In The Beginning

I started in late 2005 fixing computers mostly for fun. For the first year I did not have a business license, I did not have a shop. I did not have many tools or even much knowledge as far as how to run a successfull business. All I had was my old gas guzzling 1989 chevy camaro, a few clients that were mostly my friends and family and the knowledge that if you treat a person right they will tell others and your business will grow. This was a motto that I kept with me throughout my time owning the business, and ultimately it paid off in the end.

I started with alot of onsite servies to customers homes, friends, family, etc... Honestly the majority of it was simply teaching older ladies how to use their computer. I did alot of training services for email with outlook and outlook express, and tuneups to make the computers quicker. The customers really appreciated a person that could speak to them on "their level" and not be too technical and talk quick. I didn't worry too much about an hourly rate at that time. I took my time with them and explained everything slowly and in detail.... even wrote down notes for them so they would remember how to do something later. Some appointments I remember charging $20 and was there for a couple hours or more (at their house!). I would never work that cheap now, especially with gas as expensive as it is! Lesson #1 - Treating your customers with respect and kindness goes a long way, and patience is a big factor in this business.

As time moved on, I began to get phone calls from new people that were referred by the customers that I had been working with. I was excited with the extra income and was maybe going to be able to afford to fix my ragged out camaro!

Cgrafiks Computer Service Life Tips

My name is Josh Hesser. I am 28 years old and ran a successfull computer repair business called CGrafiks Computer Service for almost 6 full years. During that time I had also worked part time in the school system as a computer tech and network administrator. I juggled a family, a school, and a small business, by myself, straight for 4 full years before I hired my first part time tech! I dealth with all the trials of tribulations of running a Licensed / Certified / and Insured computer repair business. There were many days where I loved my job, and hated it all at the same time. I finally shut the business down because I needed health care and choose to work full time in a school system to be able to get it. It is hard to work for yourself and costs alot more than you would think... I could no longer work on a full time business and work at a full time job. I had hired help, but at the end of the day there was still alot of management decisions and paperwork that only I could perform. It was still too much for me to do anymore and there was too much business for me to keep up with without expanding to another level... which would ultimately just be more to have to manage!

In the coming weeks I will be working on alot of blog posts that will involve things that happened to me during the time that I had my successfull computer repair business. Some things to try, some things to avoid... If you are going to be starting a computer repair business, or even if you have had one for awhile... I'm sure there will be something in these posts that you will find usefull and profitable. I guarantee that it will help your business grow in some way or another.