Computers Repair business from Home?

Clarifications

But Computer Repair is a completely different story. If you want to pickup all repairs you'll be forever running around and have very little time left over to do the actual work. Other than Small Business who would want On Site Repair Work most Domestic Work if that is what you are looking at is done at home.

You can not afford to spend hours in one customers place getting paid for 1 computer when you could have been Home doing 5 or 6 as there is a lot of time wasted waiting for Windows to do something. Also with Downloads you'll be at the mercy of whatever they have at their home and it's likely to be slower so that means more time.

Personally if you are doing Repair Work I don't see that you have any choice but maybe that's just me. However even if you get a Courier Service to do all your pickup's/deliveries it's going to increase Repair Time by at least 2 days and most likely longer not to mention how you get paid for what the Courier drops off for you.

Col

you could rent a post office box and use the box number for business correspondence.
However, that still leaves the problem of pickup/delivery for repair orders.

Placing your Building address but not the unit number is only any good when you know that something is coming. If you grow to get a regular clientle do you honestly believe that they would ring you before deciding to drop it off?

More importantly do you want then ringing you where you are asked for [b]Free Advice[/b] when they could just drop it off and leave you free to do the work?

I do mostly Small Business work here and I spend a lot of my time giving out Free Advice to the most silly questions which I should be charging for but it's not really worth the effort as I would spend more time making up a bill than it's worth. Besides I want them to ring me first so that I can tell them how to do something without them wrecking the entire thing and taking hours to fix it up after the event.

Domestic Users are a different thing though and they think differently. As I don't do a lot of those I'm not an expert but I consider most silly.

As an example one customers staff member made a complaint about me because I asked for her home address. Apparently I was supposed to know where she lived so I could go and fix her computer for free when she asked me but she got offended when I asked where I had to go to see the computer. She wasn't even Blondie. :D

But that is a perfect example of how some think, they expect you to be at their mercy but don't want to be involved in helping themselves. On the other hand there is a lot of satisfaction involved as well but with me at least some of the frustrations get me down. ;)

Col

We have run a home based PC repair business for more than ten years. There are advantages and disadvantages and I will cover a few of each.
Advantages: Lower overhead, work on PCs when you feel like it (like at 3 in the morning or on a Sunday afternoon), convenient commute.
Disadvantages: Clients calling at three in the morning or on Sunday afternoon, you give up some of your privacy if your clients visit your apartment or home, you can't get away from your business because it is always there.
A few suggestions if you are interested: get a separate business phone line so you can turn it off when you are "closed", if possible make arrangements with a business near your apartment to act as a depot for clients to drop off PCs, pick up PCs and meet with you. Set strict business hours and stick to them, clients will drive you crazy if they think you are available 24/7. Always keep accurate records on what the client brings in for repair and the condition that it was in when they brought it to you. I've had clients tell me that: 1.) I damaged their computer, I spilled coffee on their PC, I lost a cord or disk that they brought with it, etc. If you write it down and give them a copy then there should be no dispute. Just a few thoughts, Good Luck!

Two suggestions I use sometimes a business owned by a friend to accept the client dropping off the computers. My friend hands them a receipt for delivery and I can then pick it up from him. Hes very close to where I live. I have also a PO Box at a local private mail station. They guys at the mail station will sign for any deliveries dropped off for me. If I call to let them know they will provide a receipt to the person dropping off the computer. It depends on what type of relationship you develop with the business owner or manager. It works for me.

I do not put my home address on my business cards, and it is not considered unprofessional HOWEVER, I do not have clients drop off at my house either. I will go pick up of meet at a public place. I also do primarily remote, software support. If you plan to do more hardware repair, you might have different considerations. I agree completely on the pros/cons of working at home and setting limits to avoid having your work overwhelm your personal time . . . still trying to find that balance, but I enjoy what I do and can't imagine doing any other job.
Word of caution . . . Website design and PC tech support are very different types of work that require very different types of concentration. Tech support requires multitasking - Web design requires uninterrupted focus. Tried to do both at the same time once with horrible results.
Also . . . TRACK YOUR TIME. Don't let yourself get behind in billing. :-P

Some PO box rental places will provide you with a "street address" as opposed to a PO box address. You would be: The XYZ Computer Repairs, 123 Main Street Suite 27,... instead of PO Box 27. You can use that address for drop off/pick up as well as UPS/FEDEX deliveries and have someone available to sign for stuff.

Thanks to all of you for your input. I think I will go a head with one of the two choices, first give just my street address or find someone close to my building who can take thing on my behalf.

Regards

Before you run a repair business from your apartment, check your lease and local laws. You may find out that your landlord can cancel your lease if you run a business from your apartment.

You should be able to run the web design from home, just be discrete.

If you can run a repair business without voiding your lease, be choosey about your clients. Keep it to on-site or you pick up the computers. This will limit complaints from other tenants.

Consider a separate phone line and / or cell phone for the business. That way, you can set an after hours message and allow your friends and family to call your normal number.

Rather than a simple PO box, consider a mail forwarding business service that allows you to have a street address and number. Makes things look like you have a business location.

I don't know how Canada is for this, but in many US states you need to follow the rules for sales tax or the state can seize your business assets. I've been told that some state sales tax agents are harder to work with than Federal agents are.

Also, watch for new trends in the business and keep your inventory low. You don't want to have a lot of money tied up in obsolete inventory.

Chas

I nurtured my clients over twenty years ago. While employed by a major service vendor, I was asked if I could service the clients home systems, outside the support of my employer. At the time I was not allowed to do this and in '94 when I left them, the clients swamped me with their needs and I had no choice but to accept their offers. I do not allow my clients to bring their units to my home, mostly because it is much too far for them to travel. I do not charge any extra for me picking up their units and servicing them in my home workshop. I have built up a large customer base as I service anything they have, printers, scanners, modems and the usual laptops and desktops. Being a senior citizen myself, I do allow for some reduced rates for those on fixed incomes and this has served to drive more business my way. I do use a P.O. box for billing and such but my home address is on my business cards and my clients are aware that I do work at home. With a good client base and if you do good work, the lack of a commerical business address should not matter.

I have a question to pose on the Home based Computer Business. Are you required to buy some type of insurance. To cover yourself in case a customer does try to say you destroyed their computer or lost all of their files, when they really were already lost??

In some states you may be required to carry business insurance, though I would strongly recommend that you do even if not required. I personally carry a business liability policy that I have no intention of getting rid of even though I've never had a claim the 28 years I've been self-employed. In some cases you may be able to get a discounted rate if you buy your business insurance from the same company you get your home/auto/renters policy from.

Another thing for all to consider, Washington State requires a Master Business License for every business type and in some cases requires a specialty license; most states will be the same. Here we also have City licenses, and are required to have annual Fire Safety Inspections of our office (even home offices).

If you want to be able to write off your home office expense at tax time, your best bet is to have a dedicated space with a separate entrance.

Another big thing to check before you open up a home office is whether the zoning where you live allows for commercial use along with the residential use, some areas don't allow this.

Generally if you have an established business address someone can just stop by and drop off a pc then sure ... but from home, i do not add my address on my business card. i do put my city license on it. (since in california one is required by law to have a business license ( re-sellers permit) to do business from home. and if people are dropping off pc`s covered insurance. i make it a policy during certain hours only to do any pickups... i do not do work at their house, with the exception of instruction. , but rarely have i seen a business card with an address of an at home business.. and it is not safe..