One of the many reasons  I’ve been missing in action from blogging is that I recently purchased and moved into a new home.  It’s an exciting milestone in my life, as I’ve never owned a home before.  It also proved to be a hidden gem for finding new, loyal customers for my business.

It’s important to always be looking for new opportunities to spread the word about your business. After receiving a notice from my new homeowners association that they had a community message board, I fired up the computer to check it out and sign up.    It didn’t take long before I realized this would be a perfect opportunity to plug my services.

This is what’s known as hyper-local marketing: a very ambiguous buzz-word that I take to mean targeting advertising to the area immediately surrounding your business. In this case, my target is my new neighborhood.  Methods used for hyper-local marketing can be anything from fliers in the doorway to web-ads targeting local community websites.  An HOA forum is a less-intrusive way to find a couple extra customers, but considerations must be taken to ensure you maximize your potential.

Play By The Rules

The first thing I did before jumping on and posting was to read the forum rules.  It’s easy to overlook this step, especially if you’re used to posting on forums in other places, as most forums have the same rules.  But private forums like this one tend to be more strict about rules, and some may flat out prohibit soliciting.

After skimming the short list of rules I found this:

Please limit commercial and fund raising announcements (e.g., advertising of products or services) and political endorsements.

Pretty standard stuff, and nothing that says I CAN’T advertise my services, just that I must “limit” myself.  Vague, but pretty standard and understandably necessary to avoid spam-like activity.

Know Your Audience

After checking out the rules, I ventured into the forums themselves to see what people were talking about.  The board was filled with typical HOA stuff: community gossip, updates on shared services like bulk trash removal and snow plowing, and advice on renovations and do-it-yourself projects.  There were also some requests for recommendations on service providers…mostly dentists, roofers, carper cleaners, stuff like that.

Noticeably lacking were any obvious solicitations of service offerings by any of the residents.  This was my signal to keep my advertising subtle and unobtrusive, or risk sticking out like a sore thumb.

Make Connections before You Make Your Sales Pitch

If I would have simply posted an ad or link, most people would have ignored it or possibly reported me as a spammer.  Instead, I made my first post just a quick note to introduce myself and say hi to the neighborhood. That’s it.  I didn’t even mention my business.  Doing this established my presence in the community as a fellow neighbor, not a desperate business owner.

Over the next week or two I posted some helpful replies to other bulletin posts and even posted a question asking about a recommendation for a local dentist.  Doing this provided a sense of familiarity with the other forum participants, they were beginning to get to know me.

Finally, I posted a quick note to tell people that I owned a part-time computer business and would be willing to offer the residents of the community a 25% discount on my services since I wouldn’t have to drive far to service them.   And I left it at that.

Stay Active

After a few days of nothing, one resident contacted me because she was having a computer problem and asked if I could help.  Just like that, I had a new customer from free advertising and maybe about 15 minutes of total time investment. I also had someone contact me to let me know they appreciated my discount offer and would give me a call if the need for my services arise.

I didn’t let it stop there, though.  I continue to stay active in the forums in order to keep my presence known.  Maybe once or twice a year, I’ll mention my offer.  In between that, however, I’ll continue to post, keeping my ad to conversation ratio low so I wont annoy the residents or come off as disingenuous.

Take Ownership

It may take some time, but after a while I want to be known as the community’s computer guy.  That’s right, I want to be the guy people call on when they have a computer problem.  I think this is possible if I continue to be a helpful and contributory member to the message board and the community as a whole.  I also need to make sure I provide excellent service and encourage word-of-mouth advertising among my customers.

This is an ideal situation because  I’ll have an entire community of customers that are a short walk away.  I’ll have established myself as a professional, meaning that my customers understand from the start that I charge for my services and I am not offering a free community service.  Finally, and maybe most importantly, I’ll build a network of people I can turn to if I need anything myself.  They’ll get to know me as a trust worthy, reliable computer guy and trade for services may come as a result.

Familiarity Breeds Contempt

I’m not kidding myself.   I know there are inherent risks in taking this approach.  Sometimes it’s better that your customers don’t know where you live and do not have convenient access to you.  It may also be wise not to mix customers and neighbors.  The guy whose virus I failed to remove may also be the president of the HOA and could make my life a living hell if he wanted to.

I understand these risks and, as always, weigh them into my decision.  But I try not to let the possibility of a wost case scenario hinder my progress…if I did I wouldn’t have started a business in the first place.  The best way to avoid these situations is to stick to principals of offering friendly, affordable, and reliable service.

It’s All About Relationships

The techniques used in this personal story of mine can translate well to other hyper-local situations.  Always keep your eyes and mind open for new ways to connect with potential customers without looking like a salesman.

With computer consultants, as with other service businesses, it’s all about building relationships with customers.  That’s how you ensure that you not only get repeat customers, but also get closer to reaching the mecca of self-sustained word of mouth advertising.

I’d like to hear form other business owners…how have you targeted your local community successfully (or unsuccessfully)?

Fast forward to today, and things aren’t so certain.  With the economy  in recovery mode, most companies are still laying off, and my employer has recently tossed around the idea of outsourcing a good majority of the in-house IT staff.  With the possibility of unemployment looming, I decided to buckle down and realistically figure out what kind of business traffic I would need if I do happen to get kicked to the curb before I’m ready.  How many billable hours will I need to log in order continue the lifestyle I currently enjoy, and pay my bills? How does that translate into actual customers?

Not All Hours Are Created Equal

The first thing I needed to grasp was the concept of “billable hours”.  In a small consulting business, you’re only making money when you’re actually doing work for a customer.  This doesn’t include time spent planning, advertising, networking, doing finances, and any number of other administrative tasks.  I will also need to account for traveling from site to site.

In some of the books and articles I’ve read, this traditionally can be a 50/50 split. That is, 50% of the time you spend working is billable and 50% is other stuff.  Realistically, especially in the beginning, the percentages will most likely skew much more toward non-billable hours.

With that concept in mind, I turned to my personal finance and business accountant (I recommend everyone get one unless you like spending time crunching numbers).  She and I ran through the following exercise to determine how many customers I would likely need, per week, in order to make a living at fixing computers.  I recommend this exercise for anyone who is thinking about starting a business.  It’s a fairly simple equation, but one that you should carefully step through in order to get the most realistic figures.

Step 1 - How much do you want to earn?

Simply put, what is the amount of money you need in your pocket in order to live comfortably?  For me, I decided to use the take home pay for my current job.  Since right now I’m accustomed to living with this amount of money, I decided it would be a good starting point.  Could I survive on less?  Yes.  Do I want to earn more? Of course!  But for the purposes of this exercise, and as a starting point, how things are now is perfectly fine.

For others, you may want to sit down and do a realistic spending analysis to determine exactly how much money you would need to pay your bills and sustain your lifestyle.

Since I’m trying to figure out how many customers I need per week, I simply take my monthly salary and divide by 4.

Step 2 - What are your estimated business expenses?

The beauty of computer consulting is that it doesn’t require much overhead and little, if any, inventory.  Some tools here and there, helpful diagnostic and administrative software, regular advertising, ink in your printer, and reliable transportation are the basics.  Overhead will be more at first when you are establishing your business.

Since I’m slowly growing my business part-time, I have the luxury of spreading out my initial purchases over time so I wont incur a big up front cost.  It’s hard to estimate this number without actually having ran your business for a while, so this is one of my biggest unknowns.  Talk to others in your field to get a good idea of what they spend money on.  From what I have seen, advertising will be the biggest expenditure, so figure out what forms of advertising you’d like to try and include that in your budget.

I determined the amount of money I’d spend on a monthly basis and then divided that by 4 to use in my weekly calculation.

Step 3 - What do you take for granted at your workplace?

If you’re currently employed, like me, you’ll need to account for the benefits your work provides you that you’ll still need once you strike out on your own:  things like life, health, dental, and vision insurance.  Hopefully some kind of health care reform will get worked out here in the US and small business owners will have some more affordable health insurance options out there, but until then, be prepared to pay out the wazoo for good health coverage.   Also make sure to account for any commuting help your work may provide like a company car or mass transit supplements.  Finally, if there are any bonuses or commission that you count on from your job, make sure you roll that into step one so that you’re still making that money with your business.

Step 4 - How much are you going to charge?

At first, pick an amount that you THINK you want to charge.  This may need to be adjusted later if you find that it doesn’t meet your expectations for income.  I’ve written previously about my thoughts on this subject, so I wont go into too much detail here.   This part is easier if you charge hourly, or the same flat rate per customer.  It can get a little tricky if you charge different rates to different customers or mix hourly and flat rates.  Your accountant can help you find the best number to put in here.

Step 5 - What will be your average time on-site?

Finally, in order to convert the hourly numbers you’ll get from the equation into actual customers, you’ll need to determine the average time you’ll spend on site per-customer.  From the experience I’ve had, the average service call takes a little over an hour.  To skew things conservatively, I put 2 hours here.  Some technicians take longer than others, so this is up to you to decide.

How Many Customers Will You Need?

Here’s the equation after gathering numbers from all the above steps.  Make sure you’re using the same time span for each step (in my case, I’m using weekly numbers).  The $300 is estimated taxes.  Talk to your accountant to get this number.

((Step 1 + Step 2 + Step 3 + 300)/ Step 4 ) / Step 5

As a practical example, lets say you need to make $600 a week to pay your bills and continue your current lifestyle (step 1).  You estimate your weekly business expenses to be $200 (step2) and your benefits will cost an additional $100 a week (step 3).  You find out your estimated taxes to be $200 based on your income.  You expect to charge $40 and hour (Step 4) and spend an average of 1.5 hours per customer (Step 5).  Your equation will look like this:

((600+200+100+200)/40)/1.5)=18.3

This means you should work towards servicing about 18 customers per week in order to meet your income goal.  Take it one step further and  you would shoot to service 3 to 4 customers per day during a 5 day work week.  Once you have the equation, you can play around with the numbers, see what happens if you lower your business expenses or increase your rates.

This was a fun exercise for me and it really helped provide a high level perspective as to the hidden costs associated with making a living at computer consulting.

Although currently this blog is on a temporary hiatus so that I can spend more time on another totally unrelated project, I’m still working hard at starting my consulting business.  Yes, I still consider my business in it’s start-up phase.  I am taking on a limited number of clients, but most of them are friends, or friends-of-friends.  I don’t plan on diving into my business full force for a while still.

So in the mean time, and to celebrate one year on the web,  I’d like to take this opportunity to share with you some milestone posts from this past year:

Top 5 Reasons Why I’m Starting a Computer Business - This post describes the fundamental reasons why I decided to put myself through all this.

Baby Steps: The First Few Things I’m Doing to get my Business Underway - I’ve officially completed all 7 of the start-up items that I outlined in this article.  I guess I need to write a new article with 7 more goals!

My 5 year plan - The long term vision for starting my business.

Taking Care of Your Customers: An Interview With Eric Hamm - My first interview post.  Also check out my other interviews.

I’m Officially a Business Owner! - The day I officially became a business owner!

Business Name Blues series - My most popular series of posts to date.

Book Review: Start Your Own Computer Business - The first book review.  I’ve also done a few other book reviews since then.

Top 10 Reasons to be Nice to Your Computer Guy - This post marked my first taste of popularity via social media.  I got a huge spike in page views thanks to Stumble Upon.  It was a fun ride, but short lived.

Guest Post: 4 Overlooked Ways to Grow Your Service Business - My first guest contribution to another blog.  This turned out to be the first of a string of guest posts that I wrote at the beginning of the year.  It turned out to be a little too much work for me so I have taken a break from guest posts for the time being.  But I may get back into the game later, it was a lot of fun.  See my other guest posts.

My First Customer…More or Less - My official first customer.

Computer Guy’s Toolbox: LogMeIn Free - The first, and only,  guest contribution to my blog by another author.  I’m open for including guest posts from other contibutors, so please feel free to submit your articles!

100 Tech Twitter Accounts You Should Be Following - This quickly became my most popular post thanks to Digg, StumbleUpon, and Twitter itself!  A lot of work went into compiling this list and I’m thrilled that it got a good reception by techs and non-techs alike.  This is an example of the kind of post I can write when I take my time and focus!

It’s been a great year so far, I’ve learned a lot, grown by leaps and bounds, and made lots of wonderful friends.  And I’m only really just getting started!  I’ll try to post one or two entries per month during my hiatus, which will probably last the better part of this year. But once I complete my other project, I’ll be back into the computer consultant game with a vengeance, and possibly a face-lift for Y.F.N.C.G.  So stay tuned!

BTW, I stay relatively active on Twitter, so please do follow! @yfncg

In the Website Wilderness Series I will share my experiences and insights as I try to build a successful web site for my computer consulting company.

I’ve reached the stage in the development of my computer business where I think it’s time to start constructing a website. Over the last few weeks I’ve been tinkering around with different layouts for the site.  In doing so I realized that before I bother with the design I really need to pin down the content that I intend to include. The content will then dictate the layout and design of the website.

Some questions I’ve been considering for my website content include:

• What do I want the customers to focus on when they first visit my website?
• What message do I want to convey?
• What aspects of my business do I want to feature?

After visiting dozens of local and national residential computer consulting business websites that do similar work as I do, it appears that most of the content is pretty similar from site to site. They include a listing of services, contact information, reasons why a customer should choose that company over another, blogs/news, about/company info, etc.  However, there is one bit of information that seems to have a strict division of preference from site to site: the inclusion of rates.

It seems to me that there are an equal number of websites that have their prices displayed as those that do not.  In conducting a quick informal poll of my twitter followers I found that this division holds true for them too. Some folks say it’s okay to display rate, some say they  choose not took, while a good majority of my peers say it depends on a number of factors.

After some consideration, I’ve decided to include rates prominently on my website for two main reasons:

1. Transparency -  I feel like getting the price out of the way up front helps provide a level of transparency that will instill some confidence in the average residential customer.  Since my business is not yet established in the community, I will be an unknown entity to the typical person who stumbles across my website.  Displaying my price shows the customer that I’m not hiding anything.  They’ll have piece of mind knowing that I wont blind-side them with hidden fees or charges after the work is done.

2. Targeting - I’m targeting two types of customers in the initial stages of my business: residential computer users searching the web seeking professional, friendly, local service and those who are referred to me via friends/family/word of mouth.  My website will be specifically geared towards those customers that are seeking local service via the web.  They’ll be typing in search terms like “my town computer repair” or “computer help in my county“.  Once they click on my website in the search results, they will immediately see the price listed. There’s no guess work and no grey area.  I only want people who can afford my service to call me.  I’m not the cheapest in town, but I’m also not as expensive as most franchise and nationally known computer repair shops.  And my website will be designed in such a way so as to portray my business in a professional light, in stark contrast to the less-than-professional websites of many other local consultants.

With a part-time business, I’m seeking only residential customers.  My whole strategy would change if I were running my business full-time and/or targeting primarily small businesses.

Should YOU display your prices?

Now that I’ve explained why I decided to display prices on my website, I’d like to offer some advice and food for thought for those of you who may be facing a similar situation.

Things to consider about pricing:

1. Who are your target customers? - Are you selling to residential customers or businesses?  Displaying pricing is appropriate for residential customers because they are normally more concerned with price up-front.  Businesses, on the other hand, tend to be more concerned with results than price, especially the larger the business.  In that case, it may be more appropriate to concentrate on a results-oriented website and skip price negotiations for later.
2. Are your prices competitive? - If your price is higher than most of your competition, you may want to skip displaying them on your website.  Customers may be turned off by the high price before they get a chance to see what you are offering.  On the other hand, you also want to avoid displying your price if it’s considerably lower than most of your competition.  This guarantee that you’ll be called by people who will try to find ways to squeeze work out of you for as little money as possible.  It also gives off an unprofessional vibe, screaming “my service is not worth much!”
3. How does your rate structure work? - Charging per-service is the easiest rate structure for clients to understand.  They expect to pay $xx for x service.  This makes it easy to display on your website.  Hourly rates may seem relatively simple too, but keep in mind you may also need to explain if you charge on a pro-rated basis for any time over an hour.  Also, it might be a good idea to give an estimation of how long some common services take, so customers can get an idea of what the final price might look like.

Finally, if you plan on charging on a per-contract basis, mostly for businesses, then you’ll probably want to avoid displaying prices all together.  Contracts are usually unique business arrangements that are negotiated based on the project or work being requested.

Ultimately, the choice of displaying rates is a personal one. However there are many best practices and considerations you should take into account before making the decision to share your prices with the world.

What is your opinion on prices being displayed on a computer repair business website?  I want to hear both from seasoned consultants and regular computer users on this one!

If you’re in the computer repair business, you’ve probably heard of Daniel Hand.  He’s known primarily as the author of Computer Repair Business Lessons Learned, a book which I reviewed here previously.  But he is also very active in the computer consulting community as founder of the National Association of Computer Repair Business Owners (NACRBO) and regular participant in the forums on Technibble.

Dan shares my belief that computer consultants should not be lone wanderers guarding their secrets to success.  We all have something to share and we all have something to learn.  He’ filling this void with his many projects and products.

I asked Dan to take a break from his busy schedule to answer a few questions for Y.F.N.C.G.

Please start off by telling us a little bit about yourself and your background.

I was born in Susquehanna, PA.  Upon graduating high school I went directly into the Marine Corps and spent 20 years there. During my time in the Marine Corps I was in Communications (i.e. data, radio, etc) and then migrated over to the computer networking side of things. I completed my Microsoft, Cisco, and various other certifications prior to retiring.

Once retired I started working as a contractor for various companies in the D.C. area consisting of networking, engineering, and program management positions. During that time we also opened our business that started in our house and has since migrated to a store-front in Fredericksburg, Va.

I saw a need for this type of service in the community I lived and the resources available to people are what I considered inadequate.

Truthfully none. We put a lot of thought and documentation into starting a business prior to actually doing it. That helped us tweak it along the way so when we were ready there were no surprises.

I would like to say nothing but in hindsight I would have to say marketing. We tried a lot of things before realizing what worked and what didn’t work.

I see businesses having to offer more services. I think the day of break/fix are going away and you have to be up to speed with technology services. Some things I see more and more of are managed services, backup services, and remote services just to mention a few.

Most important I would have to say are “people skills”, it’s too easy to get in a rut and not keep your people skills up. To me those skills will make or break you.  I have seen first hand what happens to those businesses where the owner/tech’s have no people skills. People have to feel comfortable with who they are dealing with and that is where these skills are invaluable.

The least important I would say is trying to learn every new piece of technology that comes out. You need to be able to determine what is going to be valuable in your market.

As a consultant I had put in for a position teaching at a community college. I got a call to come by, they wanted me to fill something out. I showed up and the person took me into a conference room with 8 people from the school there who wanted to ask me questions about teaching experience, work experience etc.  The amusing part was I rode my Harley to the school that day with jeans, a t-shirt, and boots. Not sure who was more surprised me or them.  But, all went well and started teaching the following week.

I would visit forums and other sites and see questions like “Can I get a copy of a maintenance agreement”, “Can I see what a proposal looks like”, etc. Typically the answers were all the same “You need to do your own and have an attorney look it over”, or people would basically give no replies at all. It seemed that nobody in the industry wanted to share their information with others in the same field. After seeing this go on for a few years I decided with all the notes and material I had maintained that I would write the book and attempt to give all the possible lessons I could think of for someone to start in the business and not have to search for years trying to find knowledge or documents to be successful.

I think just in the sheer fact that I deal with a lot of other owners who bought the book because they were starting out and have since remained friends. I don’t think any consultant can ever stop learning so I learn on a daily basis. I can implement those things from others into my business and continue to grow.

The National Association of Computer Repair Business Owners was established because I saw a need for an Association that the small business owner could be part of. There are other Associations out there but typically they are for the business owner that brings in revenues in the million or multi-million dollar range.

I thought with a smaller Association that more small business owners would be able to join, and reap the same kind of benefits that the larger Associations typically have. Another goal is to build a strong presence in order to reflect to customers the “trust & professionalism” that they get with using a member of the Association.

We are continually talking to vendors about their products and finding ones that match what the Associations stands for and finding those that understand the small business are willing to offer their products at a reduced rate to Association members.

We have a lot of plans for the Association in the near future. Membership is increasing and we are getting a larger presence in the communities that our Associations members service. We will continue to get the name out there and in time it will have an impact.

Be very detail oriented and organized in everything you do. Doing that will give you a sound structure to build upon.

What do you think of Dan’s approach to the computer business?

Previous interviews on YFNCG:

• Never Stop Learning: An Interview With Bryce Whitty of Technibble
• Of Mice And Freedom: An Interview With Brian Ambrozy Of Icrontic.com
• Taking Care Of Your Customers: An Interview With Eric Hamm

This is the approach I’m taking with my business and it’s great to hear about success stories of others who have gone this route.

One thing I realized after reading that post is that computer consulting fits perfectly into the bootstrapping philosphy.  In fact, other than online businesses, I can’t think of a more frugal business to start than that of computer consulting.

As I’ve been working to establish my business, I’ve learned some things about how to keep expenses low and avoid the burden of credit.  Although tailored for computer consultants, these strategies can apply to most any business start-up.

Keep A Healthy Savings Cushion - Why borrow from banks and other lenders when you can borrow from yourself?  Before you jump into running your own business full time, build up a savings account with 3 to 6 months worth of your normal take-home salary.  That way, during the rough and uncertain few months of your start-up, you’ll be able to “borrow” from your own savings account to make up for your sudden drop in income.  Don’t forget to put money back into the account when times are good, because you’ll certainly need that money again later on down the road.

I’m still working on this and I’m not going to quit my day job and start running my business full time until I have this cushion established.  Which brings me to my next item…

Be Patient - It may take you a while to get your cushion account established.  It may also take time for you to build a steady list of clients, especially if you’re bootstrapping it.  Don’t jump into high priced advertising methods or expensive equipment right out of the gate, it’s not necessary and may back-fire, leaving you in a mountain of debt with no way to pay it back. Once you get going, you’ll be able to pay for these things when you can afford them, but don’t force it.

It may be a few more years before I’m ready to run my business full-time.  I’m trying to pay of credit cards, build a cushion account, and grow my client list in the mean time.  Some may not need as much time, or some may need more time.  My point is, don’t feel like you have to have EVERYTHING that the Geek Squad has right out of the gate.

Leverage Word-of-mouth - In order to save money on advertising, try to do as much as you can with the cheapest and most effective advertising method available for small bussiness: OTHER PEOPLE.

First off, tell EVERYONE you can about your business. When people ask me “What do you do for a living?” or “What have you been up to?” I immediately mention my business, give them a few business cards, and ask them to keep me in mind anytime they or anyone they know have a computer problem.

Secondly, when you service someone, leave them with no choice but to recommend you to their friends.  Leave business cards, offer them a discount for referrals, and most importantly, BLOW THEM AWAY with your excellent service and attitude.

There are other things, like Craigslist and the old flyer-in-the-windshield stuff, but nothing beats the loyalty and targeted advertising that comes from word-of-mouth.

Buy Stuff As You Need It - I was really tempted to load up on goodies before I even serviced my first client.  I wanted pens, t-shirts, and mouse pads with my logo on it.  I wanted a bag full of computer tools, spare parts, and software.  I wanted to be ready for anything!  The truth is, you’ll never be ready for everything. Plus, all that stuff costs money, and most of it isn’t necessary early on.

What I’ve done instead is focus on purchasing things only as the need for them arises.  I have a basic computer tool kit and some diagnostic software on a CD and USB stick.  When a client calls, I make sure I have the tools I think will be necessary for the job, buying anything that I don’t have.  If I arrive at the customers house and find that I’m missing something for the job, I’ll politely inform the customer that I need to run back to the shop to get something that I hadn’t anticipated needing and take that opportunity to purchase it somewhere nearby.  So far this has worked wonderfully.  The money I make from the job usually will cover the expense of the tool I just purchased.

When I’m ready to take my business full-time, I will have built up an impressive inventory of tools and software that I KNOW I will need, because I’ve used them in the past.

What tactics do you use to save money in your business?

One of the unfortunate aspects of running a computer consulting business is the paperwork. Like it or not, if you want to run a legitimate operation and protect yourself, you’ll want to document everything. Work orders, contracts, service plans, waivers, advertisements, customer and vendor tracking, it can all be a bit overwhelming, especially when first starting out.

That’s where the Computer Business Toolkit comes in. Created by Bryce Whitty over at Technibble.com, the kit is simply a collection of useful document templates that a computer consultant can customize and implement in order to run a successful business. It’s available for purchase and download at Technibble.com.  I recently got my hands on the kit and had the opportunity to check out all the goodies it contains.  Being a wet-behind-the-ears newbie computer business owner,  I was curious to find out how useful the kit would be.

What Is It?

From the Technibble website:

The Computer Business Kit is a collection of sample business forms and documents that are needed in the computer business.

Basically, what you get when you purchase the kit is a ZIP file that, when extracted, contains folders marked: In the Office,  Marketing, On The Job, and Web Development.  Also included is a folder containing files for a front-end html interface that allows you to access all the documents in a helpful UI.

Within each folder are anywhere from 2 to 11 documents of various length (in .doc or .xls format).  Each document is a ready-to-go template which you can customize to fit your business needs.  

Digging Deeper

Not all of the sections in the kit are as helpful as others.  Lets explore the different parts a little more closely so you can see if this is something you could find useful.

In The Office:  This folder contains documents that you’ll need for handling clients that you don’t bill immediately, like small businesses.  This includes quotes, invoices, and overdue payment notices.  Overall this section is pretty lean and I think it could have more in it, like example documents for tracking inventory or sample newsletters to send to your existing customers.

Marketing:  In this folder you’ll find a sample Maintenance Contract Sales Letter that you can send to local businesses to solicited business.  There’s also a marketing analysis kit that allows you to keep track of how people heard about you (though I think this might work better as a part of the Work Order).  I would have liked to see some sample fliers and phone book ads in this section.

On The Job: This is by far where you’ll find the meat of the business kit.  This section contains a slew of useful documents.  My favorites include a Backup Checklist that you have the customer sign before backing up their data to do a re-format, and a Wireless Network Settings sheet that you can leave with your customer showing all the settings you’ve entered for their network (something Verizon and Comcast very rarely do).  

Web Development: This section is a little out of place amongst it’s computer repair brethren, but it contained the most interesting documents.  I’ve done some web development work on the side here and there and I’ve always struggled with how to word my contracts and work orders.  The documents in this section shed some light on that for me.

Is It Useful?

This kit is most useful for the computer tech who is just starting his own computer repair/maintenance business.   It provides a great baseline to get started in the business.  It’s especially useful for on-site techs.  The kit may also be helpful to the established tech as a view into how other technicians might set-up their documentation.  The $49 price tag seemed a bit steep to me at first, but the kit will save you the time it might take to draft all these documents from scratch, which can easily take hours away from time spent earning money.

Conclusion

The Computer Business Kit is a great starting point for new computer business owners and a serious consideration for established techs.

My recommendation?  Use this kit in conjunction with the document examples in How to Start and Run Your Own Computer Repair Business and the online bonus content that comes with Computer Repair Business Lessons Learned.  There’s documentation in each of these resources that I’m implementing in my own business.  Mix, match, and customize the documentation provided by these three sources and you’re off to an excellent start!

This is by no means an exhaustive list.  I’d call this more of a “beginners list”;  a run-down of some useful twitter accounts that focus on tech and computers. It’s purpose is to get you started if you’re new to twitter or to round out your list if you’re already on twitter.  The list is appropriate for anyone who is interested in keeping up with technology trends.

Tech Websites/Publications

These are the accounts of some of the top technology destinations on the net.  They provide useful information for us computer professionals and enthusiasts.  Follow these accounts for the latest news, trends, and articles on all things tech.

@arstechnica - Ars Technica: The Art of Technology
@CNET News - CNET News.com
@engadget - Engadget: Official Twitter account of Engadget!
@geekforever - Forever Geek: forevergeek.com
@gigaom - GigaOM:The GigaOM bot brings you all the latest headlines from GigaOM network of blogs.
@gizmodo - gizmodo: gizmodo.com
@google - A Googler: News and updates from Google
@MacObserver - The Mac Observer: All TMO articles directly from our rss feed
@MikeTechShow - miketechshow: Podcaster
@pchere - pchere - Chief Blogger & Editor of QuickOnlineTips.com: Publishes technology news, blogging tips, wordpress hacks, web 2.0, new media
@PCMag - PC Magazine: The Independent Guide to Technology since 1982
@Techcrunch - Michael Arrington - Breaking Technology News And Opinions From TechCrunch
@Technibble - Technibble: Technibble is a resource for computer technicians to help them with their business
@TechRepublic - TechRepublic: TechRepublic is a trade publication and online community for IT professionals
@Techwatch - Tech Watch: Providing you with all your tech updates in one place! Formaly comming summer 09!
@techwatching - techwatching: This is the “Stories” feed for TechWatching.com, technology news and views minute by minute. Links go directly to stories.
@The Force Field - The Force Field: Producer and Host of The Force Field a podcast and portal for IT Service Providers
@Wired - Wired: Wired magazine and Wired.com’s twitter feed | Currently hosted by Wired.com science editor @betsymason
@ZDNetBlogs - ZDNet Blogs: Top Tech Blog Network

Tech Vendors

The official twitter accounts of some of the more popular hardware and software vendors.  These will help keep you up to date on new releases, sales, and announcements pertaining to your favorite company.

@AMD_Unprocessed - AMD_Unprocessed: Official Twitter account for AMD. CPUs, Graphics & Balanced Platforms
@ATIgraphics - ATI Graphics: Dedicated to providing the latest news, product information and contests from the ATI Graphics team at AMD
@ATTNews - ATTNews: AT&T’s Official Newsroom Twitter Feed
@BlackBerry - Research In Motion: www.blackberry.com
@buyHP - Shop at HP: Buy HP products & services (Got a suggestion - twitter @ hp.com)
@CiscoSystems - Cisco Systems: News and info about Cisco, our CEO and execs. I am John Earnhardt and am your tourguide on our official Twitter feed. Cisco Support @ http://www.cisco.com/ta
@DellOutlet - Dell Outlet: Refurbished Dell™ computers, electronics. Question/comment? Contact Stefanie Nelson at @StefanieAtDell. More Dell Twitter accounts at www.Dell.com/Twitter
@forumnokia - Forum Nokia: Driving Mobile Innovation
@googleapps - Google Apps: Official Google Apps team feed, moderated by Kevin Gough. Google Apps is software-as-a-service for business email, information sharing and security.
@HP_SMB - Hewlett Packard
@hpnews - News @ HP: Got a suggestion? Some constructive criticism? Let’s tweet! (DM @iange - Ange Embuldeniya or E-mail: twitter AT hp.com)
@HTC - HTC - Connecting with smartphone users everywhere. have a question or comment about HTC? Just tweet!
@IBMResearch - IBMResearch: IBM’s Research Division
@intel - Intel: @kenekaplan and @kfcochrane of Intel Global Communications sharing news, views and events about tech & innovation.
@motodeals - MotoDeals: The official word on exclusive deals and user tips for Motorola phones and accessories.
@MSWindows - Microsoft Windows: Your source for all things Windows on twitter.
@NEC - NEC: NEC Unified Solutions
@NeweggDailyDeal - Newegg Daily Deals: For US Newegg Deals, follow us. For Canadian Newegg Deals, follow @NeweggDealsCa
@Oracle - Oracle: Oracle News
@palm_inc - palm_inc: Stay connected with Palm and learn about news, products, tips and tricks, deals and more.
@RedHatNews - RedHatNews: Official news and announcements from Red Hat.
@Seagate - Seagate: The worldwide leader in hard disk drives and storage devices.
@sprintnews - sprintnews: Official feed for news about Sprint Nextel. For ?’s about us or customer service issues, see @jgoldsborough, @jbtaylor, @cndavis, @srdoherty, @svinge
@TigerDirectNew - Tiger Direct Now: Great Deals on Electronics!
@ToshibaLaptops - Toshiba
@vmware - vmware: Virtualization Technology
@vzwupdates - vzwupdates: Timely Updates on Verizon Wireless Phones, Network, Plans & Policies
@WesternDigital - Western Digital

Tech Security

Receive up-to-the-minute news on the latest virus and security threats from these top information security vendors.

@bitdefenderlabs - BitDefenderLabs: antimalware software - the future of security now!
@CiscoSecurity - CiscoSecurity: Cisco Security events, products, and solutions. Also, general network security news updates. (Updated for CMO Security Solutions by L. Friedman)
@fortinet - Fortinet: Consolidated security solutions for enterprises, MSSPs, carriers and more
@McafeeAvertLabs - McAfee: The official tweets of McAfee Avert Labs
@McAfeeNews - McAfee News: Get McAfee’s official news announcements by following this feed. (Not an interactive feed.)
@mssecurity - Microsoft Security: Microsoft and Windows home security bulletins
@Kaspersky - Kaspersky Lab: Leading developer of antivirus software that protects against all forms of malware with the fastest updates
@symantecnews - symantecnews: @coryedwards providing the latest news, updates and insights from Symantec on all things security, storage, and data protection
@trendmicro - TrendMicro: Trend Micro provides leading Internet content security solutions for businesses and consumers.
@verisign - Karen@VeriSign: VeriSign is the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure. Tweets by @karensnyd.
@websenselabs - WebsenseSecurityLabs: The security research team at Websense. Researchers, coders, incident handlers, across the world.
@zonealarm - zonealarm: ZoneAlarm®, a Check Point Software Technologies, Inc. Company, is one of the most secure brands in consumer Internet security.

Tech People

For opinions, links, updates, and insight from a personal perspective, follow these top tech authorities.  They run the gammut from CTO’s to podcast hosts and everything in-between.

@acedtect - Tom Merritt: Host of CNET.com podcasts and videos, as well as East Meets West and Sword and Laser podcasts. And as always, Coffee achiever
@arrington - Michael Arrington: TechCrunch founder. Dog Lover.
@bobbiejohnson - Bobbie Johnson: journalista and navel-gazer
@charleneli - Charlene Li: Co-author of Groundswell, thought leader on emerging technologies
@danoliver - Dan Oliver: Journalist and editor of .net magazine. These are my views, not those of Future Publishing. Mmm’k.
@davezatz - Dave Zatz: Geek blogger, sailing the seas of cheese.
@DCoT - Tim Fehlman - Chief Technology Officer, blogger, IT expert, Daily Cup of Tech author, tech guru, entrepreneur, hacker, maker, public speaker, author, Internet safety advocate.
@enderle - Enderle: Analyst
@erickschonfeld - erickschonfeld: Co-editor of TechCrunch
@ev - Evan Williams: CEO of Twitter
@gcluley - Graham Cluley: Senior technology consultant, Sophos. Viruses, spam, computer security, that kind of stuff.
@guykawasaki - Guy Kawasaki: RSSurai with Annie Colbert, Gina Ruiz, and Bill Meade
@harrymccracken - Harry McCracken: Technologizer founder. Boy journalist. Bon vivant.
@inafried - Ina Fried: http://news.cnet.com/beyond-binary/
@jasonhiner - Jason Hiner: TechRepublic Editor in Chief — I use Twitter to share links, observations, and professional upates. I read every @ reply but can only respond selectively.
@jasoncalacanis - Jason Calacanis: Founder of Weblogs, Inc., TechCrunch50 and Mahalo.
@jemimakiss - Jemima Kiss: Guardian writer and interwebber. I live, therefore I Tweet.
@joshuatopolsky - Joshua Topolsky: Editor-in-chief of Engadget.com, reformed producer, lover of creepy movies.
@jowyang - Jeremiah Owyang: I work at Forrester Research, however these opinions are mine. How I use Twitter http://tinyurl.com/24lv65
@jsnell - Jason Snell: Editor of Macworld, writer, primate, skeptic
@kevinrose - Kevin Rose: Founder of social media site digg.com. Random ideas, entrepreneur, climber of rocks, video blogger, & tea drinker.
@labnol - Amit Agarwal: Technology columnist & professional blogger
@lance - Lance: I am a technology entrepreneur and currently a Venture Catalyst at Georgia Tech. I help launch and build technology companies.
@leolaporte - Leo Laporte: I’ve experiments to run, there is research to be done, on the people who are watching TWiT Live.
@mattcutts - Matt Cutts: Head of webspam team at Google.
@mikkohypponen - Mikko H. Hypponen: CRO at F-Secure
@mollywood - Molly Wood: Host of the Buzz Report, Mailbag, and Gadgettes on CNETTV.com. 4WD epicure
@nataliedelconte - Natali Del Conte: http://www.natalidelconte.com/
@om - Om Malik: Founder of GigaOM & a Venture Partner at True Ventures
@padmasree - Padmasree: CTO of Cisco
@rafe - Rafe Needleman: Writes wacky web 2.0 weviews
@ryanblock - Ryan Block: I’m an editor and technology critic in the midst of founding a new web startup: gdgt.
@sarahcuda - Sarah Lacy: i’m a reporter/author in silicon valley
@saschasegan - saschasegan: I’m mostly the cell phone guy for PCMag; my other car is a travel writer.
@scobleizer - Robert Scoble: Geek and technology enthusiasm from a blogger who grew up in Silicon Valley.
@teksquisite - Bev Robb: Southwest NH small business It consultant and Cheeky-Geeky opportunist with a strong interest in computer forensics and social media.
@THErealDVORAK - John C. Dvorak: http://www.dvorak.org/blog/
@thurrott -Paul Thurrott: Paul Thurrott is the guy behind the SuperSite for Windows. Way behind.
@veronica - Veronica Belmont: Host of Tekzilla on Revision3 and Qore on PSN. Also, a geek.
@zephoria - danah boyd: Academic or activist? That is the question. (I study youth practices, social media, and cultural dynamics.)

Bonus: My Tech Buddies - These are folks whose name you may not recognize, but with whom I’ve had valuable personal interactions with on Twitter.  Check them out, you wont regret it!

@cbucholdt - Christian Bucholdt: Independent consultant - Applying Requirements Engineering, agile methodology (Scrum) and IT Service Management in a pragmatic manner = creating customer value
@EricHamm - Eric Hamm: Wordpress designer/consultant, online entrepreneur, multifaceted blogger and creator of the frugal Wordpress Theme. www.frugalTheme.com
@MathieuB - Mathieu Bourgie: Blogger/Consultant @ Hardware Revolution, a blog where I offer various computer system designs, ideas and tips on how to help you cut down on computer costs!
@meekprize - mike perez: some dude
@josephmunizjr - Joseph Muniz Jr: An IT Tech trying to stay current on technology.
@philmcdonnell - philmcdonnell: Web developer, designer, consultant, techno-guy, business owner, animal lover and proud parent.
@rglauser - Rhett Glauser: Loud talker for Service-now.com, the only enterprise service desk (ITSM) via SaaS.
@theitskeptic - Rob England: The IT Skeptic: writer, commentator, life balancer.
@timmyjohnboy - Tim Lenahan: http://timmyjohnboy.com/

And, of course, yours truly:

@YFNCG - Matt Rodela: Small business owner, computer guy, blogger @ Y.F.N.C.G., Data Center Systems Analyst for midsize pharma company

Who did I miss?  Let me know in the comments and with your help I’ll continue to update this list!

Sources:

1. Twitter directory to enterprise IT and network companies
2. http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/40030
3. The 10 best techies worth following on Twitter
4. The Most Interesting People To Follow On Twitter

It’s a great ice breaker and conduit for face-to-face conversations about your business to potential customers. It’s an extremely portable advertisement for your business that people can take with them and keep in their wallets/purses.  Nothing is more basic than the business card, providing the most important information about your business and nothing more.  Finally, there’s no denying that it’s much cheaper than an ad in your local paper or phone book, saving you money in those critically cash-strapped first years of business.

So it goes without saying that the first thing any new small business owner should do is get some business cards made.  And that’s exactly what I’ve done.

However, before I could send my order to the printers, I needed to completed a few start-up steps so I’d have something to adorn the face of my card.  Namely a business name, website url, logo, and phone number. Now that those things are complete, I can proudly display all of that on my business card.  After all, this will be my primary advertising method for the next year or so as I try to build a small, part-time client list.

I’d like to share with you some of the things I took into consideration when designing my business card.  The most important thing to take from all this is that your card will be an extension of your business philosophy and image, so make sure to do them justice.

Information

First and foremost, you need to figure out what information to put on your business card.  This is a balancing act.  Although you want to tell your potential customers as much as you can about your business, you also don’t want to clutter the card with too much information.

First and foremost you should list all the ways that customers can contact you.  I think it’s a mistake to list only your phone number or only your email address, list both.  I personally don’t understand why people still list their fax number.  Does anyone fax anymore?  Finally, it’s probably a good idea to throw in your website URL, that’s where people can go if they’re interested in finding out more information than the card provides.

Next, you want to include your name.  This personalizes the card and gives the card that human element.  It makes the receiver feel “special”, like they are receiving a personal invitation from you to contact your business.  This is what separates the business card from traditional ads.

Of course, don’t forget your business name and logo.  These keep your company brand in the minds of your potential customers, helping them remember your business.

So far all of these things are pretty obvious.  What about extra information like a run-down of your services, the area you service, your motto, your specials, etc? Well, this is all purely optional and it’s up to you if you feel you’ll need to include any of this stuff.  My advice, and this is what I tried to follow with my own card, is to keep things short and simple.  Give just enough information so people know what you’re about and then they can refer to your website for specifics.  Nothing is worse than a cluttered business card.

Layout

By layout, I’m not only thinking about on what part of the card you put certain information, but also what colors and font you use.  This is a matter of personal preference and there are an infinite number of possible ways to lay out your card.  But here are some personal guidelines I tried to follow:

1. White Space is OK- Don’t feel like you have to fill every square inch of the card with info.  Cluttered cards not only look bad, but it’s hard for your customer to find the information they need.
2. Keep Things Consistent - Try to stick to two or three colors and fonts on the card.  If everything is the same color, that’s boring.  The opposite is if you make every line of text a different color and font which will begin to look unorganized and chaotic.
3. Consolidate Similar Info-  It’s probably a good idea to keep all your contact info together on the card.  If your website is in one corner, email in a another, and phone in yet another, your customer might miss the info they’re looking for and move on to the next card in their stack.

Appearance

Finally, there’s the overall appearance.  These are some questions you’ll probably want to ask yourself before ordering your cards.

Glossy or matte?- This is a matter of preference, but I personally prefer matte finish for two reasons: 1) I like being able to write extra info on a business card if I need to and it’s much easier to write on a matte finished card.  2) Glossy finish just looks less professional to me for some reason.  But you may find you like glossy finish better.  It certainly makes the colors pop out a little more if that’s your goal.  Take a look at some business cards that you’ve received in the past and see which finish you prefer.

White Background? - My personal preference on this one is to keep the card white.  Again, I think it’s not only more professional looking, but it allows your logo and text pop out and be the focus of attention.

Flare? - Some printing companies offer options such as foil printing and raised lettering.  I think options are nice if you can afford them.  But don’t break the bank on such things that probably don’t make a huge difference in the long run.  Concentrate more on making the things that cost the least look the best.  And keep in mind that even with these fancy features, moderation is important.  Unless, of course, you’re promoting a night club in which case the more glitter the better!

Info on the back? - Most printing companies also allow you to have something printed on the back of the card for an extra fee.  This is a perfect opportunity to add a little extra something that you couldn’t put on the front face of the card.  You can include a complete list of your services, client testimonials and media quotes, or include a coupon or discount for people who present the card to you during service, which is the route I’ve taken.

Traditional or funky? -Lets face it, business cards are boring.  Some people choose to take the business card to the next level by breaking the mold and offering alternatives to the rectangular peice of card stock we’ve all come to know.  Here are some of the more creative examples I’ve encountered on the web:

http://www.quicksprout.com/2008/09/20/creative-business-cards-that-make-you-look-twice/

http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/50-awesome-and-creative-business-cards/

http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2009/01/22/30-memorable-and-creative-business-cards/

Now, while these business cards may be awesome to look at, and no doubt memorable, I wouldn’t use them for my business.  First of all, I normally put business cards in my wallet when I receive them.  If the card is oddly shaped or too bulky, it may end up in my pocket and eventually lost.  Secondly, the cost to benefit ratio for these cards is very questionable.  Yeah, you may gain the attention of a few more people, but are they going to translate into new customers? And are those new customers going to make up the difference in the amount of money you spent to have these custom cards created?  Maybe.  But I’d rather rely on my good service and personable approach to gain new customers at first…both are free.

Show us the Money!

So with all that said, here is the design I’ve chosen to go with for my first batch of cards: 

Simple and professional, I think these cards provide just enough information to my potential customers.  Only the first batch will have the coupon on the back, a small reward for my early adopters. 

What kind of business cards attract your attention?  Are you more inclined to contact someone with a flashy business card?  What do you put on your card?

I’ll leave you with a couple humorous looks at what happens when you take the whole business card thing a little too far (although I’m not sure the first guy is being funny on purpose)!

Your Business Card is Crap

American Psycho Business Card Scene

A podcast, for those of you not in the “know”, is basically a digital radio show that can be streamed to your computer or downloaded onto any number of digital listening devices, including the ever popular iPod.  Podcasting is now more popular than ever thanks, in part, to two factors: 1) the popularity of the iPod and other portable digital listening devices and 2) the reduction in price of quality audio broadcasting equipment. 

This increased popularity means that there are a lot of podcasts sprouting up around the net.  These podcasts range in quality and produciton value from a kid with a cheap microphone in his parent’s basement to a nationally syndicated radio show.  

I’ve fallen in love with podcasts recently after buying a car with an auxiliary input that allows me to listen to my iPod on the road.  This enables me to hear pertinent, relevant, interesting stuff on my 45 minute drive to and from work.  Better than radio, podcasts allow me to choose WHAT I listen to and WHEN I listen to it.  Kinda like Tivo for audio broadcasting.

As a computer guy or gal, listening to tech-related podcasts regularly will help you keep up with the latest trends in computer consulting and the IT business in general.  You can listen at home or in your shop while working on a computer or in the car on your way to your service calls.  There are quite a few tech-centric podcasts out there.  This list provides you with the podcasts that I personally enjoy and in which I find the most value as a computer guy.

So here, in no particular order, are my top 10 podcast recommendations for computer techs:

Buzz Out Loud - This is a daily podcast  produced by the folks at CNET that provides news and commentary on the latest tech trends.  I like it’s combination of knowledgeable hosts and the laid-back friendly vibe.  Although they don’t get too heavy into technical stuff, they provide a breath of fresh geek air to start your morning.

Mike Tech Show- Featuring the musings and advice of Philadelphia area computer consultant Mike Smith, Mike Tech Show is a weekly podcast with a very homegrown feel to it.  But that’s not a bad thing.  Mike not only comes a cross as a genuinely nice guy, but he provides helpful information “from the trenches” to computer techs, which makes for a winning combination in my book.

PodNutz- A weekly (almost) computer repair podcast by Steve Cherubino.  He regularly interviews a wide variety of computer techs and business owners bringing good insights into how other techs approach their niche.

Small Business Trends Radio- Not a tech podcast per-se, but a very valuable tool for those of you who run your own business.  Being an independent computer consultant means being a small business owner, CEO, marketing guru, accountant (among other things) as well as an excellent computer tech.  This show will help you become better at those first four things.  Each week Anita Campbell and co-host Steve Rucinski interview a different small business owner/expert that shares their experiences and insights.

Windows Weekly - This podcast is a member of the TWiT.tvtech podcast network.  This network, founded by radio tech guy Leo Laporte, offers very professional broadcast-quality podcasts featuring mostly tech-related subjects.  Windows Weekly is one of my favorites, providing me all the juicy windows tidbits I need to satiate my Microsoft munchies in digestible weekly portions.

The Force Field- Brought to you by Rick Savoia, The Force Field podcast covers a wide variety of computer consulting topics with news, reviews, and interviews.  This one is part of the TechPodcasts.comnetwork, which is home to a smorgasbord of geek-friendly podcasts.

Computer America- The nation’s longest running nationally syndicated radio talk show on computer.  The podcast is a direct copy of the radio show, but usually not available for a few months after the show airs live.  Craig Crossman and Carey Holzman provide mostly consumer-level tech news and information, but the wisdom and experience of these guys proves very beneficial.

The Tech Guy- This is another offering from TwiT.tv, hosted by the man himself, Leo Laporte.  This is his XM radio show without the commercials.  Very entertaining and informative covering general tech.

Security Now - Steve Gibson, a major player in the security software game, brings a weekly podcast of computer security news, tips, and trends.

Cyber Speak - Two former federal agents discuss computer forensics, cybercrime, and computer security.  Can be dry at times (since this is not my main area of focus), but stick with it, you’ll learn some interesting and useful stuff!

Many of these podcats also include forums, chat rooms, and live participation with the hosts.  So check them out and tell ‘em Your Friendly Neighborhood Computer Guy sent ya!

What podcasts do you listen to?  What other podcasts should I include on the list?