatproblem.Bygivingthecustomerinformationbeforetheproblemoccursyouwillpreparehimorherforwhatcouldgowrong,makingtheconversationmucheasierwhenorifaproblemhappens.

3.Approximatelywhenwillitbecompleted?Letthecustomerknowwhenyouwillbestartingworkonhisorhersystemandaboutwhenyouthinkworkwillbecompleted.IfthecustomerbroughtinthecomputeronaFridayandyouarecloseduntilMonday,thenletthepersonknowthat.Thisway,heorsheisn’twaitingallweekendexpectingyourcall.

Promiseddatesarealwaysmissed.Idon’tknowwhythisis,butitoftenseemslikeanytimeadateis“promised,”thedeliverydateismissed—everytime.Therefore,neverpromiseanexactdate.Youcangiveanestimatedcompletionandyoucanpromisetocall by a particular time with an update, but avoid promising any repair by anyparticulardate.

2.8Step8:CompletetheworkandcheckthecomputerAlthough this isashortstep, itcanbe themostdifficultstep.Onceyou thinkyouhavefixedtheproblem,makesuretocheckalltheothercomputerfunctionstomakesurethatnothingelsewasbrokenintheprocess.Wehaveachecklistthateachtechisrequiredtocomplete before the system is deemed finished.You’d be surprised howmany times aDVDcable isknockedoffbyaccidentwhenwe’reworking insideacase,orwehad todisconnect theUSBports anddidn’t plug themback in.When the customer gets homeaftercarryingtheheavycomputerallthewayback,heorshedoesn’twanttohavetobringitback.We’retryingtocreatehappycustomers,remember?

2.9Step9:HavethecustomerverifythattheworkiscompleteBeforethecustomerleavesyourshoporbeforeyouleavetheclientsite,makesurethatthe customer verifies that the computer is working. This step may take a couple ofminutes,butitbuildsstrongcustomerrelationshipsandmakesanyproblemsfoundinthenextfewdayseasiertounderstand.Forinstance,onecustomerpickedupacomputerandverifieditworked.Whenhegothomeandpluggeditin,itdidn’teventurnon.Hadhenotverifieditatourstore,hewouldhavebeenconvincedwegavehimanunfixedcomputer.However, when he called, he started by apologizing for “breaking it” before he got ithomeandmentionedthathehadtodriveonalongunpavedroadtogettohishouse.Hebroughtbackthemachine,wefixeditagain(forfreeasacourtesy—theharddrivecablehadjust“bouncedout”),andhewashappy.Hadhenotverifiedthemachinewasworkingbeforeheleft,itwouldhavebeenaverydifferentphoneconversation.

Note:Youhaveacustomer thatsaysheorshewants tosavemoneyonservice.Thepersonofferstopayyouhalftherate,butinexchange,heorshewilldopartoftheservicehimself or herself. Never, ever take this deal. Each time we have tried working withcustomerslikethesetheyaremoretroubleandtimethanhavingacustomerwhogetsthefullservice.Forexample,onecustomerofferedtoinstallhisowndrivers,anddohisownupdatesonawipeandreloadonlytogohomeandcomplainthat“nothingworked”whenhegotthere!Itisnotworthyourtimetonegotiatepartialservice.

2.10Step10:CollectyourpaymentOncetheworkiscomplete,collectanypaymentyouareduebeforethecomputerleavesyourshoporbeforeyouleavetheclientsite.

9

ChoosingYourStock

Althoughmanytechnicianswilltellyoutheyhateselling,computerbusinessownerslovesales.Sellingmerchandiseisoftenmoreprofitablethansellingservice.Forinstance,ifacustomercompletesaservicewithourbusiness,thecustomergenerallypaysatarateof$13for15minutesofservice.However,ifthesamecustomerpurchasesafewitems,thesale can take only 15 minutes, but it could generate hundreds of dollars in profit.Therefore,everycomputerbusinessshouldfocusonhavingtheproductscustomersneedandwant.

Thestockastorecarriescanvaryfrombusinesstobusinessdependingonthecustomerbase.Our store isgeared towardcustomers looking for abargain.We stock refurbishedcomputers,affordableparts,andspecializeinprovidingfreediagnostics.However,justafew blocks from one of our stores is another small computer business retailer thatspecializesingamingcomputers.Thatstoresellshigh-endcomputers(amuchsmallerandmoredifficultmarket)andasaresult,thestoreisstockedwithlargescreenTVs,high-endmonitors,andthelatestgraphiccards.Bothtypesofstoreshavetherightstockfortheircustomerbase,althoughthereisagreatdealofdifferencebetweenthetwo.Therefore,asyoureadthischapter,thinkaboutyourparticulartargetmarket.

1.WhatTypeofStockDoYouNeed?Whenwepurchasedourfirstcomputerstoreitwasfullofstock.ThepreviousownerssoldeverythingfromCDcasesthatlookedlikestuffedanimalstoaudiocomponentcablesandcomputergames.Fiveyears later,we still havemuchof thatoriginal inventory.What’sworseisthatwefoundthathavingacrowdedstoremeantwehaddifficultymanagingourinventoryandourcustomershadahardtimeknowingwhatwesold!Oncesomeoneevenasked us if we sold computers! When we opened our second store, we sold hardlyanything.The shelves hadonly our best-sellingproducts andour entire investmentwasaround$5,000.So,whichisright?

Well,itdependsonwhattypeofstoreyouwanttobe.Inourcasewedecidedtoreduceourinventorytocomputer-relateditemsonly.Whenyouarestartingout,itisbesttolimityourinventorytoitemsyouknowyoucansell.Otherwise,youcouldwindupwithlotsoffurryCDcases!

Theitemsthatwediscoveredarebigsellersinclude:

•Newdesktopsandlaptops

•Refurbisheddesktopsandlaptops

•Monitors

•Productwarranties(thesecanbethird-party)

•Harddrives(laptopanddesktop)

•RAM(DDR,DDR2,andDDR3fordesktopsandnotebooks)

•Opticaldrives(CD,DVD,Blu-raydrives)

•Printersandprinterink

•Peripheralssuchaswirelesskeyboards,mice,speakers,etc.

•Soundadapters(theseuseaUSBslottoaddaudio)

•Externalharddrivesandharddrivecases

•Virusprotection

•MicrosoftsoftwareincludingoperatingsystemsandMSOffice

•USBflashdrives

•UniversallaptopACadapters

•Backuppowersupplywithvoltageregulators

•Surgeprotectorsandpowerstrips

•Routersandnetworkcards

•Graphiccards(weusuallykeepthemostrecenttechnologycardsaswellasoneortwooldermodelsforrepairs)

•Cables(Cat5,HDMI,etc.)

2.PartsYouProbablyShouldn’tStockAsyouarebuildingyourinventoryitwillbetemptingtostockpartsthatarespecificallyfocused on potential business clients. Items like RAID cards, server parts, oversizedmonitors,etc.,areall tempting items tocarry.However,youshouldkeep these itemsasspecialorder.Afterall,ifabusinessclientdoesneedtheseitems,youcanalwaysgetthemquickly (even if youhave tobuy them retail) butyoucan’t always return them toyourvendorifyoudon’tsellthemquickly.

Neverbuymorestockthanyouneedforamonthorso.Pricesonpartschangefastandnewtechnologyisconstantlybeingreleased.Evenifyouaregettingagreatdeal,itmaynotbeworthbuyingtoomuchofaproductunlessyouaresureyoucanmoveitquickly.Thelastthingyouwanttodoisbestuckwiththousandsofdollarsofoutdatedparts!

3.CarryingNewComputersIfyouaregoingtosellnewdesktopcomputers,themostcost-effectivewaytodothisistobuildthemyourself.Choosingthepartsyouuse,themanufacturers,andthespecsallowsyoutobuildsystemsthatyourcustomerswilllove,thatwillbeprofitable,andthatwon’thavemanywarrantyclaims.

Whenyoustartcarryingcomputers,chooseonlyacouple—maybethree—differentpricepoints.While this sounds limiting, it allowsyou to offer your customers a choicewithoutcreatingmayhem.Offeringtoomanymodelswillcauseconfusion,increaseyourcoststostockinventory,andwillsometimeshinderyoursales.

Atour store,we regularlycarryonly threedesktopmodelsandwedescribe thembyprice(sincethespecschangebasedonthemarket).Duringtheeconomicboom,wesoldcomputersfor$899,$599,and$399.Duringthebustwesoldcomputersfor$599,$499,and$399.Althoughwecanupgradethe$599tobecomeanytypeofcustomsystem,werarelydo.

Laptops aremore difficult tomanage. In general, youwill need to get your laptopsdirectlyfromawholesaler.Unfortunately,thepricesatwholesalersarenearlythesameasprices atoutlet stores andonline retailers.Further, if youdon’t sell the laptopsquickly,youwillfindthattheybecome“old”technologyquicklyand,inamatterofmonths,theycan beworth less than you paid.As a result, it is hard to be competitively priced andprofitablewithlaptops.Duringtheboom,wewereabletoselllaptopssincetheancillarysales(e.g.,warranties,laptopcases,mice)morethanmadeupforthelowmarginonthecomputer.However,intoday’smarketwherepeoplebuyfeweradd-ons,weusuallydon’toffernewlaptopsforsale.

Check thepricesandcheck thecompetition inyourarea. Ifyouaren’t sure,youcanalwaysbuyonelaptopandseehowquicklyitsells.

4.CarryingNotebookPartsThereareonlythreepartsoftheNotebookthatyouwanttokeepinstock:

•Harddrives(keepaboutthreesizesofSATAandmaybeoneortwoIDE).

•RAM(afewsticksofolderDDRandDDR2RAMaswellasnewerRAMsuchasDDR3).

•Universalpowercords(thisisanunusualproductbecauseyoucanbuyitinbulksinceyoucansellthissamemodelforsixmonthsormore).

Some places stock other Notebook parts, such as custom batteries or custom powercords,butunlessyouhaveaverylargecustomerbase,thistypeofinventoryisdifficulttomove.

Other more custom parts (e.g., motherboards, wireless cards) are almost neverpurchasedinadvance.Even largeonlinesellersdon’tusuallybuy thesepartsnew.Mostare recycled fromoldermachines. Therefore, you can build an inventory. Every time acustomergivesa laptopforyoutorecycleyoucanusethismachineforparts,butmakesureeachcomponentisthoroughlytestedbeforeitissold.Otherthanthat,youshouldn’texpecttocarryproprietaryNotebookparts.

5.FindingUsedComputerEquipmentOneofourbiggest sellers inanymarket is refurbisheddesktops, laptops, andmonitors.Duringaboom,customersbuythesesystemsas“kid-friendly”computersthattheydon’thavetoworryabout(weoncehadacustomercomeinandbuyoneforeachchild).Duringabust, customersbuy thesecomputers for themselves as an inexpensiveway toget thetechnologytheyneedtosurftheInternet,createrésumés,andgettheirworkdone.Eitherway,thelow-endcomputers(lessthan$200)andrefurbishedmonitors(lessthan$80)arepopularsellingitems—ifyoucanfindareliablevendorwhosellsthem.

10

Vendors

Therearemanytypesofbusinessesatwhichyoubuyproductsfromafewlargevendorsandpayments and credits are easilyhandled.However,with computer repair and retail,youmayfindyourselfworkingwithothersmallbusinessestopurchaseproductssuchasusedcomputersandoutsourcedrepairs.Therefore,howyoupayforthingsoftenbecomesasimportantaswhereyoubuythem.

Oneoftheworstthingsthatcanhappentoabusiness’sprofitabilityistheft.Itwastesyourmoney,causesyouunnecessarystressandproblems,andmakesitmoredifficult tomeetyourcommitments.Itisevenworsewhenthisthefthappensfrombusinesspartners.Unfortunately,noteverybusinesspartnerisscrupulous.

Thereareafewwaysthatyoucanresearchnewbusinesspartners:

•BetterBusinessBureau:OnethingthattheBBBgivesyouisinformationaboutacompany’scomplaintstatus.NotallreputablecompanieshaveanArating.Sometimes,businessesmayhavecomplaintsthattheyaren’tawareof.Ifyouthinkthebusinessyouwanttoworkwithisinthiscategory,letthemknowabouttheoutstandingissuesandseeiftheycanresolvethemandimprovetheirrating.

•References:Somecompaniesconstantlyburnbridges.Askingforreferencesgivesyouachancetospeakwithsomerecentcustomers.Whatisamazingisthatnotallreferenceswillbepositive.Manypeoplearecandidwhentheyareprovidingreferencesandyoumaylearnmorethanyouwouldexpect.

•Internetreferences:AnotherplacetolookforvendorfeedbackisontheInternet.Tofindreviews,justtypethevendor’snameinGooglewiththeword“review”or“feedback”or“complaints.”Thesesearcheswillusuallyhelpyoufindinformationaboutthecompaniesthatyouarethinkingaboutworkingwith.

Unfortunately, even companies you have done business with in the past can haveproblems in thefuture.Rarelywill they letyouknowtheyare in trouble.Foryears,weorderedourcheck-informsfromthesamecompany.Theywereasmallshopthatprovidedlowpriceseveniftheydidtakealittlelongertodelivertheformsweordered.Duringourlastreordertheowneraskedustopaybycheckinsteadofourusualcreditcardpayment.Wehadtalkedafewtimesanditseemedreasonable.Creditcardscanbeexpensiveforthe

vendor (takingup to5percentofa sale)andourorderwasaround$500.Sincewehadbeenordering from themforyears,wesent themacheck.At first it seemed fine.Theygave us an estimated delivery date and the check cleared. After that, the relationshipsoured.First, thereweredelays,excuses,andproblems.Finally, theystopped takingourcallsanddidn’tevenpretendweweregettingtheproductanymore.WhenwelookedthemupontheBBBtheirratinghaddroppeddramaticallyandtheynowheldan“F”rating.Wenevergotourformsandjustwroteitoffasabaddebt.

1.FindingVendorsFindingvendorsusedtobeoneofthemoredifficultpartsofrunningasmallbusiness.Youneeded to apply to the vendor, get credit lines, etc. However, with the advent of theInternet,therearemanylargeretailersthatofferpricingatornearwholesale.Sometimestheirdealpricesaresolowandoftentimescoupledwithfreeshippingsothat theyoftenmeet or beat our wholesaler pricing on routers, monitors, operating system disks, etc.Someretailersforyoutocheckoutincludeclubstores(e.g.,Sam’sClubandCostco)aswellasInternettechnologyresellers(e.g.,NeweggandOverstock).

Otherretailersmayseemlikeagooddeal,but theyareoftennot.Avoidproductsforresaleatdollarstores (thequality is too lowandsometimes theprice is toohigh),Wal-Mart (your customers probably already shop there and may notice), and large officesupplystoresthatoftenselltheircustombrandsforless.

Ifyouarelookingforcustomparts,oneofthebestplacestostartyoursearchiseBay.Justbesuretocheckthefollowingbeforebidding:

•Figureoutthefinalpriceaftershipping:Sometimesshippingcostsmorethanyouthink.

•Checkthe“shipfrom”location:Somepartsareshippedfromoverseasandwilltakeweekstoarrive.

•Checktheseller’sreputation:Ifthesellerhasn’tsoldalotofparts,orifitisn’thighlyrated,avoidit.Somepeoplesell“untested”partsastestedandthenjustofferareturnpolicy.Dealingwithvendorslikethesecanbecometime-consumingandfrustratingforyouandyourcustomers.

•Readthewarrantyinformation:Dotheyacceptreturns?Whatamountoftime?Yourcustomerswillexpectatleasta30-daywarranty,solookforasolidwarrantyfromyourvendor.

1.1IndustrywholesalersTherearemanywholesalersinthecomputerindustryandtheirpricesvary.Asmentionedbefore,sometimes,evenonlineretailerscanbeatwholesalers’pricesthesedays.However,if you want to check out a few large wholesalers, you may want to try the followingcompanies:

•MaLabs(www.malabs.com):Toseepricingyouwillneedtogetaloginandanassignedsalesperson.MaLabscarriesmostcomputerparts.

•TechData(www.techdata.com):Anotherpartssupplier.

•PrinterEssentials(www.printeressentials.com):Thisisaninkwholesalerincaseyouchoosetocarryprinterinkaspartofyourofferings.

Thereareother localwholesalers thatmayspecialize inusedcomputers.Oneway tofind thesevendors is to joinwholesalingnetworks.Thesenetworks canhelpyouget intouchwithcompaniesinyourarea,whichwillreduceyourshippingcostsdramatically.

NotethattheleastexpensiveplacetogetusedNotebooksisthroughalocalwholesaler.Usually these individuals have relationships with large corporations and buy thecomputersinbulk.Theythengothroughthemachines,fixthem,andresellthem,thistimewith loaded, clean operating systems andwarranties. Finding these resellersmay be aseasyaslookingonCraigslistoralocaldirectory.

1.2VendortermsWhen a company offers you terms, it means that you can purchase its products andservicesand thenhaveaperiodof time (the term) inwhich topay itback.Usually, theterm is about 30days, but sometimes, it can be 60 or even90.The benefit of terms isobvious;youcanstockyourstoreandpayforyourstockfromthesales.However,theriskisifyoudon’tmakethesalesyouexpect,youstillhavetopaythebill.

While it is nice to have the flexibility that terms provide, it is also a good way toincreasedebtquickly. In theyearssince theeconomyslowed,getting termshasbecomemuchmoredifficult.

2.BuildingYourOwnComputersIfyouareinterestedinsellingprebuiltcomputersforyourcustomers,thebestwaytogoabout this is tobuild themyourself.Sinceyouwillneed towarranty thecomputersyoubuild (we offer a one-year warranty with an option for the customer to purchase anextendedwarrantyforuptothreeyears),you’llwanttoknowthey’rebuiltright.Tothatend,ensurethatyouhavehigh-qualitypartsthatarelesslikelytofail.

Topricethesemachines,buildina20to30percentmarginonanynewcomputersales.If you offer computers for less than this, you may have problems when you try tocompletewarrantyrepairs.

However,ifyouareasmallshop,donotbuildmultiplecomputersatonce.Generally,keepa two-weekstockonhand.Remember,youcanupgrade themachineasneededordowngradeitifnecessary.

3.AuctionsAuctionscanbeaplacetofindlow-pricedcomputersortheycanbeaplacetogettakenadvantage of. In general, if you are newly entering the computer field, stay away fromauctions.Ifyouhaveextensivediagnosticexperience,youmaybeabletopurchaseitemsatanauction.Justbeawarethatthebestsystemsarenotusuallysoldatauctions.Manycomputersaresoldthiswaybecausetheoriginalownersknowthemachinesaremissingharddrives,havebadmotherboards,andnousableRAM.

4.WhattoDoIfYouAreTakenAdvantageofbyaVendorTherearemanydifferentwaysthatyoucantrytogetyourmoneyreturnedoraproblemresolved.However,itisalwayseasiertopreventaproblemthantotrytoresolveitlater.Herearesomewaystotryandrecoveryourmoney:

•Escalatetheissue:Thebestwaytobeginistocallthecompanyandtrytoworkoutaresolution.Dependingontheproblem,youmaybeabletobecompensatedevenifyoucan’tgetyourmoneyback.Somevendorshavereturnprograms,otherswillissuearefund,andstillotherswillgiveyoucredittowardyournextpurchase.Mostcompanieswilltrytoworkwithyouandiftheycan’t,askingtospeaktoamanagerorsupervisormaygetyouthedesiredresults.

•Stopthepayment:Dependingonthetypeofproblemyouhave,youmaybeabletostoppaymenttothevendor.Forinstance,ifavendorhastakenpaymentandhasnotprovidedtheproductorservice,thisisagreatwaytohandletheproblem.Thisistheeasiesttodowhenyouhavepaidbycreditcard.Youcansimplycallyourcardcompanyandletthemknowwhathashappened.Theywillbeabletoreversethechargesandgiveyouyourmoneyback.Ifyoupaidbycheck,yourbankcanstopthepaymentaslongasthecheckhasn’tcleared.Ofcourse,ifyoupaidbycashorwiretransfer,youwillnotbeabletostopthepayment.

•BetterBusinessBureaucomplaints:LodgeacomplaintwiththeBetterBusinessBureau(BBB).Ifthevendorwillnothandleyourcomplainttoyoursatisfaction,youhavetheopportunitytolodgeacomplaintwiththeBBB.Whilethiswillworktoescalateyourissuewithsomecompanies,ifthecompanyalreadyhasapoorBBBrating,itwillprobablynotrespond.

•Smallclaimscourt:Ifyouhaveacomplaintagainstabusinessinyourarea,itmaybepossibletotakeittosmallclaimscourt.Ofcourse,thisgetsmorecomplicatedforbusinessesoutsideofyourareaorwhenpurchasesweremadeovertheInternet.

•Civillawsuit:Whenacompanydefaultsonacontract,itmaybepossibletocontactalawyerandmakeamoreformalcomplaint.Ofcourse,thecostassociatedwiththelawyer’sfeesandthedifficultygettingthemoneybackmaymakethisoptionfinanciallyprohibitive.

Whenwillyougetyourmoneyback?Thetruthis,youprobablywon’t.Sure,therearemanywaystorequestyourmoneybereturned,butgettingyourmoneybackmayprovetobeaverydifficultsituation.Ifthecompanyrefusestoworkwithyoufromthebeginning,oddsaregooditdoesn’t intendtoresolvethesituation.Asaresult,youmayfindthat itcan takemore time,money, and effort to get yourmoneyback thanyou reallywant tospend.

Youmaywant to “get even” but as a business owner, thismay not be in your best

interest.Problemslikethesecaneasilyescalateandbemorecostlythantheyareeffective.Thatsaid, itmaybepossible togetsomepublicityaroundyour issue toprevent it fromhappening to others in the future. For instance, although it isn’t likely to resolve yourproblem,itmaybevaluabletoletothersknowaboutyourproblem.Newsagencies,localpapers,andthelikemaybeinterestedincompaniesthataresystematicallyprovidingpoorservice.While it won’t get you your money back, it will give you the opportunity topreventitfromhappeningtoothersandmaygiveyouabitofsatisfaction.

11

On-SiteServiceCalls

Veryoften,customerswillcall,askingtoarrangeanon-sitevisit.Theconversationusuallybeginslikethis:

Customer:“Mycomputer isnotworkingproperly,can Ihavesomeonecomeand fixit?”

Technician:“Sure,whenareyouavailable?”

Ifthetechnicianfailstogetanyfurtherinformationbeforearrangingtheon-sitevisit,heorsheisdoingadisservicetothecustomerandhimselforherself.Forinstance,isitaproblemthetechniciancanfix?Wedon’tknow.TheproblemcouldbethattheInternetisdown or could be another mundane problem. While most technicians will charge acustomerjusttotraveltohisorherhometogivehimorherthisinformation,thecustomerwill resent it.Wemeetpeople everyday that complain about their previous techniciansbecausetheywerechargedforaservicecalllikethis.

Whenacustomercalls,takethetimetoaskafewquestions.Findoutwhattheproblemisandletthepersonknowwhatyouthinkcausedtheissueandwhatyouthinkwillfixtheproblem.Whileyoudon’twanttocommittoanything(letthecustomerknowthisisjustaguesstimate),youdowanttoshowthatyouunderstandtheproblem.

1.DiscussPaymentTermsBefore you agree to goon-site, let the customer know the on-site serviceprice and theminimumservicecharge.Also,askhowheorshewillbepaying.Believeitornot,therearecustomerswhorequeston-siteservicesanddon’teverintendtopay.

Forexample,onecustomercalledusabout a computer shepurchased fromusa fewmonthsearlierandrequestedwecometolookat it.Whenweaskedthequestion,“Howwillyoubepayingforthistoday?”Shereplied,“Paying?WhyshouldIpayforthis,thecomputer is underwarranty?”We then had to explain that the warranty policy did notextendtofreeon-siteserviceand,ifshewantedawarrantyrepair,shewouldhavetobringthecomputertothestore.Sheimmediatelycancelledtheon-site.

2.WhetherorNotYouShouldGoOn-siteOnceyouknowwhattheproblemis,youmayrealizethattheproblemwilltaketoolongtohandleon-site.For instance, reloadingaVistaoperating system(OS)can takehours.Installing theOS, completing all the updates, and finding all the necessary drivers is along process.However, a simple driver update can be done remotelywithout you everbeingon-site.So,howdoyouknowwhattodo?

In general, if you won’t be spending the majority of your time “working” on thecomputer (you will be waiting for scans to run or something similar), we recommendcompletingtheworkatyour locationandchargingaflat fee. Ifyouspendallyour timefocusedononecomputer,anon-siteorremoterepairisappropriate.

Ourtechniciansusuallytellourbusinesscustomerswhenwethinktheywouldbenefitfromanin-storeflatserviceversusanon-sitehourlyservice.Ifthein-storeserviceislessexpensive,wealsooffertheoptionofuscomingtopickupthecomputeranddroppingitoff again (at our usual hourly rate), or allowing the customer’s employee to drop it offinstead. In general, most companies prefer to drop it off themselves than to incur ourpickupanddeliverycharge.

Asyoulearnmoreaboutyourindividualcustomersandgetmoreexperiencewiththetypesofcallsyouwillreceiveyouwillbeabletotuneyourbusinessmodeltomeetyourcustomers’needs.

Asabusinessowner,youcanturndownacustomeratanytime.Ifyouhavereasontobelieveacustomerwon’tpay,has threatenedyouoranotheremployee in thepast,orseems overly hostile, simply turn down the on-site.Never go into a situation if youaren’tcomfortablewiththecustomer.

3.ToolstoBringtoEveryOn-SiteIngeneral,youshouldhaveatoolboxforyouron-sites.Thiswillallowyoutomakesurethatyoubringwhatyouneedtoeveryjob.Ifyoutrytopulltoolsthatyouuseeverydayinyour repairs from your on-site toolbox, odds are good that something will be missingwhenyougotoleaveforajob.Therefore,makeanon-sitetoolboxandmakesurethatthetoolsremainwiththebox.

Beforeyouleaveeachjob,usethetoolboxchecklisttoensurethatyouhavegatheredeverythingfromtheon-sitevisit.Usingsuchachecklistmayseemsilly,but itwillsaveyoumoneycomparedtopurchasingadditional“lost”equipmentorpayingforgastoreturnto a customer’shome topickup the forgottenpart.We lost avery expensiveDeWALTpoweredscrewdriverbecauseoneofourtechsforgotitatajob.

3.1UpsellingwithadditionalitemsOnceyouareatanon-site,youmay find that thecomputer isnot runningaswell as itcould.Maybetheharddriveisalmostfullormaybeitdoesn’thaveenoughRAMtoruntheuser’sapplications.Whatever it is, someof theseproblemscanbesolvedquickly ifyouhavetheproductsonhandforthesale.Someitemsyoumaywanttotakewithyoutoupselltothecustomersinclude:

•Antivirus:Asyoustartworkingwithcustomersyouwillfindthatmanypeopledon’thaveordon’tuseantivirus.Ifyouaretheretodowork,youshouldalwayscheckthecustomer’santivirusstatusandofferhimorherantiviruswithinstallationforsomefixedcost.

•RAM:Customersconstantlycomplainaboutslowcomputers.OneoftheeasiestwaystofixthisproblemiswithadditionalRAMifyouhaveit.Makesuretobringmultipletypes(e.g.,DDR,DDR2,DDR3)inmultiplesizes.Itmayseemlikeasignificantinvestment,butitwillcostyoulessthan$500foryour“fullstock”andwillallowyoutomakeadditionalsaleswithlittleadditionalwork.

•Harddrives:Whileyouprobablydon’twanttoreimageaharddriveataclient’ssite,ifheorsheisrunningoutofspace,itiseasytooffertoaddanadditionaldrivetothedesktop.Ingeneral,youonlyneedtwoorthreeharddrivesandonlydesktopmodels.Onceagain,thisiscoveredwithaninvestmentofaslittleas$200andisasimpleinstallationthatcanearnextradollars.

•Flashdrives:Bringoneortwoflashdriveswithyoutosell.Sometimestheyarenecessary.

•Externalharddrivecases:Occasionally,acustomerhasanoldcomputerwhichheorshenolongerwants,butthepersondoeswantthedata.Keepinganexternalharddrivecaseonhandletsyougivethecustomerhisorherdatawithouthavingtheworkandriskofadatatransfer.Plus,youcanoffertorecycletherestoftheoldmachineforhimorher(whichcanbringyouadditionaldollars).

•Surgeprotectorandvoltageregulator:Ifyourunintoapowersupplythatisblown(whichyouwill),chancesarethecustomerdoesn’thaveasurgeprotectoronthesystemandheorshecertainlydoesn’thaveavoltageregulator.Eitherway,topreventarecurrence,thecustomershouldgetoneortheother.

Makesurethatallofyouritemsavailableforresaleareproperlypackagedandlabeled.Your customer will be more comfortable buying these products from you if he or sherealizes theyarenewandstill in thebox.Also,donotfeel likeyouhaveto takeall theproductsintothecustomer’ssite.Itisperfectlyacceptabletoleavetheminyourcarandjustbringinapricelisttoaidinyourdiscussions.

4.SpecialOrderItemsOfcourse,thereareotheritems,suchascomputers,laptops,andserversthatyoucanhaveyourcustomersorder.Whilemanycustomersmaywanttobuyacomputer,ingeneral,itisbetter to leave these at your business location. If theywant a computer, you can offercompletedeliveryandinstallationforanadditionalcharge(weusuallychargeonehouroflaborforthisservice).

Also,ifthecustomersareorderingcustomequipmentthatyoudon’tnormallykeepinstock (even if it is justanewcomputer),makesure toget somepartof thepayment inadvance.Ifyouthinkitwouldbeeasytoresell,youcantakeadepositofjust50percent.However, if it is a custom part that is very specialized (e.g., laptop battery or slimlinepowersupply),thecustomershouldprepaythefullamount.Toooften,peopleorderitemsand change theirminds. In the case of custom parts, this can be expensive for a smallbusiness.

12

Warranties

Ifyouare sellingcomputers,yourcustomerswill expectyou toofferawarrantyon thesystem.Therefore,youwillneedtothinkaboutwhattypeofpolicyyourbusinesswantstohave. Some companies cover shipping on warranty work — sending the customer aprepaid shipping label, whereas others ask the customer to pay for shipping. Somewarrantiesarefullno-faultwarrantieswhileothersonlycoverrepairsformalfunctioningparts.Youneedtodecidewhatyourbusinesswillorwillnotcover.

Wechoose tocoveronly thoseparts thatare found tobedefective,notparts thatarebrokenduetoabuse,negligence,orcustomererror.Forexample,ifacustomercomesinwithabadmotherboard that has leaking caps, it is usually coveredunder thewarranty.However,whenacustomercomesinwithlooseVGAconnectorsonthemotherboard,andhe or she has admitted the cables are constantly kicked, that is not covered by ourwarranty.

Theproblemisthatmostcustomersbelievethatalmosteverythingshouldbecoveredbyawarranty,includingdamagetheycause.Therefore,inordertomakesureyouavoidcustomer conflicts, document yourwarranty in advance. List everything you cover anddon’tcoverand,ifyouwantto,includeexplanations.Ifyouaren’tsurewhatshouldbeinawarrantyinyourarea,haveyourlawyerreviewthedocumentaswell.

1.WarrantySealsWarranty seals are somewhat controversial but also very helpful. A warranty seal is asticker that goes across the computer in such away to ensure that if the computerwasopened and tampered with you can tell. They are great reminders to customers thatcomputers have fragile parts, and that tampering with the system when you aren’t anexperiencedtechniciancouldresultindamagingit.

Atypicalwarrantysealismadeonspecialstickersthataredifficulttoremove.

The controversy arises when a knowledgeable person wants to make a simple andstandardupgrade.Has theperson reallybroken thewarrantyby removing that seal andupgradingthememory?

In the past, vendors have said that they won’t repair computers that have this sealdamaged or mutilated in any way. However, over the years, there has been somediscussion about the legality of this policy. For instance, customers often upgrade acomputer’sgraphicscard,memory,orharddrive.Should thesestandardupgrades reallybe considered violation of warranty? The answer is no. In general, making a standardupgradetoacomputerisnotconsideredtobeawarrantyviolationevenifitdiddamagethewarrantyseal.Yet,companiescontinuetousetheseseals.Why?Well,tobehonest,itisbecausemostpeoplewilldamagetheircomputer if theystart“messingaround”whenthey notice a problem. Therefore, these seals are important warning labels for mostcustomers.

Atourcompany,whilewedohavewarrantyseals,wealsohonorourwarranty if thesealisbrokenbuttherehasbeennoabuse.Wehavekeptthesealstoremindtheaveragecustomerthatplayingaroundwiththemachinecouldbreakitandcouldvoidthewarranty.Also,weplaceournameandphonenumberon theseal toremindthecustomer that therepairmaybeunderwarranty.

2.KeepingWarrantyCostsReducedWhile a warranty will cost your business somemoney each time a repair needs to becompletedandapartneedstobereplaced, therearemanywaystooffset thesecosts.Insomecases,youmayfindthatacustomercomesinforwarrantyworkandthatworkwillbringinadditionalsales!

2.1MakesurethatthecomputerisunderwarrantyJustbecauseacomputerwaspurchasedfromyourcompanyandithasaproblem,doesn’tmeanitisunderwarranty.However,thatdoesn’tmeancustomerswon’ttrytoinsistitisunder warranty. Before you start exploring the customer’s problem, get the warrantyinformation if he or she says it is a warranty repair. The customer should be able toprovideboth the receipt and thewarranty information.Whileyoucankeep this typeofinformation on record for the customer, remember, this is the customer’s responsibility,notyours.Ifthewarrantyhasexpired,makesurethecustomerunderstandsthatyoucandiagnosethecomputer,buttherepairwillnotbecoveredundertheexpiredwarranty.

2.2SoftwareproblemsarealmostneverunderwarrantyOnehonestcustomermisconceptionisthatsoftwareproblemsareunderwarranty.Ihadacustomer insist that viruses should be covered since that’s why she bought a newcomputer,sothatshewouldn’tgettheseannoyingviruses!Tomyknowledgethereisnohardwaremanufactureranywherethatwouldwarrantyamachineagainstgettingviruses.Ifacomputercomesin“runningslowly”andturnsouttohaveviruses,thevirusremovalis not covered under warranty. Therefore, you can offer the customer the service, butbeforeyoubegin,makesureheorsheunderstandsthatthistypeofworkisnotcoveredbythewarrantyandtherewillbeachargefortheservice.

Thereareafewcasesinwhichsoftwarecouldbecovered.Forinstance,ifyouforgottoinstallthedriversonanewcomputer,thiswouldbecoveredbymostwarranties(andgoodservicepolicies).Otherthanthat,almosteverythingelseisnotincluded.

2.3AbuseshouldnotbecoveredOneofthemostdamagingthingsacustomercandotohisorhercomputerissmokeinthesameroom.Wehaveseensomanycomputersthatarefullofdustanddebrisbecausetheownerssmokedin thesameroom,or left theminverydusty,hot rooms. Inothercases,customers have hooked the machine directly into the wall outlet without a voltageregulatororsurgeprotector.

Incaseslikethese,thecomputerhasbeenabusedandthereisnomanufacturingdefect.Therefore,thistypeofdamageistypicallynotcoveredbyawarranty.Makesuretoshowthecustomertheoverwhelmingsmokedustorthedamagetomultiplepartstoproveyourassertion.Otherwise,itcouldappearasifyoudon’tstandbehindyourproduct.

2.4PartscanbereplacedatlittleornocosttoyouOnceyouhavedetermined that the computer is underwarranty and that theproblem isalsounderwarranty,youshouldtrytocompletetherepairatthelowestcostpossible.Thisusually begins by choosing reliable vendors and well-made products to sell to yourcustomer.Whetheryouchoosetobuyorbuildyourcomputers,makesureyoufindqualityproductsthatcomewithwarrantiesoftheirown.

Forinstance,ourcomputersarecustombuiltwithpartsweknowarereliableandarecreatedbycompaniesthatstandbytheirproducts.Asaresult,whenapartbreaks,wecanreturn it directly to the vendor. This is typically done with a Return MerchandiseAuthorization (RMA).The result is that thevendor replaces thepartandallwehave topayisthecostofshippingtothevendor.Sinceweusuallydothisonceamonth,thecostsareoftenonlyafewdollarsforareplacementmotherboardorharddrive!

MakesuretocompleteRMAsatleastonceamonth.Manymanufacturerschangetheirproducts a few times ayear tomake sure that products that are tooold and are brokenbecauseofnormalwearandteararenotabletobereturnedasnewparts.

Ifyourvendorwon’ttakebackthepart,checkwiththemanufacturer.Oftentimes,thepartsyouused tobuild the computerwill comewithwarranties.Many large companieswill accept these parts and replace themwith a new part of same or better value. Forinstance, if you look at the Seagatewebsite, you can enter the serial number of a harddriveanddiscoverif it isunderwarranty.If it is,youcanreturnthatproduct toSeagatewithoutevenfindingthereceipt!

Withsomegoodrecordkeepingandbypurchasinghigh-qualityparts,youcankeepthecostsforreplacementpartstoalmostnothing.

3.LookforUpSellingOpportunitiesThecustomermaybeinthestoreforareplacementpart,butthatdoesn’tmeanthattherearen’totheropportunitiesforupselling.Forinstance,weallowourcustomerstopurchasea three-yearwarranty.Whenacustomercomes inwitha three-year-old computer underwarranty,theremaybeadditionalupsellingopportunities.DoesthecustomerwantmoreRAM?Ifwearereplacingtheharddriveanyway,doesheorshewanttospendafewextradollarstogetalargerdrive?Howaboutthelatestandgreatestoperatingsystemsincewehave towipe and reload anyway? Sometimeswhen your customers are already gettingsomeoftheworkforfreetheymaybewillingtospendafewextradollarsforthebetterpart.

4.Don’tLettheWarrantyScopeCreepSo, the hard drive failed on your customer’s new computer.What are you obligated torepair? According to your warranty, all you owe the customer is a new hard drive.However,thecustomerisfurious.Allofherapplications,photos,anddocumentswereonthatmachine!Shewantsafulldatarecovery.Whatareyougoingtodo?

Ingeneral,makingsureyouhaveaclearlyoutlinedwarrantypolicyisthefirststepinclearingupthiskindofaproblem.However,ingeneral,thisisyourdecision.Youcould,if youwant to help the customer, try to recoverwhat you can.However, be careful ofscopecreep.Once these thingsstart, they tend togrow.Forexample, ifyourecoverherdata,areyoualsogoingtotrytogetherapplicationkeys?Ifyouare,willyoureinstallallthefreeappsshehadinstalledaswell?Whataboutherantivirus?Theissueis thatonceyou allow a little bit of scope creep it’s hard to figure outwhere to stop, so keepyourwarrantyworklimitedtothescopeofyourwarranty.

13

ProvideGreatCustomerService

Ifyourcustomerslikeyou,theywill tellalloftheirfriends.Unfortunately, if theydon’tlikeyou,theywillstilltellalloftheirfriends.

Howdoyoukeepyourbusinessgrowinginsteadofshrinking?Oneofthebestwaystogrowyourbusinessisthroughfantasticcustomerservice.Havingapositiveattitude,afastturnaroundtime,andhigh-qualityworkwillconvinceyourcustomersthatyouareagreatcompanywithwhichtodobusiness.OurstoresinArizonadon’tdoanyadvertising.Wedon’tpayforanyads,coupons,orproductplacement.Thereasonisthatoncewebuiltourbusiness, it continued to grow through customer referrals.Most of our new customerscomeasrecommendationsfromothercustomers.Thismeansthatwecontinuetogetnewbusinessandgrowwithoutanyfinancialinvestment!Greatcustomerserviceislikethat.

Witharepairbusiness,yourcustomerservicestartsassoonasyougetthecallandwillcontinueuntiltheproblemisresolved.Sinceyouwantyourcustomerstocallyouwithalltheircomputerproblemsandquestions,youwanttobuildastrongrelationshipthroughoutthe entire problem process. Remember, customers are usually frustrated and annoyedwhentheyhavecomputerproblems,soitisalwaysyourjobtomakesurethattheyhaveapositiveexperience.

Customerserviceinthecomputerbusinessbeginsbeforeyoueverseethecustomerortouchtheperson’scomputer.

1.TipstoProvideGreatCustomerServiceOneof themost amazing thingswehaveobservedover the years is that a technician’sattitudecaneithergroworsinkthebusiness.Wehavehiredpeoplewhoweregreatwithcustomers,andpeoplecomeinaskingforthembyname.Othertechnicianshavebeensobad thatafter they left, customers returned saying that theywereglad theywere finallygone.Tokeepyourbusinessthriving,makesuretofollowthesimplerulesoutlinedinthenextfewsections.

1.1PlainlanguageworksbestUseplainlanguagesothatyouareunderstoodbyyourcustomer.Ifthecomputerishavinga problem connecting to theWAN, don’t use technical jargon by referring to the IEEE802.11standardwhenyoucouldsimplytellthecustomerhisorherWiFiisn’tworking.

Ingeneral,usingtechnicaljargonisamistakemanynewtechniciansmake.Whiletheymay believe this makes them look knowledgeable and experienced, it usually doesn’t.Mostcustomerssimplyseethetechnicianascondescendingandobnoxious.

1.2AnswerthephonepolitelyMakesuretoanswerthephonewithasmileandbeupbeatandpositive.Rememberthatwhenyouget a call, the customerhas a problemandheor shewants toknow that thepersonheorsheis talkingtocanfixtheproblem,andisnotsomeonewhowillmakeitworse. A positive attitude is a great way to convince a customer he or she is in goodhands.

1.3EmpathizewithyourcustomerWhenacustomerbringsyouanissue,besympatheticandunderstanding.Shouldheorshehaveknowntobackuptheharddrive?Sure,butthatdoesn’tmeanthatyoushouldtellthecustomerthiswhenheorsherealizesheorshejustlostallthefamilyphotosfromthelasttenyears.Furthermore,eventhoughyoumaybehappytohavefoundtheissue,abadharddrive is not goodnews for anyone.Whenyou relate the problem,make sure youdon’tappeartoo“happy”tohavefoundtheproblem.Thiscouldbemisunderstoodasalackofempathy.

1.4Providingsolutions,notjustproblemsLet’sfaceit;everyonewhobringsacomputer toacomputerrepairshophasaproblem.Theyaren’tpayingyoutotell themwhat’swrong.Theyalreadyknowthattheyhaveanissue;theyarepayingyouforasolution.

Whenyoucall a customer to let himorherknowyou found the causeofhisorherstress,don’tdwellontheissue.Immediately,providewhatyoubelievethesolutionshouldbe.Forinstance,whenyoucallaboutabadharddrive,youshouldmentionthatyoucantryadatarecovery.Ifthecustomerhasviruses,immediatelystartdiscussinghowyoucancompleteavirusremoval.Youcantellyouaredoingthiswellwhenyouaredrivingtheconversationforward.Ifthecustomerhastoask,“Well,whatcanyoudotofixit?”Youneedtopracticetheskillofprovidingsolutionsandnotjustproblems.

1.5KeepingthecustomerintheloopWhenyouareworkingwithcustomers,youneed tobehonest aboutwhat ishappeningwiththeircomputer.Unfortunately,mostpeoplehaveassumptionsaboutcomputerrepair.Theythinkthatassoonastheybringtheircomputerintoatechnicianitwillbeservicedimmediately. They sometimes believe repairs are easy and will be done faster than isreallypossible.Thebestwaytomanagetheseunrealisticexpectationsistocommunicateoftenandhonestlywithyourcustomers.

Assoonastheywalkin,letthemknowhowlongadiagnosticusuallytakes.Onceyouhaveidentifiedtheproblemandtheprobablesolution,makesuretogivethemarealistic(notoptimistic)estimateofhowlongitwilltaketofix.Ifyourunintoanyissuesthataregoingtoextendthetimeittakestofixtheissue,callthemandletthemknowimmediately.Themoreinteractionyouhavewiththecustomers,themoreunderstandingtheywillbe.

2.WhenSomethingGoesWrongNomatter how hard you try tomake sure everything goes smoothly, there are alwaysproblemsthatwillarise.Workingpartswillbreak,vendorswillbelate,andworkwilltakelonger than you expected. However, how you handle these problems will make thedifferencebetweenhavingaveryhappycustomerandaveryhostilecustomer.

Icannotcountthenumberoftimesacustomercameintothestorewithacomputerandwehave identified the failedpartasamotherboardoranotherpart.Unfortunately,whatkillsonecomponent inacomputeroftenkillsothers.Justbecause theCPUseems tobeworking,doesn’tmeanthatitis.Oneofthehardestconversationsyoucanhaveiswhenyouhavetocallthecustomerandlethimorherknowthatanotherpartofthecomputerisbroken.Thisconversationwillbeeasier if you followed the steps for doing a completediagnostic.Unfortunately,whatyoudidbeforethiscallmattersalmostasmuchasthecallitself.Forinstance:

•Thecustomershouldhaveknownthattherewererisksthatotherpartsofthecomputercouldbebroken,sothiscustomershouldn’tbeblindsidedwhenyoucall.

•Youshouldbeworkingonthecomputerinatimelymanner.Thismeansthatyoudidn’twaitdaysorweekstotestthecomputerandfindadditionalproblems.Ifyoucallwithinthefirstdayorso,customersaremorelikelytobelievetheproblemispartoftheoriginalissueandnotsomethingyoudid.

Assumingthatthesethingshavebeendone,whenyoucall,letthecustomerknowwhatadditionaltestsyouranandwhatyoufound.Then,assoonasyoutellthecustomeraboutthebrokenpart,makesuretoalsotellhimorherwhatcanbedonetorepairthecomputer.Thisletsthecustomerknowthattherearestilloptions.Givehimorherafewminutestodecide but make sure to have the person agree or disagree with you doing additionalrepairs.Onceanotherproblemisfound,itmaynolongerbeworthwhiletofixthemachineorperhapsthepricewillincrease.Makesurethecustomerhasaclearpictureofwhatthenewcostwillbe,andgetaclearconfirmationofwhetherornotheorshewantstomaketherecommendedrepairs.

3.HandlingReturnsIngeneral,therearen’ttoomanyreturnsinthecomputerrepairfield.Serviceisobviouslynotreturnable(howcouldyoutakebackavirusremoval?)andmostissueswithpartsarehandled through the manufacturer, not the store directly. As a result, there is limitedcustomerconflictaroundreturns.Themostcommonly returned itemsare thecomputersthemselves. Therefore, it is important to have a solid policy in place about computerreturns.

Since computers are delicate electronics, it is possible for customers to damage theequipmentandthenreturnit.Therefore,ifyouallowreturns,youdon’twanttoletareturnbeavailablefortoolong.Atourstore,weonlyallownewcomputerstobereturnedwithinsevendaysandthereisa15percentrestockingfee.Therestockingfeeallowsustocoverthecostsofthecreditcardtransactionfees,testingthecomputerbeforeresale,andwipingand reloading the operating system. To be clear, this policy is posted in our store andwrittenonthereceipts.However,thisstilldoesn’tstopproblemsfromoccurring.

The worst return problem we ran into was a customer who called saying that shewanted to return her computer because “it doesn’t send email attachments.” Since weoftenhelpourcustomerswithproblemslikethisforfree,weofferedtohelpherwithheremailprogramandshowherhowtoaddtheattachmentherself.Sheagreedandwetaughtherhowtosendattachments.Thenextday, shecalledback insisting that sheneeded toreturnthecomputer.Whenweaskedherwhattheproblemwas,shebecameirritatedandstartedyellingthatshejustwantedtoreturnit.Weaskedwhenshepurchasedthemachine— it was more than two months earlier. We then explained that according to ourcompany’s return policywe could not accept the computer back after twomonths.Ourreturnpolicyclearlystatedthatithadtobereturnedinthefirstsevendays.Atthatpoint,shejuststartedyellingthatwehadtotakethecomputerandsheexpectedustogotoherhomeandpick itup!Needless to say,weendedour relationshipwith thisunreasonablecustomer.Unfortunately,nomatterwhatyoudo,therewillalwaysbecustomerslikethis.However, making your policies clear in writing makes it much easier to handle theseproblemswhentheydoarise.

4.CustomerLessonsYouNeedtoLearnThere are many lessons we have learned over the years, which are discussed in thefollowingsections.

4.1Peoplelie!Just because a customer reports something is working, doesn’t mean that it really is.Sometimes,heor she reallydoesn’tknowwhat isbrokenand,other times,heor she istryingtohideaproblemhopingthatyouwillrepairitbecauseyouwillthinkyoubrokeit!

Onecustomercameinforafree15-minutediagnostic.Her issuewasthat thesystemwasrunningslowly.Weworkedwithherforafewminutesandrealizedthatsheonlyhad256KofRAM.WeofferedherRAMandtoinstall itforanadditionalfee.Shechosetopurchase theRAM and install it herself. The next day she returnedwith the computersayingshechangedhermindandthatshewantedustodotheRAMinstallationinstead.Although she had just been in, we started the entire diagnostic again, beginning withturningonthecomputer.Whenwetriedtoturniton,nothinghappened.Wecheckedthepowersupplyanditwasnolongerworking.ItwasthenthatshementionedthatshetriedtoinstalltheRAMandhadrunintoaproblem.So,sheremovedtheRAMandbroughtthemachineback tous. Ifwehadn’t started that technical reviewall over again, she couldhaveclaimedthatwebrokethepowersupply.

Completingafull-techinspectionbeforeyoustartworkingonthecomputerdoesn’tjustsavethecustomer;itcansaveyourbusinessaswell.

4.2Customersdon’talwaysknowwhattheyneedTherearetimescustomerswalkinthedoorwiththeircomputeraswellastheirdiagnosis.Theymaysay,“MycomputerhasvirusesandIwantavirusremoval.”Or,“Myoperatingsystemiscorrupt;canyoudoaWindowsrepair?”Justbecausetheyareusingrepairtermsdoesn’tmeantheyhavedoneaprofessionaldiagnosis.

Beforeyoubelieveanyof thesecustomers,makesure tocompleteyourown testing.Checkinthecomputerandbeginyourentiretestprocess.Youcanstartcheckingforwhattheybelieveisn’tworking,butmakesurethatitdoesn’tinfluenceyourreview.Wehavehad customers that come in complaining about viruses because they can’t get on theInternet.Afterabriefinspection,wehavefoundtheirwirelesscardwasturnedoffontheirlaptop.AnothercustomerwassureheneededanOSrepair,buthiscomputerhadafailingharddrive.

Toalayperson,thesymptomsmayalllookthesame,butthecustomeriscountingonyoutogetitright.Afterall,ifyoudotheworkthecustomerrequestsanditdoesn’tfixtheproblem,heorshewillcertainlyblameyouinsteadofhimselforherself.

4.3AlmostallcustomerscareabouttheirdataOneofthehardestthingstolearnistospeaklikealaypersonwhenyouaretalkingwithacustomer.Oftentimes, thecustomer’sdatawillbeputat risk,or sometimeswithawipeandreload,thedataisdeletedcompletely.Mostofyourcustomerswillwanttokeepthedata from their computer. If the customer agrees to lose his or her data too quickly,chancesareheorshehasn’tunderstoodwhatyouareasking.Forexample:

Technician:“Isitokayifwewipeyourharddrive?”

Customer(withoutpausing):“Yeah,sure,whateverittakestogetthecomputerrunningright.”

Evenifthecustomerhassignedalltherightformsandgivenyouverbalapproval,oddsaregoodheorshehasnotunderstoodthemeaningofwhatyoujustasked.Whenitcomestodatadeletion,makesureyouareveryclearaboutwhatishappeningandwhy.Abetterwaytoaskthequestionwouldbe:

Technician:“Ifwedothis,itwilldeleteeverythingonyourcomputer.Thismeansthatyouwillloseallyourphotos,documents,andanyInternetbookmarksorpasswordssavedon this computer as well as all your programs such as Microsoft Office, accountingsoftwaresuchasTurboTax,oranyothergamesordataonyourcomputer.”

Atthatpoint,ifthecustomeragrees,youknowthatheorsheunderstandsexactlywhatwillbehappeningandwhatwillbelostiftheworkiscompleted.Ifthecustomerdoesn’twant to losehisorherdataorprograms,youcandiscussotheroptionsandalternatives.Eventhen,makesurethecustomersignsaformstatingheorsheunderstandseverythingwillbegone.

4.4Do-it-yourselferscanbecostlyWhenyoustartgettingregularcustomers,youmayfindthatsomeofthesepeoplemaybedo-it-yourselfers.Theymayhave startedworkingon their computer and then ran intoaproblem thatwas toodifficult for them to resolve.Many times peoplewill ask to havethesecomputersdiagnosed,buttheseindividualscanbeexpensiveforyourbusiness.Forinstance, someof thesepeoplewillwant to talk about their computer indefinitely.Theywant to know what they did wrong, how to do it right, and more. While theseconversationscanbeinterestingatfirst,theywilltakeyourtimeandoften,notgiveyouanyreturn.Ifyouareatanon-site,theymaythinkthatyoushouldn’tchargeforthetimeyou spent “talking shop” and will only want you to bill for your repair time. At youroffice,theymayhangaround,wantingtolearnwhat theycanandthenmaketherepairsthemselves.

Theproblemwith thesepeople is that theywilldistractyoufromworkandthemoreyoutellthem,themoretheyexpectyouwillhelpthem.Sincetheyaren’ttechnicians,thismeansthattheystartexpectingthatyouwilltalkthemthroughtheirproblemsforfree.

Oneofourtechnicianscameupwithagreatwayofdiscouragingthistypeofbehavior.Whenacustomerbringsinacomputerthatneedstoberepaired,ifheorsheasks,“CanIdo that myself”? We now ask, “Are you comfortable making modifications to yourBIOS?”Ifthepersonis,thenitislikelyheorshecanhandleanyproblemheorshemayencounter. Ifheorshe isnot,heorshewill realize thatwhilemostof theworksoundssimple,sometimestheproblemisdeeperthanitseems.

4.5PeoplearewillingtopaybeforetheproblemisfixedAlwaysdiscusspricebeforeyoudowork.Ifyouwaituntilafterthecomputerisfixedtomentiontheprice,youwillrunintosituationsinwhichyouhavecompletedtheworkandthecustomereitherdoesn’thavethemoney,doesn’twanttheservice,orsimplythinksheorshecanreducetheprice.

Forexample, a customer brings in a computer that is running slowly and during thediagnosis (whichatourstore is free),wedetermine themachine justneedsmoreRAM.While thecomputer is stillopen,we tell thecustomer thatwecandouble theRAMfor$80.Weexplainthatthecostsare$15fortheinstallation,$59forthepart,and$6forthetax.Usually, the customer agrees, andwe complete the part installation in front of thepersonandallowhimorhertotestthemachinebeforeheorsheleaves.Ifthecustomerishappywiththespeed,heorshepaysthe$80.Ifnot,wecanremovetheRAMandthereisnocharge.(IhaveneverhadtoremovetheRAM.)

Let’s say that you complete theupgrade first and then ask the customer if heor shewants to “keep it like that” for $80. Now you have already completed the “service”portionwithouthisorherapproval,sothelikelyquestionis,“WhydoIneedtopaythe$15-servicefeewhenitonlytookyouaminute?”Or,sincethecustomerjustwatchedyoudotheinstall,heorshemayask,“Couldn’tIhavedonethatmyself?”(Nevermindthatthepersondidn’tknowthedifferencebetweentheRAMstickandtheharddrivebeforeheorshewalkedin.)Eitherway,youhavewastedyourtimeandnowhaveacustomerissue.Gettingapprovalfortheworkinadvancepreventsproblemslikethese.

4.6PeoplewillwantcustomworkdoneforfreeWhenwefirststartedthebusiness,wewereeagertogetanynewcustomerwecould.Asaresult,weoftenmadeconcessionsforcustomersthatwantedthings“justalittledifferent”ordidn’tquitehaveenoughmoney.Inevitably,everytimewewentaroundourpoliciestohelp these customers, theywere still not happy.For instance, one customer complainedthatthecasewesoldherforhernewcomputerwastoolarge.(Obviouslyshehadtoseethecasebeforesheboughtit,buthey,whynothelpherout?)Shemadeabigfuss,soweorderedanewsmallercaseandtransferredallthecomponentsforfree.Thistime,insteadofcomplainingabout thesize, shecomplained that it stillweighed toomuch.Whenwerefusedtomovethesystemathirdtime,shefoughtusandcomplainedabouttheservice.

Iknowthismaysoundlikeagrossgeneralization,butitcomesfromyearsandyearsofexperience.While itmay sound likeanaberration,unfortunately, the situation is all toocommon. For some reason, peoplewho are very particular andwant to customize theirordersarealsomorelikelytocomplainabouthowmuchcustomworkwascompleted—forfree.

14

ExtraSourcesofIncome

Asabusinessowner,youhavetheopportunityofaddingothersourcesofincometoyourbusiness.As youwork, keep an eye out for new services and products your customersrequest. What starts as a small side income could expand in a direction you neverexpected.Thischapterlistssomeofthesidebusinessesthatcouldmeanbigrevenueforyou.

1.MaintenancePlansIfyougetregularbusinesscustomers,youmaybeabletointeresttheminamaintenanceplan.Whatthismeansisthatyouwillarriveattheirplaceofbusinessatasettimeeachmonth (or sometimes week) to handle any on-site issues they may have. For small,growingbusinesses,thismaybeaninexpensiveoptionasopposedtohavingyourownon-sitestaff.Foryou,thissourceofincomecanprovideregularrevenue.

2.ComputerRecyclingInmostareas,youarenotallowedtothrowawaytechnologyequipment.Insomeplaces,homeownershavetobringtheiroldtechnologyequipmenttospecialdisposalareas.Thesetypes of laws make it difficult for most people to get rid of old, worn-out computers.However,whencomputersarebeingrepairedorinspected,youwilloftenfindcustomerswithcomputerstheynolongerwantanddon’twanttobotherdisposingofthemselves.

Youcanofferyourcustomersachancetorecycletheircomputerswithyou.Iftheynolongerwanttheequipment,takingitofftheirhandsisgreatforyouandforthem.Therearemanythingsthatyoucando torecycle theequipment,asdescribedin thefollowingsections.

2.1RepairandsellAlthoughitmaynotbecosteffectiveforthecustomertorepairanoldermachine,foryou,itmaybejustfine.If thepersonneeds towipeandreloadacomputer, itwilloftencosthimorherbetween$100and$200evenifthecomputerisstillanoldmachine.However,asatechnician,completingawipeandreloadmaybesimpleandyoucanturnaroundandsellthecomputer.

Completingrepairsgivesyouausablecomputer thatyoucansellasausedmachine.Justmakesuretofullytestthecomputerbeforeyoudoanysoftwarerepairs.Ifanypartsfail,itmaybeworthkeepingpartsofthecomputerinsteadofrepairingit.

2.2KeepthecomputerforpartsThecomputermaybeinbadshape,but thereareoftenparts thatyoucanreuse.DoesithaveRAM?Is thepowersupply inworkingorder?Does ithaveagoodCPU?Keepingsomeusedcomputersonhandmeansthatyouhaveaninventoryofusedpartsforrepairs.Sure,theyaren’tabletobesoldforasmuchasanewsystem,butconsideringtheycostyounothing,salesofanyofthesepartsarepureprofit.Ingeneral,strippingacomputerforpartscanbeveryprofitableandevenanonworkingcomputercanmakeyou$50to$100afterthepartshavebeenfullytestedandresold.

RAMisgenerallygoodinthesystem.VeryrarelyisbadRAMthesourceofcomputerfailures.With that said, you should still run tests (e.g.,QTP)on each stick individuallybeforemaking itavailable for resale.BecauseusedRAMisasdurableasnew,youcanoftensellusedRAMforjust$10lessthanthepriceofnew.InQ1of2011,astickof1GDDR2usedcouldbesoldforasmuchas$35andwouldsavethecustomerbetween$10and$15offofthepriceofnew!

Powersuppliesareoneof themostcommonpartsofacomputer thathaveproblems.This part needs to be tested thoroughly before resale. Further, a normal power supplytestermaynotbeenough,sincemostofthesetestersdon’ttestalltheconnectors.Ifyouplaceanonworkingpowersupplyinanotherwisegoodsystem,youcanshortoutworkingparts.WhileIwouldn’tbeopposedtousingusedpowersupplies tobuildusedsystems,sellingthemtocustomerswithouthavingfullytestedthemisarisk.

Harddrivesareanothereasyparttotestandresell.Onceagain,QTPhasatestingtoolwhichallowsyoutocheckeverypartofthedriveaswellasthedrivespeed.Ifthedriveisrunning too slowly, or if the drive fails, it should not be resold — even if it works.However,ifitworks,usedharddrivescanbesoldforasmuchas$20fora20Gdrive,or$55 foran80Gdrive! Just remember,beforeyou sell anyusedharddrive, it shouldbewipedcleanofolddata.

2.3SellthepartsoneBayorCraigslistInsomecases,youwillfindthatcustomershavegivenyouspecialtycomputersorlaptopsfor recycling. Since these computers vary greatly, it is oftenworth putting the parts onCraigslistoreBay.Workingandtestedcustompartsareoftenpricedbasedonavailability.For example, an old slimline power supply can run as high as $100 for a usedreplacement.Whilethismaysoundcrazytomostofus,theirrarityincreasestheprices.

2.4ScrapitEven ifeverysinglepartof thecomputer isbeyond repair, thecomputer stillhasvalue.Keeping thecomputerpartsandcollecting themwill allowyou to turn them inat scrapprices.Becauseof the specialmetals that areused inCPUsand sometimeswiring, youmayneedtodivide thecomputers intoparts.Typically,apoundofCPUswillpaymorethanapoundofcasemetal.

Collectingalloftheparts togetherandfindingarecyclingcompanyinyourareawillmakesurethatcollectingscrapcomputersfromyourcustomersremainsprofitable.

3.WebsiteSalesSince you are going to have awebsite, youmay aswell sell your products on the site.Althoughyoumaynotgetmuchtrafficatfirst,havingyourproductsuponawebsitewillserve as one way of tracking your inventory. Plus, if you get news coverage or otherpublicity,theWebtrafficitgeneratescanquicklyturnintoretailsales!

4.InventoryTokeepthingssimple,determinewhatyouwanttosell.Youmayjustwanttolimityouronlinebusinesstoafewusedornewcomputers.Or,ifyouhavesomefreetime,youmaylisteveryproductthatyoucancarry.Unlessyouaregettingalotoftraffic,donottrytokeep inventory for these sales.Remember,most people expect Internet orders to take adayortwotoship.Thatwillgiveyouplentyoftimetorebuildamachineorfindapartifyouneedto.ThecostofkeepingalargeinventoryforInternetsalesthatnevermaterializecouldbeexpensive.

5.DropShippingAnotheroptionistoworkwithsomevendorsthatarewillingtodo“dropshipping.”Whatthismeansisthatyouputthevendor’sproductsonyourwebsite.Yourpriceisthecostthevendorchargesyouplustheprofityouwanttomakeonthevendor’sproduct.

Next,youensure thatshippingandhandlingiscorrectlymanaged.Then,yousell thevendor’s productswithout keeping anything in inventory.When the product is ordered,yousimply take theorder,andenter it intoyourvendor’s system.Becauseyourvendordoesdropshippingitwillshiptheproductdirectlytothecustomerfromyou.Thismeansthatinsteadofshowingthevendor’sname,itwillallowyoutoprovidethereceiptforyoursale.

For instance, one of my suppliers allows drop shipping with TVs. Let’s say that acustomerordersaTVonourwebsitefor$1,000includingshipping.However,thecosttous, including shipping, is only $900 for our vendor. We then provide the customer’sinformationtothedropshipperanditsendstheTVtothecustomer!SincethewarrantyfortheTVisthroughthemanufacturerandnotthroughthedistributer,weshouldn’thavetohandleanyproblemswiththeTV.

Theonlythingtobeawareofisthereturnpolicy.Sincemanyvendorsdon’thaveaneasyreturnpolicy,youmayneedtoadoptthesameterms.Afterall,ifthecustomerreturnstoyoua$1,000TV,youwillthenhavetotrytofindawaytosellitorswallowyourcostoftheTV!

6.WebsiteDevelopmentandDomainResellerAnother way tomake some extra sales is to offer website development and become adomain reseller. GoDaddy offers a simple program that will allow you to become anofficial reseller completewith your ownwebsite, shopping cart, and the ability to takecredit cards. Although this program does have associated yearly fees, it may beworthwhileifyouplantocompleteenoughsales.

Also,ifyouaregoingtosellwebsitedomains,youmaywanttoofferwebsitedesignaswell.WithtoolssuchasWordPressandJoomla!availableit’seasytomakeprofessional-lookingwebsitesthatcanearnyouasmuchas$500to$1,000formostsales.

15

ExpandingYourBusiness

As more and more customers find out about your business, you may find yourselfstruggling tokeepupwithdemand.Once thishappens,youmayfind that it is easier toexpandthantorunyourselfraggedwithwork!Thereareafewdifferentwaystodothis;youcouldaddexistingstaff,openaretailstoreofyourown,purchaseanexistingstore,orevenbuyintoafranchise.Ofcourse,eachofthesehasdifferentrisksandbenefits.

1.HiringEmployeesOneoftheeasiestwaystoexpandyourbusinessandmaintaincontrolofyourbrandistoaddanotheremployee.

Whenyouarelookingforanewteammember,therearemanydifferentqualitiesthatyou will want to find. The most obvious is someone who has the technical skills tocompletethejob.However,moresubtlerequirementsareoftenmorecritical.Forinstance,ifyouarehiringa technician,youneed tobeable toworkwithhimorher.During theinterviewprocessyouneedtodetermineifyoucanhaveaworkingrelationship.

Atourstores,weprideourselvesonhavingdown-to-earthtechniciansthatworkwellwith customers. When we interview new techs, my wife found a way to weed outtechniciansthatwouldn’tfitwithourstore.Sheoftenasksanewintervieweetohelpherwith some broken-down used system in the back (not a customer computer). Now, thecomputerproblemscouldrangefrommissingaharddrivetoanobscureoperatingsystemproblem—eitherway, she acts like she has no ideawhat iswrong.Watching thewaypeople respond to this test tells us how theywill respond to customers. The techs thatmake it through the testusuallydiagnose theproblemandpromptlygiveher the result.Thetechsthatfailarecondescendingandrudeduringthetest.Onewentsofarastoaskherhowshecouldberunningthestore!Thepointis,thetestshowsnotjustskillbutalsopersonality.

1.1Paperwork,paperwork,paperworkAssoonasyouhireanemployee,youwillneedtomakesurethatyouhavecompletedallthe appropriate employment paperwork. Hiring a new employee means managing allaspects of adding a new employee (e.g., regular payroll, paying payroll taxes, payingworkers’compensation,updatinginsurance).Onewaytodothiswithrelativelylittleworkistohireapayrollcompany.Forlessthan$100permonth,youcangettheentirefunctionoutsourcedandevenofferyournewemployeedirectdeposit.

Therearetwodocumentsyoushouldaskyournewemployeestoreadandsign:

•Non-competeagreement:Iftheemployeeleavesyourcompany,thisdocumentsaysthatheorsheisnotallowedtostealyourclientsandcustomers.

•Non-disclosureagreement:Thisdocumentensuresthattheprocessesandformsthatyouuseatyourbusinessarenotallowedtobedistributedtoyourcompetitorsbyemployeesorformeremployees.

1.2TrainingnewemployeesOnceyouhavechosenwhowilljoinyourteam,thenextstepistogetthepersononboardwith your system and your processes. Adding an employee is about expanding yourbusinessandbrand,notfindinganewwaytodothings.

Haveyournewtechnicianshadowyouasyouwork.Thismeansthatinsteadofhimorherworking alone, the employee should bewatchingwhat you do and how you do it.Teachhimorheraboutyourforms,tools,andprocesses.

1.3TransitioningyourexistingclientstonewemployeesIf you have a retail storefront, transitioning your clients to new employees is easy.However,ifyourbusiness ismadeupalmostentirelyofon-sitevisits,expandingtoaddnewemployeeshasariskassociatedwithit.Itispossiblethatanewemployeeyousendtoabusinessclientcouldeventuallytrytostealyourclient!

Wehadaclientwedidbusinesswithregularly.Whenbusinessstarted topickupwefound another part-time technician to do the additional on-sites. This seemed to beworkingwellforthefirstmonthortwo.Then,oneofourbigclientsstoppedcalling.AfteramonthorsoIstoppedbyjusttoseehowthingsweregoing.Guesswhowasthere?Ourtechnician!Iseveredtherelationshipwithboth.

2.OpeningaRetailLocationConsiderwhetheryoureallyneedtoopenaretailstore.Athrivingcomputerbusinessmaynot benefit from a retail location. If you are running a successful business out of yourhome,youmaywanttoconsiderwhatchangingyourbusinessmodelwillentail.Notonlywillyouhaveadditionalexpenses,butyouwillalsohavelessflexibility!

Inorderforthebusinesstomakeaprofit,youneedtocovernotjustyourexpenses,butalsoalltheoverheadfees.Billsforaretailspacewillinclude:

•Commercialrent

•Utilities(e.g.,water,electricity,gas)

•Cableandinternetconnectivity

•Security(e.g.,roll-downdoors,cameras,alarms—computerstorescanbetargetsofbreakins)

•Customsignage

•Increasedinsurance(checkwithyourinsurancebrokeronthepriceandservicedifferencesbetweeninsurancecompanies)

•Dedicatedphoneandfaxlines

•Fullinventory

•Shelvingandbenches

Also,keepinmindthathavingaretaillocationrequiresadditionallicenses.Checkyourlocalcityofficetomakesurethatyoucomplywithalltherequirements.Youmayneedasecurityalarmpermit,aretailerlicense,andifyousellusedcomputers,youmayneedasecondhandlicense.

2.1FindagreatlocationOfcourse,ifyouwanttoopenaretailstore,youneedtofindagreatretaillocation.Whenweopenedour second store, the locationwas sowonderful thatwewereprofitable theveryfirstmonth!Thefollowingaresomethingstolookforinagreatretaillocation:

Noimmediatecompetition:Youmaybeable todobusinessagainstBestBuy’sGeekSquad, but you still don’t want to be across the street from a Best Buy or, worse yet,anothersmallcomputerretailer.

•Streetvisibility:Therearesomanyshoppingcentersthatcan’tbeseenfromthestreet.Whilethisisfineforbusinessesthataredestinations(e.g.,bowlingalley,supermarket),forasmallbusinesssuchasacomputerretailer,itwouldbenicetopullincustomerswhoaredrivingby.Afterall,youarepayingforretailspace,soyoumayaswellgettheadvertisingbenefitsfromit.

•Parking:Rememberthatcustomerswillbebringinglargedesktopstoyourbusiness.Don’tchoosealocationthatwillmakethemwalkalongwaywithaheavycomputer—theysimplywon’tdoit.Instead,findaretaillocationthathasparkingspotsavailabledirectlyinfrontofthestore.Furthermore,checktheparkinglotatvarioustimesoftheday.Thespotsyouwantyourcustomerstouseshouldbeopen.Iftheshoppingcenteristoobusythenthecentermaynotbeagoodplaceforacomputerrepairbusiness.

•Safetyandsecurity:Asacomputerretailer,youwillalwayshavetoconsiderthecostsassociatedwithsecurityforyourbusiness.Ingeneral,theworsethelocation,thelowertherent,butyoursecuritycostsandshrinkage(lossofproductfromtheft)willbehigher.

•Compatiblebusinesses:Oneofthebigthingstolookforinalocationiswhatotherbusinessesarearoundyou.Obviouslyiftheentireshoppingcenterisvacant,yourcustomerbasewillnotbegrowingbecauseofdrive-bytraffic.However,ashoppingcenterwithmanydifferent,growingbusinesseswillactuallygeneratesalesforyourstore!OneofourstoresisdirectlynextdoortoaDunkin’Donutswhichmeantthathundredsofpotentialcustomerssawourstoreassoonasweopened!

•Flexiblesignagerules:Someshoppingcentershaveveryrigidrulesaboutsigns—basicallytheyaren’tallowed.Otherplacesareflexibleandallowbusinessestoadvertiseonthestreet,intheparkinglot,andwithbanners.Asanewbusiness,itisalwayseasiertolaunchyourbusinessinabusiness-friendlyshoppingcenterthaninamorerestrictiveone.

2.2BuyinganexistingstoreAnother way to expand your business is to buy an existing store that is already inoperation.Smallcomputerstoresexistalloverandyoumayfindthatsomeoftheownersarewillingtosellfortherightprice.

Ingeneral, thepriceofpurchasinganexistingbusinesswillbehigher than the initialinvestmentofstartingabusinessonyourown.Whenyoustartabusiness,youwillpayforthecostoftangibleassetssuchasinventory,equipment,plusabouttwotimesthe“yearlynet.” Thismeans that you not only pay for the assets, but you are giving the businessowner two years of profit to buy his or her business. In return, you are receiving thebusiness’sexistingcustomers, reputation,goodwill,andusuallyaboutonemonthof theowner’stimetoteachyouthebusiness.

Justmakesure thatyoudon’toverpay for thebusiness.Theownerswill try toshowthat their business is as profitable as possible. Thismeans thatmany sellerswill try todownplayexpenses. Insomecases,ownerswhoareplanning tosellwillgoas faras todropadvertisingandotherexpensesafewmonthsbeforetheysell.Theirhopeisthatsaleswill remain stagnant, but expenses will be low, thus increasing the appearance ofprofitability. Of course, when the new owners do buy the business, they may finddecliningsales,andreducedprofitability.

Inothercases,ownersmaywanttosellbecausetheyknowsomethingyoudon’t.Manypeoplewill say that they are selling tomove out of town or tomove on to a differentinvestment, but that may not always be the truth. If a big-box store like Best Buy ismovingin,asavvybusinessownermaydecideit’stimetomoveout!

Thefollowingaresomeofthethingsyoucandotoprotectyourself:

•Hirealawyer:Alwaysgetalawyerforanylargebusinesstransactionlikethis.Thevalueofalawyer’sexpertisewillbeworthhisorhercharge.

•Hireaprofessionalappraiser:Theseindividualswillknowabusinessofthistypeandwhattheretailvalueisinyourarea.Likeahomeappraiser,thesepeoplewillprovidecomparablesalesforthebusiness,andgiveyouanideaofjustwhatthebusinessisreallyworth.

•Reviewthefinancials:Askthebusinessownerforallofhisorherfinancialrecordsforthelasttwoyearsandhavethesereviewedbyaprofessionalaccountant.Checkingeverythingfromtaxreturnstoprofitandlossstatementswillhelpyouverifythatthebusinesshasn’tchangeddramatically(e.g.,duetoreducedadvertisingorasuddendropincustomersales).

•Negotiateeverything:Theaskingpriceofthebusinessisjustastartingpoint.Makesurethatyounegotiateforeverypenny.Iftherearenewexpensesthatyouneedtopay,reduceyourofferaccordingly.Iftheownerdroppedadvertising,addthatbackintothe

expensesbeforeyoubid.Makesurethatyouareclearwhereyouroffercamefromsothattheownerrealizesyouarebeingfairandnotjust“lowballing”thebid.

If you are thinking about buying an existing store, www.BizBuySell.com is a greatplacetostartinvestigatingbusinesses.Youcanlearnaboutwhatbusinessesareavailableandhowmuchtheownersareasking.

2.3BuyingintoafranchiseJustbecauseacompanyisofferedasafranchisedoesn’tmeanitwillmakemoney.Asamatter of fact, there are plenty of franchise businesses that open and close each year.Beforeyoubuyacomputerrepairfranchise,makesuretoasktheseimportantquestions:

•Whattrainingdoesthefranchiseprovide?

•Whatadvertisingandmarketingdoesitdo?

•Whatarethestart-upcostsandongoingcosts?(Mostfranchisestakeapercentageofeverysale.)

•Whathasbeenthesuccessorfailurerateofthebusinessesinyourareaandinyourstateorprovince?

Canyoutalktootherownersforreferences?

Today, there are many different franchise businesses and every owner has a directimpact.For instance, a fewdoors down fromour first storewas a franchised sandwichshop.Theoldownerranitintothegroundwithfoodsafetyviolationsandpoorcustomerservice. The franchise was then purchased by a more professional owner who begangrowingthebusinessimmediately.So,beforeyougetinvolvedinafranchise,makesureyoufindoutallyoucanaboutwhatmakesasuccessfulchainfranchise.

3.YouCanMakeItWork!Let’sfaceit,noneofusisperfect.Whenwefirststartedinthecomputerrepairbusiness,mywife and I each had years of experience in IT andmanagement.We purchased anexistingstoreandevenhadtheownerstrainusonthebusiness.Wehadalltheadvantageswe could and still we had problems with computers, trouble employees, and annoyedcustomers.Thentherecessionhit!

Thekey is tomake sure that you learn fromevery failure andgainknowledge fromevery experience. Sure, things won’t always go your way, but if you learn from theexperience, youwill find that things start getting better and notworse. Sometimes it isactuallygoodtofailasfastaspossible.WhatImeanby this is thatyouwilloftentimeslearnmorebytryingandfailingthanyouwillbypreparing.Whilethelessonmayseemexpensiveatfirst,whenyourealizewhatyoulearnedfromthatexperienceandhowmuchitcanbenefityoutogoforward,youwillrealizethatitwasstillagreatopportunity.

Whenwefirstpurchasedourcomputerstore,itwasgreat.However,whentheeconomystartedfailing,sodidourstore.Tosurvive,weredesignedourbusinessandrecovered.Formore information on low-cost (or free) ideas to increase sales, reduce your businessexpenses, and bring in new customers, read our first book:19Ways to Survive: Small-businessstrategiesforatougheconomy.

AbouttheAuthors

PhilipSprystartedhiscorporatecareerinITworkingforFortune500companiessuchasPrudentialFinancial,AndersonConsulting, and IBM.Withover 20years in technologybusinesses,heunderstandsthechallengesfacedbybusinessowners.LynnSprygraduatedwithadegreeinElectricalEngineeringfromCornellUniversity.Throughouthercorporatecareersheworkedinalmostallareasoftechnologymanagementandhasover15yearsofexperienceinITmanagement.Together,theyarealsotheauthorsof19WaystoSurvive:Small-BusinessStrategiesforaToughEconomy.

OtherTitlesintheStart&RunSeriesSince1971,Self-CounselPresshasdeliveredthefinestdo-it-yourself legalandbusinesstitles available. TheStart & Run series from Self-Counsel Press boasts over 30 nichebusiness titles, authored by experts.Get the one you need to start the business of yourdreams!

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Lawsareconstantlychanging.Everyeffortismadetokeepthispublicationascurrentaspossible. However, the author, the publisher, and the vendor of this book make norepresentationsorwarrantiesregardingtheoutcomeortheusetowhichtheinformationinthis book is put and are not assuming any liability for any claims, losses, or damagesarising out of the use of this book. The reader should not rely on the author or thepublisherofthisbookforanyprofessionaladvice.Pleasebesurethatyouhavethemostrecentedition.

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Contents

Cover

TitlePage

Introduction

Books,Websites,andOtherResources

Forms

ComputerRepair:AnOpportunityinAnyEconomy

1.TheComputerBusinessduringaBoom

2.TheComputerBusinessduringaBust

3.ABusinessThatGrowsinAnyEconomy

4.HowMuchCanYouMake?

5.AreYouQualified?

6.WhyYouDon’t“Need”TechnologyCertifications

7.ThereAreEasyWaystoSolveNewProblems

8.GettingPaidtoPractice

9.WorkingatHomeversusRetailStorefront

10.HowMuchWillItCosttoStartYourBusiness?

StartingYourBusiness

1.CreateaBusinessPlan

2.ChooseYourBusinessStructure

2.1Animportantnoteaboutpartnerships

3.ApplyforanEmployeeIdentificationNumberoraBusinessNumber

4.SeparateYourBusinessandPersonalAssets

5.Insurance

BuildingCredibility

1.DesignaLogo

2.CreateaProfessionalWebsite

3.VehicleWrapping

4.ProfessionalFormsandDocuments

5.ProfessionalBusinessCards

Free(orAlmostFree)Advertising

1.CreatingCraigslistAds

2.InvestinginHappyCustomers

3.WritinganInternetBlog

4.SocialMedia

5.NetworkingwithComplementaryBusinesses

6.PaidAdvertising

ToolsoftheTrade

1.SoftwareYouShouldOwn

2.NecessaryWebsites

3.YourWorkArea

4.PaymentOptions

Services

1.TheDiagnostic

2.OtherCommonServices

3.LaptopRepairs

4.ResearchWhatYourCompetitorsOffer

5.KnowYourCustomers

6.DeterminingYourServicePolicy

PricingYourServices

1.CalculatingWhatYourTimeCosts

2.CalculatingFlat-RateServices

3.EstimatingCustomWork

4.CheckYourPricing

DiagnosingaComputer

1.DesigningYourCheck-inForm

2.HowtoCompleteaDiagnosticandMakeaSale

ChoosingYourStock

1.WhatTypeofStockDoYouNeed?

2.PartsYouProbablyShouldn’tStock

3.CarryingNewComputers

4.CarryingNotebookParts

5.FindingUsedComputerEquipment

Vendors

1.FindingVendors

2.BuildingYourOwnComputers

3.Auctions

4.WhattoDoIfYouAreTakenAdvantageofbyaVendor

On-SiteServiceCalls

1.DiscussPaymentTerms

2.WhetherorNotYouShouldGoOn-site

3.ToolstoBringtoEveryOn-Site

4.SpecialOrderItems

Warranties

1.WarrantySeals

2.KeepingWarrantyCostsReduced

3.LookforUpSellingOpportunities

4.Don’tLettheWarrantyScopeCreep

ProvideGreatCustomerService

1.TipstoProvideGreatCustomerService

2.WhenSomethingGoesWrong

3.HandlingReturns

4.CustomerLessonsYouNeedtoLearn

ExtraSourcesofIncome

1.MaintenancePlans

2.ComputerRecycling

3.WebsiteSales

4.Inventory

5.DropShipping

6.WebsiteDevelopmentandDomainReseller

ExpandingYourBusiness

1.HiringEmployees

2.OpeningaRetailLocation

3.YouCanMakeItWork!

AbouttheAuthors

OtherTitlesintheStart&RunSeries

NoticetoReaders

Self-CounselPressthanksyouforpurchasingthisebook.