Starting a computer business; how does the flyer look?

holdenssx

holdenssx

New Member
Here it is so far, it is set to take up half a piece of 8.5x11 paper.

I'm open to any suggestions! If you don't think its good then tell me why, please!

Thanks!

725vjw4.jpg


or

80v8iug.jpg
 
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i like the logo and the color choice, but i would like to add something around or behind the text in the middle, too much "white space" but the colors and logos are really good :)
 
pc-tech said:
looks good
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thanks!

aspire said:
i like the logo and the color choice, but i would like to add something around or behind the text in the middle, too much "white space" but the colors and logos are really good :)
Click to expand...

zaroba said:
i agree with aspire. it looks good, but also looks somewhat empty.
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Yeah, I was thinkin same thing. I mean, if I'm paying for the color copy of it, might as well use alot! haha
 
Pretty sweet, but one big problem, iThink won't work, the iWith-a-word-after is a trademark of Apple, they could eventually force you to change company name if your company gains alot of popularity.
 
aspire said:
i like the logo and the color choice, but i would like to add something around or behind the text in the middle, too much "white space" but the colors and logos are really good :)
Click to expand...

Looks excellent! info is great.

But I agree, maybe you could add something between each feature/service.

Great though! :)
 
Do you have a website? You would need to add that to your flyer.

Also you may want to add what you support, like Windows, Linux, OS X, Server, etc. Is your company a sub chapter S, LLC, or INC or do you even have it set up that way. You will want liability, especially if you are dealing with data recovery.

Oh and list your qualifications. Any experiences or certifications or any of that always looks more professional.
 
tlarkin said:
Do you have a website? You would need to add that to your flyer.

Also you may want to add what you support, like Windows, Linux, OS X, Server, etc. Is your company a sub chapter S, LLC, or INC or do you even have it set up that way. You will want liability, especially if you are dealing with data recovery.
Click to expand...

Yeah I have a website, but its still way under construction, its ithinkcomputerservices.com

And as of now it is only an assumed name, but I do have insurance for the company. The first money I make goes towards getting incorporated.

I was actually thinking of removing data recovery, and just doing simple back ups.

And putting what I support is a good idea, at first it'll probably only be PC and Mac, but at a later date Linux too.

Thanks for the advice!
 
holdenssx said:
Hey thanks alot!

I added a little heartbeat design thing behind the services, what do you all think?
Click to expand...

You're welcome

Definitely better! Now the only thing left is bullets for each feature/service

and yeah blue font looks more attractive than grey!
 
ramodkk said:
Definitely better! Now the only thing left is bullets for each feature/service

but yeah blue font looks more attractive...
Click to expand...

Thanks!
Yeah I'm doin the bullets now, I'll update it soon.

And how do you all think I should state that I support PC & Mac, I was thinking maybe a little Apple logo, and a Windows flag. Or do you think most people wouldn't know what that meant?

EDIT:*Added bullet points*
 
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holdenssx said:
Thanks!
Yeah I'm doin the bullets now, I'll update it soon.

And how do you all think I should state that I support PC & Mac, I was thinking maybe a little Apple logo, and a Windows flag. Or do you think most people wouldn't know what that meant?
Click to expand...

Don't worry about that, Im guessing 99% of the people know the windows logo :P and if they know the windows logo they gotta know the apple one!

In short, yes pictures of the logos would be fine ;)
 
holdenssx said:
Yeah I have a website, but its still way under construction, its ithinkcomputerservices.com

And as of now it is only an assumed name, but I do have insurance for the company. The first money I make goes towards getting incorporated.

I was actually thinking of removing data recovery, and just doing simple back ups.

And putting what I support is a good idea, at first it'll probably only be PC and Mac, but at a later date Linux too.

Thanks for the advice!
Click to expand...

I used to sub contract for a major IT contracting company as side work in my spare time (it was a second job). I can tell you now that you need to keep record of all your expenses, everything you make, get some liability as soon as possible, and then the rest is really just doing a good job. I never advertised at all, but I got lots of side gigs because of word of mouth. I did a job here and there and my name got tossed around and before you know it I had to actually turn jobs down because I was getting too much side work. Of course I had a niche market, I was a Mac person as well as Windows and Linux. There are not a lot of mac people out there compared to everyone else, so I pretty much got all the smaller contracts in town.

You also want to establish your rates. For me, at my current experience level I would not do anything for less than $100/hour. Maybe $70/hour if I liked the client. Even then at $100/hour I was cheaper than every other major IT contractor out there. The down side of being a sub contractor is that I had to give the parent contract company a cut of what I was charging, however the bright side is they took care of the all the proper insurance and dealt with the customer directly. Since after all they were technically their clients. They would send me work via email and call my phone. If you don't establish a bottom line clients will always try to bargain with you. I have had people refuse payment when I gave them the bill, after they well and knew up front it was X amount per an hour.

Things you can write off running your own business, for this my friend get an accountant. My accountant gets all the free IT support he wants and he does my taxes in return. Even trade if you ask me.

Take the square footage of your office space you use for work. Then figure out the percentage that office takes up in your house. Once you get the percentage, you can deduct that percentage from your utilities and mortgage/rent payments. Cell phone, if you use it for work you can claim it. Any miles traveled for work, keep track of this uncle same gives you like 44 cents per mile tax credit. Any additional costs for your job, like books, training, certifications, tools, etc. All can be written off.

I don't really like the books for dummies, but the starting a small business for dummies book is actually pretty good. You may want to pick it up. It will give you a lot of ideas you never thought of.

Also, you better become completely legit. No illegal software, no pirated media, no stolen or hacked stuff. If you ever get audited, which it is mandatory you do get audited when you first start a business by the IRS, you will want proof you have legal copies of everything. Which of course can also be written off as an expense.

good luck
 
tlarkin said:
I used to sub contract for a major IT contracting company as side work in my spare time (it was a second job). I can tell you now that you need to keep record of all your expenses, everything you make, get some liability as soon as possible, and then the rest is really just doing a good job. I never advertised at all, but I got lots of side gigs because of word of mouth. I did a job here and there and my name got tossed around and before you know it I had to actually turn jobs down because I was getting too much side work. Of course I had a niche market, I was a Mac person as well as Windows and Linux. There are not a lot of mac people out there compared to everyone else, so I pretty much got all the smaller contracts in town.

You also want to establish your rates. For me, at my current experience level I would not do anything for less than $100/hour. Maybe $70/hour if I liked the client. Even then at $100/hour I was cheaper than every other major IT contractor out there. The down side of being a sub contractor is that I had to give the parent contract company a cut of what I was charging, however the bright side is they took care of the all the proper insurance and dealt with the customer directly. Since after all they were technically their clients. They would send me work via email and call my phone. If you don't establish a bottom line clients will always try to bargain with you. I have had people refuse payment when I gave them the bill, after they well and knew up front it was X amount per an hour.

Things you can write off running your own business, for this my friend get an accountant. My accountant gets all the free IT support he wants and he does my taxes in return. Even trade if you ask me.

Take the square footage of your office space you use for work. Then figure out the percentage that office takes up in your house. Once you get the percentage, you can deduct that percentage from your utilities and mortgage/rent payments. Cell phone, if you use it for work you can claim it. Any miles traveled for work, keep track of this uncle same gives you like 44 cents per mile tax credit. Any additional costs for your job, like books, training, certifications, tools, etc. All can be written off.

I don't really like the books for dummies, but the starting a small business for dummies book is actually pretty good. You may want to pick it up. It will give you a lot of ideas you never thought of.

Also, you better become completely legit. No illegal software, no pirated media, no stolen or hacked stuff. If you ever get audited, which it is mandatory you do get audited when you first start a business by the IRS, you will want proof you have legal copies of everything. Which of course can also be written off as an expense.

good luck
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I was thinking for my rates I will charge $50/hour in-home, and $35 when I fix it at my house. I would have to charge this little because I am young, and the only thing as of now I have going for me is a booklet of testimonials and cheap prices. I figure to make sure people know I won't overcharge them I could say the hourly wage is $x amount, and then I could say:

Wireless network setup:
Max. Charge 2 Hours

Or something to that affect, and as I go I can raise prices.

I'm keeping track of evvvveeerything, and making sure I lose nothing.
I would write off the desk space, but it's my parents home so I don't believe I can do that, but mileage and just about everything else I can, I will!

I've met up with a SCORE counselor, and they also provided me with some tips.

I will definitely get an accountant too, my brother made the mistake of not getting one when he started a construction business!

Thanks alot for all the advice!
 
holdenssx said:
I was thinking for my rates I will charge $50/hour in-home, and $35 when I fix it at my house. I would have to charge this little because I am young, and the only thing as of now I have going for me is a booklet of testimonials and cheap prices. I figure to make sure people know I won't overcharge them I could say the hourly wage is $x amount, and then I could say:

Wireless network setup:
Max. Charge 2 Hours

Or something to that affect, and as I go I can raise prices.

I'm keeping track of evvvveeerything, and making sure I lose nothing.
I would write off the desk space, but it's my parents home so I don't believe I can do that, but mileage and just about everything else I can, I will!

I've met up with a SCORE counselor, and they also provided me with some tips.

I will definitely get an accountant too, my brother made the mistake of not getting one when he started a construction business!

Thanks alot for all the advice!
Click to expand...

You do realize it is not cheap to get incorporated. Also, what certifications or liscences do you have? You may want to look into that. Also, if your taking this seriously, do you have any clue about filling out the tax forms required for having your own 'business'. I also noticed you had the 'Visa' sign, I take it you have a way to run credit cards? Thats not free either, its very expensive most of the time.

I wish you the best of luck and all, but dont try to do something without dotting the 'i's and crossing the 't's. Also, your parents know your doing this and are cool with it?
 
ukulele_ninja said:
You do realize it is not cheap to get incorporated. Also, what certifications or liscences do you have? You may want to look into that. Also, if your taking this seriously, do you have any clue about filling out the tax forms required for having your own 'business'. I also noticed you had the 'Visa' sign, I take it you have a way to run credit cards? Thats not free either, its very expensive most of the time.
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Yeah I'm aware of all the forms for filing taxes, as well as the cost to accept credit cards.

Getting incorporated costs $170, if you do it yourself.
That will come later though, as I already have insurance, and an assumed name (DBA) will means I legally can charge and conduct business under the name iThink Computer Services.
 
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