Starting a business

[chris_enns]

I'm 16 and living in a small rural town in Ontario, Canada. I'm very interested about troubleshooting and repairing computers. I've been wanting to start my own mobile computer repair business. Does anyone have any idea what would be involved or any tips from past experiences. Would I need to take a professional course irt, or could I just build off the knowledge i have now.
Thanks

[ixl]

Well, I'm no expert on this, but I'd recommend working on getting your knowledge and experience levels up first. Something like the A+ cert may help give you "credibility", but experience is most important.
If you want to make a living at it, focus on services. It's hard to scrape by selling hardware and that was true even before the market started to turn down recently.
Good luck.

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Charles M. Kozierok
Webslave, The PC Guide (http://www.PCGuide.com)
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[Paleo Pete]

I tend to agree on both counts. A peice of paper with some fancy scrollwork on it is nice, and helps establish credibility, but nothing can match a few years of climbing under the hood.

Services definitely will pay the bills lots quicker than selling hardware or building machines, unless you manage to set up the next Gateway...

Books are always a good idea, I never pass up a good one if I have a few bucks I can survive without, and older computers to practice on are another very good idea. I don't know what the situation is in Canada, but here, I pick them up cheap in resale shops, flea markets and garage sales, and tinker, experiment, and swap parts. Three machines for a total of under $50 to build one from and learn on is lots cheaper than scrapping a $1500 or more off-the-shelf machine because you didn't know you couldn't do that in BIOS...

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[spaceAlien]

Greets --

One very important point : Starting a business and repairing computers are two very different things.

Two different sets of skills are required. I've only seen a few people who enjoy the technical work -- and also do a good job of running a business.

Grins --

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[Randy_tx]

Well.....I've been in business for myself since 1981 (three very different business') and assure you that were it not for the experience I received in Management positions with the large companies, I could have never made it this long. Having a small business gives you a lot of personal satisfaction at times, but it is a constant struggle against the BIG BOYS (esp. in computers). The best advice I could give a young man is to let a big company train you and then venture out on your own http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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"As hard as a rock & dumb as a brick"...Windows CEMeNT

[Neovox]

I agree with what was said above. Make sure you feel confident in what you are doing, and GET INSURANCE. What happens if you screw someone's computer up worse, or worse yet what if they claim you did even if you did not. Make sure you are insured in case something like this happens.

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