Starting out on my own Part Time!

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Hi Guys,

Just wanted to run this past a few people, i have just recently completed my tests and passed, YES!!!

I do not have masses of practical experience and thought that maybe i would put an add in the local paper and see what happens.

Does this sound like a good idea, i would only charge 5-8 pound and hour to start with.

Also what kind of kit would i i have a good idea but may have overlooked something, and if there is anyone that has sone something similar i would love to hear from you.


Thankyou,


Kind Regards.

 

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What kind of services are you looking to offer?

 

I do... God where have the years gone...
1st paid job 1994, put in sound card and setup in DOS, IRQs all that so they could play Raptor, not a bad game actually!!!

Good luck with ad, loads of great knowledgable people to help you on here...

Kat

 

Thanks for your replies, i was just going to offer upgrades, troubleshooting, hardware/sofware support, custom builds off the top of my head.

Have not started learning Network + as yet so i wont be able to offer this service.

Dont realy know what i will be facing until i start to get some work realy, i will be doing alot of on the job training i suppose.

Just finding i very difficult to get some experience, i have asked local companies if i could get experience with them, i have even offered to pay them, but i have had no replies.

And i want to strike why the iron is hot, and have the confidence after just passing my exams.


Regards.

 

I would seriously recommend that you investigate insurance before you do. Because if you break someone's pc and they come after you for a replacement, you are going to want insurance to cover your ass I would say. "Homers" for friends and family are one thing, but offering a service to the public is a dangerous matter to consider, and one you want to be fully prepared for.

 

What he said ^

Particularly if your thinking of offering custom builds as well, your going to want to make sure you spell out exactly what your responsible for for them otherwise you risk having some irrate plank expecting you to fix your PC for nowt in 5 years time when he's filled it full of pron and viruses and shoved it under a desk to nicely fill it full of dust.

 

I'd personally just say, don't even bother. It's a saturated market, with 100 people per customer. Focus your attention on getting a full time job as opposed to "starting out on your own" before you have even "started out".

Harsh I know.

 

If you're trying to just get experience, instead of offering your services to the public to gain experience, which opens you up to many different potential pitfalls, I would recommend seeing if any local non-profit organizations need any PC help and offer your services for free. As others have mentioned, there is a lot of competition in the IT services field, and I agree with the above advice that if you are charging strangers for services, you would need to protect yourself by setting up a corporation and possibly getting insurance.

 

Thanks guys, some great suggestions and advice. Much appreciated!!!

 

Agree with westernkings, with today's competition you probably would not even make money for your rent. There are hundreds of guys offering pc repair services on 'no fix no fee' basis everywhere. Question is what different you can do to compete with them.
Good luck anyway.