A Computer Repair Shop as a Startup (with numbers)
pcrepairs.posterous.com
pcrepairs.posterous.com
I was sad to see this was the only post on the blog. I'd be very interested in knowing what steps went into setting up shop.
We do a lot of: virus/spyware removal, replacing broken power jacks on laptops, hard drive replacement (with and without data recovery), in the spring/summer we replace a lot of power supplies thanks to all of the thunderstorms), format and reinstall (usually at their request, we rarely have to do it due to viruses, etc.), RAM upgrades, laptop screen replacements.
By far, the majority of the hardware problems we see are hard drives and laptop power jacks, which makes sense, since they tend to take the most abuse.
The only problem is, it's not the most intellectually stimulating work in the world, and it's certainly not for the high-aspiration type of person. But when you can hire smart high school kids to do most of the labor, set up some basic process automation and establish a reliable network of customer recommendations, it takes very little effort or time to maintain the business. I'm sure I work longer hours in the bit-mines than he ever did.
Once a computer has become infected, it's fairly impossible to determine if the infection has been completely eradicated.[1] I wonder that that $19 buys you. A few executions of anti-malware software until they claim "Clean"?
[1] I realize that even in the absence of a known infection it's "impossible" to know whether you're infected.
* fewer crappy apps running on startup
* improved startup time
* no unknown apps running after a clean boot
(Previous 3 can be monitored with e.g. SysInternals AutoRuns)
* no browser / networking stack hijacking extensions showing popups / interstitials / DOM modifications etc. at random intervals
(As evidenced by e.g. HijackThis)
* no unsigned DLLs / drivers of unknown provenance loaded in any process or the kernel
(As evidenced by e.g. Process Explorer's Verify Image Signatures option - look in loaded modules of the "System" process to see all loaded kernel drivers and modules), with a representative sample of applications running (browsers, productivity, etc.)
* no apparent rootkit-style hijacking of the process / registry / disk inspection routines, as would be shown by e.g. RootkitRevealer
And of course, a commercial virus scan, for what it's worth. I personally don't run a real-time virus scanner; I rely on monitoring what the system is doing directly.
It automatically installs apps for windows fast. It's free for home use, but we charge businesses. Many of our subscribers are PC shops like yours.
It's fascinating to see the next step up the value chain in such detail. Thanks for writing that post.
I think it would be great for custom PCs and of course for newly formatted PCs.
If it's a computer they've built rather than bought from a big box and have lost their key, well, they're out of luck, but most people who build their own computers don't bring them to a computer repair shop.
One big benefit for me is that it would get me outside and dealing with people to counter my extended hacking sessions. Any ideas on a good rate and marketing strategy?
It's very hard to be empathetic and be in the business, you end up undercharging but still going too far above and beyond to meet their schedules/needs, and ultimately feeling bad you didn't do a 100% perfect job after you give them the bill (because in hindsight, you could do any job in half the time)
Oh and you'll get calls 2 years after you close up shop.
Any ideas on a good rate to charge? Do people look at on-site work as a premium service or do they look at you as the small guy and expect a really good rate?
How did you market your service?
I'd really like to hear more about your experience as the getting out the door aspect is really appealing to me right now.
You state that they bring their systems to you so I assume you have a storefront.
Those numbers are impressive for just starting out, but it would be nice to know the full story such as your expenses regarding the running and the upkeep of the business.
It always seems like anyone qualified enough to fix a computer could make way more per hour doing programming or IT work. Computer repair seems like a great idea but I don't think it's efficient right now.
Hell, I could make more money as a dentist, but I don't find the idea of poking around in people's mouths every day to be very appealing.
I'd argue that 'scalability' is an important component of a startup though. I don't think anyone would consider a consultancy to be a startup - although many do meet your three criteria. They don't scale since there is an upper bound to revenue per employee (while a software product/website has no such bound).
"Acquire venture funding" was not a 37 Signals goal. Ask most venture capitalists and that will be in their definition, though.
"Hire more employees" is arbitrary. Why is that a goal any more than "buy office chairs?" Hiring employees is a side effect, not a goal.
Ask someone who thinks single founder companies don't work and their definition will likely exclude companies like del.icio.us.
Ask techies, and startup means "a tech company" but personally, I would call Ben & Jerry's in the 70's a startup.
In terms of goals, sometimes the process evolves--like hotornot.com and the goals aren't there at the outset. Sometimes the goal is "build a better search engine" and everything else evolves later.
For these reasons, I prefer an inclusive defintion of startups, rather than something that means "startup like mine, or startup I'm looking to invest in"
Paying a college student $9/hr is a win-win in my opinion.
If you find college students who actually know shit about computers might they not have some other means for making better than $9/hr?
I have no idea what the market is like for these things, but I'm wondering if you'd be better off somewhat overpaying and making sure you had people you could trust to sort out problems when some repair routine doesn't quite work.
Think about it. He does fairly well doing what he does. Must a dentist "scale", or is the dentist perfectly happy running her practice until she retires?
Why do people have to scale? Wouldn't you like yourself to earn that regular money every month doing something that you like without thinking of constant expansion?
I never quite got that. I mean, I understand that a business may be driven by shareholders to just keep going after that one extra dollar, but it's also quite feasible to have a sustainable business that earns its owners a good income, isn't always trying to grow, and leaves everyone happy.