Business Advice

[tilley123]

Dear members

I'm looking for advice on how to move forward with my business.
I currently work full time 9-5 for an employer and then work evenings as weekends for myself.

I refer to myself as "the IT guy" providing IT support for home and small business users.

I have found that getting new customers difficult and slow.
In the area that I cover there are several industrial estates with lots of small businesses that from research are paying out for their IT support services.

What I would like to know is how I go about approaching this business, do I send them a letter do I go face to face.

Bearing in mind I work full time would it be best to book some time off work and do it?

Apologies for the double post.

[DFL]

Firstly, what is your objective?

Do you want to have enough clients to do this full time and quit the day job or do you just want enough to have a sideline business that supplements your income?

If you want to do this properly then you should do the following, in the order shown:

1. Prepare a personal plan - what do you want from your business?
2. Prepare your business plan - how is your business going to give you what you want from it? then
3. Prepare your marketing plan

There are an abundance of small businesses that would jump at some outsourced IT support so should be easily achievable. One aspect you must get right is pricing.

Then market by whatever you are good at and whatever brings the results be it face to face, cold calling, mail shots, networking, door knocking, flyer dropping, partnering etc.

Hope this helps.

[Red Eye Media]

You hit the nail sqaure on the head DFL.

I'd imagine that you are nervous about starting up on your own. I remember doing this and it is scary but have faith in your ability. As said, there are lots of businesses crying out for a personal IT gut who is on hand with personal service. Not just in companies, but homes too.

If there is one piece of advice I can give anyone who wants to give up the day job, is do it. Take yourself out of your comfort zone and be amazed at what you can achieve. It's human nature to survive so have faith in what you do.

What's the worst that can happen? You might have to get a job.

[oldeagleeye]

I posted on here looking for unskilled part-timers able to demo a simple user interface for our new off-site back-up service. Not exactly a demanding IT job if you can call it that sitting there chatting to a legal secretary and the pay - £50 quid for an hours work. £100 if they got a refetral. I got 3 replies and there are small It businesses on here saying how tough things are. Get on your bike Tilly some business cards and call. Don't try to make a hard sell of it. Just that your there if they need help. Rob

[lockie]

I would also recommend getting some really nice plastic business cards printed up. Ok they are not the cheapest but as you have a certain industrial estate in mind they will be good for that. In my early days i used these and just got out and about giving them out and chatting to potential clients.It worked well too with many commenting on how good the cards looked and actually keeping them.

These people hd no idea i was working fulltime in another job as the cards gave a different impression :D

Think through how your going to do it, get your image sorted and what you have to offer,benefits of using you etc and get out there touting for work.

BTW i used premierplastic cards based in blackheath for the cards, they send out sample packs too if your stuck for ideas. Theo nes with the calender on the back worked well nearer xmas.

[Chris Kaday]

What I would like to know is how I go about approaching this business, do I send them a letter do I go face to face.

You approach them by parking the car getting out and walking through their door – no better way. However you do need an arresting elevator speech, a benefit laden offering and be ready to counter any objections.

If you are prepared to take up the cold calling challenge I am happy to coach you on this for free. I started my sales career like this and never looked back unless there was a large dog at my heels lol

Chris Kaday
Business Coach

[Akbar]

I suggest getting a very professional website up and running and putting up everything you do, your past work and your contact details

[Chris Kaday]

I would also suggest answering the good people in here too!
Chris Kaday
Business Coach

[oldeagleeye]

Agree Chris. Never replied to me when I was offering work at £50 quid an hr on my previous post and he is probably doing it for free for friends and wants to expand. Can't be that serious.

I would have thought too that the first thing he would do would be to get a web site up. One persons loss however is anothers gain. Another IT geek sent me PM me and he only has a no nonsense basic site but it had all the info I wanted and it looks like we will be doing a deal on a long term basis giving him about £25K extra a year. Rob

[TestAPlug]

Had the same difficulties myself.Try some free networking events from your local chamber of commerce. Apart from that, how about contacting a larger firm and contracting for them as a local "person in the know", with travelling costs etc, it would be cheaper to farm it out than send someone from a distant location. I would advise the business networking though its great about 80% of my long term clients have come from the meetings and its beneficial because they are all local and we work across the UK. KEV

[tilley123]

I've taken on everything that people have said, got my website upto date business cards ready and just go face with the businesses will post my experiences once done

[tilley123]

I've taken on everything that people have said, got my website upto date business cards ready and just go face with the businesses will post my experiences once done

[oldeagleeye]

Nice clean site Tilley. Good luck have sent you a pm as well

[Ben232]

Do you have any experience in networked databases?

Ben

[tilley123]

SQL Server 2005?

[Ben232]

hi

I was thinking of a database that would sit on a server, the company employees see it as a database "on a website" and can add and extract data depending on their levels of access, from wherever they happen to be. Not sure if this is the same as SQL server?

Ben
http://www.mobilediagnostics.info

[robwoollen]

I agree with the above post - there are so many people nowadays putting on networking events as a platform for their own business that you cna network for free.

I've only ever had one piece of business from networking, but that's because I'm quite niche - I've passed on loads of work to people. Just remember, you are not there to sell, but to get people to sell you. EG Although I sometimes use the services of people I meet at networking events, I am far more likely to refer them to somebody.

Best of luck to you

[Dave H]

hi

I was thinking of a database that would sit on a server, the company employees see it as a database "on a website" and can add and extract data depending on their levels of access, from wherever they happen to be. Not sure if this is the same as SQL server?

Ben
http://www.mobilediagnostics.info

It just sounds like you need a coder to knock you up a simple php/mysql interface that can sit on a pc acting as an intranet webserver.

[annie57]

The most important thing that you identified, Tilley, has not been addressed.

You said you want to get new customers? Of course you want to get more but I like to always remember the 80/20 rule. 80% of your income comes from 20% of your customer base who are your returning customers. These are the ones you need to continue marketing to as well. The hard work is getting the new customers, once you have them, as long as you satisfying their needs and desires, they will continue to return to you for more business.

The 80/20 rule has always been important to the growth of my businesses and others. There is a lot more to expand on this rule which can benefit any business and take them a lot further.