I've been running a repair shop/msp from my home for over 20 years - lots of good information here. One thing I did to help resolve the problem of clients needing additional support with their new computer is selling a "tech support" package for one year. I install my system monitoring, provide antivirus, and do updates/patching as well as provide 30 min of tech support per month as needed for ~$300 USD for one year. I only offer this service to seniors as it's a big discount and a huge value but it lets the customer pay for my time while also giving them resources when they need it.
On differentiation from competition - I'm the most expensive in my area, but my reputation for being able to handle almost any problem as well as a really good relationship with the senior community helped grow my business. Seniors tell their friends about good experiences and often tip! So, my experience tells me to cater to that demographic - their kids and grandkids will be referred to you, their business associates will call you, and you'll have customers who tend to be more trusting than other demographics.
This is great advice .. I’m an apprentice at a shop and this is usually how I respond and it always works well. Being honest with people. If they ask, do I owe you anything I tell them no, but if you leave a review based on your experience.. we would greatly appreciate it ..
Lots of great advice here. I used to run a part-time IT business and am considering going back to that. I'm currently working full-time in IT for a small college. The biggest struggle I'm having right now is figuring out pricing. I know I never charged as much as I probably should have before and I still don't know what's reasonable. Hoping to get started again in a few months.
Hey mate! Any updates? Tip: charge and value your yime significantly more than a rehular 9-5, as I suppose there will be so much work you'll have to around the business so your vustomers might come and go at a fluctuating rate. So I'd say, make sure you get value for your service when you provise value yourself
Well done, thank you for the good advice. I'm thinking of starting out repairing computers as a side job and see if it grows from there so it was very interesting to hear what you had to say about it. Have a good one
i own a building and cant seem to get the office rented so ive decided to create my own business. their are no repair shops in my town so it seems like a win win. my building is in the best location in the entire city for a repair shop.
Filling a spot in the market and using something you already own! If you have other offices there, having a good business in the building might attract others to the area
@@rickstechrepairs well the business is right in the middle of the town right by all the schools. Most phones that break are coming from a middle schooler, im also going to be selling phones through a dealer program, building custom gaming computers and helping repair the locals devices. I wanna be affordable, the closest phone repair shop is 86miles away.
Great advices, great human. It's great when someone is honest and compassionate (it's great when someone can afford to be honest and compassionate, too...many times it's a privilege - that is when competition is high. Damned capitalism...). What about To be frank I'd be happy to do even simple repairs... I wish someone would hire me (for now I don't think I know how to do/start it by myself). You be frank, I think I could become quite good at this sort of thing, soldering, disoldering, etc. But what sucks is that nobody offers an opportunity for young(er) to learn. We really should have workshops or something, where anyone can come in and start learning/practicing (not just for repairing, but in general, for different trades).
Definitely make more videos on your experiencing starting it. Also, on how/where you get your parts etc. By the way, great channel, I like so far your camera quality and quality in general. It's a shame that you're not growing fast. But then again, there're probably thousands changes with great content that have very little views, that I/we don't know about...
@@rickstechrepairs Or, say a beginner that runs diagnostics, tells the expert, and the expert tells what to try/check next, and so on, back and forth. I think it could almost double the amount of work that's done (plus the beginner has a job and learns). The feedback from a good expert is immediate, and the other guy just does the tasks themselves. Maybe it's even possible that this way say one can "run" a dozen of basically beginners. To be frank, even replacing processors and video cards etc - doesn't seem hard or complex (after a bit of practice), more than anything it's just time consuming. Oh, I wish I had known someone that would have started me this way.
I should've seen this last year. I was working with my dad in a computer shop, and I(a fresh graduate at the time) decided to expand into maintenance and programming. While work was wonderful, prices were competitively low, unfortunately due to collapsing circumstances here in Sudan, we lost flow, which meant no minimum revenue threshold was reached and my dad cut the losses and closed the whole shop down. Now I'm in the furniture business and it's still overwhelming to me
Damn sorry to hear, is there still any demand for on-site work? plenty of people are usually after help with IT issues but might not need to purchase parts but also if there is alot of unemployment people simply dont have the money to pay for these services..
@@rickstechrepairs well the situation here is and likely always will be messed up, politically and economically. That's the #1 driving force in this pre-recession recession here
Great advice 100\10 😊 One question, If a customer comes in with a broken screen and needs it replaced. Does the customer purchase the new screen to have there phone repaired or me. That's all for now I'm young and this is my passion. Thank u for your advice.💜
Hi you should have parts on hand, or can get the replacement part for the customer i do this for quality control, i have a few times customer brings in a part for me to install and it has issues.. So I charger the customer for Labour + My Part that was used
Saving up a bit of coin works before opening But if you are starting at 0 Single get one part when you need it but once you notice a trend or a certain model is getting fixed the most try and keep one or two on hand
Im very similar situation as me, I was in the IT/managed services industry for 9 years. I just launched my repair website, finished a google ad campaign, posting on fb, linkedin, and things have been going great so far!! I like the comment about not providing tuition. I had one lady contact me with 4 things she needed done but wanted to sit next to me while i fixed her stuff. She wanted to learn while i worked. Um no, that's not happening but im considering it because ill make good $ off her. Good advice though!
Great to hear your business is going great! i find with people wanting tuition, i can either fix 4 or 5 devices in that time and make a hell of alot more than sitting with you for an hour and half, and if you are going to take me away from those jobs, then you are going to be paying highly for that
really appreciate your kindness and level of sensitivity to people as oppose to just things and being so damn money orientated. wanted to ask since you seem like you could help, i have recently quit nursing, i do the odd night shift to earn a basic income but am really wanting to get into repairing phones/laptops and also buying and reselling for profit as i alluded to in my last question. how would you reccomend i get started? in terms of learning and opening the business? i was told to find a few projects on ebay, buy a few faulty things repair them successfully and then resell them to gain knowledge.
cheers :) if you are wanting to get in to repair at a cheap price, i would start by buying cheap damaged laptops and installing a solid state drive in them or a screen replacement if the screen is broken and then resell. i find if you are buying laptops and then attempting the repair, if something goes wrong, you haven't got the worry of stuffing up a customer repair job I will have a Shop talk video (shop talk #7) in about 3 days talking your question and will give you some ideas hopefully :)
@@rickstechrepairs looking forward to that man, yeah just generally i was gona set up an e-commerce operation once i can do that a few time and get comfortable the only thing is ebay can be dodgy, dodgy listings and more faults than u intended so any strategies for acquiring broken laptops would be well received
I'm not a fan of ebay fees, since they charge about %10 sold a laptop for $1600 but got charger $250 in fees... Dont have any other suggestions, video will be out tomorrow
What advice do you have for starting out from nothing im trying to figure out what's my first step I love fixing pcs, game consoles etc but don't know where to start
i find with the level of work i do, i rarely receive anything back or returned. but also i find that if a device is too damaged or not financially viable to repair then i will let the customer know before accepting the repair job
I am 16 looking to start repairing computers for people on the side obviously out of the cargo van I have as a mobile pc tech (I fix my own computers and know a lot about them to fix them properly and I plan to offer a pc building service) do you think this is a good business model as far as being mobile it seems to be pretty common in the us.
Onsite Repair is always needed, especially if you are wanting to start up on the cheap and cannot afford rent of a store or simply dont want/need a building to work from Onsite repair is where i started originally at around your age, just remember to always look neat and approachable, as you will be entering peoples homes and business' , if you look like you are going to rob them or they feel uncomfortable with you there, it will lead to no referral's or recommendations to their friends for your work
I've been running a repair shop/msp from my home for over 20 years - lots of good information here. One thing I did to help resolve the problem of clients needing additional support with their new computer is selling a "tech support" package for one year. I install my system monitoring, provide antivirus, and do updates/patching as well as provide 30 min of tech support per month as needed for ~$300 USD for one year. I only offer this service to seniors as it's a big discount and a huge value but it lets the customer pay for my time while also giving them resources when they need it.
On differentiation from competition - I'm the most expensive in my area, but my reputation for being able to handle almost any problem as well as a really good relationship with the senior community helped grow my business. Seniors tell their friends about good experiences and often tip! So, my experience tells me to cater to that demographic - their kids and grandkids will be referred to you, their business associates will call you, and you'll have customers who tend to be more trusting than other demographics.
This is so true. Whenever you work in "customer service". The best advice is to be understandable and transparent. Good advice brother
Cheers, Iv made a few more advice videos, that can be seen on the channel
I haven't even finished the video yet but you seem refreshingly genuine and I can tell you strive to be helpful.
Cheers :) , if you like this point of topic also check out the reset of my "Shop Talk" Series
This is great advice .. I’m an apprentice at a shop and this is usually how I respond and it always works well. Being honest with people. If they ask, do I owe you anything I tell them no, but if you leave a review based on your experience.. we would greatly appreciate it ..
Cheers :)
Lots of great advice here. I used to run a part-time IT business and am considering going back to that. I'm currently working full-time in IT for a small college. The biggest struggle I'm having right now is figuring out pricing. I know I never charged as much as I probably should have before and I still don't know what's reasonable. Hoping to get started again in a few months.
Hey mate! Any updates? Tip: charge and value your yime significantly more than a rehular 9-5, as I suppose there will be so much work you'll have to around the business so your vustomers might come and go at a fluctuating rate.
So I'd say, make sure you get value for your service when you provise value yourself
Well done, thank you for the good advice. I'm thinking of starting out repairing computers as a side job and see if it grows from there so it was very interesting to hear what you had to say about it. Have a good one
Thanks so much watching your videos and learning from it.
thanks :), great to read they are of value to you :)
i own a building and cant seem to get the office rented so ive decided to create my own business. their are no repair shops in my town so it seems like a win win. my building is in the best location in the entire city for a repair shop.
Filling a spot in the market and using something you already own!
If you have other offices there, having a good business in the building might attract others to the area
@@rickstechrepairs well the business is right in the middle of the town right by all the schools. Most phones that break are coming from a middle schooler, im also going to be selling phones through a dealer program, building custom gaming computers and helping repair the locals devices. I wanna be affordable, the closest phone repair shop is 86miles away.
Very Useful Tip's , Thank You So Much.
no worries at all
good feedback, thanks im looking forward to this journey, 100% driven
by passion in thech
Check my playlist on the channel called shoptalk regarding business in the tech world
Hope this helps you
Great advices, great human.
It's great when someone is honest and compassionate (it's great when someone can afford to be honest and compassionate, too...many times it's a privilege - that is when competition is high. Damned capitalism...).
What about
To be frank I'd be happy to do even simple repairs... I wish someone would hire me (for now I don't think I know how to do/start it by myself).
You be frank, I think I could become quite good at this sort of thing, soldering, disoldering, etc. But what sucks is that nobody offers an opportunity for young(er) to learn. We really should have workshops or something, where anyone can come in and start learning/practicing (not just for repairing, but in general, for different trades).
Definitely make more videos on your experiencing starting it. Also, on how/where you get your parts etc.
By the way, great channel, I like so far your camera quality and quality in general. It's a shame that you're not growing fast. But then again, there're probably thousands changes with great content that have very little views, that I/we don't know about...
We all have to start somewhere
@@rickstechrepairs
Or, say a beginner that runs diagnostics, tells the expert, and the expert tells what to try/check next, and so on, back and forth.
I think it could almost double the amount of work that's done (plus the beginner has a job and learns).
The feedback from a good expert is immediate, and the other guy just does the tasks themselves.
Maybe it's even possible that this way say one can "run" a dozen of basically beginners.
To be frank, even replacing processors and video cards etc - doesn't seem hard or complex (after a bit of practice), more than anything it's just time consuming.
Oh, I wish I had known someone that would have started me this way.
I should've seen this last year.
I was working with my dad in a computer shop, and I(a fresh graduate at the time) decided to expand into maintenance and programming. While work was wonderful, prices were competitively low, unfortunately due to collapsing circumstances here in Sudan, we lost flow, which meant no minimum revenue threshold was reached and my dad cut the losses and closed the whole shop down.
Now I'm in the furniture business and it's still overwhelming to me
Damn sorry to hear, is there still any demand for on-site work? plenty of people are usually after help with IT issues but might not need to purchase parts
but also if there is alot of unemployment people simply dont have the money to pay for these services..
@@rickstechrepairs well the situation here is and likely always will be messed up, politically and economically. That's the #1 driving force in this pre-recession recession here
Damn, terrible situation
I hope you can help yourself :)
Great advice 100\10 😊
One question,
If a customer comes in with a broken screen and needs it replaced. Does the customer purchase the new screen to have there phone repaired or me.
That's all for now I'm young and this is my passion.
Thank u for your advice.💜
Hi
you should have parts on hand, or can get the replacement part for the customer
i do this for quality control, i have a few times customer brings in a part for me to install and it has issues..
So I charger the customer for Labour + My Part that was used
@@rickstechrepairs nice thanks a lot
I'll use your advice
🌟🔥
Cheers
How can you have a stock of things when you’re starting?? You won’t have the money unless you get a loan or just have money saved right??
Saving up a bit of coin works before opening
But if you are starting at 0
Single get one part when you need it but once you notice a trend or a certain model is getting fixed the most try and keep one or two on hand
Im very similar situation as me, I was in the IT/managed services industry for 9 years. I just launched my repair website, finished a google ad campaign, posting on fb, linkedin, and things have been going great so far!! I like the comment about not providing tuition. I had one lady contact me with 4 things she needed done but wanted to sit next to me while i fixed her stuff. She wanted to learn while i worked. Um no, that's not happening but im considering it because ill make good $ off her. Good advice though!
Great to hear your business is going great!
i find with people wanting tuition, i can either fix 4 or 5 devices in that time and make a hell of alot more than sitting with you for an hour and half, and if you are going to take me away from those jobs, then you are going to be paying highly for that
really appreciate your kindness and level of sensitivity to people as oppose to just things and being so damn money orientated.
wanted to ask since you seem like you could help, i have recently quit nursing, i do the odd night shift to earn a basic income but am really wanting to get into repairing phones/laptops and also buying and reselling for profit as i alluded to in my last question.
how would you reccomend i get started? in terms of learning and opening the business?
i was told to find a few projects on ebay, buy a few faulty things repair them successfully and then resell them to gain knowledge.
cheers :)
if you are wanting to get in to repair at a cheap price, i would start by buying cheap damaged laptops and installing a solid state drive in them or a screen replacement if the screen is broken and then resell.
i find if you are buying laptops and then attempting the repair, if something goes wrong, you haven't got the worry of stuffing up a customer repair job
I will have a Shop talk video (shop talk #7) in about 3 days talking your question and will give you some ideas hopefully :)
@@rickstechrepairs looking forward to that man, yeah just generally i was gona set up an e-commerce operation once i can do that a few time and get comfortable the only thing is ebay can be dodgy, dodgy listings and more faults than u intended
so any strategies for acquiring broken laptops would be well received
I'm not a fan of ebay fees, since they charge about %10
sold a laptop for $1600 but got charger $250 in fees...
Dont have any other suggestions, video will be out tomorrow
Champion advice, mate 👍🏿
Thanks 🙂
No problem 👍
appreciate the advice Rick !
Your welcome , check out the playlist for business info
Hell yeah thank you for posting this knowledge
Your welcome
iv got 4 of these videos now with a 5th coming out this weekend
@@rickstechrepairs awesome I look forward to it
Great content, keen to hear more tips
Cheers, i will do a few more down the line
What advice do you have for starting out from nothing im trying to figure out what's my first step I love fixing pcs, game consoles etc but don't know where to start
ua-cam.com/play/PLDqQvgPNjY2kq2EXo_DJZ1aigtUITKc7e.html
Check out the playlist, video 7 I talk about starting
do you think there is generally more returns involved with phone/computer repairs or buying faulty phones/computers and refurbishing for resell value?
i find with the level of work i do, i rarely receive anything back or returned.
but also i find that if a device is too damaged or not financially viable to repair then i will let the customer know before accepting the repair job
As long as there is kids buying ROG, NZXT, gaming computers ... there will be a market cx
true true
Competition reduces complacency
indeed
very interesting channel thank you
Cheers
if you enjoy the shoptalk video, i have a whole playlist regarding pc/phone business on the channel
I like you, thanks for the video!
cheers, if you like the topic check out my other shop talk videos on the channel
Hi, are you Australian/Melbourne? Would love to get your repair service in the future, now that lockdowns are finished.
i am in south west victoria, so probably a bit out of your range
I am 16 looking to start repairing computers for people on the side obviously out of the cargo van I have as a mobile pc tech (I fix my own computers and know a lot about them to fix them properly and I plan to offer a pc building service) do you think this is a good business model as far as being mobile it seems to be pretty common in the us.
Onsite Repair is always needed, especially if you are wanting to start up on the cheap and cannot afford rent of a store or simply dont want/need a building to work from
Onsite repair is where i started originally at around your age, just remember to always look neat and approachable, as you will be entering peoples homes and business' , if you look like you are going to rob them or they feel uncomfortable with you there, it will lead to no referral's or recommendations to their friends for your work
Any tips on how to get pc parts at a lower price to build new PCs? Or do you just buy used computers and fix them up to resell?
look for sales on various parts, ie ram on sale for 20% cheaper than normal and stock up then
Subbed. Good content
Thanks for the sub!
Hey Brother. I am still waiting Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay on your Gigabyte G5 rtx 3060 laptop!
It will be played and uploaded in the next 24 hours, purchased it from GOG and downloaded today, will test tonight
@@rickstechrepairs THX
@@rickstechrepairs I’ve noticed you basically doing everything people ask... You’re amazing! My G5 should be here this week
This guy sounds like Steve from shark tank Australia !!! Hahahahaha omg
Dont know him but also Australian lol
Im starting at 14 building pcs and fixing pcs for my friends
awesome time to start :)
Im currently using my kitchen tabe but im going to buy a fold table and use that as my desk so its portable in my room or living room or anywhere
did you learn electronics or just do replacements parts ?
Pc repair, but expanded to mobile repair
@@rickstechrepairs which type of work are more busy pc or phones ?
I think I'd get more referrals if I speak in an Australian accent 😅
only works when in a different country
an Aussie in Australia is extremely common :p
Hey Brother. I am still waiting Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay on your Gigabyte G5 rtx 3060 laptop!
I recorded that ages ago
here you go
ua-cam.com/video/m4fyHkMRses/v-deo.html