Computer services are the next wave of small business. From technical support to IT security, the computer services industry is loaded with possibilities and exciting new trends. Many people on the fast track are looking to start up their own one or two person computer services business rather than go through the steps that lead to the higher paying computer services jobs.

Is it possible to step out into the world as your own computer technician, security expert, or helpdesk specialist? Yes, it is. It is a bit risky, but for those who weather the risk well, the pay off is definitely worth it.

Stepping out on your own should be a process, unless you have the capital on hand to build up clientele and survive for about a year without much work. It takes time to get a good business going, and without a lot of capital, it can take even longer. Your marketing and sales techniques are going to determine how well you do, as will your skill set, your demographic region, and your ability to perform various functions (or learn them) in a reasonable time frame.

Not enough new business owners pay enough attention to the geographic demographics before trying to launch a new small computer services business. However, there are some areas of the United States that the demand for these services is very low if not non-existent. Then there are places that are so oversaturated that the likelihood of stepping in front of the big guy is relatively slim. The Lancaster-Reading area of Pennsylvania for example, is nearly devoid of computer technology and services openings and demand. Security specialists from this area have been forced to move at least as far as Philadelphia if not farther. Norfolk, Virginia is oversaturated with technology, as well as a high number of computer specialists coming out of the Armed Forces with a pre-existing security clearance. Again, a tough thing to step in front of when building a business.

Alternatively, places like Columbus, Ohio are just now starting to bloom into the advanced technological age, requiring specialists in all sorts of arenas. Just a little side note, security experts find numerous roadblocks unless they are dealing with governmental facilities. A vast majority of the companies that should have heightened security don’t put the money into it until after an incident has occurred.

Placing your plaque out into the business world is a developing process. Anyone with the appropriate education, skill set, and determination can build up a nice computer services company for themselves, they just can’t expect overnight success. These things take a lot of market research and a lot of sheer determination. This is why that great many are more successful when they take a few years to build up their computer services business on the side and then leap in with both feet after they have established a clientele.

-Zachary M. Morvik

What’s in your computer kit?

This will be an ongoing entry that will be updated with more of my input as well as the feedback received from the readers of this blog.

The Ultimate Computer Kit consists of hardware, software, and documents used by computer service professionals to run their businesses or sole proprietorships.

Here is a base list of requirements:

Computer Service Hardware

USB Key (4GB+ Recommended)
External USB/Firewire/eSATA Hard Drive
Spare Network Card (NIC)
Spare Video Card
Spare Cables (CAT6, power, ide, sata, etc)
Crimper tool and RJ45 connectors
Multi-Screwdriver (Klein 10-1 for me)
PC Repair kit with screwdrivers, cases,
Cable tester
Cable tracer
Multimeter
Pocket knife (Leatherman for me)
Black CDs/DVDs
Cell phone
Laptop

Computer Service Software

AVG Antivirus
Symantec Antivirus
Hijack This!
Spybot
Adaware
OPHCRACK
UBCD
Knoppix
Windows, Linux, and Mac OS Discs
Service packs for windows, exchange, sql, etc.
Winzip or 7-ZIP
Acrobat Reader
Firefox
Thunderbird
.NET framework 1.1, 2.0, 3.0
Zonealarm
UltraVNC
Gencontrol

Computer Service Documents

Business cards
Contracts
Thank You cards
Marketing documents
Brochures
Marketing propaganda (pens, cups, etc)

In addition to the above, I carry my Microsoft Action Pack.  I have mentioned this in the past and where you can get this pack.  It has powerful sales and marketing materials for Microsoft products and carrying this pack with me allows me to demonstrate some applications for my clients.

This is the majority of my kit.  I’ll add to this list as I receive feedback and use additional tools myself.   What’s in your kit?

-Zachary M. Morvik

One of the top keywords used when visitors arrive at this domain is service contracts. I am going to offer some of these contracts, but I want to ask you a question first. When you are searching for service contracts for computer service or service agreements, which are you looking for? What specifically are you trying to find a contract to cover?

-Zachary M. Morvik

I always reward my readers and list subscribers by offering any new products and services with a special.  List subscribers receive an email notifying them of these specials so they do not miss the great prices.  When the special is over, however, it is over.  No exceptions.

I’m offering readers of this blog 75% off for the next 36 hours (until noon on Wednesday EST) on Domeas, the Domain Renewal Monitoring software.

Using this software, you will never again have a client domain, or your own, expire without your knowledge.  You won’t believe how impressed clients are when you contact them and let them know, ahead of time, that they have a domain expiring.  If they have ever been through that ordeal, they really appreciate that you are looking out for them.

The price is normally $20 but during this special, you can get it for only $5.

Here is the URL to place your order:

http://www.Domeas.com

-Zachary M. Morvik

My new product, Domeas, will be released later tonight. All of my product releases are offered to my blog readers and list subscribers at a substantial discount during the initial launch. This is a time-sensitive offer that will not be extended for anyone under any circumstances. Domeas will be released with a 36 hour special price. If you would like to be notified as soon as this product is available, just signup over there on the right!

-Zachary M. Morvik

The computer services industry is a highly competitive field with fluid and changing technological advancements. It is more than fair to expect employees to continue their education as they progress through the fields, but is it fair to ask them to pay the expense out of pocket?

Larger firms are financially able to cover the cost of employee education, thus many of the serious go getters are always on the look out for an opening with a large firm. Alternatively, small firms and smaller computer services companies often offer a more pleasant work environment with fewer office politics and low end cut throat behavior. While the benefits of working for a smaller firm are a significant draw for many computer services specialists, tuition reimbursement is an area of hot debate, and the small computer services company that doesn’t offer it is bound to lose their better employees to larger firms that do.

If you are going to require your employees to continue their education, which you should if you’re going to stay competitive, you do have to take a serious look at whether or not you can afford to offer even partial reimbursement. This makes you a more attractive employer for higher quality employees who are more likely to stay under your employment for a longer period of time. Some smaller employers offer reimbursement for certification fees provided the certification is passed if they can’t offer tuition reimbursement.

While governmental regulations are also fluid and prone to abrupt changes in laws, regulations, and restrictions, many small businesses are able to apply for governmental assistance in order to offer reimbursement.  For some small companies, this notion has become a life saver and has significantly improved employee performance as well as employee retention.

In the world of the computer services industry, every small company needs to acquire a seriously competitive edge. Whether that means scaling down the staff in order to provide the best possible benefits and perks for the staff or asking for financial assistance via government programs, finding methods of offering employees as much as possible toward their continuing education creates an even playing field for retaining high quality, well educated, capable employees.

It is vital that you require your employees to continue their education, even if it simply one class per semester or two certifications per year. This is considered the bare minimum in the computer services industry. If you’re not going to offer any type of reimbursement, then you can’t expect too much from your employees.  In the fast paced computer service industry, how on top of their game are your employees if you don’t help them continue their education?  Requiring too much for too little is going to create a high turnover rate, which becomes expensive and time expensive for a small computer services company.

It’s not a bad idea to get caught up on what the competition is offering to their employees. Usually a simple phone call inquiring about education benefits is enough to answer the question. Offering at least as much if not more than your competition is likely to draw to your doorstep more qualified candidates as well as more capable employees.

-Zachary M. Morvik

Part of our service offerings is management of hosted accounts.  Yesterday a potential customer contacted us and said that they recently switched from one hosting provider to another.  Apparently all of the files had been copied using FTP, but they neglected to export the MySQL databases before making the switch.

Very fortunately, they had not yet canceled their service with the original hosting provider, but very unfortunately the reason they were switching was because their original hosting provider was basically going out of business and it is not possible to contact them.  When they changed the name servers, they did not write down what they were originally.

So, what do you do?  You cannot connect to the old server because the client doesn’t know what the IP address was.  You can’t do an NSLOOKUP because the customer doesn’t know what the DNS servers were.  We even called their domain registrar to see if they kept a history of changes made so maybe they could tell us what the name servers were before the change.  They did not.  While this is a minor case, it is still a good example of the necessity of good documentation.  Had we made the change, I know that we would have the information we needed to connect to the old server again.

This particular case worked out because we were eventually able to find some other domains that used the same hosting provider and then lookup their nameservers and eventually guess the correct nameserver (there were many), do our NSLOOKUP queries, get the IP address, and export the databases to the new hosting account.

The customer is very happy to be back in business and now understands the importance of documentation.  We have a new customer who has said they never again want to have such problems so they will be calling us for any changes they need to make in the future.  They are also interested in quite a few of our other services so everyone wins!

-Zachary M. Morvik

Small computer services companies are all out there vying for the attention of bigger and better clients.  One large account can cover the running costs for up to six months, and of course, enhances the esteem of the computer services company.  Something to ask youself, however, is does this fit with your business model and plan?

A simple internet search will provide any company with a baseline of their competition out there, and of course where their computer services company stands in the internet search line up.  If you can’t even find your own company, nobody else can either.

Large companies are going to fit into two basic categories.  Some will be independent large companies while others will be branches of a national chain.  It is during this process that you are going to weed out the companies that you aren’t going to market to.  Large branch companies rarely hire local help, although they sometimes do.  More over, you are going to need to determine what types of large companies your computer services company can honestly handle as a permanent contract, assuming you end up with the best case scenario.

Once you have a handle on what your competition can offer versus what your computer services company can offer, as well as what types of businesses there are in the area that are independent and in most likely in need of your particular services, it is time to start the process of marketing.  Marketing is often called a process because that is exactly what it is.  You can’t expect to begin marketing and suddenly have all the business you can handle at your doorstep. Marketing, especially to larger companies, is a process.

Your marketing campaign which targets larger companies needs to be professional, persistent, and offer something unique that your competition can’t or doesn’t.  Can you offer exceptional 24 hour, weekend, and holiday service for a reasonable fee? Do you have a whiz kid security specialist on hand?  Do you have a unique edge that can be your foot in the door?  If so, then you know how to market to your larger fish.  If not, then you probably need to get one in order to market to your larger fish.  Many larger companies are looking for the services that are offered by large national chains, such as the “Computer Geek” companies.  These chains are difficult to compete with unless you can offer them something special, guaranteed (be careful with what you decide to guarantee) or more cost effective.

By promoting your company regularly to the large companies you are seeking to gain as regular clients, you are constantly reminding them of your services and your availability.  It may take months, but there is possibility that if your marketing material makes it to the right desk at the right moment, you may receive a phone call from a panicked potential client looking for immediate service.  If you marketed yourself accurately, you will be able to take on the client, swoop in to save the day, and find yourself with an aptly sized client.  These things don’t usually happen overnight, but they can, and trust me, do happen.

-Zachary M. Morvik

Many computer consultants don’t charge a travel fee or surcharge.  Others will charge a flat rate or even an amount based on time or mileage or both!  Let’s break it down a little:

On average it takes 30 minutes to arrive at a client.  On average, it takes 19 miles to arrive at a client.  In my city, this wouldn’t surprise anyone.  Some clients are very close, others are very far.  Either way, in this city, driving is a pain.  Not nearly as bad as, say, Atlanta, but it can be bad at times.

Lets say at a minimum, there are two clients in every day.  This is one hour of time spent on travel, or 38 miles depending how you look at it.  Do you feel like you should not charge for this time?  I know many freelancers who say they do not charge a travel charge just to make their bid look more appealing.

At these rates, that is over $100 per day of lost revenue.  By IRS guidelines, it is a cost to the vehicle alone of $18.43.  If you or your employees spend this hour commuting and you do not bill for this time, you are basically giving up an hour of each day for free.

Pick whatever method you like best (flat rate, per mile, time), but bill for your time.  Or don’t, and miss out on the revenue.  It’s your choice.

-Zachary M. Morvik

If you use Microsoft software products, you no doubt have realize how incredibly expensive they are. Your clients have certainly brought it up a time or two. You, as a computer service professional have access to one of the greatest benefits Microsoft could offer. It’s called the Action Pack!

The Action Pack is a collection, updated quarterly, of almost all of Microsoft’s products. Not all, but most. And multiple licenses. How does ten (10) copies of Windows Vista Business sound? Or Small Business Server? Or ten (10) copies of Office Professional? All this for only $299 USD.

If you aren’t already registered as a Microsoft Partner, you need to go do that here. Once you are a partner, you are eligible to purchase the Action Pack. Here is a list of the benefits you receive:

Isn’t that incredible? Microsoft needs the professionals supporting their products to have working knowledge of everything they have to offer. It will help you promote and cross-promote their various products. It will also save your company thousands of dollars in licensing fees. This is by far one of the best values available to computer service professionals. Take advantage while it is still available!

-Zachary M. Morvik

Are your clients loyal?

This is a good question to ask yourself about each client.  Do you consider them loyal?  Do you have any kind of bond with them?  Any common ground?  Or, do you just fix their computers?  Being a computer consultant means understanding the needs of your clients, how their business operates, oh yea, and also how to fix their computers.

If all you look at is an opportunity to fix someone’s computer, you’re missing the big picture.  Of course you need to be able to take care of their computer systems.  This is a given.  But you really need to be trying to understand how you can help each and every client.  Many of the business strategies each client has will in some way make use of technology.  Are you paying enough attention to see their needs down the road?

Asking questions is probably the single best way to better understand the needs of your clients.  Ask them where they are headed, where they see the company in 2 - 5 years.  What technologies might help them on their way?  They will begin to view your relationship with them as more of a partnership than as a necessary expense.   This is exactly what you want in this business.  There is nothing more powerful.

-Zachary M. Morvik