Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in
Your question

Starting a Company

Tags:
  • Computers
  • Business Computing
Last response: in Business Computing
Share
June 28, 2013 5:45:06 PM

I'm planning to start a computer company here in my town since there is only 1 and I see more and more going to Best Buy. One of my reasons are that I want to save money for the future and I figure I could make plenty of money here.

I have a few questions however...

1. Do I need a server?
2. If not, could my regular computer with a 3770k and Student Microsoft Office work fine?
3. Are there any other low cost marketing strategies other than flyers and business cards?
4. How do I target low-income crowds that want computers? (Just business lol)

My business will be centered around just building and consulting. I have a few years experience in both and I'm certified. What I do is have a consultation with them about how much they will spend and then walk them through what they need and they pay for it and I put it together and OC, optimize, water cool, etc. to their specification. Is this a good way to go about it?

The closest actual business (not marketing chain) is about ~8 miles from here lol.

More about : starting company

June 28, 2013 6:01:46 PM

You seem to be targeting multiple customer levels.

"How do I target low-income crowds that want computers? "
and
"OC, optimize, water cool,"

...are two completely different markets.

On the low end, can you build, and sell at a profit, a fully functional PC, incl a valid Windows license, incl warranty...for $350? BestBuy, NewEgg and Tigerdirect can.

On the high end, are you prepared to deal with stuffy customers, wanting blue liquid tubes instead of green? Oh wait...a particular shade of green. And including a matching backlit green keyboard.

Concentrate on consulting rather than selling hardware. Fix local non-profits, small businesses (Mama's Pizza shop), stuff like that.
Sell brain power rather than hardware.
m
0
l
June 28, 2013 6:06:17 PM

Best Buy may be able to, however, value is the key word.
m
0
l
Related resources
June 28, 2013 6:07:40 PM

Not that I am a pro here but low income individuals do not have the funding generally to sell high end parts to. your more gearing your self to tech heads and middle class tech heads and or male college students. not saying that there is not a market its just that typically it lays within the 200 to 500 total system cost range. reguardless of what you may think there are still a lot of people out there who know little to nothing about computers. so that's why its so easy for hp or Compaq or dell to sell vender spec computers with parts that are minimalistic in nature. If I were you I would start by opening a booth in a local flea market or trade store and go that route the initial cost would mostly be tied to overhead of the shop but you would get a lot more visibility that way as far as an initial offering of products and services are concerned get your number listed in the yellow pages and make your self a small portal landing page with detailed info about your services. it dose not need to be super fancy just something with contact info and location / products and or services and a little history about the company. or marketing gimmicks have sale sevice coupons or special discount codes for visiting the site.
m
0
l
June 28, 2013 6:08:11 PM

You would only need a server if you think you are going to have a high traffic website based at your own place. Then a server, (home built i3 or whatever) might be nice. At least, I'm pretty sure about that. You could use your i7 build, but then it would need to be always on, acting as your pc and server.
Low cost marketing strategies? People trust people they know. Getting to know a few locals couldn't hurt (unless you're a horrible person, but i'm not inclined to believe that).
Advertise "Cheap Gaming PC's and LAPTOPS". Most cheap people like laptops, as they seem more multipurpose-ful. I still would convince them of the awesomeness of the desktop, though. Hope that helps.
m
0
l
June 28, 2013 6:10:11 PM

I agree with concentrating with consulting. especially since when a company with assets like Samsung is more or less exiting the desktop PC market, what can you gain from it? Dell and HP etc are only still in it because they've already invested in massive infrastructure.

Other than that, consider cost/profit. how many people go to you for computer advise/consulting on a regular basis? and would they openly recommend you to others? you say "more and more are going to best buy", well then that's your target right there. How can you beat Best Buy? by being cheaper? offering some sort of service warranty that's better? being more available? answer those questions, consider if it's still profitable. if it is, then go for it.
m
0
l
June 28, 2013 6:14:39 PM

Mike Friesen said:
You would only need a server if you think you are going to have a high traffic website based at your own place. Then a server, (home built i3 or whatever) might be nice. At least, I'm pretty sure about that. You could use your i7 build, but then it would need to be always on, acting as your pc and server.
Low cost marketing strategies? People trust people they know. Getting to know a few locals couldn't hurt (unless you're a horrible person, but i'm not inclined to believe that).
Advertise "Cheap Gaming PC's and LAPTOPS". Most cheap people like laptops, as they seem more multipurpose-ful. I still would convince them of the awesomeness of the desktop, though. Hope that helps.


I generally agree with this advice, but I would advise against being "cheap", the quantity over quality idea is over sold, and at the end of the day, your average consumer just want to pay the money and have peace of mind. Apple, more than anyone, has shown the world that. if people in town know you, like you, and trust you as the go-to person, you can charge the same or more than Best Buy, but they'll still come to you because let's face it, I hate dealing with the bull-shit Best Buy people try to pull over you.

if you want to build a cheap home server, offer to do backups, and put in enough redundancy (and have some backup harddrives). drives are cheap, especially if you buy in bulk (I saw a guy buy 100 1TB drives the other day at microcenter when they ran a sale lol, he got them for $40 each)
m
0
l
June 28, 2013 6:16:08 PM

I'll give the same advice that Frank Zappa used to give to drug dealers:
"You'd make more money as a butcher."
m
0
l
!