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I setup a home-based computer business in Year 11... blueyeT systems
It wasn't terribly successful because of a few factors, mainly a lack of time to devote to it (full-time study in Years 11 and 12 is a lot of hours).
However I did manage to sell probably close to $20k in sales per year... which is rather low, but pretty good I thought considering the lack of time and the fact that I put off any advertising simply because I felt I didn't have the time to be inundated with orders etc.
So my only form of advertising ever was word of mouth. I even built about half a dozen computers including a solid server and installed an entirely new network in the small rural retail store that I worked at part-time.
What initially motivated me to start a computer business?
Well I've always been interested in computers and business, so it was an easy and enjoyable place to start.
The thing that triggered the idea in my mind was when I happened to go into one of the four (4)! computer stores in our small town of 5000 odd people.
The prices were rediculous!
I was very familiar with how low the markups were in the computer hardware industry as I'd been on tech forums for a few years. Online stores tend to have markups of less than 15% and sometimes down to less than 5%. All the stores in my little town were charging 100% at least.
So I figured, why not startup a computer business and charge 25% ... that way the customer wins and I win.
So yeah, it could have been fairly successful since I could have theoretically taken the business from all 4 competing stores.
However despite telling you all this, I would recommend you don't go into the general computer industry. The markups are too low... services, installing networks and data backups etc are where the money is at.
Plus I found that on a lot of occasions I would end up spending more time trying to fix a computer issue than the money I felt comfortable in charging. By "comfortable in charging" I mean that in our little town it seemed to me that people weren't real happy in paying me $50 per hour, even though the other stores were charging $55, so I would charge anywhere from $20-$30 per hour... and even then I would still get the occasional glare. Prejudice toward young entrepreneurs is very strong in Australia and especially in small country towns.
Even though I'm still all registered and still have access to wholesalers, I've sort of stopped with that business for a few reasons. 1) In moving into a city, the competition and prices are tighter, and 2) Running the business taught me that repairs and replacements, as well as dealing with computer problems and customers who expect it to be fixed perfectly in as short a time as possible... it just isn't rewarding enough to be putting up with all that. Though I'd say it helped me learn a lot about customer relations etc.
If you're looking for a business that the community will get behind, either locate a particular need the community is after and provide for that. Or find a business or industry that is clearly ripping off the community and setup a business which provides competitive prices and good service... the community will definately ge behind supporting your business.
cheers
nathan
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YEuth! ... Non-Profit Young Entrepreneur Organization
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