a

National IT Warranty Companies – The Good and the Bad

by

Authors: Bryce Whitty

National IT & Warranty companies allow businesses access to a huge range of IT Professionals from all over the country. This means more work for us Computer Technicians, but some National IT & Warranty companies also have a dark side. In this article I would like to talk about dealing with "Nationals" and what to watch out for.

There are generally two types of Nationals. National IT Services allow businesses such as your own to hire Computer Technicians in other states, expanding their reach. The other type are National Warranty providers where a company can send you out to fulfill their warranty obligations. A typical client of a National Warranty provider would be a very large business that has warranty obligations to fulfill such as Staples. Staples primary focuses on office supplies but they also sell computers and peripherals. They don’t want to maintain a network of their own technicians across the country so they outsource this work to a National.
Nationals acting as the middle men will then refer work to a technician who is geographically close to the location of the work and take a cut of the profit.
The obvious benefit of this to Computer Technicians is that we have work sent our way. It really sounds like it is win-win for all parties and I know some technicians who have had success with them. However, it doesn’t always work out that way. The good ones are good and the bad ones can be really bad. Here are some of the reasons that make the bad ones bad:

Lowballin’
A large problem with the National companies is that many of them allow the client to set the rate of the work that needs to be done. The rate is often so low than no legitimate Computer Business would waste their time accepting it. You would believe that the market would sort itself out when no one accepts the lowball jobs and forces the client to pay a higher price. However, this is often not the case as inexperienced and possibly unqualified technicians accept the work.
The client gets work done cheaply and continues to post lowball jobs driving technicians with real overheads out of the Nationals marketplace.

My Monitor Has A Virus
When a client needs some work done, the job gets put the onto the Nationals marketplace for techs to snap up or the National might even directly call a technician who is in the area. The client wants the work done at a price they specify and its up to the technician to either accept or reject the work.
The real danger here is the diagnosis of the initial problem. Have you ever had a client say that their computer has a virus only for you to go onsite and find out that it was a blown power supply? In most cases, the client’s initial diagnosis was wrong.
When you are working for yourself and are being paid on an hourly basis, this is not a problem. You simply tell the client that the problem seems to be X and is not a virus. You let them know the costs of fixing X, get the go-ahead and fix the problem.
When you work for a National you have agreed to do a certain job at a certain rate, even though that is obviously not the issue. In some cases you can get approval to fix whatever needs to be done, but with some Nationals you are just the grunt who needs to do what they say.
In some cases, the person with the failing hardware had to call a support line who diagnosed the issue over the phone and then sent you out with the appropriate parts. The diagnosis might be a little more accurate but it is still possible that they are wrong. The whole back and forth, getting approval and getting parts can get ugly.

Getting Paid
I have heard horror stories where technicians have gone onsite to do a very specific task with parts in hand, find out that the diagnosis was incorrect and are unable to fix the problem. Since the problem wasn’t fixed, the client isn’t going to pay the National and in turn the National isn’t going to pay you, even though you did exactly as they asked.
I have also heard of other payment horror stories where they take months to pay you and make you jump through all sorts of hoops. This is possibly a cash flow issue on their end.

So Should I Avoid National Service Providers?
I don’t believe you should avoid National Service Providers entirely. I know of many technicians who have used them to fill slow times in the day. Apparently, If you have a very specific qualification you might be able to avoid the majority of the issues I have pointed out in this article. If you are the only person in a certain area that is qualified to do a certain job, then you can call the shots and set the price you want.
The trick with working for Nationals is to build your business with your own clients and use the Nationals during slower times. If you don’t rely on them, you have the power to say “Pay my rate and I am happy to do the work. If not, see ya later”.

If you are doing some work with them for the first time, do not accept a large job to begin with and do not accept any more work until they have paid you for your first callout. Many technicians have had problems getting paid by certain Nationals.

If you need some work and want to do a job for a National, always research them first by searching for terms such as:
[name] scam
[name] complaints

Also search for the name of the National (or even just the word “nationals” using the search box in the top right corner of the Technibble site.

I would have listed the names of some of the better known Nationals here in this article but some of the mainstream ones have so many complaints against them that I wouldn’t dare mention them. So, I am going to send this question out to the Technibble community.

Which National’s have you worked for? Which ones were the best and which ones were the worst? Please leave us a comment in the form below.

As always, you do not need to sign up to leave a comment and you can even do so anonymously. Email/RSS readers will need to visit the site in order to leave comment.

© Technibble – A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their Computer Business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. National IT & Warranty Companies – The Good and the Bad

image image

image

Read more:

National IT Warranty Companies – The Good and the Bad

by

Authors: Bryce Whitty

National IT Warranty Companies The Good and the Bad

National IT & Warranty companies allow businesses access to a huge range of IT Professionals from all over the country. This means more work for us Computer Technicians, but some National IT & Warranty companies also have a dark side. In this article I would like to talk about dealing with "Nationals" and what to watch out for.

There are generally two types of Nationals. National IT Services allow businesses such as your own to hire Computer Technicians in other states, expanding their reach. The other type are National Warranty providers where a company can send you out to fulfill their warranty obligations. A typical client of a National Warranty provider would be a very large business that has warranty obligations to fulfill such as Staples. Staples primary focuses on office supplies but they also sell computers and peripherals. They don’t want to maintain a network of their own technicians across the country so they outsource this work to a National.
Nationals acting as the middle men will then refer work to a technician who is geographically close to the location of the work and take a cut of the profit.
The obvious benefit of this to Computer Technicians is that we have work sent our way. It really sounds like it is win-win for all parties and I know some technicians who have had success with them. However, it doesn’t always work out that way. The good ones are good and the bad ones can be really bad. Here are some of the reasons that make the bad ones bad:

Lowballin’
A large problem with the National companies is that many of them allow the client to set the rate of the work that needs to be done. The rate is often so low than no legitimate Computer Business would waste their time accepting it. You would believe that the market would sort itself out when no one accepts the lowball jobs and forces the client to pay a higher price. However, this is often not the case as inexperienced and possibly unqualified technicians accept the work.
The client gets work done cheaply and continues to post lowball jobs driving technicians with real overheads out of the Nationals marketplace.

My Monitor Has A Virus
When a client needs some work done, the job gets put the onto the Nationals marketplace for techs to snap up or the National might even directly call a technician who is in the area. The client wants the work done at a price they specify and its up to the technician to either accept or reject the work.
The real danger here is the diagnosis of the initial problem. Have you ever had a client say that their computer has a virus only for you to go onsite and find out that it was a blown power supply? In most cases, the client’s initial diagnosis was wrong.
When you are working for yourself and are being paid on an hourly basis, this is not a problem. You simply tell the client that the problem seems to be X and is not a virus. You let them know the costs of fixing X, get the go-ahead and fix the problem.
When you work for a National you have agreed to do a certain job at a certain rate, even though that is obviously not the issue. In some cases you can get approval to fix whatever needs to be done, but with some Nationals you are just the grunt who needs to do what they say.
In some cases, the person with the failing hardware had to call a support line who diagnosed the issue over the phone and then sent you out with the appropriate parts. The diagnosis might be a little more accurate but it is still possible that they are wrong. The whole back and forth, getting approval and getting parts can get ugly.

Getting Paid
I have heard horror stories where technicians have gone onsite to do a very specific task with parts in hand, find out that the diagnosis was incorrect and are unable to fix the problem. Since the problem wasn’t fixed, the client isn’t going to pay the National and in turn the National isn’t going to pay you, even though you did exactly as they asked.
I have also heard of other payment horror stories where they take months to pay you and make you jump through all sorts of hoops. This is possibly a cash flow issue on their end.

So Should I Avoid National Service Providers?
I don’t believe you should avoid National Service Providers entirely. I know of many technicians who have used them to fill slow times in the day. Apparently, If you have a very specific qualification you might be able to avoid the majority of the issues I have pointed out in this article. If you are the only person in a certain area that is qualified to do a certain job, then you can call the shots and set the price you want.
The trick with working for Nationals is to build your business with your own clients and use the Nationals during slower times. If you don’t rely on them, you have the power to say “Pay my rate and I am happy to do the work. If not, see ya later”.

If you are doing some work with them for the first time, do not accept a large job to begin with and do not accept any more work until they have paid you for your first callout. Many technicians have had problems getting paid by certain Nationals.

If you need some work and want to do a job for a National, always research them first by searching for terms such as:
[name] scam
[name] complaints

Also search for the name of the National (or even just the word “nationals” using the search box in the top right corner of the Technibble site.

I would have listed the names of some of the better known Nationals here in this article but some of the mainstream ones have so many complaints against them that I wouldn’t dare mention them. So, I am going to send this question out to the Technibble community.

Which National’s have you worked for? Which ones were the best and which ones were the worst? Please leave us a comment in the form below.

As always, you do not need to sign up to leave a comment and you can even do so anonymously. Email/RSS readers will need to visit the site in order to leave comment.

© Technibble – A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their computer business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. National IT & Warranty Companies – The Good and the Bad

image image

image

Read more:

RESULTS: What Do You Think Of Registry Cleaners?

by

Authors: Bryce Whitty

CommitCRM

In my last post I asked the question “What do you think of Registry Cleaners?” and the community spoke. At the time of writing this there were 164 responses and after taking out the discussion comments (where they didnt say one way or the other), here are the results:

There were 86 Yes’s with 66 of those recommending CCleaner. 22 No’s and 9 Unsure’s.

The majority of the people who answered Yes said that they make use of a registry cleaner in most system cleanup jobs and they mostly use CCleaner. Glary Utilities also got a few mentions.

Those who said No consider registry cleaners as modern day snake oil or find its just better to work on the specific issue rather than a scattergun approach.
Those who were unsure typically hasn’t really been proven either way or they are unsure of any speed improvements after using one.

Lets look a little deeper into each answer:

Yes, I use registry cleaners
The registry is a large and complex database of information and there is no doubt that after a while there will be many entries left behind by applications that have since been removed. Less entries means a smaller registry and therefor makes it load faster right?

I spent some time looking for a study from a reliable source on the performance improvements of registry cleaners, but I couldnt find any. I could definitely find many sites talking about the benefits of a registry cleaner, but those sites are either directly selling a registry cleaning product or its a third party site that is making a commission for every registry cleaner product they sell.

One of the few trusted sources I could find was from Mark Russinovich’s blog. Mark is a widely recognized expert in the Windows operating system internals as well as operating system architecture and design. You might have heard Mark Russinovich before as he is the creator of Process Explorer and Autoruns.

On Marks blog, he said:

A few hundred kilobytes of unused keys and values causes no noticeable performance impact on system operation, but I figured it was natural for a Registry cleaner to be an essential part of running a tight ship for the anal retentive systems administrator.

So reducing the size of the registry by removing unneeded entries probably wont speed up the system, as Mark said, removing these entries would only reduce the size of the registry by a few hundred kilobytes.
But what about the contents of the registry keys? not so much the amount of space they take but the fact they are referencing a missing file? I expect there would be some speed improvements there, but I really couldn’t find any data from reliable sources proving this.

Wikipedia had something to say about it. While you cannot ever fully trust Wikipedia due to the fact that it is volunteer based, it is usually pretty good.

From Wikipedia:
Metrics of performance benefit
On Windows 9x computers, it was possible that a very large registry could slow down the computer’s startup time. However this is far less of an issue with NT-based operating systems (including Windows XP and Vista) due to a different on-disk structure of the registry, improved memory management and indexing. Slowdown due to registry bloat is thus far less of an issue in modern versions of Windows. Defragmenting the registry files (e.g. using a Microsoft-supported tool such as PageDefrag), has likewise been de-emphasized due to this increased efficiency, and is largely an automated process under Vista.

Are Computer Technicians following old information? Are we doing something we have always done but never actually tested it on a modern system? The comments left in the previous article were overwhelmingly in favor of registry cleaners, so there is definitely something there.

No, I dont use registry cleaners
Much of the hate towards registry cleaners seems to have been caused by the many questionable products out there with advertisements saying that “You have 1000 critical errors with your registry. Press OK to fix it now”.
This is known as “Scareware” and even if you believe in good products like CCleaner, you can understand why people believe that registry scanners are modern day snake oil with this kind of advertising going on.

Some of the nay sayers also mentioned that most technicians dont fully understand the Windows registry and unless you know what you are doing, you cannot trust an automated program to do it for you. This is good advice. If you use a registry cleaner such as CCleaner or Glary Utilities, take a look through the list of what it is going to do and untick things you arent sure about. Dont use it indiscriminately and before you do any work with the registry, always back it up beforehand with something like ERUNT.

I am not sure
Some of the “I am not sure” responses said they do use registry cleaners but cannot see any obvious speed improvements, but it doesn’t hurt to do it anyway.
Other “I am not sure” responses said they weren’t sure because there aren’t any studies to back it up so they cannot make an informed decision.

In conclusion, the majority of the commenter’s do use them and when they do its usually CCleaner. I am personally in the “Not sure” camp since I haven’t seen any research to prove it one way or the other. The only time I dive into the registry to do something specific like a registry tweak or removing remnants of Malware, but thats about it. Anyway, a big thank you to all who commented!

© Technibble – A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their computer business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. RESULTS: What Do You Think Of Registry Cleaners?

image image

image

Read more:

How to pick a repair company

by

 

When your computer has problems and it’s time to find a computer repair person/business there are some things you need to consider.

What to look for:

Is the business reputable?

Have you heard of the business before?

Do they belong to the Chamber of Commerce?

Do they have certifications?

Do they have a business license?

Do they have insurance?

That is just a few of the questions that you might ask or consider. Now just because a person/business doeRead More…

Read more:

Ask The Community: What Do You Think Of Registry Cleaners?

by

Authors: Bryce Whitty

CommitCRM

If you read any tech blogs, chances are you have seen an ad for a Registry Cleaner at some point.
Registry Cleaners are an interesting issue because some Computer Technicians do a ‘registry clean’ as part of every system cleanup they do while others avoid them like the plague.

What do you think of registry cleaners?
Do you make use of one? If you do, which one? Do you see any noticeable improvements?
Do you believe the Windows registry never needs a ‘cleanup’ and you are more likely cause more problems than you will fix?

Tell us your opinion in the comment box below. If you are reading this via the newsletter, hit the Comments link to visit the site. You do not need to signup for anything to leave a comment and you can even comment anonymously.

Be sure to check back in a few days when I post the results.

© Technibble – A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their computer business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. Ask The Community: What Do You Think Of Registry Cleaners?

image image

image

Read more:

Ask The Community: What Do You Think Of Registry Cleaners?

by

Authors: Bryce Whitty

If you read any tech blogs, chances are you have seen an ad for a Registry Cleaner at some point.
Registry Cleaners are an interesting issue because some Computer Technicians do a ‘registry clean’ as part of every system cleanup they do while others avoid them like the plague.

What do you think of registry cleaners?
Do you make use of one? If you do, which one? Do you see any noticeable improvements?
Do you believe the Windows registry never needs a ‘cleanup’ and you are more likely cause more problems than you will fix?

Tell us your opinion in the comment box below. If you are reading this via the newsletter, hit the Comments link to visit the site. You do not need to signup for anything to leave a comment and you can even comment anonymously.

Be sure to check back in a few days when I post the results.

© Technibble – A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their Computer Business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. Ask The Community: What Do You Think Of Registry Cleaners?

image image

image

Read more:

My Top Lessons Learned as a Computer Technician

by

Authors: Bryce Whitty

In this post I will share with you some information that I have learned that makes me the business man I am today. These lessons include automation and delegation, the usefulness of operation manuals, being effective, specializing and how to deal with competitors. These are not lessons learned the hard way which I have posted about before, but rather things I have learned while trying to be better at what I do.

Eliminate, Automate or Delegate
When you first start out you will probably not have enough work to fill the day. As time rolls on your business will begin to consume more and more of your day until eventually there will come a point where you will struggle to find the time. Your time is finite and you can only work on so many computers a day. In order for you to grow you need to either automate or delegate.
You should think about your most common tasks in your business. Do you even need to be doing it? Can it be eliminated? If you need to do it, can it be automated? Software related work is ideal for automation. For example, Windows reinstalls take a fair bit of time and require someone to be there to press Next, Next, Next. You can automate this process by creating an unattended install CD using something like vLite to install Windows, use Offline Update for the Windows patches, Fabs Autobackup 4 Tech to migrate the data and Ninite Pro to reinstall the applications . All of these support command line so you could create a batch file or an AutoIT script to do it all for you. If you don’t know how to script, Technibble has a fantastic scripting community on the forums that is only visible to members who have been on the forums for a while. You can look at some existing scripts there or perhaps pay someone to create something for you.

Of course, not every task can be eliminated or automated so you have to delegate. You can take on in-house staff or outsource the work. In either case, creating operations manuals is key. It allows others to work and make decisions in the same way you would. Essentially replacing yourself. This leads me onto my next topic.

Operations Manuals
I am a technician. I like to do things myself, my way. It’s in the technician nature. However, as I got more busy I had to take myself out of the technician mindset and more into the business owner mindset. I had to start outsourcing. The problem was I had very specific ways to deal with things and I needed to make sure that it was always done that way. Even here on the Technibble forums, the place grew much faster than I could deal with myself. I still moderate on the forums but now I have a fantastic group of volunteers helping me out. I couldn’t do it without them. Two of the mods had been around long enough that we developed the rules for both users and mods as time went on, but with the most recent take up of mods I realized I even needed an operations manual for that. It covers many of the situations that a moderator can expect but it is always expanding as various situations arise. The operations manual for your business will also expand so it should be in an editable format. Wiki software like Dokuwiki works nice if you have a few employees and you need to manage permissions. However, if you dont mind employees seeing all parts of the manual, a word document is fine.

Being Effective
I touched on this a little bit when I was on a Podnutz show a few weeks ago. Basically, you can spend your whole day “working” and turning the wheels but dont actually get much done. I personally used to get in these bad loops where I would check emails, read sites, do some computer work, come back, check emails etc..
I honestly didnt need to check my emails every half hour. Even worse was every time I did it and there was something to respond to, I had to deal with it then. I was constantly responding to things rather than doing some productive. You also need to keep in mind that there are lead up times in every task you do as well. You really see this when someone keeps distracting you at work and it takes you a few minutes to get back into what you were doing.

I managed to break my “being busy for the sake of being busy” habit and got my email checking down to about once or twice a day. I would deal with them all at once and I would be done for the day. My mind was clear to work on something else productive.

When I have a lot of things on my to-do list, I ask myself which of them is the most important, which will make the most difference. In most cases if I have a clients computer on the bench, that is the most important thing to do since my customers are my source of income.
I might have had cleaning up my workshop on the to-do list which would allow me to be more efficient while working. However, if I also had “change my advertising” on my to-do list this week, it becomes my second priority over cleaning up my workshop. Its so easy to “be busy for the sake of being busy” but in the end you need to focus on what makes you money. Sure, cleaning up my workshop will make me more efficient and being more efficient will eventually help me make more money, but fixing my clients computer right now and fixing up my advertising will make me more money quicker. Be effective.

Consider Specializing
If your area has a lot of businesses doing similar to what you are doing, consider specializing. I was speaking to a technician (@SMDSteve) on Podnutz a few weeks ago who focuses on doing Laptop DC Jack repairs. Instead of battling it out with his local competitors, he now has his competitors sending HIM work. This leads me to my next point.

Competitors
Traditional thinking makes you think that your competitors are the enemy and you hope they go out of business. However, it is far more powerful to ally with your competitors rather than to do battle with them. Do they do something you dont do (like laptop repairs) and vice versa? Can you refer to work to eachother? If you cant find a mutually beneficial situation or your competitors are hell bent on destroying you, the best way to compete is by simply being better.

I know this sounds obvious but what I mean is dont negative advertise against them (“Our prices are half that of competitor X’s”) or do any dirty tricks to steal customers. Just be better and the customers will eventually come to you. I often get asked by technicians about how to compete with the big box stores or the guy down the street with really low prices. The answer is dont. Just be better. Have better service, be quicker, keep the customer in the loop, focus on refining your advertising and your internal systems. In the end it wont matter about your prices. The quality of your work will defeat the big box stores and the cheap guy down the street.

Last but not least in regards to competitors, once you become the best in your area, dont stop. Keep improving and your competitors will have a hard time catching up.

© Technibble – A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their computer business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. My Top Lessons Learned as a Computer Technician

image image

image

Read more:

My Top Lessons Learned as a Computer Technician

by

Authors: Bryce Whitty

In this post I will share with you some information that I have learned that makes me the business man I am today. These lessons include automation and delegation, the usefulness of operation manuals, being effective, specializing and how to deal with competitors. These are not lessons learned the hard way which I have posted about before, but rather things I have learned while trying to be better at what I do.

Eliminate, Automate or Delegate
When you first start out you will probably not have enough work to fill the day. As time rolls on your business will begin to consume more and more of your day until eventually there will come a point where you will struggle to find the time. Your time is finite and you can only work on so many computers a day. In order for you to grow you need to either automate or delegate.
You should think about your most common tasks in your business. Do you even need to be doing it? Can it be eliminated? If you need to do it, can it be automated? Software related work is ideal for automation. For example, Windows reinstalls take a fair bit of time and require someone to be there to press Next, Next, Next. You can automate this process by creating an unattended install CD using something like vLite to install Windows, use Offline Update for the Windows patches, Fabs Autobackup 4 Tech to migrate the data and Ninite Pro to reinstall the applications . All of these support command line so you could create a batch file or an AutoIT script to do it all for you. If you don’t know how to script, Technibble has a fantastic scripting community on the forums that is only visible to members who have been on the forums for a while. You can look at some existing scripts there or perhaps pay someone to create something for you.

Of course, not every task can be eliminated or automated so you have to delegate. You can take on in-house staff or outsource the work. In either case, creating operations manuals is key. It allows others to work and make decisions in the same way you would. Essentially replacing yourself. This leads me onto my next topic.

Operations Manuals
I am a technician. I like to do things myself, my way. It’s in the technician nature. However, as I got more busy I had to take myself out of the technician mindset and more into the business owner mindset. I had to start outsourcing. The problem was I had very specific ways to deal with things and I needed to make sure that it was always done that way. Even here on the Technibble forums, the place grew much faster than I could deal with myself. I still moderate on the forums but now I have a fantastic group of volunteers helping me out. I couldn’t do it without them. Two of the mods had been around long enough that we developed the rules for both users and mods as time went on, but with the most recent take up of mods I realized I even needed an operations manual for that. It covers many of the situations that a moderator can expect but it is always expanding as various situations arise. The operations manual for your business will also expand so it should be in an editable format. Wiki software like Dokuwiki works nice if you have a few employees and you need to manage permissions. However, if you dont mind employees seeing all parts of the manual, a word document is fine.

Being Effective
I touched on this a little bit when I was on a Podnutz show a few weeks ago. Basically, you can spend your whole day “working” and turning the wheels but dont actually get much done. I personally used to get in these bad loops where I would check emails, read sites, do some computer work, come back, check emails etc..
I honestly didnt need to check my emails every half hour. Even worse was every time I did it and there was something to respond to, I had to deal with it then. I was constantly responding to things rather than doing some productive. You also need to keep in mind that there are lead up times in every task you do as well. You really see this when someone keeps distracting you at work and it takes you a few minutes to get back into what you were doing.

I managed to break my “being busy for the sake of being busy” habit and got my email checking down to about once or twice a day. I would deal with them all at once and I would be done for the day. My mind was clear to work on something else productive.

When I have a lot of things on my to-do list, I ask myself which of them is the most important, which will make the most difference. In most cases if I have a clients computer on the bench, that is the most important thing to do since my customers are my source of income.
I might have had cleaning up my workshop on the to-do list which would allow me to be more efficient while working. However, if I also had “change my advertising” on my to-do list this week, it becomes my second priority over cleaning up my workshop. Its so easy to “be busy for the sake of being busy” but in the end you need to focus on what makes you money. Sure, cleaning up my workshop will make me more efficient and being more efficient will eventually help me make more money, but fixing my clients computer right now and fixing up my advertising will make me more money quicker. Be effective.

Consider Specializing
If your area has a lot of businesses doing similar to what you are doing, consider specializing. I was speaking to a technician (@SMDSteve) on Podnutz a few weeks ago who focuses on doing Laptop DC Jack repairs. Instead of battling it out with his local competitors, he now has his competitors sending HIM work. This leads me to my next point.

Competitors
Traditional thinking makes you think that your competitors are the enemy and you hope they go out of business. However, it is far more powerful to ally with your competitors rather than to do battle with them. Do they do something you dont do (like laptop repairs) and vice versa? Can you refer to work to eachother? If you cant find a mutually beneficial situation or your competitors are hell bent on destroying you, the best way to compete is by simply being better.

I know this sounds obvious but what I mean is dont negative advertise against them (“Our prices are half that of competitor X’s”) or do any dirty tricks to steal customers. Just be better and the customers will eventually come to you. I often get asked by technicians about how to compete with the big box stores or the guy down the street with really low prices. The answer is dont. Just be better. Have better service, be quicker, keep the customer in the loop, focus on refining your advertising and your internal systems. In the end it wont matter about your prices. The quality of your work will defeat the big box stores and the cheap guy down the street.

Last but not least in regards to competitors, once you become the best in your area, dont stop. Keep improving and your competitors will have a hard time catching up.

© Technibble – A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their Computer Business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. My Top Lessons Learned as a Computer Technician

image image

image

Read more:

My Move To Remote Support

by

Authors: Bryce Whitty

If you have listened to some of the podcasts I have been featured in, you might have heard that I love travelling.
It is because of this I am taking my business in a slightly different direction. For now, I am turning my business into a remote support business.

Over the last few years there has been a handful of clients who make up the majority of my income (80\20 rule). Fortunately, just about all the work I do for them can be done via remote support and if any physical work needs to be done, I have arranged another Technician to do the onsite work. I have mentioned moving to remote support and these clients have no problems with it. In fact, in many cases my turn around time will be even quicker.
After looking at my records and viewing the income that these few businesses generate, I can live comfortably just supporting these few. Obviously, there will be a reduction in my income but I gain something else – freedom. Freedom to work just about anywhere in the world.

I have taken advantage of this and have moved to London in the UK where I am allowed to stay for up to two years. Ive always wanted to work in another country but didn’t really care where, while my fiancée has always wanted to work in the UK. She came to me one day about 4 or 5 months ago and said she wanted to move to the UK. I thought about how this would affect my business. I thought about the work I do for my main client and wondered whether most of it could be done remotely, it could. I thought what would happen if I need to go onsite? I can get a trusted person to go onsite and do the work for a percentage.
What about all my other clients? Especially my residential mom-and-pop clients whom I probably wont be able to support remotely?
I have passed them onto a Technibble forum member who has the same service area as me for a percentage. They are an excellent group of clients because I have already filtered out all the crap so I am very sure the other business will be very happy with them.

Learning Remote Support
Before jumping into remote support only, Ive had to spend some time learning the ins-and-outs so its less of a jump into the deep-end and more of a slow slide into the shallow end. Remote support comes with the benefit of freedom of location, but it also comes with a different set of problems.
What do you do when the computer needs to be restarted in Safe Mode? How do you get clients to pay you? Etc..
Luckily, I have had a pre-release of Lisa’s new ebook called “CallThatGirls Guide To Remote Support” for a few weeks now. For those of you who don’t know, Lisa is a well known member on the Technibble forums who is the owner of a successful computer repair business called “Call That Girl”. She specializes in remote support but also has some physical stores.
Lisa has written down what she has learned after years of supporting clients remotely and here are some of the topics that she covers in the guide.

  • Things to do before you start
  • Setting up your remote tools
  • How to book the appointment
  • What to do if the computer crashes while doing the call
  • Problems you will encounter
  • How to deal with issues you cannot fix remotely
  • Getting connected to a computer that has a virus
  • And more.

The guide has 34 pages, but it gets straight to the point. Have you ever read a long book only to come away with a few gold nuggets of information? This guide cuts out the fluff.
It sells for $100 USD which is not cheap for an ebook, but super cheap for an operations manual. When someone spends tens of thousands of dollars on a franchise, one of the most important things that they are buying (other than the brand name) is the businesses operations manual. Its well worth it if you are looking to get into remote support and while I could have learned many of these lessons the hard way, it has been a massive shortcut for me.

Click Here for more information about Call That Girls Guide To Remote Support

© Technibble – A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their computer business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. My Move To Remote Support

image image

image

Read more: