Before you open your computer consulting business you need to have a plan. Don't just think you'll remember a plan in your head. You are much more likely to accomplish your goals if you write them down.
Computer Consulting: The First Step
Think of all the things you need to do before you start your computer consulting business, prioritize them and write them down. Some ideas might be choosing a name for your business, getting business cards printed, ordering another phone line, joining networking organizations etc.
Using the computer consulting template below as a guide, write down each of your tasks and the date in which you need to achieve them. Don't forget to work backwards from the launch date of your business.
A Template
The Launch Date:___________________________________________
Top Ten “To-Do” List with date
1. ________________________
2. ________________________
3. ________________________
4. ________________________
5. ________________________
6. ________________________
7. ________________________
8. ________________________
9. ________________________
10. ________________________
Company Name Ideas
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Possible Organizations to Join:
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Bottom Line About Computer Consulting
You have much better odds of being ready for your launch date if you break down your tasks into small steps. Do two tasks a week if you have that much time. In no time at all, you'll be opening the doors to your computer consulting business.
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Joshua Feinberg helps small business computer consulting firms get more steady, high-paying clients. Learn how you can too. Sign-up now for your free access to a one-hour audio training program on Small Business Computer Consulting Tips.
Article Source: ezinearticles.comDon't do it. Why not? You'll spend a lot of money and a lot of time getting certified and learning all the latest platforms and technologies. But the reality is that hardware repair is a commodity - a low margin business. And it's becoming more and more of a commodity service every year as the components become more disposable and more replaceable than repairable. In this article, you'll learn why consulting contracts with national service organizations are not the best choice.
Computers Are Now Replaceable
Let's take a $600 consumer-grade PC for example. Who's going to spend money on an out-of-warranty repair on a $600 PC? Who's going to spend money on an out of warranty repair on a $400 laser printer? How much money are small businesses willing to spend on this kind of repair?
Low Labor Allowances for Consulting Contracts
Since national service organizations are going to primarily be dealing with warranty repairs on relatively inexpensive hardware, how much labor allowance do you think they're really going to give up on a $1,200 notebook? Many big hardware vendors are so cash strapped that they're always on the verge of going out of business constantly. Dell, HP, and IBM are pretty much the only major hardware players that are still in reasonably good financial shape (even if you consider IBM in the hardware business anymore).
The Profit Margin on Repairs in Consulting Contracts
So, what are you going to make on a repair? Fifty dollars? A hundred dollars? $150 or $200 at the absolute most? You're going to do a lot better by finding small businesses in your area that need high-level professional services on a regular basis.
Consulting Contracts with National Service Providers Aren't Profitable
Acting as a subcontractor for a national service provider is a really hard way to run a consulting business. Do you want to be in eight different offices every single day, or do you want to be in one or two? Do you want to be billing out at $100 or $150 an hour for high-end network support services and network integration services? Or do you want to be told that you're going to be allowed a $65 labor allowance to replace a system board, no matter how long it takes you?
The Bottom Line about Consulting Contracts
Repairing and troubleshooting hardware is low-end commodity work. It's work that can be done by people that are billing out at $20 or $30 an hour. It's not the high-end consulting you could be doing with consulting contracts. Don't ever confuse the two.
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Joshua Feinberg, co-owner of Computer Consulting 101, gets computer consulting businesses more steady, high-paying consulting clients. Now you can too. Just sign-up now for your free access pass to these field-tested, proven computer consulting secrets at Computer Consulting 101.
Article Source: ezinearticles.comSome people decide they want to open up an independent doughnut shop instead of buying into one of the really large doughnut shop companies. If you want to make submarine sandwiches, you can do it on your own or you can buy into one of the big, extremely well known franchises. If you want to start a computer consulting business, you can be independent or part of a franchise.
It all depends on whether you want to build your business completely by yourself, or whether you want to try to take some shortcuts. Of course, with a franchise, you need to be prepared to up the ante. In this article, we'll explore some pros and cons to each choice.
Be Prepared to Put in Some Sweat Equity
Realistically, during your computer consulting startup phase, you're still going to have several months where you'll need to be out pounding the pavement, shaking hands and getting your name out there. You'll also follow up on a ton of leads, generate a lot of proposals and go out on a lot of sales calls. And you'll have to do all of this before you start getting a lot of billable projects. Don't think that just because you're buying into a franchise that those problems are going to go away overnight. You need to be realistic about the pros and the cons of buying into a franchise.
Different Strokes for Different Folks
The right decision for one person isn't the right one for the other. It really all depends on what you're looking for in your computer consulting business, your skills, and your available time and financial capital.
Copyright Notice:
Copyright MMI-MMVI, Computer Consulting 101. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}
Joshua Feinberg, co-founder of Computer Consulting 101, helps computer consulting business owners get more steady, high-paying clients. Learn how you can too. Sign-up now for your free access to field-tested, proven computer consulting secrets at Computer Consulting 101.
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