Local PC Repair

g4m3rof1337

g4m3rof1337

Active Member
I am looking for knowledge on this topic. I want to ask some questions.
I am going to research stuff, for myself, but I want to know if anyone does this, and ask, What are some good programs that remove malicious stuff. How much should I charge for my services. I was thinking of Software *Virus Removal and such, and Hardware help.

I know it pretty much comes down to basic knowledge, so I am going to read up on the books I taught myself with.

Now, I use Ad-Aware SE Personal, Spybot S&D, and Avast!.

Since this is a side job, I still want to ask, whats the income?


And is an actual website needed? I know it looks professional, but its local, so I'd be advertising on Craigslist.


I want to be competition with GeekSquad and the Cyber Cafe that repairs stuff.




Thanks.
 
Well theres a forum that a member told me about on here that gives you free online lessons and they will assing you another member whos in training to help fix any problems youve got on the computer.

if someone can poiunt out that forum that be great bc I forgot the name and wouldn't mind going there myself.

lots to learn about these kind of removals, how to read HJT logs etc.
 
g4m3rof1337 do you ever do one thing, and stick to it? It seems that almost daily you follow someone else in doing something... Do you complete these things, or do you have 300 projects that are 30% done?
 
im a PC tech, and let me tell you, virus removal is not fun. i do my ABSOLUTE BEST to recommend re-installing windows to customers.


and just so you know, you will remove the virus and a week later the customer will get another one, and try to argue that you didnt do it right the first time and that you should remove it for free.



my best advice to you: stay away from virus removal
 
Trizoy said:
g4m3rof1337 do you ever do one thing, and stick to it? It seems that almost daily you follow someone else in doing something... Do you complete these things, or do you have 300 projects that are 30% done?
Click to expand...

the last time i heard he was gonna be a web developer or something. :P
ok i freelance in my spare time but i don't advertise, i give my number and people contact me.
i like doing virus removal cause it's fun and it's good to say "sorry maam, i had to format but your bills will increase"
no seriously virus removal (those with high infection count) is pricey, the more viruses, the more you pay.
Extra fees applies to re-installation of windows and other programs.
You need to know all those, how to tackle viruses/spyware etc cause customers dont wanna wait
 
Hey Trizoy, what I do doesn't concern you, so...

Getting off topic, I have time during the day, and I want to make it productive, opposed to wasting time playing a game all day. I am getting into web design, but in the meantime, I wanted to pick something else up, and this is what I decided to do.


Now, getting back on topic. I am going to start repairing and helping out friends of friends and going along the lines of that, for awhile.



I am staying quite vague, and I would appreciate it, if you, and all the members dont go back on this topic, and stay on the topic at hand.
 
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I offer Software installation, software upgrades, data migration, data backup, software tutorials, networking, custom builds, small business solutions, hardware troubleshooting/repair/replacement.

I charge different fees based on what I'm doing. Typically...

Software Installation:$30/hr for OS, $25/hr for applications, minimum .5 hours.
Upgrades: $20/hr, minimum .5 hours
Tutorials: Depends on group size; up to 5 people is $45/hr, 5 - 10 people is $55/hr, and 11+ people is $65/hr. Reason being, more people = more questions = multiple-times-explaining on my part.
Data migration: $30/hr (it's mindless and I hate doing it)
Data backup: Depending on how it's being backed up. This is usually a negotiated fee.
Networking: Home systems - $30/hr, minimum 1 hour, plus $5 per unit; Business systems - $45/hr, minimum 1 hour, plus $10 per unit (Business is higher because I'm often working around staff and sometimes their customers, too.)
Custom:
Small Business Solutions: Varies depending on what the Business wants. This is always assessed on a case-by-case basis and a quote is given. They usually accept then and their, but sometimes I'll negotiate a bit, it depends on the scope of the job, and whether or not I see them as a long-term client, but more on that below.
Hardware 'stuff': $40 for me to open the case...yes, just open it. I'll typically not charge too much over the normal part price (meaning no sales, rebates, volume discounts, etc.) I would pay for it. (So, I'm not going to buy something at TD price, then charge best Buy fees for it.) Installation of said parts will vary based on what it is, PSU's are harder/more expensive than RAM; CPU's are harder/more expensive than PSU, etc. Labor is charged at $40/hr, minimum .25 hours, and rarely goes over 1 hour.

For that $40-to-open-the-case fee, that's just to keep me making a profit on those calls where the Client says I think it's something inside, and I can't find anything wrong with the Software. If I find a component that needs to be replaced, I'll typically apply some of that fee towards the replacement of the component. I can't charge someone $90 just to replace a stick of RAM and keep my integrity ;)

I mentioned potential long-term Clients above. Naturally I want to, and work hard towards, making all of my Clients long-term, but in the real world, that just isn't an option. On occasion, I'll offer discounts on the initial set-up if I believe the Client will stay with me for the long-run. Depending on the size of the call/job for some Small Businesses, I'll do the initial job on 'good faith' and not charge them. That way, we both win; they know I stand behind my work to strongly that I'm willing to show them an example free of charge, and I gain a repeat Client. I'd much rather have their moderate business over a 5 year period than one nice bill and never hear from them again.

On the flip-side of the above paragraph, again, not all Clients will be with me forever, and after identifying their needs, I'll simply give them a quote and leave it in their hands. Yes, I'm out to build relationships, but I'm also out to build my business.

Sorry if that was too long, but any other questions?
 
Heh, forgot to add...

Most of my money is made doing multiple things at one job-site. For example, a recent Client needed a financial-tracking software installed, which I did. I then needed to input (migrate) all the data, and then show his staff how to use the software. When all was said and done, it was about 4 hours, but netted a fairly decent payout. And yes, they will be a long-term Client :D
 
imsati-

is that your full time job? I can't do contracting full time, I just couldn't.



To the OP:

Depending on your skills and qualification and experience yield how much you can charge. My flat minimum rate to do anything is $75/hour and it goes up from there depending on the job. I don't really have any set prices, just a set minimum. To give you an example I have several record labels/recording studios as clients. One called me about 6 months ago out of recommendation, and wanted me to recover data from a busted HD. I told him sure, $150 for the attempt and $100/hour after that. He thought that was too pricey, and decided to say no. He called me back the next day and had me do it. Now, the data recovery process took about 30 hours, but I only charged him for time worked on the machine, which was bout 3 to 4 hours. I have also walked into a job, fixed the problem in about 3 minutes and only charged like $20 total, plus my cost of travel. So, it depends really. I don't do it much anymore, but I do keep my clients on the side that I have already established business with.

The thing is, I can back up my fees by listing all my experience and certs. So, sure someone off the street may say they will do it for $20/hour but I can actually get the job done in a timely manner.

I also did all my contracting through two different contracting companies. That way, they got me the clients, they were insured, they collected money from the client and I got my cut, which was my contract rate of a minimum of $75/hour. So, even if they were only making $25/hour off of me (most minimum charges came out to $100) they are still gaining profit. They don't pay for anything of mine, they just take a cut off of my contract rate. They provide the insurance, and i had to sign a NDA stating I would not give away any of their company secrets, but whatever.
 
tlarkin said:
imsati-

is that your full time job? I can't do contracting full time, I just couldn't.
Click to expand...

It's something I've done in some form or another for several years. I've been in the restaurant industry for about 10 years now, and a manager for 7 of those. I left in August and haven't looked back. Until then, I would do the computer freelancing part-time and by appointment only. I had several Home Clients and a handful of Small Businesses.

Now, it's anything goes, really. Word of mouth has been *very* good to me, though, and I'm very grateful for it. I have several long-term Small Business clients that I'm set up on a monthly contract with (PM, system optimizing, disk defrag, etc. - each good for about $250 a pop from start-to-finish every month, and that's not including any additional services they want to have done), and a few more that call me when they need something, and leave me alone when they don't. Aside from that, as I said, word of mouth is great! Just today actually, I was with a Client and they said 'hey, this guy's gonna call you. he's having a problem and I gave him your number'. Granted, what happened today doesn't happen everyday, but often enough for the time-being. Most of my current Home Clients are like that.
 
Yeah all of my business was by word of mouth. I did some side work for a number of individuals and small businesses. I got all the Mac networks since not a lot of people know Mac compared to others. I also knew microsoft products fairly well, so a lot of my clients were mixed environments.

I turn jobs down now, because its not worth my time. I have the opportunity to work overtime as I see fit, so if I need extra cash I just work more hours at my current job. Plus, where I live, it is a very vast and large city as in square milage. With the costs of gas going up I would have to charge a higher travel rate, which is why my absolute minimum is $75/hour. A couple years ago when gas was cheaper, my minimum was $50/hour.

Good luck to you. If you start to get enough clients you might as well start your own business, become a LLC or something and set up your own health insurance. I have worked with several contracting companies in the past where we have contracted out extra help when we needed it for projects. They are pretty large and are a lot of small businesses and small school systems IT staff. They don't need a full time IT person, or can't afford it so they contract out this company. You may want to start looking into that, and if you get big enough you can hire on people, or even contract out others and take a cut from it.
 
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