pc repair business

M

maroj248

New Member
if i want to open one up, do i have to be certified? and does it matter if im A+ certified, or get a certification at one of them online career schools?
 
In short, no you do not have to be certified. It helps, but not necessary. I started this a few years back and still have yet to obtain one. My reputation is solely on word of mouth, not a piece of paper. If I were applying for a computer repair company, then yes, they may require it for insurance/reassurance reasons, but if you're on your own, it's entirely up to you.

I personally don't need a piece of paper to reassure me I know my stuff :) Besides, I'd say 95% of my clients have no clue of such certifications anyway. And as mentioned, word-of-mouth carries much more weight.

The above is entirely my opinion; you may decide you want to show your clients proof of your ability.
 
If you ever get big enough to become an authorized warranty provider for HP, Dell, Sony, Apple, etc, they all require some form of certifications. Warranty work pays alright. I did some of that when I was doing contracting on the side. Go swap out RAM on site for someone, takes about 10 minutes total, take bad RAM ship it back to vendor, and then invoice them for like 80 dollars. Not bad for 10 minutes work.
 
and if i do wanna get certified does it matter if i get A+ certified, or getting a certified from an online career schools?
 
there are only a few sets of certifications

CompTIA is an industry standard - A+, Network+, Server+, Linux+, so on and so forth

Then there are vendor specific certs, like Apple, HP, Microsoft, Cisco, Sony, Gateway, so on and so forth

Those are the ones that you want.
 
tlarkin said:
there are only a few sets of certifications

CompTIA is an industry standard - A+, Network+, Server+, Linux+, so on and so forth

Then there are vendor specific certs, like Apple, HP, Microsoft, Cisco, Sony, Gateway, so on and so forth

Those are the ones that you want.
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ok, thanks.
 
In reality though, computers are getting so cheap that the computer repair business is getting slower and slower, and it will soon be gone all together.
 
[-0MEGA-];829284 said:
In reality though, computers are getting so cheap that the computer repair business is getting slower and slower, and it will soon be gone all together.
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That is why I mentioned warranty support. You still need people to repair things under warranty. Also, there will also always be high end as well. Its kind of like buying a 500 dollar car versus a 50,000 dollar car. You may as well scrap a 500 dollar car if it breaks down, but a 50,000 dollar car you will have it fixed.
 
and another question. what licenses and such would i need to get started? and if i had myself and like 1-2 employees would i do an LLC?
 
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What state do you live in? A LLC is a good idea, and it's really easy to setup. In most states, there is a yearly tax ($800 in California) you are required to pay w/ that type of ownership structure. That's the only downside, IMO.

With only two employees, however, you're better off runnin' a sole proprietorship. Starting out, it's unlikely you're going to need the type of protection that a LLC provides. Purchase liability insurance and convert to a LLC or S Corp structure when necessary.
 
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mep916 said:
What state do you live in? A LLC is a good idea, and it's really easy to setup. In most states, there is a yearly tax ($800 in California) you are required to pay w/ that type of ownership structure. That's the only downside, IMO.

With only two employees, however, you're better off runnin' a sole proprietorship. Starting out, it's unlikely you're going to need the type of protection that a LLC provides. Purchase liability insurance and convert to a LLC or S Corp structure when necessary.
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I live in Michigan. And do you know what licenses I would need to get started. I hopefully would like to start in about 2-3 months.
 
You will need to file paper work w/ the county you live in declaring a business name. In Sacramento, it's called a "Fictitious Business Name" statement. Which county do you live in? You may also need a general business license with the city.

When running a Sole Proprietorship, the taxable income derived from the earnings of your business are reported on this form and attached to your 1040. Click here for how you file Michigan State business returns. I believe it's pretty much the same as the federal system.
 
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