I am 15 and need help starting my business

[Brandon Russell]

Hello everyone,
I am 15 and have been wanting to start a business for a while now, It has finally came to the time where I have got the funds required to start it up. I am currently studying Computing, Business Studies and Media Studies so that would give me experience. But before I was studying them at high school I was still interested in the world of business and computers and have now been focusing on this for around 8 Years.

I know my business is going to be a computer repairing service, and I have competition around my area to give the best prices and service I possibly can. But I am not sure of a few things and I need help with.

• Would people judge by my age?
• I cannot think of a business name
• Where would I get the stock for my items (to repair the computers)
• Would I need some sort of Trading pass to earn profit for my business
• How would I attract people (I have business cards and flyers but I'm not sure that would get anyone)
• If I don't have the part required to fix the computer, what would I do. Because I would have to wait around 3 days for it to be delivered.

Just a update, I already have a bunch of computer parts to repair computers but I do not have everything, so I need help finding a place to get my parts.

Thanks for reading,
Brandon

 

[paulears]

I suspect that age is unimportant from the point of view of your ability to fix and build computers. It perhaps is from a purely business perspective, because like it or not, until you are 18 you won;t be able to open the accounts you need to get your components cheaply, and pay them afterwards. You can;t even use a credit card to even out your cash flow, as you can't have one of those either. People will want to pay you by methods other than cash - so how would you take their money.
Lots of people have accounts with people like CPC - a very wide range. Darnell, their sister/parent is also handy. They will accept card payments - but I guess that's tricky too.

Trading pass? No idea what you're thinking about. In general, you just get Her Majesties Revenue and Customs to give you a UTR number, and you'll become a sole trader. You have to pay them tax if you earn more than the allowance.

I suspect the problems you will have will be acceptance - your age will be a barrier to some people, and I suspect you have to live with that. There are a few issues with your age you may have not thought about. First - when somebody phones you up and wants you to fix their computer - you can't drive. Second is to do with stock. How much money will you invest in everyday items. So things like power supplies, hard drives, DVD drives and memory? You need swap stock. When somebody complains their computer is dead, you need hot spares, so you can slap in a new power supply to confirm theirs is duff. Same with the drives and stuff - you cannot order a new power supply, and then when you stick it in, it's still dead because the mother board is faulty. I don;t do computer repairs for customers, just for the 10 or so we use, and a huge box of bits saves me wasting so much time.

I doubt you can compete with your local computer repairers unless you can offer something unique - something you can do, they can't.

You also need to think about your status with the customers. If you turn out to be rubbish at business, and owe people money, they can't take you to court until you are 18 - so for practical reasons, your business needs an adult to be involved for money and legal reasons. Let's think about the bad bits. Your computer build is dubious and a client loses valuable data because you were negligent somehow. Worse, you put in a dodgy power supply that kills them, or worse in compensation terms, severely injures them. Somebody should be responsible. As a minor, as I understand it, although you are below the legal age of responsibility, courts can determine you were old enough to know what you were doing. A weird position.

I think it's great you are thinking of business now before you have any 16+ qualifications or higher qualifications - but you really need a supportive parent.

Last thing - work out how many repairs you will need to to do earn the equivalent of the minimum wage in a year. Computers are cut-throat in pricing, and the number of local people may well be much lower than you think, who would need your service - unless you target a specific group - like perhaps the over 50's or 60's and as part of the deal you offer them training in basic computers?

I suspect money will be your achilles heel.

 

[S Goodman]

You don't have any experience of repairing computers. School education, and pissing about on your/friends equipment doesn't count.

Moreover you have zero experience of business.

Finish your school education, then get a job a gain experience.

 

[Brandon Russell]

You don't have any experience of repairing computers. School education, and pissing about on your/friends equipment doesn't count.

Moreover you have zero experience of business.

Finish your school education, then get a job a gain experience.

I do have experience and have been fixing a few computers for paying customers, and the problems with the computers could be moverboard replacement also things like soldering new parts onto the computer like the power input because someones was broken. So I do have expierence and I have been learning from someone that has alot of experience with computer repairs. You cant just judge a book by its cover, I was just saying I am studying those subjects so I can learn just that little bit more.

 

[Mark T Jones]

You don't have any experience of repairing computers. School education, and pissing about on your/friends equipment doesn't count.

Moreover you have zero experience of business.

Finish your school education, then get a job a gain experience.

The constructive part of this criticism being?

To the OP. With regards to fixing equipment, age should be no barrier, though obviously you will have to be able to actually do the job properly

The questions you ask are good and businesslike BUT my suggestion would be that you gain experience in doing jobs for friends and family before you actually formally set up as a business. Learn the value/cost of services and in particular what your clients' expectations are likely to be and what you are likely to need by way of stocks

 

[Brandon Russell]

I suspect that age is unimportant from the point of view of your ability to fix and build computers. It perhaps is from a purely business perspective, because like it or not, until you are 18 you won;t be able to open the accounts you need to get your components cheaply, and pay them afterwards. You can;t even use a credit card to even out your cash flow, as you can't have one of those either. People will want to pay you by methods other than cash - so how would you take their money.
Lots of people have accounts with people like CPC - a very wide range. Darnell, their sister/parent is also handy. They will accept card payments - but I guess that's tricky too.

Trading pass? No idea what you're thinking about. In general, you just get Her Majesties Revenue and Customs to give you a UTR number, and you'll become a sole trader. You have to pay them tax if you earn more than the allowance.

I suspect the problems you will have will be acceptance - your age will be a barrier to some people, and I suspect you have to live with that. There are a few issues with your age you may have not thought about. First - when somebody phones you up and wants you to fix their computer - you can't drive. Second is to do with stock. How much money will you invest in everyday items. So things like power supplies, hard drives, DVD drives and memory? You need swap stock. When somebody complains their computer is dead, you need hot spares, so you can slap in a new power supply to confirm theirs is duff. Same with the drives and stuff - you cannot order a new power supply, and then when you stick it in, it's still dead because the mother board is faulty. I don;t do computer repairs for customers, just for the 10 or so we use, and a huge box of bits saves me wasting so much time.

I doubt you can compete with your local computer repairers unless you can offer something unique - something you can do, they can't.

You also need to think about your status with the customers. If you turn out to be rubbish at business, and owe people money, they can't take you to court until you are 18 - so for practical reasons, your business needs an adult to be involved for money and legal reasons. Let's think about the bad bits. Your computer build is dubious and a client loses valuable data because you were negligent somehow. Worse, you put in a dodgy power supply that kills them, or worse in compensation terms, severely injures them. Somebody should be responsible. As a minor, as I understand it, although you are below the legal age of responsibility, courts can determine you were old enough to know what you were doing. A weird position.

I think it's great you are thinking of business now before you have any 16+ qualifications or higher qualifications - but you really need a supportive parent.

Last thing - work out how many repairs you will need to to do earn the equivalent of the minimum wage in a year. Computers are cut-throat in pricing, and the number of local people may well be much lower than you think, who would need your service - unless you target a specific group - like perhaps the over 50's or 60's and as part of the deal you offer them training in basic computers?

I suspect money will be your achilles heel.

Thank for this reply, it has really helped me. I do have a adult with me able to take the phone calls and also drive around places. if not I will use the bus, and I can get bus travel for free so no worry in money loss there. The good thing is the adult that is helping me, used to own a business so he has experience in everything.

I have a massive box full of loads of different computer parts like Ram, Hard drives, CPU, power supply, dvd drives, graphics cards and other stuff.

The type of payment methods I would use is Paypal, Bank Transfers and Cash in hand so i'm pretty sure that should cover it all.

All my local repair places are quite old fashioned and do not really have alot of modern good quality parts unlike mine, also I have looked at there websites and they are not really up to date, when I create my website mine will be responsive (available on all devices) and also with alot of choices so you can get exactly what you're looking very fast.

I could also offer many different things I am good at like Website Designing or Graphic Designing (logos, banners, images etc...) and maybe a advertising program that allows people to pay me for there advertisement.

Also No Fix - No Fee.

Sorry, may be quite confusing to read, I was rushing it.

 

[Brandon Russell]

The constructive part of this criticism being?

To the OP. With regards to fixing equipment, age should be no barrier, though obviously you will have to be able to actually do the job properly

The questions you ask are good and businesslike BUT my suggestion would be that you gain experience in doing jobs for friends and family before you actually formally set up as a business. Learn the value/cost of services and in particular what your clients' expectations are likely to be and what you are likely to need by way of stocks

I have been doing jobs for friends and have actually had random people contact me from word of mouth since they was so happy with my service and friendly support. And my charge is fixed usually at £10/hour. I have been doing this for a few years although I haven't got many people since it is just from word of mouth and people asking me, I still got some cash from the jobs, and they where all satisfied and are willing to do business with me again.

 

[Mark T Jones]

What you are doing is great for research and learning. In reality £10 per hour is less than (adult) minimum wage when you are running a business you need to build on that to add more value before you turn it into a "proper" business

 

[Brandon Russell]

What you are doing is great for research and learning. In reality £10 per hour is less than (adult) minimum wage when you are running a business you need to build on that to add more value before you turn it into a "proper" business

How much would you personally pay to get your computer fixed? I have asked many relatives this and they are all saying it's up to me but I am not really 100 percent sure what to have it, so that's why I just set it at £10 and hour.

 

[paulears]

Be very careful with charging per hour - because your customers will NOT understand how long some thing take. How much would you charge to install Windows 10? Are you talking about time start to finish, including all the wasted time, or just when you're working. If you do it in a customers house, they see you sitting there doing nothing, then you charge them for hours? It can be tricky. That's why many people charge per 'job'. Install new operating system £20, upgrade RAM £10 etc.

I'm amused by "good quality parts' - computers frequently contain cheap and unbranded components because they often make no difference. Other things might be somewhere to charge extra - but computers are just piles of bits.

 

[Clinton]

I do have experience and have been fixing a few computers for paying customers, and the problems with the computers could be moverboard replacement also things like soldering new parts onto the computer like the power input because someones was broken.

Brandon, you seem like a nice kid and keen to build a business. I applaud that. But I fear you may be over-estimating your ability to fix computers.

I don't have much to go by, just your comments in this thread, but I do have experience interviewing, hiring and firing computer builders and repairers - I ran a large PC manufacturing / repairing business for many years - and one develops a nose for these things

I am currently studying Computing, Business Studies and Media Studies so that would give me experience.

Ouch! That doesn't give me confidence. GCSE Computing is a joke and GCSE ICT is even more pathetic. I know because I coached a 12 year old through an GCSE Computing last year. It took just half a dozen weekends and he got an A*! (Don't ask me why schools take years!) If anyone boasted to me that his expertise came from a GCSE or A level course I'd not let him anywhere near my machine because he knows less than bugg*r all.

BTW, the comments others have made about per hour are spot on. We used to charge based on how much of time we'd save our customers (and our customers were generally very tech savvy people). For example, we developed a solution in-house for a common Windows problem, it took 5 minutes to fix but it saved customers many hours of time so we charged £50 + VAT and everyone who took that service was delighted. If we had told them it took 5 minutes they'd have been very cross at the price (despite the fact that we invested hundreds of hours to develop that solution)

Windows installation was mentioned above. That's something else for which clients would happily pay for a couple of hours work, but which we could do in under five minutes (hard disk duplication machines + OEM installation / deployment software). If you are doing this ...work smarter, not harder.

If you want to continue building a PC repair busienss
- you don't need a "trading pass"
- you need to keep stock of common parts, not expect clients to wait (especially HDDs, PSUs, CPU fans and a range of RAM modules)
- you need to find a good supplier close to you or who can guarantee next day deliveries (plenty in eBay, Amazon and elsewhere) for those parts you don't have in stock.

But my advice would be to find a different business.

 

[AMBITIOUS7]

Just my two cents...

I think it's laudable that you're thinking about starting your own business and passionate about something. I really like the questions you're asking and the determination that's coming across.

I think the comments you've had so far have been of excellent value and urge you to take heed of them (particularly from the guys who have experience in the field). In addition to the previous, I think it's important that you understand what customers you are targeting: are you happy with the odd customer here and there who's PC won't connect to WiFi for some unknown reason or who's laptop's charging port needs replaced? Or do you really want to drive a business forward and make it something to be proud of? The answer to this question will determine how much you need to know and how much effort is needed to sustain this business.

You mention competition and price in your first post. When the time comes, I'd urge you to avoid a price war. Competing on price does nothing but devalue the market as a whole. Find a USP, offer people something your competitors can't. Technology is ever changing which offers scope for you to continually identify opportunities for a competitive advantage...

In any case, very best of luck for the future!

 

[StevePoster]

Brandon good for you at the young age, but working simultaneously with studies and establishing computer repair service will limit your gained experience due to time management working on both. I would suggest to finish first your studies that specializes in your target business so that you can focus and give time to analyze the competitors field so this will be your great opportunity to outrank them in your chosen field. You are young Brandon and lots of time to prepare as well as specialize on this business.

 

[Marketing Quotes]

1. Would people judge by my age?
2. I cannot think of a business name
3. Where would I get the stock for my items (to repair the computers)
4. Would I need some sort of Trading pass to earn profit for my business
5. How would I attract people (I have business cards and flyers but I'm not sure that would get anyone)
6. If I don't have the part required to fix the computer, what would I do. Because I would have to wait around 3 days for it to be delivered.

1. There are a lot of technophobes out there and computer illiterates, so being a young "nerd" wonder boy - it'll be an advantage. Just don't look at it that way and you'll be fine. It's all in your head. If they judge you - who cares, as long as they're paying you. The only thing I'll say about it, is that they might see you as unreliable, so you have to prove that clients can rely on you for a couple of times and then get testimonials from those few and show those testimonials to everyone you try to get on as a client.

2. Don't overthink it - Call it "Brandon's Computer Repairs" - Reliable and Fast - Guaranteed

3. You'll have to figure that on your own - you'll have to become resourceful.

5.a) Start a blog where you give basic advice on how to keep computers running smooth and some other tips for Word, windows.. whatever.
5.b) Talk about it all the time! Let everyone you know, know!

6. Just factor that in into the delivery time you guarantee to you clients.

Good luck on your venture you young entrepreneur you!

 

[S Goodman]

The constructive part of this criticism being?

All of it is constructive because I'm urging him not to do it.

Let's just be realistic at the most basic level. He wants to repair other peoples computers for a fee. He is going to absolutely need product liability and professional indemnity insurance. Which insurer is going to provide this cover for a unqualified, inexperienced fifteen year old schoolboy?

 

[paulears]

I want to sidetrack this topic, mainly because of Clinton's observations above on education. In 1994 I went into a college to do one session, liked it, qualified as a teacher and stayed for 10 years. I also started working for the exam boards - so became a Principal Examiner for A Level, then I worked for BTEC (as I was teaching it) and became a writer - doing 15 years worth of deciding what people had to do! In 2004, I got fed up, and went back to doing my subjects for a living, self-employed. I missed it - so signed up with a couple of agencies as a supply teacher, but in schools.

As from next year, I'll need to re-qualify, as the rules have changed and I'm not going to be able to maintain my school status, so will have to stop. I can say what I think now, which most teachers simply cannot.

GCSEs, as most older people think, are not hard at all. There, are some exceptions. I volunteer to teach any subject, not just my own area, because it's interesting - but if you think about it, should I be able to teach a subject not my specific area? My favourites are now history, because it's eras that my general knowledge makes me an expert in. There still are tough subjects. Maths springs to mind. They still stream kids - and the top set kids in year 11 in maths and the sciences still make my brain work very hard - with my own maths and science background a long time ago. Top set in all the other subjects I have taught (excluding languages which challenge me) are fine. Computers and IT have the kids split into two types - those who have the right heads and those that don't. The kids start on Scratch - MIT's programming language most schools use(Google it - it is free!) I got an IT class, and I'd never even heard of it. I got the kids to show me what they'd been doing, and it's very intuitive. In ten minutes, I'm solving the struggling kids problems on a bit of software I've never seen before? The more advanced ones can do quite stunning things with it - games that people could actually play. There is some good stuff, but sadly, in many subjects, A* means very little, as Clinton discovered. In most subjects, they have course books, that have all the answers in, and in many of the exam questions I've seen, at GCSE, all the information is often presented in the document. Or at least, there are huge clues. One session I did was biology - which was the science I could not do at school - you had to pick two. They were doing a mock exam paper. I did it too. I got a B. That's thirty odd years of general knowledge and just what I've picked up.

16 to 18 year old qualifications at Level 3 are probably at the standard of the old O Level, based on the text book for physics I still have in the loft. GCSE is not deep enough for work in a specific area.

In the classes, progress is painfully slow. Homework is trivial, Google produces answers but not understanding. quantity and quality of work is quite low, apart from the gifted kids who get special treatment. The rest progress at the pace of the poorest. Indeed, many teachers set the same work for different ability sets - meaning less effort in the lesson planning - causing the weaker kids to move on, before they have learned and understood, and holding the brighter kids back by introducing 'padding' material to keep the groups aligned. Loads of times as a supply teacher, you get the same paperwork for two groups of different abilities. You don't get to the end of the lower groups work, and the higher group do the same work in 50% of the time - and you use the teacher's "if they finish, get them to draw and label a drawing of the solar system". Clearly pointless and a time filler. The kids know this, and don't want to do it.

Back on topic.

If you are under 18, can you obtain Public Liability Insurance? Nowadays, there will be loads of hurdles. Can, for instance, a 15 year old carry out a PAT test - which should be part of the process if you are going to give the repaired/built equipment to a member of the public.

"Yes, your honour, I know he was 15, but he assured me the computer was safe, just before I got the shock........."

There are 15 year old successful entrepreneurs but GCSE allows the people doing it to have a very artificial impression of what they can do.

In my own area of work (Performing Arts and Music) you can get an A* with a performance time of 5 minutes!!!!!! This is in the rules, so a 20 minute piece of drama with 4 people, can be 5 minutes per person, if the teacher wishes. The audience can be members of the group. In our open auditions for shows that need young people - we get A* people who cannot do 1 minute in front of an audition panel. We prefer Amdram experienced young people, because they can really act - as in learn a script, take direction and not freeze. A* doesn't guarantee any of that. You can get an A* in dance and be totally lacking in ensemble skills. The local dance school kids knock of A*'s in a week, compared with two years!

GCSE (Level 2) is the key to getting onto a Level 3 A Level/BTEC that is all.

Most teachers know this, but cannot say it, and it has to stay within the industry - which is falling apart. I think I have till September then my work will dry up because I haven't paid £800 to complete an on-line work book. Even if I wanted to take the qualification (and pay for it myself, of course) I can't because two sections are lesson planning - which supply teachers cannot do, and lesson observation, because we are there because the school has staff missing. If they could observe me, they would have enough staff to not need me! The people running the new qualification said "we didn't think about that?"

So they are short of teachers and spending lots on advertising, yet they are forcing many teachers to stop teaching. Hence my grumpiness. Sorry for the hijack.

 

[PaulBappoo]

Go for it buddy, loads of people need a contact who can fix computer stuff. Tell your friends, ask them to tell their parents, put cards in shop windows, use FB, leave business cards with your dentist, walk around to a bunch of local businesses and introduce yourself etc etc. In fact just think of anything you can, brainstorm with your parents and your friends about how you might tell people about the service you offer. This is such a brilliant opportunity to learn about running a business and doing something productive with your life, I hope that other people take notice of the example you are setting. Sincerely, I wish you all the luck in the world.

 

[RPower]

@Brandon Russell If you want to do it, do it. Only you know what you're capable of and age shouldn't be a barrier. Try fixing friends and family's machines for now and then move on. Get someone older with more experience (a mentor perhaps) to help you with the ins and outs of setting up a business.

In terms of what to charge, check out some local computer repair places and figure out what they're charging. I mean this in the best way, just go for it. Trial and error are the only ways you figure anything out and if you want to really do this then do it. You could spend hours surmising and thinking or you could put your thoughts into action. Don't let it get in the way of school, etc but it *will* look incredible on a CV in years to come when you can say you've started your own company!

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Brandon I knew less than you when I started up .
Sometimes having a big fire in your belly maybe the best thing you need . I think the earlier you start the wiser and more hardened to business you become .. If all of the challenges that the others have put in front of you can be over come then go and get it
There are very poor employed opportunities these days for young people Its good that you are looking at things in a different way

 

[S Goodman]

Yea go for it. Why not?

I can't believe people are saying that. What happens when he destroys a computer, wipes the hard drive or worse causes a house fire because he's "repaired" a power supply (he really shouldn't be touching power supplies at all without qualifications)? At least one of these will happen due to his inexperience, and sooner rather than later.

 

[paulears]

I often get younger people wanting jobs, or experience, and I try to help if I can. The biggest problem is that some - and it's not all - have been given that impression that they are better than they really are. Others are amazingly advanced. I'm never stupid enough to refuse talented people, but sometimes it bites me back.

One, just left school, complained that some of my moving head lighting had the gobos in the wrong order (ignore this if it makes no sense - not important). He was correct - just thatI'd never had the hours spare to strip them down, swap them and put back together. I told him that if he wanted to do it, it was fine with me. He stripped 4 down, removed the components, and put two back together. The rest he left in bits. All the parts loose. Many of the screws on the floor, and when he came back two weeks later, he couldn't find the bits - that's two thousand pounds worth of junk. Totally pulled apart. loads of bits lost, or perhaps used in the wrong places. He had gone into a nightclub and reprogrammed their lighting and made a real mess of that too - and they didn't pay him. He's a good kid, but his school title of "Head of Lighting" didn't cut it in the real world. He's now 18, and my lights are still in pieces - skip calling this year. Older people know when they're at the edge of their performance envelope. Younger people don't. It's not their fault because if you get the very top grade, you would easily believe you know everything.

 

[john1989]

I believe that a contract with a 15 year old cannot be enforced.

Would I trust someone that I can’t pursue for negligence with my computer / laptop containing valuable data? Not a chance.

Try getting a Saturday job with a local computer repair shop. You will gain further experience and learn and develop other skills such as customer service.

 

[APW]

I would say go for it and earn a bit of money BUT I would still focus on getting a good education and focus of getting a job to gain experience - lets face it most of us haven't ended up doing the business that we wanted to do at 15, as you get older and get new experiences you may want to start a business in a completely different industry.

Building a real business takes TIME and lots of it, when I started my first business I was doing 100+ hour weeks so it would be impractical to do this as you are studying.

There is also the issue with insurances and regulations but if it was me I would only fix mates computers, or friends of friends, parents workmates that kinda thing - that way they also know the score.

Not to mention generally the paying public are idiots who demand more than they expect to pay, if something did go wrong it could be a lot of hassle for you.

Start small, get your education and get experience in the industry then you would be able to decide if it suits you or if its want you want to do with your life.

 

[The Byre]

What happens when he destroys a computer, wipes the hard drive or worse causes a house fire because he's "repaired" a power supply (he really shouldn't be touching power supplies at all without qualifications)? At least one of these will happen due to his inexperience, and sooner rather than later.

Nobody repairs a PSU nowadays, they just bin it and bung in a new one. After all, they are just thyristors and capacitors and a bit of regulation circuitry. The olden days of people running around in goat skins and using transformers are over! PCs are pretty much a plug-n-go affair today.

All this 'what if?' nonsense is just that, nonsense!

I began by cleaning cars at the age of 14 for five shillings a car. What if I had scratched a car? What if I slipped and fell and injured myself? What if Zeus descended from Mount Olympus, disguised as a water buffalo and trampled the car owner to death?

I didn't stay with cleaning cars, I did it just long enough to be able to buy first a tape recorder and then a cine-camera and thereby launch a career in the media by learning the basics of making silly little films, featuring my buddies and my dogs.

Doing business at ANY level is all about taking a risk. If you don't like risk, don't become a business person. Stay home, stay in bed, pull the duvet over your head, listen to Radio Four and hide from the World (and listen to reports of thousands of murderous immigrants pouring across the English Channel on lilos, planks of wood, oil slicks, or anything they can get a hold of).

Brandon isn't going to spend the rest of his life fixing computers, not just because in the long run there are better things to do, but also because computers will become so cheap and deeply integrated, that fixing them in ten or twenty years time will just not be worth the hassle.

But right now, it's a great way for a 15-yr-old Brandon to earn some money and learn the ropes of profit and loss, expenditures and gauging risk.

It ain't really a business, but it's a great way to pick up some trouser money and learn some very useful lessons at the same time. Being able to fix a computer is many, many times more useful than most of the guff kids are forced to learn at school.

A motivational story -

Let me tell you about a guy who began playing around in C++ at the age of 12 and at the age of 16 developed a quirky little media programme. Fast forward to 20 years of age and he had involved all his nerdy buddies and developed that and other small programmes and sold these on-line for $10 each. When thousands of dollars a day started pouring in, his father told him to set up a company and draft contracts, etc., etc.

(He tried going to college to study programming, but soon realised that he knew more than his lecturers, so he dropped out after just a few weeks!)

Big business got a whiff of this programme and offered him and his nerdy buddies $240m for the whole thing. He took the money and went to work for The Man. One day, he decided to put a new quirky product on-line and just for free. The Man didn't like it and they fell out, so at the ripe old age of 22, he 'retired' a very wealthy man ($60m trouser money) and started a new project.

Business Week called him "The World's most dangerous nerd!"

He squirreled all that money away for a rainy day and he invested absolutely nothing, other than his time, in this new and very ambitious software package.

He is now 34 and this new package is 12 years old and is just the best in its field. It is on position three in its market World-wide in user-base, though, because he only charges $60 for a license and that is on an honesty-box basis, so people can use it for free if they put up with a five-second nag screen, so turnover is only about $7m, but climbing rapidly.

This SW package is destroying whole corporations. One, whose CEO earns about what this guy has in turnover, has seen its share price fall from over $60 to under $6 and has had to fire 2,000 of its 3,400 staff.

He has just rewritten parts of the core code to widen the scope of uses, so that in years to come, it can enter whole new industries that today are in their infancy.

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

You could certainly give it a try. Whether it succeeds or fails, it's a great learning experience. I tried out a number of different business ideas at your age as well.

I don't doubt your ability to repair computers, as I was more than capable of doing that myself around your age. I could do all of the most common software-based fixes (viruses, upgrades, OS installs etc), and when it came to hardware, I could easily strip a PC down to its bare parts and re-assemble it again without any difficulty.

However, I knew my limits, and you should too. If you want to go ahead, then stick to the basics for now, and be mindful of when to accept jobs and when to decline them. There's not a lot which can go wrong if you backup data with redundancy during software fixes, or when you're slotting in a new stick of RAM, but DO NOT start soldering or tinkering around with PSUs. This is specialist electrical stuff and one false move could either kill you or burn someone's house down.

Avoid any sort of business work (where you could get into a lot of trouble if something went wrong due to loss of earnings), and just stick to basic personal computers with basic services, which do still have a market.

I would also recommend waiting until you're at least 16. You're still not fully legally responsible at that age, and still limited to what you can apply for, but at least you'll be out of the "schoolboy" bracket. There's a big perceived difference between a 15 year old in school and a 16 year old doing their A-levels in college, for example.

PS: I also agree regarding the above comments about starting out with friends of friends, friends of parents etc. You're a lot more likely to get work this way, and your customers will be a lot more mindful of your circumstances. There's still decent money to be made at your age by doing that.

 

[MOIC]

Take a part time job and learn what there is to learn.

If you are thinking of charging for repairs, customers will expect all repairs to be done correctly, with a warranty.

Running a "business" in 2016 comes with responsibilities for you, your customers and the results of any repairs done.

You need to be qualified, at least to a certain standard, with appropriate indemnity insurance to start charging people for a computer repair service.

Given your opening post, you need to do a lot more research as well as ensuring your qualified and insured.

Keep to it being a hobby, for family and friends before you move to the next stage and are suitably qualified and are at the legal age required to "run a business".

Best of luck for the future.

 

[ethical PR]

@Brandon Russell well done on wanting to set up a business. I can understand why you want to use your skills and knowledge but there might be other things you can do which you might have more success at - just as garden maintenance, dog walking, washing cars - people would be more likely to let a 15 year old do this then fixing a high ticket item like a computer.

Get some flyers together and a simple wordpress site and if you are good at what you do, you'll find you get lots of word of mouth recommendations.

If you want to develop your IT skills, why not work for an established IT set up. When my son was 15 he did some work experience with an IT company - setting up PC's and other tasks and they liked his attitude so much they gave him paid work over a couple of summer holidays.

Have you looked at the Prince's Trust and other young entrepreneur sites? they have lots of useful advice and support for young people wanting to start their own business.

Best of luck

Helen

 

[richofwombwell]

Just give it a go !

At 15 you don't have much to lose out on by giving it a go.

You can earn some extra money on the side and learn how business works as you go along.

Keep on your studies, do it on the weekends get some adverts put up in the local corner shops and supermarkets (that's where the non IT literate look). Try getting some cheap business cards off vistaprint and go round where the wrinklies live when you want some more new customers.

Just be prepared to demonstrate some of your skills !!

Rich

 

[billmccallum1957]

Brandon, I would go along with a few of the others who say "give it a go", don't get bogged down in "setting up" a business, just develop what you are already doing, but save your cash.

When you have built up a cash pile, then go for the business plan stage (probably when you're around 18).

 

[elad]

Brandon, I would go along with a few of the others who say "give it a go", don't get bogged down in "setting up" a business, just develop what you are already doing, but save your cash.

When you have built up a cash pile, then go for the business plan stage (probably when you're around 18).

agreed here. I too started very young

 

[Christine Hough]

Finish your school education, then get a job a gain experience.

You mean like Richard Branston did!!

 

[Brandon Russell]

Thank you @PaulBappoo , @RPower , @APW , @Scott-Copywriter , @ethical PR , @richofwombwell and @billmccallum1957 Your comments really gave me motivation to carry on and not give up.

@The Byre
I understand exactly what you are saying, technology is improving therefore prices are going down for computers. To me when I was 10 years old, 2gb Ram used to be good and now 2gb ram is only around £5, and 4gb ram is easy to get for a cheap price. You may not have noticed the change but I certainly have, since I do not have a lot of money unlike all of you which means you might not have been focussing on the prices.
However when I do repair the computers I will have to find a technique to make them come to me instead of trashing the computer and buying a new one. Or even if they do not want it repaired at least make them sell it or give it to me.

Not the best of English in the paragraph, sorry if you do not understand what i'm trying to saying.

@MY OFFICE IN CHINA
Getting a part time job is the issue, I worked at the argos delivering newspapers for around a year, that gave me no experience in anything at all. After that I was cleaning cars for around 6 months once again still gained no experience so I was still on hunt for a job asking people for a job from places for computer repair shops and web design also places like corner shops. But they all rejected my offers due to the fact I could not do the required hours or I was to young to work for the company. So that's the only problem I face with getting a part-time job which left me with no choice but to earn money myself by starting up a business on my favourite thing which was computer repairs. I love fixing computers, it may sound weird but sometimes I just take apart my whole computer and put it back together because I find it so fascinating and love learning more about them.

And everyone, sorry I couldn't reply to everyone's comments I could not access my account.

 

[Christine Hough]

I really wish you well. 15 is not too young, but unfortunately with the legislation in this country young adults are kept young (aka children) in the system. Most teachers have not been where you want to go in enterprise and cannot help a great deal. Starting your own business will give you the sort of experience that school could never give. (Although some private schools do give students experience in running businesses but usually state ones do not.)

Your best bet may well be to work with someone older who you can trust (eg a father or elder bro) who can be named on the paperwork.

However your time delivering newspapers and washing cars was not wasted and you did learn something there including the need for consistence and service, how to talk to clients and getting clients.

 

[paulears]

I could not access my account

Is it just me, that sees this as ironic.

So what's next. School 6th form or the local college - then HE?

There's nothing wrong with a part-time, hobby style business to earn a bit - but can you make enough to make it worthwhile? Do you have cash flow problems? For many businesses, having the money to invest in stock is a killer. Computers even more so, as to get good margins you need volume. If you have to pay for your components before your customers pay you - it can get expensive and often risky. You spend a hundred quid on bits and it doesn't fix the fault.

In my line of work, last week I was 99% sure that the problem was the discharge lamp in one of the lights. I ordered a new one, and it didn't work. I now have a spare lamp and a new ballast on order. That's a hundred quid on something I don't need!

 

[The Byre]

To me when I was 10 years old, 2gb Ram used to be good and now 2gb ram is only around £5, and 4gb ram is easy to get for a cheap price. You may not have noticed the change but I certainly have.

The idea of a 15 yr old talking about "Remember the Good Old Days?" made me smile! Yes, computers are racing ahead and Intel has made the dual-CPU, 36-core PC possible and they are working on some seriously funky stuff in the 'back room'.

Well, when I was ten, there was no FM radio and the BBC played one or two rock tunes on 'Family Favourites' and that was all we got. Radio Caroline was still four years away and the only access we had to pop music was Radio Luxembourg, fading in and out in the evening.

I had to wait until I was about 30 before I could play with and use a computer. A friend had a Nixdorf with a huge cupboard full of Winchester drives that had a staggering 80MB of storage (so he did not need one of those 8-track reel-to-reel data recorders). I was so impressed that I rushed out and bought my own HP machine and played with the damn thing for days.

Now we are talking about VR and virtual remote surgery, touch sensitive and intelligent walls, computers we can talk to. I get to play with some pretty serious toys, but as soon as I have OK'ed the purchase of a new toy, someone somewhere brings out something far, far better and cheaper!

I visit to the CeBIT computer fair is what you need, but plan for a few days to take it all in and book now, as rooms in Hannover go months ahead.

 

[paulears]

I think that maybe we've uncovered the fly in the ointment. While youngsters are often streets ahead, they're streets ahead in contemporary equipment. There are clearly people using computers who have functioning equipment built before our friend was born. So there could be a lack of experience aspect here. While RAM is cheap, older RAM needs to be quite specific. The world of Windows 3.something, DOS and motherboard sockets that have different numbers of pins. Parallel and serial interfaces, and strange screen resolutions. Windows on piles of floppy discs and that kind of thing. Older people tend to keep things that work. Brandon could be the Stephen Hawkins of Windows versions around since he's been a teenager - but that doesn't mean older versions are within his grasp to repair. Difficult to market. Like the web page about us - what would you actually say to convince the public? Pretty empty CV so far.

 

[john1989]

@ The OP.

If you have failed to acknowledge any experienced gained from delivering newspapers and cleaning cars, you are nowhere near ready to start your own business.


Both jobs as a very minimum should have taught you:

1. The value of earning your own money.
   
   
2. Responsibility.
   
   
3. How to deal with customers.
   
   
4. Time management.
   
   
5. The fact that sometimes to earn money, you might not have the nicest of jobs.
   

 

[MOIC]

If a 30 plus year old had opened this thread regarding opening a business, I'm sure that most posters will say to gain experience first in the field before opening the business.

Learning skills, practical training, gaining experience, ability to time manage, administration, organisation and financial backup are "must have" requirements to open a "business".

For a 15 year old to be ambitious is commendable, but you need to start at the bottom and work your way up, slowly and to learn each step as you move forward.

Finish your basic education first and continue repairing for family and friends to gain pocket money, before fully understanding what opening a business entails.

Good luck for the future.

 

[PaulBappoo]

I started my first "business" at the age of 11, I went to a local shop and bought a few magic tricks, then set up a stall in my parents front porch and re-sold them at a profit - for about 3 hours until some kid's dad complained to my parents that his child had just paid more for something from me that he could have got cheaper at the local toy shop! My next business was when I was 15, I set up as a mobile DJ and that saw me through till I was about 28, I ended up running an entertainment agency, a restaurant and a nightclub as a result of that.

 

[PaulBappoo]

I started my first "business" at the age of 11, I went to a local shop and bought a few magic tricks, then set up a stall in my parents front porch and re-sold them at a profit - for about 3 hours until some kid's dad complained to my parents that his child had just paid more for something from me that he could have got cheaper at the local toy shop! My next business was when I was 15, I set up as a mobile DJ and that saw me through till I was about 28, I ended up running an entertainment agency, a restaurant and a nightclub as a result of that.