Tag: computer repair business tips

Do You Need Certifications to Start a Computer Repair Business

| August 12, 2017

Do You Need Certifications to Start a Computer Repair Business

Welcome to Call That Girl’s Guide to starting a computer repair and support business blog series. If you found a blog out of order, you can start with the first blog by clicking here How to start a computer repair business. Each blog will lead you to the next one until you reach the final blog.

In this series I will give tips, examples and information about how to start a computer repair business that I learned my way. I will also offer help on what type of computer repair business to start, business and legal information, products and services you can sell, tools your computer repair business might need, a guide to pricing, a list of resources, and marketing advice.

In this blog, I will talk about certifications and starting your own computer repair business.

 

 

In our industry, as far as I know…we are not regulated by the government (at least in the USA). We do not have to have a computer repair certificate or be A+ certified, or even have any type of background in computer support & repair to open a business. Heck, you don’t even have to know anything about business. So basically, if your neighbor who is handy at building computers decides to open “John’s Computer Builds” and runs it out of his house, he can do that. Now it’s up to him to follow the laws of his city, state and the federal government in terms of taxes, etc. If your area requires a license, be sure to have it. If you’re not sure, call your local city office to find out. I personally have no certifications and my business has not suffered from it. So please read my info below, and use it as a guide. As I’m not sure what type of computer repair business you want to start, this is just a guide. You might need to ask other techs, or get counsel from a local tech company.

Below are some questions you may have and my answers to the best of my knowledge.

  • Do certifications help you be a better business owner? Not in my opinion. Running and operating a computer repair business does not require certifications. It requires passion and the ability to service clients in terms of technical and customer service skills.
  • Do certifications make you a better tech? Only you can make yourself become a better tech. Some of the best techs I know do not have any certs.
  • Do certifications help you get more clients? Maybe. Some care and want certs, some just want the job done right and to be treated well.
  • Do your clients care if you have certifications? Maybe, not many ask me if I have any. Those that do, I tell them “I got my certs from the streets, I have 18 years of experience and certs don’t always help in real life scenarios.” It’s true, though. I can’t find a cert that fits my skill set anyway!
  • Should you get certifications for what you want to service and sell? Sometimes you need to be certified for some software and some hardware. As far as I know, most basic software tools we use as an industry do not require certs (antivirus, etc.).
  • What if I’m supporting a certain manufacturer, such as HP or Dell? If you want to become a local tech contracted by some of the bigger firms such as  Field Nation, Work Market, etc… then they might ask you to be certified for some manufacturers, or you might be able to get more jobs.
  • Should you be A+ certified? I am a software tech, so A+ cert would not be helpful to me at all. I did take the test though and failed. I also had 11 extra screws in the PC build I did during the A+ class. Good sign I was not going to build computers. But…. Professor Messer is the guy you want to follow to know more! http://www.professormesser.com/ He offers great daily quizzes and has a YouTube channel, training courses, study groups, etc.
  • What if I want to start a MSB business, do I need Cisco network certs? CCNA? I would think yes (but then again, I don’t know…check with other techs on this), networking and servers are very technical and unless you are leaving a job where you have a lot of hands-on experience, the cert is probably a must have, not only because of the knowledge you need, but the training behind it is not “normal” tech work.

 




How to Start a Remote Support Business

| August 12, 2017

How to Start a Remote Support Business

Welcome to Call That Girl’s Guide to starting a computer repair and support business blog series. If you found a blog out of order, you can start with the first blog by clicking here How to start a computer repair business. Each blog will lead you to the next one until you reach the final blog.

In this series I will give tips, examples and information about how to start a computer repair business that I learned my way. I will also offer help on what type of computer repair business to start, business and legal information, products and services you can sell, tools your computer repair busines might need, a guide to pricing, a list of resources, and marketing advice.

In this blog, I will talk about starting a remote support business.

When I started my business part-time in 2003, I was already doing remote support at my job at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. In fact, that’s all I did. Only on very rare occasions was I asked to go onsite (Usually some Outlook emergency for a top Dr). I worked in a call center and troubleshooting software is a heck of a lot different than supporting hardware. In fact, when I got the job, I remember sitting next to my team members and I could tell that all the guys all were definitely not in the position they wanted there, most wanted to be onsite techs, work as an Analyst or be on the LAN team. Helpdesk, as many see it as a stepping stone job…was the job for me. This is where I found the love for remote support. I could manage many things at once from my one happy bench, my master computer. Backing up a bit, you might wonder how did I start Call That Girl at the Mayo Clinic when I didn’t go onsite? Well friends, I got friendly with the staff calling in and they asked me to come over after work to fix their home computers. Without much hardware knowledge, I can’t say that I messed up too many jobs. I left with a few bucks in my pocket and realized that “hey, I can do this”. For the next four years, I did only onsite home jobs. It was all software usually, side-by-side support I called it.

In 2007, as you might have read in my blog series “How to start a computer business” and in my , I discuss more in depth about remote support and how I got going (I found onsite to be a waste of time and gas for quick software fixes).

Remote support is all about being efficient, being more affordable (for some fixes) and maximizing your bench to be a master computer that can do many things at once. Most experienced technicians should be able to manage at least 3 and up to 5 non-talking-to client jobs at once, such as virus removals & tune ups. If you are on the phone with a client, of course you should only be with them, but heck…if you’re doing a virus removal in the background…well, there is nothing wrong with that unless you are not paying attention to your talking client. After 7 years of doing onsite jobs, running 3 brick and mortar stores, I gave it all up for remote support only. It took awhile, but eventually I trained all of my clients how I can serve them and they accepted my offer. I have now moved into MSP type offerings, more services, better packages, and I have to say, I’m doing quite well for myself finally. This might not be the life for you, but if you love talking on the phone, love software and helping clients, this is perfect for you, too!

Here is a short list of hardware and software you might need

Best Computer Chair in the WorldHardware

  • 2+ monitors: I have one 19″ monitor, 1 24″ monitor
  • Desktop HP Pavilion, 8 gigs of memory, 64 bit, Windows 7 Home Premium, AMD 2.10 GHz Processor
  • Set of speakers
  • iPhone holder that is stationed on my desktop
  • USB chargers for my phone
  • Plantronics Bluetooth has a charger that also charges my NetGear ATT HotSpot (in case my internet blows)
  • External hard drive
  • That’s all for hardware, except my killer Queen’s chair (built for a woman of size). Good chair, HIGHLY recommended. If you are a big person, this is the chair for you! Best computer chair in the world.

Software

  • Remote Support Software: I use LogMeInRescue. I also Support Instant Housecall.
  • Ticketing System: Mhelpdesk.
  • Back up Tech Support (GFI sales, SOS online backup and helpdesk): RS Tech Team
  • File sharing, I use Dropbox for day to day, Click here to test it out.

To read the next blog –>  Do you need certifications to start a computer repair business

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Business and Marketing Tips for Computer Techs Show #21

| June 15, 2015 | 0 Comments

Published date: 04/19/2013 Lisa Asks AskErik

Listen in by clicking the link here!

Show Notes

  • Guest speaker is Erik Dreyer-Goldman, owner of PC repair shop AskErik in Seal Beach, CA.
  • Home user vs Business user
    • Business users have a business license
    • Home user has a computer that they might use for conducting business work.
  • No such thing as a quick question in IT.
    • That knowledge and help should be billed.
  • Malwarebytes pro.
  • Offer service packages to keep clients coming back.
    • Monthly service with low rates :]
  • Payments
    • Prepay tickets
    • Monthly plans, hourly rates, fixed rates
    • People will pay a premium price to get their service faster.
      • Higher rates for emergency premium service will weed out real quickly what constitutes an emergency and if the client can wait in line for a cheaper price or not.
  • Logmein and logmein rescue.
  • Technology is growing exponentially, and can be difficult for technicians to keep up with all of it. There has to be a market and a technician for “niche” work to help manage various parts of the ever-growing IT world.
  • Windows 8 training and tweaking calls.
  • PC repair shops could eventually disappear.
    • Nobody ever does it all.
    • Find a market, limit competition in your niche.
  • Celebrating 7,000 downloads of their podcast shows on Podnutz.

Business and Marketing Tips for Computer Techs Show #20

| June 12, 2015 | 0 Comments

Published date: 04/05/2013 Rodela’s the Fella

Listen in by clicking the link here!

Show Notes

  • Guest speaker Matt Rodela from Jiffy-PC and owner of the website Your Friendly Neighborhood Computer Guy will be joining in on discussion on how to start your business.
  • Market is growing for remote support in that hardware is getting better and when things break, people generally just replace their system.
  • Software is a growing market that needs constant support.
  • Know where your skills and passions are at before trying to start and grow a business.
    • Don’t just do something because the market is there.
    • This is an investment you will be doing day in and day out for a large portion of your life.
  • Join networking groups and go to the events!
  • LinkedIn
    • Join groups
    • Send messages
    • Get referrals
  • Facebook doesn’t tend to generate many referrals.
  • “Facebook is for employees while LinkedIn is for bosses.”
  • Do what you are comfortable with and are passionate about, have a process.
    • Give good service
    • Love what you do
      • The customers and the money will follow.
  • Book “The 20 Things You Can Do To Improve Your Computer Business”

 

Business and Marketing Tips for Computer Techs Show #19

| June 12, 2015 | 0 Comments

Published date: 03/25/2013 Computer Therapy with Derrick and Lisa

Listen in by clicking the link here!

Show Notes

  • Guest Derrick Wlodarz, owner of FireLogic in Park Ridge, Illinois.
  • Deciding between home office/remote support and store location.
  • Rebuilding your business
    • What made the business fail?
    • What can we do to fix this?
    • Where do we go from here?
    • Realize your goal/dream, and make it happen.
  • Content marketing/SEO
  • Affiliate programs
    • Companies that sell computer software programs, like antivirus programs, will allow businesses sell their products for them for a reduced price.
    • If a client is interested in antivirus software, let them know about your partnership with antivirus programs and how you can save them money.
      • People LOVE to save money!
  • WordPress and SEO
    • Learn the basics
    • Get good at it
  • “The 4-Hour Workweek”
  • “The E-Myth Revisited”
  • Manual of Operations
    • Training is VERY important to a company
  • Good, long term employees need to feel valued and appreciated in the company.

Business and Marketing Tips for Computer Techs Show #18

| June 12, 2015 | 0 Comments

Published date: 03/18/2013 Bryce Whitty from Technibble

Listen in by clicking the link here!

Show Notes

  • The guest on the show is Bryce Whitty.
    • Founder of Technibble.com.
    • Owns his own computer repair business that he has moved from Australia to London, and is planning on moving it to Japan from Australia again.
    • Doing remote computer business allows for the owner to keep his business alive and can take his work wherever he decides to go.
  • Technibble, social media, and forums
    • The Internet is a wealth of knowledge that contains helpful information for those who seek it.
    • Websites often host forums–A meeting place for individuals to come together to exchange ideas in an open discussion.
      • Many people of different age groups and backgrounds use forums to find helpful information relating to a topic of interest.
      • Younger people are more likely to say things in forums that they wouldn’t normally say to your face, while older people have more experience and have the self-control and knowledge of when it is best to say nothing.
        • Reasoning for hiring forum moderators to “keep the peace”.
  • Entrepreneurs
    • People have great ideas, but don’t have the ability or the guts to take risks that could help them to launch their business and become entrepreneurs.
    • Fear keeps people from taking risks and accomplishing their dreams.
      • Priorities such as insurance, family, food, jobs, and other obligations.
    • A good idea for starting a business is to start out part time to see if it is still what you want to do, if you can succeed at doing it, etc.
  • Building trust with clients as a residential client can lead to great business clients.
  • Clients will recommend you when they are satisfied with your work and the customer service you provide.
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