The PC Builder's Club!!!

[Mr. Nice Guy]

A couple of months ago, I did something that was the most fun I ever had. I built my own PC (personal computer). That's right. I basically ordered some parts from Newegg.com and had a working computer within a couple of days. This was my very first build, by the way. It was something I had never done before. I will admit that I read a book about the subject, which was called Building a PC for Dummies, but I did not actually get the opportunity to build my own PC until about a year after the fact. And just to so you know, the PC I built a couple of months ago is the same one that I am using to post this message.

I will admit that this experience has inspired me to start a business based on the concept of helping individuals, businesses, non-profits, educational institutions and government agencies to build their own PCs instead of buying PCs from an OEM (original equipment manufacturer). I know that there is already a huge market for this type of business. I do not know the exact numbers, but if I had to guesstimate around 25-30% of all PCs in this humongous market are build-it-yourself PCs (perhaps someone else on here can help me get the exact numbers/percentages, as I have no idea where to look). Anyways, this idea could easily convert into a sizable club for PC building beginner's, hobbyists, enthusiasts and professionals on the Internet. This club could eventually even be commercialized into a small business. So in other words, what I would do first is start an online community of PC builders, then once the community has grown to a decent size, commercialize it and (baba boom baba bing!) the large of community of PC builder's suddenly becomes a large community of PC building customers!

I will admit that there may already be some companies and other organizations that try to help people do the same kind of thing, but there are none that I know of that go far enough to help their customers/members/subscribers to answer ALL of the tough questions necessary to build the kind of "kickass PC for a kickass price" that they really need, nor do they do enough to answer their tough questions with the actual process of building the PC. What I am really looking for is some "kickass" ideas, so that I can have a niche in the market of helping my customers build their own PCs. I need ideas that are something that no one else has ever done before, that would be very useful to my customers, especially in such a competitive market. That's the keyword here: niche.

I will also admit that I probably need more education in this field before proceeding. An A+ Certification is something that I have pondered working towards for many years, and now it seems to be something that may be absolutely necessary if I am to be successful in this type of business, especially if I am to provide expert advice in the business of building PCs. The problem is, is that there are just way too many educators out there that I could get an A+ Certification from. I wish I knew the most reputable ones, both online and perhaps even some in my local area. I live in the Nashville, Tennessee area, just so you know. Also, does anyone know the about the average length of time it takes to get an A+ Certification?

One thing I will tell you is that I already have a domain name registered for this new business venture: www.pcbuildersclub.com. In fact, I just registered it a few hours ago and as of the time of this writing the registration process is still not complete. I know that simply calling this business "The PC Builder's Club" sounds pretty plain and that name may not even be trademarkable since it is so generic, but perhaps I may get some ideas and come with a better, more original, inventive name somewhere down the road.

Thank you for your time and attention.

[stlsmoore]

Hmm well as far as getting your A+ cert all you need to do is go to a Barnes & Noble and pick up an A+ certification book. If you can build your own PC you are well on your way. The next step you want to do is to check out this website Free MCSE MCTS MCITP Cisco CompTIA CWNA and CISSP exams and study notes they have their own forum about getting the certifications plus a few other cool resources.

Best of Luck to you

[Mr. Nice Guy]

I found a school through the Comptia website where I can get my A+ Certification along with many other certifications that I may be interested in. It is called TechSkills. They are nationwide and they have a campus in Nashville, Tennessee. I found out that the A+ program there is 3 months long and it costs $1,995, which is pretty steep IMHO, but then again I am the kind of person that really needs to learn in a structured environment if I am going learn anything at all. I have a meeting there today with an admissions specialist and an instructor at 1PM Central Time. Hopefully all will go well. I will tell you more about it after the fact. Cheers!

[Mr. Nice Guy]

This morning, I also got myself some magazine subscriptions to Entrepreneur and Inc. through Amazon.com. I am sure that these subscriptions will help me out tremendously in the long run.

[JLeezer]

Hi there!

I have been building PCs and doing my own PC repair on and off since I was about 9. Lately, since having graduated from college and taken on a job, I haven't bothered building a new PC as it is much cheaper and easier to pay for a pre-built one. So my question is what are the advantages for an individual or small organization (business or non-profit) to purchase all of the individual parts and build their own PCs? It may simply be a sense of accomplishment and self-fulfillment, but other than those internal feelings, is there anything else to gain from it?

BTW, I think it could be an excellent opportunity to force consumers to understand how complex computers are. Many people don't understand that when something on their computer doesn't work right, millions, if not billions of other things have already be done correctly.

Jon

[Mr. Nice Guy]

I found a school through the Comptia website where I can get my A+ Certification along with many other certifications that I may be interested in. It is called TechSkills. They are nationwide and they have a campus in Nashville, Tennessee. I found out that the A+ program there is 3 months long and it costs $1,995, which is pretty steep IMHO, but then again I am the kind of person that really needs to learn in a structured environment if I am going learn anything at all. I have a meeting there today with an admissions specialist and an instructor at 1PM Central Time. Hopefully all will go well. I will tell you more about it after the fact. Cheers!

Okay, now for the follow-up!

The meeting I had today went very well. The Admissions Specialist said that it is his job to make a recommendation of a thumbs up or thumbs down to the Campus Administrator of the Nashville TechSkills campus and the Campus Administrator will make the ultimate decision on whether or not to accept me into the school. The Admissions Specialist did make the thumbs up recommendation, by the way. I did get the opportunity to speak with the Campus Administrator as well and he said it sounded like I would be a great candidate for a student at TechSkills. I did mention, however, that I must find a way to pay for school. They do offer financial aid and that may be one way to pay for it. Another way would be to take money out of my own pocket, and yet another way would be for my parents to help me pay for some of it. So, I would have up to 3 different sources to help pay for school. There is only one catch: I am recently unemployed and need to find a new job, but a new job might be just around the corner for me, I hope.

I did tell the Campus Administrator and the Admissions Specialist that I will need to go home and figure out two things: whether or not I am ready and willing to do this, and how am I going to pay for it if I do do this. Well, I know I am good and ready to do this, it's just trying to do the math and figure out where all the money is going to come from. Of course, they said if I can't get the money situation worked out then there is no way possible that I could become a student there. So for me, it's off to the job market to find some income and then sit down and do the math. Wish me luck, for I hear the economy is in another recession, and that will likely affect the job market.

[stlsmoore]

Cool...yea if you decide to just pursue other certifications and gain experience in the field these can be enough to land you a decent job in the 60-80K range. Then after a lot more certs (meaning no life studying for them all) you could easily land something in the 6 figure range.

Best of Luck to you.

[byzantium]

I think that building your own PC could be coupled with computer literacy curricula so as to give the poor (say kids from the projects) a sense that their lives are worth something beyond selling drugs until they get shot, the end. It would also give them valuable skills, and increase the computer literacy of the poor, who sorely lack information age knowhow (40+% of poor households in California do not own a PC). If you're a born educator like Robert Kiyosaki, and a born geek, you could really make something out of this. I am a born geek but not a born educator, so this wouldn't work for me. Somebody else might really make a ton of money on this. Part of the problem is that black and latino kids don't usually have techies in their families or friends of families. They will trust a black or latino before they'll trust a white, but most geeks are white. Once you can get color coded instructors, the rest comes naturally.