small business

[Mithrandir]

What all would i need to have a small business ( i mean just fixing peoples computers.) I do it for my family now, but id like to be able to put up a sign and have people be able to call me. I Dont wanna do it on like a huge scale, just fixing a few peoples pcs and stuff for money until i can find a job.

[NorthQuad]

I believe you just need a business licence and a name for you business and away you go. That's what one of my friends did, he sells drill bits and he had his licence in hand as soon as he went to the city office.

[William from NOLA]

A phone number and advertising. That's it.

What you would need for fixing computers is a lot of knowledge (obviously), a complete toolkit, a cd for each type of operating system, an Ultimate Boot CD, a multimeter, and a cd with general tools such as spyware removal. It is also "good" to have a PCI and AGP video card, a stick of ram (PC2700 DIMM or such), and a hard drive (preferably preloaded with some operating system ready to go).

I have fixed many many computers if you can't tell.

[Justin from Detroit1]

If all you do is fix and not purchase items for resale, you need nothing. There is no tax on labor.

[Ryan from Ohio]

Legally you have to claim your sales on Fed Income Tax.

Just do a DBA (Doing Business As). Also you will want to get a Federal Employer ID number.

It will be set up as a Sole Proprietorship. You just clam the extra income on your federal taxes.

For the state level it probably varies. Here in Ohio you have to goto your local county seat and get a vendors license.

If your just doing this a bit at a time its probably in your best intrest to do it under the table.

[Mithrandir]

alright, i just wanted to be sure people couldnt try to say i messed up their pc, if something happens a few days after. Some people are assholes like that. Good idea about having working parts. After i get some money I think ill do that. Right now I only have a legit copy of windows 98 se lol. I guess ill just have to be a little picky about the jobs I take.

[Darthness]

well..even if you had a legal copy of XP.. i think its against their TOS to install it on so many computers.

[William from NOLA]

Yea, you can't (well, shouldn't) install your own copies on other's machines. It is good to have the operating system disk handy because most people lose theirs. The only thing is to use their serial number or registration code. Overall, everything moves faster when you have everything handy. Another thing is to make COPIES of ALL original material you own. Bring the copies around, never the originals.

With people you don't know or you are unsure about, have them sign a waiver saying that they cannot blame you for anything going wrong after you leave (if the computer is working properly). Something along the lines of: "I certify that the computer is in full working operation when (your name here) finished".

Another thing to do, keep a log with a person's information including all hardware and specs of their computer. Then fill it out with everything you had done. Whenever you take a job, make sure you know what you are about to do so you can be ready with anything you need such as bringing a monitor with you.

[Mithrandir]

great ideas willy ill have to chat with you online. I know, i wouldnt install my copies on their machine. Thats why the guy asked me to buy one when he fixed my pc a long time ago, if its friends thats another story I dunno what ill do, i dont have the money to get everything ill need, i guess ill just stick to basic stuff until I can get money for it. Thanks for all the help

[William from NOLA]

I'm at my g/f's right now, you'll have to hit me up tomorrow for the chat.