I am trying to start a Computer Repair business. I am CompTIA

just start doing it right now. use a fake name on your business card if you're getting worried about being sued (although unlikely anyways). take cash. if it doesn't work out then you didn't lose much. if it works out then you can start thinking about doing it as a proper business

>>1578714

Well what I'm considering doing is selling my truck (paid off and worth about $19,800) and picking up a used hybrid or Honda and driving Uber so that I can still earn income during the beginning in between service calls.

Also sort of curious about this.

What's a typical repair procedure for a place like Best Buy or Staples? Are hard drives cloned before doing wipes? What's the course of action if customer data is lost?

>>1578739
Typically they just have the customer sign a paper saying they aren't going to care if their data gets wiped that way later on they have legal proof so they can't get sued. It's totally possible in most cases to clone the data, but they usually charge extra (like $20-30) for their "data recovery service".

I don't want to work in a place like that; I want to drive my business with complete transparency and kind of use that concept of honesty to drive more clients. I think it will generate more business that it would be more profitable to be extremely honest with my costs and charges rather than be shady and get bad reviews.

>>1578683
I think this repair business is dying... most computers now are so cheap that it's more cost efficient to just buy a new one instead of repairing it. You would probably be better off fixing phones and screens. If you do have your A+ and a vehicle, look into becoming a travelling tech for an MSP or something. They will find work for you and you can work as a 1099.

>>1578755
Like you can look into stuff like "field tech" to see what I mean

https://southjersey.craigslist.org/tch/5817741431.html

Used to work at Staples. We start by getting them to sign a document so that we aren't reponsible if any data is lost. In general the most expensive service is the "Total Care" bullshit for like $100+ which is basically us backing up data, reformatting, and reinstalling the OS. The goal was to upsell anyone which any software related problem to this. If they don't want this and just want a more specific thing (like virus removal for $50+) then data backup costed extra on top of that.

Basically whenever it's anything software related, try to just get everyone to buy an data backup + reformat + reinstall package (call it something fancy like Comprehensive Care or Total Restore package or something). If someone insists they just want a virus removed without reformatting and stuff, just do that and charge a bit less.

For hardware stuff obviously you'll have to be able to diagnos which part needs replacing and replace it for them (or try to upsell them to a whole knew computer if you are selling computers/builds too).

>>1578755

The services we're looking to offer are Computer Repair, Phone Repair, Custom computer builds (HTPC, Coin Mining Computers and gaming rigs) as well as just general tech type things like configuring home office equipment (get a router and printer and voip all set up to work seamlessly so that the person doesnt have to do anything ever again)

I'm looking at being completely mobile as I live in the Bay Area and I think I could get a good amount of business this way.

>>1579236
>>1578683
I'm gonna help you out bruh.

Don't limit yourself to this. Why not offer computer maintenance/networking/cloud/security solutions to small businesses? It's incredibly easy and you can charge anywhere from $50-$500/hour depending on the level of work.

all you need is a few more certs or start interviewing people and then in the weeks they're waiting for you to tell them they're hired, get contracts lined up then hire them. if you can't get contracts just keep interviewing.


It's a lot more work, but as it's been pointed out theres not real money in computer repair.

>>1579240

So should I just try and get my CCNA or something? I'm not sure which certificates you mean; I'd love to be able to consult and do contracts, but I'm not really aware of which certs are going to enable me to do that.

>>1579278
sure CCNA, CCNA Cloud, and CCNA Security would help. Make sure to become a Meraki partner and take the CMNA training so you can sell people meraki stuff. businesses love that shit and it makes you bank.

>>1578763
>bought a laptop last week
>girl at counter asked if I wanted an extended warranty
>"No thanks, nope."
>" Oh, okay. Do you want a 1-year warranty?"
>"Nope."
By this point, she's downright confused.
>"But what if it breaks?"
>"Then I'll fix it."