Thinking of starting up on my own...

trelstadtech · 2016-03-23T09:49:45.000Z

I’ve run a one man shop for about 18 years. I did work for a few companies prior to that, so I had contacts in the field. I’ll just share a short story about a conversation I had with another consultant. We had both worked for the same company before we went out on our own. After I had left, but before he did, there was another tech, I’ll call him Jim, that also had left and went on his own. I was talking to my friend and had mentioned that I seemed to run in to this Jim all the time. He had really seemed to pick up a lot of accounts since he had left our previous company. My friend says, yeah, you know what he did? He printed some business cards and stopped at every small business in town (pop. 100k) and dropped one off. Now, I’m not talking some slick salesman here, he’s a little on the nerdy side, but his business plan is proof that it is a numbers game. If doing the same is not for you, I think you’re going to have a rough go of it, or you’re going to end up working on home computers. What you’re probably going to want to target are the companies that the MSP’s are not all that interested in, 10 to 50 computers, server based. Big enough to need some help, but not big enough to justify a full time employee. Become a partner for a good hosted Exchange provider. It’s unbelievable how many companies are still jacking around with POP email. Put that on your business card. This maybe something that no one else has brought up to them before. I could go on and on, but a little short on time.

breffni · 2016-03-23T09:56:43.000Z

Can you do it? Absolutely.

Should you do it? It depends.

You’ve done 5 years of consultancy, so I don’t think there is a question of can you do the job.

How are you with asking for money? Does this intimidate you?

Is 30 days of planning time enough for something this big?

HTML email templates are not how you win new clients, at all. Think of personalised emails, snail mail, leaflets, even google adverts but sending template HTML graphical emails won’t work. The world is nosier than ever, you have to really think about how you’ll gain new clients carefully.

As for age, youth is no guarantee of innovation, age is no guarantee of efficiency.

nashbrydges · 2016-03-23T10:48:51.000Z

There have been a few threads on here about starting your own business and rather than reinvent the wheel, I thought I’d share one of those threads that had a lot of good comments…

Starting up your own IT Support Business Industry-Specific IT

Hello! I am looking to start actively pursuing my long term goal of having my own IT Support company. I've worked within IT for large organisations for about 8 years, working as desktop support, server support and now a network engineer looking after a large array of firewalls, so I'd like to think I have a good all round knowledge to support SME's. The plan is to initially work alongside my current role and hopefully grow it to a point where it can be my full time commitment. So I'm aft…

In this thread, Bryce had taken some time to provide good advice worth reading.

@brycekatz

james590 · 2016-03-23T10:56:59.000Z

local newspaper advertising and, weirdly enough, a sign on my car were the 2 biggest customer draws for me after word of mouth.

biscuitking · 2016-03-23T11:20:40.000Z

Research the different types of businesses (LLC, Incorporation, etc.) first thing and decide which one is best for you. Each one has it’s pros and cons.

brycekatz · 2016-03-23T11:34:59.000Z

Paolo0111:

If this can be of some help, a discussion of a month ago, with insights on the subject: Starting as a IT reseller is impossible.

I especially recommend you read this comment:

Starting as a IT reseller is impossible. Industry-Specific IT

Couple more thoughts from a former business owner: Think carefully about selling things. In the US, sales tax almost always applies to things but rarely applies to services. I'm not sure if the UK's VAT is similar. Yes, you pass the tax along to your customers, but you still have to send the check back to the gub'ment. It's one more layer of complexity in your bookkeeping. Think carefully about which things you sell. And by this, I mean which things you keep on hand. Improper invento…

and the one immediately below it.

brycekatz · 2016-03-23T11:37:01.000Z

Also, get to know Ashley Ambrige and The Middle Finger Project . Ash will tell you how to *crush the [redacted]* out of running a business.

brycekatz · 2016-03-23T11:38:03.000Z

NashBrydges:

There have been a few threads on here about starting your own business and rather than reinvent the wheel, I thought I’d share one of those threads that had a lot of good comments…

Starting up your own IT Support Business

In this thread, Bryce had taken some time to provide good advice worth reading.

Oh! That’s where I left that post.

bookmarks for future reference

stopthenoise · 2016-03-23T11:44:10.000Z

Running your own business is less about your tech skills and more about all the other skills. As other have noted, tech wise you’ll be doing the same things over and over. It’s your soft skills that will make or break you. Can you be nice to a tough customer, can you be tough with a nice customer who isn’t paying the bill?

Can you keep track of your sales and expenses? How are you at scheduling?

On your own you are it, you are the accounting department, the receptionist, building management, Help Desk, server team, marketing team… It’s all doable, but decide what you are selling yourself as and stick to it. Then do what you need to keep yourself organized.

richard14 · 2016-03-23T12:07:49.000Z

If you have some free time between driving between places or down time like that I would defiantly head over to Youtube and watch/listen to some of Eli The Computer Guys videos. He teaches tech subjects but he also has a lot of videos on how to run a business. He had one like what you are wanting to start for years before the recession. Also he does offer face to face meetings so you could ask him questions and advice.

kirkwennerstrom7971 · 2016-03-23T12:58:32.000Z

Lots of good comments that echo my own experience.

When going into business for yourself to do ‘X’, you’ll find out that doing ‘X’ is only a piece (sometimes a small piece) of the business. The rest is the stuff that EVERY business has to do - all the “administrivia” (billing, invoicing, taxes, accounting, etc.), plus drumming up new business, keep old customers, etc.

As for age? Don’t worry about that - confidence comes in all ages. I was younger than you when I quit a job and struck out on my own in the late 1980s. I did it for about five years, then ended up getting hired by my biggest customer.

If you’re young, single, and rent (not own) a home, you’re in the best shape to try working for yourself. What’s the worst that can happen? If everything goes to pot you end up getting a job working at Best Buy?

brycekatz · 2016-03-23T13:20:58.000Z

KirkCG:

As for age? Don’t worry about that - confidence comes in all ages. I was younger than you when I quit a job and struck out on my own in the late 1980s. I did it for about five years, then ended up getting hired by my biggest customer.

Indeed. I was 19 or 20 when I took my first non-training contract. (Up to that point I’d made a lot of money offering individualized training.)

bobmccoy · 2016-03-23T13:22:33.000Z

Bryce Katz:

Also, get to know Ashley Ambrige and The Middle Finger Project . Ash will tell you how to *crush the [redacted]* out of running a business.

Holy moly. What a great site!

jrammalaere · 2016-03-23T13:26:15.000Z

I did the same thing a long time ago and the lesson that I learned was this. While, I was/still am very good at the tech part of the job; I was not and I am still not a good salesman. When running your own business you probably should be a better salesman than whatever skill you are actually trying to sell. Also, be prepared for the fact that some people are jerks and you will not get paid for services rendered. You will also get people that are slow to pay.

timseibert · 2016-03-23T18:10:41.000Z

I’ve had similar thoughts on consulting, my major concern has been with the rise of remote administration (MSPs mainly) and the seemingly decline in small mom and pop computer stores, is the time for the small time consultant come and gone…

Either way I wish you luck, I wish I had something more to offer you than the above concern/question for you to ask yourself. If your buddy can make that page, it may help you branch out from local to maybe regional, assuming you can do remote administration somehow.

thedatamaster · 2016-03-23T18:17:08.000Z

Had to emulate a scenario for this in my old Tech class. Very tough project. If I didn’t know any better, the teacher was actually looking to upgrade a center. Expect people to want something for nothing and you have to be hungry and make a lot of connections to get business. Its not everyday that someone is looking to upgrade their hardware or software and when they are, they expect top quality service at discount prices. Was never on the other side of the ball here, but I have had to deal with some consultants and it can be tough on both ends.

jessevas · 2016-03-23T18:18:32.000Z

When I was asking that question, the advice that I received was to first get an accountant and an attorney who don’t know each other. Seek their council.

vdummy · 2016-03-23T18:21:13.000Z

Thanks for all the replies.

I’m actually completing on my house in 2 months time, so redundancy could not of come at a worse time for me!

I guess the problem would be if I’m not making enough to live off within 5 months I would probably come up stuck and blown all my cash.

I’ll keep looking for another position whilst advertising in the local area for freelance work and see if I can get anything through the door.

I currently do bits a pieces for a couple of shops in my town and have asked them to spread the word, problem being the work is no where near frequent enough for it to be a source of income.

Its a great dream that if I didn’t have a house soon would probably become a reality!

Oh and https://www.themiddlefingerproject.org/ is a great website!

brandon220 · 2016-03-23T18:27:02.000Z

I’ve done similar work over the years but alongside a full time job. It a totally different scenario I know but I feel it can be done. I keep my customers happy and their word to others goes a long way in picking up new clients. Also, try and pick up some that offer a retainer where you get paid to be “on-call” and don’t even show up unless they need you. Always answering the phone no matter time of day is a plus too. Its gets old after a while but clients love it. Johnny on the spot.

tstuckey · 2016-03-23T18:27:34.000Z

well, the first few things to consider.

is there a need for it in your area?

2)can you compete with MSP or other contractors in your area?

3)can i survive without steady income for about 2 years?

4)how much money can i use for this company?

IF you have done all those things, then you know roughly whats needed and how to improve your idea or narrow it down to a specialty.

Its gonna take time, effort, tears, and blood. its not going to be easy. and its not gonna start generating real income until after 4-5 months(roughly)

when my father started his own company, it failed twice and crashed and burned hard. but he persevered, he kept at it. and eventually he made it. and after 3 years, he had finally made his company work. so you might fail at first, but each failure is a lesson learned and another step towards success. so just keep trying.

a quote from my favorite movie: “Once you establish yourself, they got to accept you” - Blazzing Saddles