Underage Business

[Prototype]

Hi. Some members of Tech-Forums and me are planning to sell custom built desktop to get some money for an overclocking team. We would like to know if we can do it and what we need? We are currently underage. Do we need to go to somewhere or talk to someone? We are planning on starting with a free website to show the builds. When we get some money out of it, we will buy a domain.

[Keyboard Cowboy]

Have you done a business plan? As any marketing person will tell you "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail"

Also, put yourself if your customer's shoes. Would you purchase a computer from a computer company that has the url of Yahoo/Geocities ?
Do you have a advertising budget? Where else are you planning to advertise. I have been selling computers for nearly 10 years now. The bulk of my sales are from my newspaper and phone directory listings.
Also why would some one what to purchase a computer from you as appose to the next person. And don't give me that line of "We are going to sell cheaper that XYZ Computer shop/Mass merchant" as there is extremely little margin in just selling computer hardware. Keep in mind, you need to make it worth your while. Like I refuse to sell a computer for any than $100 mark up. And even there, when i do the maths of my time to order in parts, petrol to pick up parts, my time to build the computer and then having to hope and pray that the computer does not fall over in the next 12 months as I still have to honor a warranty.... it's not worth it.

Also, where are going to get your parts from? Do you have any wholesaler's accounts? Or do you think that your local computer shop is gladly going ot sell parts over to you at a discount price?

Warranty proceedures? What are you going to do when some thing goes wrong with your clients hardware?

Logitics? How are you getting your parts / computer systems to your customers?

Public Liability Insurance? Do you even know that that is?

Finally, how much money do you think that you are going to make from selling a PC?

When it comes down to building computers for some one else, it's a lot more than just building a box and rolling out the door.

In all honesty, I think you are going to be better off putting up a flier at your local shopping centre saying that you repair computer problems for next to nothing. Over the years here, i have a lot of younger members tell me off as my service rates (US$80 - US$120 per hour + TAX) are to high. However at the end of the day, when you add up the cost of running a business, it's perfectly justified.

Seriously if you can not even afford to purchase your own domain, then I would suggest that you might want to stick to washing your parent's / nieghour's cars and mowing thier lawns. You have a long way to go.

[Prototype]

Originally Posted by Harper

Have you done a business plan? As any marketing person will tell you "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail"

Also, put yourself if your customer's shoes. Would you purchase a computer from a computer company that has the url of Yahoo/Geocities ?
Do you have a advertising budget? Where else are you planning to advertise. I have been selling computers for nearly 10 years now. The bulk of my sales are from my newspaper and phone directory listings.

Also, where are going to get your parts from? Do you have any wholesaler's accounts? Or do you think that your local computer shop is gladly going ot sell parts over to you at a discount price?

Warranty proceedures? What are you going to do when some thing goes wrong with your clients hardare?

Logitics? How are you getting your parts / computer systems to your customers?

Public Liability Insurance? Do you even know that that is?

Finally, how much money do you think that you are going to make from selling a PC?

When it comes down to building computers for some one else, it's a lot more than just building a box and rolling out the door.

We wont start until we know that we can have one.

[jorsoft03]

Harper might sound a bit of a wet blanket here but he is being realistic after all. Everyone and their brother thinks they can build custom pcs and sell em for cheaper than the next guy. It's a very saturated market and that makes for low profit margins and a lot of consumer choice. There just isn't a whole lot of profit to be earned from selling computers. You've got to concentrate mostly on the service side, that's where the money is and even then you've got to establish yourself. Why should some one go to you over Geeksquad or some such? Just because you're cheaper isn't good enough.

[Keyboard Cowboy]

Originally Posted by jorsoft03

It's a very saturated market and that makes for low profit margins and a lot of consumer choice. There just isn't a whole lot of profit to be earned from selling computers. You've got to concentrate mostly on the service side, that's where the money is and even then you've got to establish yourself. Why should some one go to you over Geeksquad or some such? Just because you're cheaper isn't good enough.

Service is a biggy. I have my competition across road. They will beat me hands down on price on hardware. However I have a lot of people coming over to deal with me for service as I know my stuff as I have about nearly 10 years experience in this business, where the guy across the road is just hiring uni-students.

I have customer's going across the road asking for simple things like ram
Customer :- I need some ram for my computer?
Competition Tech :- What type?
Customer :- I don't know.
Competition Tech :- Bring it in, let me have a look at it.

With me, the conversation goes like this?
Customer :- I need some ram for my computer?
Harper :- What type?
Customer :- I don't know.
Harper :- Do you know what type of processor you hand? Pentium III, Pentium 4? How long have you had this computer? Was it brand new when you purchased it?
Customer :- Not sure, but it was purchased band new in year 200X

Even if they give me the year, I am pretty good at guessing the ram they will require and along with price on how much it will cost. And it the fact that I can give clients an answer on the spot in regards to computer issues as appose just playing the "Bring it in as I don't know" card is is reason why I am still in business today.

Experience and Knowledge goes a long way in this game. And it's where people deside on whether you are an amiture or professional.

And even with the service side of things, one can not make money along just from repairing computers. Espeically now days. Go back 5 year or so where an entry level computer was at least AU$1500, people and no problem in paying fees of AU$200 to AU$500 just to get the computer fixed. Now days where you can easly get a new computer for about AU$600, it does make computer servicing much more harder. Like if my parts and labor to replace a motherboard is going to be about AU$300, and a newer faster computer is going to cost $600, the client will think twice before doing ahead with your repair. Okay, they might deside to purchase a new computer from me, however I make much more money if they go ahead repairing it.