Starting an IT Business

[iPatrick]

Okay, so this is the third time I've written this, thanks to Internet Explorer being... not so good.

My friends and I have recently discovered that the job market in our city is, to put it simply, very poor at the moment.

This is especially true in the IT industry. Between us we have a decent amount of money saved, and we all have our specialties when it comes to computers: Networking, hardware, operating systems, etc. Together we all went through our IT degrees, and only one of us has mananged to get a job in the industry. This is thanks to the biggest IT employer in our city, which used to be 'the' place to start out in IT here, starting in the help-desk section and working your way up the ranks, suddenly closing the IT department and giving out all the jobs to subcontractors.

We're planning on starting a small business of our own in the centre of the city with our funds. I don't know about the others, but I'm going to be keeping my part-time job at night if this doesn't work out. The money we're planning to inject into this project is more-or-less disposable, and even if it doesn't work out, at least we'll come out of it with some experience in the industry, and something to put in a resume.

So, what I'm asking is:

- Has anyone here started their own business, and how did it work out for you?

- Does anyone here who works in a small IT business have any good advice to pass on?

- What do YOU want to see in an IT store, and what services would you like to see provided?

Anyway, throw in your two cents on the topic.

 

[Teachingaddict]

Okay, so this is the third time I've written this, thanks to Internet Explorer being... not so good.

My friends and I have recently discovered that the job market in our city is, to put it simply, very poor at the moment.

This is especially true in the IT industry. Between us we have a decent amount of money saved, and we all have our specialties when it comes to computers: Networking, hardware, operating systems, etc. Together we all went through our IT degrees, and only one of us has mananged to get a job in the industry. This is thanks to the biggest IT employer in our city, which used to be 'the' place to start out in IT here, starting in the help-desk section and working your way up the ranks, suddenly closing the IT department and giving out all the jobs to subcontractors.

We're planning on starting a small business of our own in the centre of the city with our funds. I don't know about the others, but I'm going to be keeping my part-time job at night if this doesn't work out. The money we're planning to inject into this project is more-or-less disposable, and even if it doesn't work out, at least we'll come out of it with some experience in the industry, and something to put in a resume.

So, what I'm asking is:

- Has anyone here started their own business, and how did it work out for you?

- Does anyone here who works in a small IT business have any good advice to pass on?

- What do YOU want to see in an IT store, and what services would you like to see provided?

Anyway, throw in your two cents on the topic.

Although I have no experience in the industry I can tell you one thing.....find a specific niche, don't be a "jack of all trades company" and offer something which isn't offered by warranties, shops, stores etc. Most warranties these days offer a "call home" service, so you really need to be mindful of this.

Also, bare in mind that the custom built area is now over saturated as well, as many decent stores are now offering custom built pc's (in the UK anyway)

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

a) No. Can't say!

b) I am not qualified to answer that.

c) For me it would boil down to helpful customer service. Then again it would depend on what you have planned as an IT store. Are you looking to specialise in certain products and brands or keep it diverse to cover most things?.

Also much of it would depend on regional competition and stuff. Basically supply and demand would play a key role and such a thing would be dictated by location (I would think) and your service should try and harness as much as that demand as possible.

 

[Blackadder51]

Whats your mission statement and do you have a business plan?

Also what are your short term and long term goals?

Yes i know its basic stuff but many small business' do not have them

 

[Pimppeter2]

I say go for it. YOu said the money is quasi disposable.

A & B) Nopers

C)As Skarin said, customer service.

 

[iPatrick]

Although I have no experience in the industry I can tell you one thing.....find a specific niche, don't be a "jack of all trades company" and offer something which isn't offered by warranties, shops, stores etc. Most warranties these days offer a "call home" service, so you really need to be mindful of this.

Also, bare in mind that the custom built area is now over saturated as well, as many decent stores are now offering custom built pc's (in the UK anyway)

Even in my small-ish city there are a few places already building custom rigs for people, so, yeah, we'll look into doing it, but we won't be making our entire business about it.

a) No. Can't say!

b) I am not qualified to answer that.

c) For me it would boil down to helpful customer service. Then again it would depend on what you have planned as an IT store. Are you looking to specialise in certain products and brands or keep it diverse to cover most things?.

Also much of it would depend on regional competition and stuff. Basically supply and demand would play a key role and such a thing would be dictated by location (I would think) and your service should try and harness as much as that demand as possible.

We'll be mostly looking into setting up small networks for local businesses, building systems for people and basically giving out off-site service to various businesses. We do know that around our city there are a lot of places using amazingly out-dated hardware and software, so we're looking to tap into that market.

Whats your mission statement and do you have a business plan?

Also what are your short term and long term goals?

Yes i know its basic stuff but many small business' do not have them

That's a good point. We'll forumulate one of each soon, just to keep our minds on the job, and so we know what we're doing and working towards.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

If your going to be an IT specalist, stop using Internet Explorer

 

[iPatrick]

If your going to be an IT specalist, stop using Internet Explorer

Silence, you. I was running a fresh install of Windows on my laptop, and had a really bad cause of the CBFs, hence no Firefox.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

If your going to be an IT specalist, stop using Internet Explorer

Silence, you. I was running a fresh install of Windows on my laptop, and had a really bad cause of the CBFs, hence no Firefox.

Sorry, I just couldn't resist the urge to dis IE