Is the one man mobile IT engineer career dead?

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Big J

  • #1
    Hi Everyone,

    I am a mobile computer engineer and I am suffering - from NO work. I used to have about seven or eight jobs a week coming in but from the end of last year this number has been dropping and this week I have have had no calls.

    Don't worry though, I am trying to do something about and have just had 5000 leaflets printed but I am trying to find out if I am alone on this one or is anyone else in my field experiencing the same slowdown?

    I read conflicting reports about the state of this market but would like some real info from people in the know, or someone you know thats in the know!?!

    Thanks,

    Big J.

    PS. My work is 90% residential customers and I am totally mobile ie no workshop that customers can visit.
     
    asonda

    asonda

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    Jan 28, 2007
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  • #2
    It's a tough time. The rise in advertising the big companies are using are definately attracting people to them.

    The trouble is you have just got to market wisely and hope for the best. The trouble with marketing such as leaflets is you don't know how well they will do.

    I rely ALOT on recommendations/referals so aslong as I do a good job, I'll almost always get another bit of work because of that.

    This year has been tough for me too and I'm currently trying out other projects to turn to. Remember I.T work like me and you do, in the end is very labour intensive and there's not enough hours in the day when you get really busy, trust me.

    Methinks an automated service/selling goods online is the way forward.
     
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    TykeDave

    Free Member
    Mar 26, 2008
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  • #3
    asonda said:
    ... work like me and you do, in the end is very labour intensive and there's not enough hours in the day when you get really busy, trust me.

    Methinks an automated service/selling goods online is the way forward.
    Click to expand...

    That's exactly the conclusion I came to recently! (Which is one reason I started looking at other ways of generating income, and indirectly how I came to be here!).


    Cheers
    Dave
     
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  • #4
    I must admit, I have seen a steady increase in the smaller jobs since I started a year ago. I have also branched out into different areas too, which is also taking off.

    It is a slog, but you have to put the efforts in.

    Early on I employed the services of Mark from Freeform Media (a member on here), who produced a marketing plan for me, and gave me a little direction. This has proved invaluable, as I still refer back to it from time to time.

    Any callouts I get tends to lead to further referrals, etc, as I ensure I leave every single customer happy. This is an absolute must if you intend repeat business.

    The domestic market on its own is probably not enough to sustain you - you need to branch out and get into the B2B market too.
     
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    Big J

  • #6
    Thanks everyone for the advice.

    Comspec, any free hints as to what your marketing man had to say?

    Also I have been trying to learn css and dreamweaver, I have pretty good knowledge of html.

    Does anyone pick up much website work? I would like to offer a web design service and handle the brouchure type websites myself, handing more complex designs to someone else. I'm really disheartened with the support side at the moment and think that getting involved in the internet and ecommerce is going to offer me a brighter future.

    What do you all think?
     
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    AdamJ

    AdamJ

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    Oct 12, 2007
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  • #9
    As above, as a small business owner there is definitely a need for one-man-band sized help. As small businesses grow they quickly go from the realms of an enthusiastic amateur looking after the IT to needing someone who knows what they're doing, just keeping it all working. While setting up things like small networks has gone from a pro job to being one which most people can do, our expectations of what we want our IT systems to do has also grown meaning there is still a gap in demand which your type of job can fill.

    Market yourself, especially to smaller businesses, and I do think you have a market.
     
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    C

    CKG

  • #10
    Remote controlled central heating is popular with rich folk.

    Meaning they can switch the heating on at their holiday mansion via PC so it's nice and toasty for when they arrive.

    The mind boggles at some of the stuff the super rich find to splash the cash on.

    A customer of mine has a tracking system fitted to his dogs so he can see where they are on his estate at any one time via his PC.

    Bonkers.
     
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  • #14
    I agree with most of what has already been said.

    To the OP, you have to focus on what you want to achieve, plus focus on what you have to offer.

    What my Marketing guy told me was I had too many services on offer, and could not possibly market them all at once. We sat down and went through my potential market, then matched my services to them. We sat down and went through the uses for our PC's, and then built the spec's to suit. We now sell 'packages' for the Home User, Home Office User, Small Business User, Gamer, etc - all tailored to their specific uses. This has gone down very well.

    You just need to carry out some basic research yourself - have a look at the potential market out there, analyse their needs, then tailor your own services to suit this.

    Yes, a few leaflet drops will get you some home-based callouts, but this will not be enough to sustain your business on its own. You have to gauge your skills, and ensure that you bring them to the fore, marketing them to small business owners as well as the domestic market.

    We do a mix of online marketing, direct mail, flyers, small posters, cold calling, etc - ensuring that our name is 'out there'. We also focus on ensuring that our reputation precedes us, and that this reputation ensures we get repeat business, plus referrals.

    Honesty, fair pricing and good communication are the key points to our service.
     
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    agnes261

  • #15
    My IT repair man I found in Yellow Pages, I chose him because he was one of the first on the list(!!) and he just happened to live along the road from me. Because he did a good job for me I have recommended him several times and have gone back to him. So my advice would be get yourself a business name that gets you at the top of the listing and make sure your customers are satisfied (which I'm sure you do already).
     
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    KM-Tiger

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  • #16
    An Oasis said:
    Slightly off topic but possibly a route to think about. I visit quite a number of er very wealthy people all of whom are installing house wide IT networks in order to control sound systems, lighting, temperature of swimming pools...
    Click to expand...

    Not OT at all, as I'd say the whole home networking area is going to grow as systems converge, so not only home automation but media, telephony etc.

    PC's are heading towards being a disposable commodity, like kettles. Who gets a kettle repaired now?
     
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    M

    Mardell

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    Nov 13, 2006
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  • #19
    I've been in the IT trade 12years now, started out in IT Field support for a small IT company and as normal got the 'can you fix my home pc?' I got a fair few requests (about 6/7 a week)and looked into doing it full time for myself. If im honest im glad i didn't.

    What i would suggest is look to push your horizons maybe in a different direction and market towards startup to small businesses, there is no subsitute for getting on the phone and introducing yourself, maybe offer a free 1 hour system health check (hey it gets you in the door and your face seen) from there your recommendations could lead to steady business, the other benifits are 9-5pm days and no 'can you come after work' bla bla... Home users have to many friends and family that 'think' they know what they are doing.

    Good luck

    Regards
    Dan
     
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    G

    gregs2769

  • #22
    I wouldn't say its dead or dieing the big problem I think is the fact that todays consumer electronics are so dissposable including PC's. I have a friend who is in this game and he has never done well out of it, He charges £25p/hour and he does have a steady income. But with the likes of pc world he has found it hard to get new bussiness.

    Instead of just doing repairs you could do upgrades. you could ride of cruical memory's campain at the moment going along the lines of ''dont buy a new computer, just upgrade your ram'' or somthing like that. I imagine you can get ram pretty cheap and just whack on i dunno...£20 to install it. It should work well with vista being the ram whore that it is! Also have your approached your local bussiness and asking if they would like there machines mantaied for a small fee each year plus parts cost's? It dont have to be a huge amount as it could just be enough to butter your bread.

    any way i hope some of that made sense, i couold think of a load of things you could do. PM me if you would like to hear some ideas


    tar very much
     
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    C

    confused

  • #23
    Lots of good advice.
    I was in a similar position to Mardell a few years ago, I have worked in IT for years and was working for a large company designing/installing medium size corporate networks and school/college networks and such. I was forever getting asked to "come and look at my pc" which I did and I enjoyed doing. I often thought of setting up on my own - then I got made redundant and got the push that I needed.
    Its not easy. Home pc repairs dont bring in a lot of money, at say £25/hr over 8 hours (ok, we work more than 8) thats £200/day but of course its doubtful that a single job would last all day, so you have a few 1-2 hour jobs, then theres time travelling to them, petrol etc - doesnt leave a lot after tax.
    I do home pc's, but most of my time is with businesses and one day I hope to stop doing home pc's totally. BUT, and heres a bit of thought, one of my best corporate customers actually came from repairing a home pc. The persons pc I fixed was really chuffed as they had already had several people around trying to sort it. It turned out their son is the MD of a fairly well off company in my local area. Soon after I got a call and that was that, another regular(ish) decent income on the books.
    One thing that has been mentioned is stick to what you can do, i.e dont be a jack of all trades/master of none, if you cant do it then walk away. I often get asked about we design/hosting/email etc, I'll help with hosting, usually by reccomending Carl (CS) I'll also help with mail and simple changes to their site, but anything major to do with web design I wont do, simply because its not what I do, web designers do that. Likewise if you dont know how active directory/DNS works then dont go near a domain controller till you do.
    Leaflets are a funny thing, you give a few thousand out and generally get a couple of calls within the next couple of days, then nothing. But, later on you may get a call from someone who answers the door waving one of your 1st leaflets at you, all screwed up and yellowing from age. A few people do keep them.
    I found my yellow pages ad works well, although quite a few people on here wouldnt touch it with a barge pole. My ad costs £400/year and in the 3 years I've run it I've always had my £400 back from it.
    Just a few thoughts there. Back to the original question, home pc calls here have got less and less since vista was released - I HATE it, and so does just about every technical person I know, but, jo bloggs doesnt seem to be able to break it too easily.
    Theres the memory upgrades that have been mentioned, crucials ads about the pc running slow so throw some memory in seem to work - often though as I'm sure you'll agree, its sometime like taking your oil pressure light out to stop it coming on - i.e. not getting to the root cause. I regulary get asked to do an upgrade, I'll look at the pc and more often than not all it needs is a bit of a clean up. I could of course fit some ram and charge, but I'll usually explain why it didnt need any and how I've saved them money - another happy customer who will pass my details on - as long as I leave some business cards, and of course one of my mouse mats and coasters ;)
     
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    Big J

  • #24
    Thanks everyone, some really good advice coming through here.

    I agree with the stugster - users are the main PC problem - along with incorrect username/passwords - if only i could have 6 of these jobs a day!!

    Back down to earth though, is it the case that people that do not do well out of this market do not have the business skills to succeed in any business. If you dont have a positive attitude you will properbly never succeed.

    Hows about the IT personell/business owners on this site get together and take on PCW and geek squad!

    Big J.
     
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    Gillie

    Gillie

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    Apr 12, 2006
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  • #26
    Strangely enough the comments I hear all the time at the moment at the various networking events and also just chatting to other business heads, is where do I find someone that can do an IT job for me who actually knows what they are doing. The problem as I see it, is that there are a lot out there who have bought a pc, played with it, think they know it and have set up and not been able to fulfill some of their jobs etc.

    If you can show reliability, experience and knowledge, businesses are crying out for you. However, the home market is less discerning as they just want their machine to work and don't care how or what, but yes word of mouth still has to be the quickest and easiest way to both win and loose business, depending on how good a job you did and how much value for money you appeared to be.

    PS. Its Mark at The Really Practical Marketing Company now, not Freeform Media ... he has re-branded!!
     
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    gregs2769

  • #27
    confused said:
    Would be so easy if we had the ££ for marketing, IME pc world "technicians" are pretty clueless
    Click to expand...


    It would be a walk over for anyone taking on pathic computers world!!! there staff are so clueless and really dont give a ****. There prices arent even that great. They have an odd good deal once in a while to get the punters in and rip you off on everything else!!!!
     
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    Big J

  • #28
    I agree with everyones comments on PCW, but I met someone from a store the other day and was very suprised by his wealth of knowledge so they are not all bad, the pricing structure there is very steep though.

    I have subbed, and still do sometimes, for one of the largest phone providers and one of the largest broadband providers (I cant name them on here I'm afraid so you will have to guess, I'm not allowed to say I'm not part of their network, very cunning and proberbly illegal on their part) to fix PC/Broadband problems for their residential customers, and they charge them 'loads a money', double what I would charge them. These jobs were not that frequent by the way so I think even they are struggling.

    Anyone have any idea how I can get the message out there that they can call me direct and get the same service from someone local?
     
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    R

    RSQU

  • #29
    I have mentioned this on another thread of mine. Gill is more or less on the money. The trouble is with this industry is too many 'kids' get there noses stuck in they think they have played World of Warcraft a few times are pretty handy with a screwdriver and so can tackle any computer issue. I had an advertising headline which I haven't used to date to tackle this:

    How much is your computer worth? £500 or more. And you'd trust a neighbor handy with a screwdriver to fix it!

    And if they can't resolve it they can always resort to formatting the drive. Do any of you 'IT' people advertise\mention your qualifications in your marketing? I know in this industry experience is a massive plus. But to the layman sometimes seeing a certificate is a bonus.

    If you want to get more business but haven't the time, motivation or whatever try these two sites:

    http://www.fixitlocal.co.uk/web/Specialist.shtml

    http://www.pciq.com/it_professionals/it_professionals.asp
     
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    B

    brownie

  • #30
    Gillie said:
    If you can show reliability, experience and knowledge, businesses are crying out for you. However, the home market is less discerning as they just want their machine to work and don't care how or what
    Click to expand...

    I share exactly this point of view hence not going near the domestic market.

    Business customers can be harder work to win up front but in my experience much more loyal. It takes a different approach though, suited and booted with the confidence to sell yourself to them.

    I've found concentrating on certain types of business has helped too, for example a law firm will not flinch at paying £50 an hour for a professional.

    Yes Mike I do boast about an MCSE and CCNA in marketing, definately helps.
     
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  • #31
    I agree about home users not wanting to pay a professional, they tend to get in someone they know who has limited knowledge, but I must admit I get these people eventually, when the limit of their friend's knowledge shines through :)

    There is enough in the home market around me (and I live in quite a small place) to sustain a decent weekly wage, if that is what is wanted. Personally, my efforts are always geared to growth and expansion, and that takes B2B work.

    These guys who have done a small course, etc, are the ones who cannot sustain their businesses. If you have the experience, knowledge, and the gumption - there is no reason why you cannot make a sustainable business.

    Personally I work 16 hour days during the week to handle most of my work, and I always have projects which have to stay 'on the long finger' until I get time to implement them. That is not a sign of a dying business to me.


    (Oh Gill, had forgotten Mark's new business name btw) :)
     
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    asonda

    asonda

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  • #32
    The business sector is the market to go after really. As has been said above, once you get them on some form of service contract and even maybe a hardware contract for the big companies, not only do they show you loyalty, trust, it provides a regular income AND people in high places, are friends with people in high places, which is how I get my business.

    Domestic things are the same, referalls. I did a good job for 'Steve' he referred me to 'Dave' and 'Mike, I did good jobs for 'Dave' and 'Mike', Now they tell people, and before you know it, you have 8 recommendations from about 3/4 bits of small work.

    I don't think the trade is dying due to human error to be honest with you and how people always manage to bumpf up their computer with viruses and spyware (which is what ALL of my home visits have been about over the past few months) :D

    Cover your bases, get some marketing done, talk to smaller sized business who have nice little self contained networks (to begin with) then go from there.

    Just a quick note, quite a few people have been ringing me for prices on HDTVs. I then tell them all about 720p and FULL HD 1080p and recommend one to them etc, and mroe often than not they try one of the cheapy ones I can get. The home entertainment market IS merging with the PC due to all this 'digital lifestyle' crap the big companies are always going on about.
     
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    Gillie

    Gillie

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  • #33
    Gawd, perhaps I should post more in the small hours as I apparently made sense!!

    What about sorting out a good way to ask for referals from existing clients, especially business ones. Don't just say to them well if you think I was good, tell some people about me, go say to them, do you have the contact details of other companies you know would appreciate my services. Ask for names, get details then approach them saying X at such and such company gave me your details, open up a dialogue, find out what and when you can do something for them, and then carry on doing it this way.

    (oh Mark, shows the last time you were on my site then ... I updated his new Company name quite a while ago!!)
     
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    J

    Jamest

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    Aug 1, 2007
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  • #34
    Interesting reading this thread, we are also in a period of changing how and what we do. Having used Macs for the last 20 years I had a constant stream of people asking for help, advise and tuition, which I used to try and cater around my other work commitments.

    These were almost exclusively private individuals who were either new to macs, or upgrading through the varying degrees of os x, then getting ipods, digital cameras/video, but predominantly all domestic scenarios.

    Word of mouth then led to getting more enquiries from business users, which surprised me as I just assumed that a graphic designer who spent all day on a mac would pretty much know it backwards. Seems they do spend all day on their computers, doing what their clients pay them to do, and have no time/inclination to make sure the systems are up to date and tip top, and would far rather pay some one else to look after it.

    Which has then led others in the offices to say, oh you look after Macs, can you help me do this on our computer at home.....
     
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    brownie

  • #36
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    alloageorge

  • #37
    the world is full of idiots who dont back up their hard drives.
    me twice.i thought the fact this guy calls himself an engineer
    might mean he was capable of this great feat of dark arts.
    looks like im wrong.again.sorry.
     
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    asonda

    asonda

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  • #38
    alloageorge said:
    the world is full of idiots who dont back up their hard drives.
    me twice.i thought the fact this guy calls himself an engineer
    might mean he was capable of this great feat of dark arts.
    looks like im wrong.again.sorry.
    Click to expand...

    I wouldn't apologise, you didn't know. The thing with hard drives is that if they fail and need to be taken apart, you could do it on your kitchen table etc, but the likelihood is that it won't ever work again.

    For hard drive repairs you need to have a special clean room with no particles in the air. The cost of such room is obviously high and only few specialists in that field have them.
     
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    Cornish Steve

    Cornish Steve

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    Jul 4, 2005
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  • #40
    To put a different slant on this, consider Michael Gerber's mantra (author of 'E-Myth Revisited'): Work on your business not in it, otherwise you'll find you don't have a business but a job. A one-person IT shop is a job, not a business. If you believe the personalised approach is the way to go, that's fine. Just don't view yourself as the 'technician' doing the job, otherwise you'll never be able to escape from it.
     
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