I’m a small home builder Looking to boost Sales

[AsRockKid]

I’m a small home builder. I’ve been working on my own home machines since 2001. I’ve made great progress in the past 2 years and have custom-built and sold machines. I’ve had good success at that and at fixing/recycling old equipment that comes in the door. For the past 2 years I’ve studied Wikiversity IT Fundamentals to prepare me for taking the test for A+ COMTIA IT Fundamentals Certification in early- to midsummer 2016.
Making progress in sales all on my own has been painfully slow. Are there quality places/organizations out there with the sales infrastructure to act as an agent/middleman for someone like me to wholesale to or work for? I really have a passion for this type of work, and I’m looking to increase the volume of business that passes through my door.
I’d appreciate any ideas/suggestions from the community. Thanks in advance.

 

[Ralston18]

Understand that you wish to increase sales.

And it certainly appears that you have the background and skills to produce/provide quality systems.

But there are two immediate concerns:

1) How much additional capability do you have to build more systems - enough to double or triple current sales? Time, space?

2) Financially, can you really continue to manage the expenses and cash flow with respect to those higher sales?

Basically, any middle-man is going to cost you. Either via commission or just a straight up per month expense whether they sell anything or not. Commission expenses are high. Local consignment businesses around here are now asking for 40% of the selling price.

And you will lose control of the "ordering" process. Middle-man organizations are likely to make any promises necessary to make a sale - delivery dates, quantities, warranties. Especially if there are some wholesale requirements.

And there are predatory organizations that do go around telling small businesses they will "sell" for them. Probably some up-front cost to you plus some monthly "retainer". And they lock you in for as much time as possible. Be wary and beware!

I suggest doing some analysis regarding the demographics of your area. Who else is selling computers: big box, small PC retail businesses, free lancers such as yourself.

Then ask who is buying?

Would expect at this time that you have saturated the "friends and family" market, and probably the related "referrals" markets. I.e., happy customers (gaming folks) telling other people. Perhaps even a few businesses or organization that you have sold to but just do not need more systems. Possibly you have been out posting flyers with tear off telephone numbers - see quite a few of those on bulletin boards in coffee shops, some public bulletin boards, have found them crammed under my windshield wipers.

Unfortunately it takes quite a bit of work to expand sales and that will take away from your time to actually build systems. Very common situation for many small business folks. Proverbial "rock and a hard place".

Honestly my sense of things is that you will need to expand into other services - e.g., networking support. However, any expansion poses other risks and problems which can be addressed at a later time.

With the trend to low cost devices that can simply be plugged into a TV HDMI port then bluetooth connected to a keyboard/mouse to estabish a computer there is a slowing demand for desktops. Simple, cheap, portable..... Desktops are not dead but the future is not good for a lot of growth with respect to the general population. Does depend on where you live to some extent.

Summary: No middle-man organizations. I really doubt that any of them could really help with sales at costs (tangible and intangible) that you can afford. Or be willing to pay.

Instead take a more quantifiable look at your area, your competition, and where you might be able to cull out a few more sales as you currently do business. But look for a niche area, that does not seem to be well addressed and serviced. You may be able to expand into that niche.

Tough to direct you away, in a sense, from your passions and dreams but most small business people, who survive as a business have to do that. Often more than once.

 

[AsRockKid]

Thanks for your advice. I’m definitely not going to do any wholesaling.
I need to market my small computer business, but I have a very small budget. I’m thinking of creating a website – either free or low-cost. When I searched on “free websites”, Site Builder was the company at the top of the list. Site Builder advertises a free website; however, when I read through their Terms of Service, fees are frequently mentioned. But I could find no schedule of fees for their website service.
Have you had any experience creating a free or low-cost website? And with Site Builder, in particular? https://www.sitebuilder.com/

What do you recommend that I look for in a website service?

 

[Ralston18]

My general sense is to run, not walk, from any organization, business, or entity, that is not being fully upfront. Once they have your credit card or a financial account number there may be no stopping them.

And you are just the type of small business person that they profit from... Probably with little or no actual end value to you.

Will a website service really gain you more business? And attract customers who will really follow through and actually pay once a system is built for them by you? Some customers may be far away and your shipping costs will go up. Others will attempt to scam you.

To be honest, the timing is unfortunate: you have your abilities, passions, and dreams. However, the world is changing very fast and the era of cheap (cost and quality) is upon us. About the only folks I see needing custom systems are the gaming community.

Just noticed tonight that a long standing retail PC business in our community appears to have closed. Bought 3 systems there over the years but they decided that there would be, could be, more money in commercial work. A retail desktop PC from them became 2 or 3 times the cost of almost any other source. Does not seem to have worked out either way for them. I think they also tried to do networking installations and support.

I see lots of kids with nothing but iPads now - my own kids and grandkids as well. iPhones etc. dominate. You can buy a computer on a stick and put into to slot on a TV. Add a keyboard, mouse, etc. and you have a "computer". Gesture/voice recognition may eventually make such peripherals obsolete. Raspberry Pi Zero is priced at $5.00. Really fortunate kids are building PCs and robots in school now - which is good for the kids.

Yes, I think there are some areas where you can still make a "market". Odds are that lots of other folks are looking there too.

But setting up a website is unlikely to help: your competition will be doing the same but I doubt that it will meaningfully help them. For the most part the ROI, Return on Investment, is not worth it. Especially for small businesses. Maybe you are able to budget some limited amount to a website. Treat that dollar amount as if you were in Las Vegas.

My recommendation: Before going the website service route finish up your certifications and see if you can find IT employment. Start working on the next set of certifications that match your interests. Keep building and selling systems as best you can but do not look to that as a full or even a part time source of income. Read, watch, and study. Take some business classes. Attend free seminars. Do more online studies. Look for a niche opportunity that suits you. Understand what you are willing to risk and lose.

Maybe you will see some opportunity that the rest miss. And I truly hope you do.