cpjitservices Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 Just been out walking the dog on the main road just off my street and noticed there is an old computer shop (to let) and it's got me thinking - Should I and Would I - it's literally 5 paces away from my front door step so How closer to home could you get ? Anyway in todays climate, would it be worth opening a shop like that ? round the corner we have 2 quite reputable computer shops but both very expensive and only really do repairs, one of them is solely Microsoft whereas I'd do across the board. As long as I market properly it should do well - or wouldnt it ? Shops been empty for months possibly years so I may get cheap rates! Any ideas folks ?
sted Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 from the fact my current employer shut down its retail shop and my previous emplyer has just gone (again computer retail) id sy no you cant compete on price with online and however good or pad pc world are people will go there or pester their computer literate friend(s)
witch Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 I have several friends who are in the computer repair business, as well as other businesses, and they have all given up their shopfront as there wasn't enough 'footfall' - people coming in off the street - to justify the rates, bills etc. They all work from home now and have an extensive web presence and good local advertising, being on Checkatrade etc. They are all hanging on OK but say they wouldn't be if they had to pay for a retail outlet. So, no, my advice would be - Don't do it.
sidewinder Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 There's probably a reason that it is no longer a computer shop I would also say no. Seen many come and go, and have heard of others really struggling. Very few people want/require a custom built computer anymore when they can just buy one from Dell/PC World and there is no real cost saving in buying one. As for repairs, that can easily be done from home.
Fatmas Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 You're be better off advertising a computer repair/upgrade/training service without the cost of a bricks & mortar store. The cost running a shop is immense and unless you have people coming in off the street it can get very difficult. A "from home" call out service will allow you greater flexibility and take away the pressures of rent/bills etc... Just be sure that if and when you start making money from this, it all gets declared and is above board.
dhicks Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 Anyway in todays climate, would it be worth opening a shop like that ? The fact that it's an old computer shop shouldn't make much difference - the insides of most similarly-zoned shops are going to be pretty similar. Opening a shop exactly the same as one that closed down is probably not a good idea, however a computer-and-other-stuff shop might work - simply offer as many services as you can from the one location. I'm guessing a combination coffee shop / Internet cafe / computer repair shop / bookshop / art gallery / flexible office space / international video conferencing call booth might have a chance. There seems little point in hiring shop space and then filling it with dusty-looking boxes of computer equipment, you can keep that stuff in a back room or warehouse somewhere, use your shop front for something more useful.
aerospacemango Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 The fact that it's an old computer shop shouldn't make much difference - the insides of most similarly-zoned shops are going to be pretty similar. Opening a shop exactly the same as one that closed down is probably not a good idea, however a computer-and-other-stuff shop might work - simply offer as many services as you can from the one location. I'm guessing a combination coffee shop / Internet cafe / computer repair shop / bookshop / art gallery / flexible office space / international video conferencing call booth might have a chance. There seems little point in hiring shop space and then filling it with dusty-looking boxes of computer equipment, you can keep that stuff in a back room or warehouse somewhere, use your shop front for something more useful. I had considered this, a few years back, when I lived in Essex. My dream was to open a PC repair/upgrades shop, and have a room out the back that was kitted out for LAN gaming. Therefore, during the day, you'd try to attract passing trade, but in the after school times, you could have teenagers in, keeping them off the street, and playing the latest clan games. It's something that I STILL think about, even now. If you had a group of 8-10 kids, who were interested, that would feed through to others at school, and you might find that it blossoms. As for a straight shop....I think the times are too risky for a start up.
2097 Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 location is the key A computer shop for e.g. in a line of shops in a highstreet would do very well. You normally find though that most PC repair places are in the most weirdest of places ! ( i assume cheap rent ) If you could open a shop with a Internet cafe/gaming place out back it would do well in a key location But setup costs for a gaming suite is quite high Good Luck
aerospacemango Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 location is the key A computer shop for e.g. in a line of shops in a highstreet would do very well. You normally find though that most PC repair places are in the most weirdest of places ! ( i assume cheap rent ) If you could open a shop with a Internet cafe/gaming place out back it would do well in a key location But setup costs for a gaming suite is quite high Good Luck You'd certainly want to be somewhere with cable, for a decent conx....Plus, you gotta be looking at 15k, start-up for the gaming area.....And that's before you talk fixtures and fittings for the actual shop! Big bucks needed for my vision!!!
cpjitservices Posted March 22, 2011 Author Posted March 22, 2011 Yeah I was going to do online gaming - Internet cafe kinda thing - I'll see how much the shop is and go from there! Cheers dudes!
mthomas08 Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 To be honest, come up with some ideas that do not cost anything. Perhaps a tweet/facebook group where you can offer basic IT Support? free? then perhaps charge on the bigger cases? As a supplier I do not think it will go well, you will obviously need to keep your current job. I have always thought about doing an IT support based company or something, I know the prices out there are frankly extortion.
contink Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 As many have said, it's simply not worth it as an initial startup because of the massive costs involved... I worked out that if I wanted to open a small unit in a council area I'd be looking at around £700+ just for ground rent, rates and utilities. You've also got all the startup costs of signage, installation, decoration and putting in utilities... Then add in insurance, installing alarms... Ugh! Which explains why the prices are so high... I doubt the stores are making much money. However that said, if you were to do a computer shop a have a suggestion for you... Don't just make it a "computer shop" look at opportunities for installing equipment such as CIS systems for printers, resetting waste counters, cleaning keyboards, etc... I get people wanting to visit me from 100+ miles away just so I can show them how to reset their printer, fix a clogged printhead, etc... That's just the printer angle but the key with all of this is I would focus on getting yourself setup with an online presence as the priority, maybe find somewhere you could do a market stall or borrow some space for one/two days a week informally.. let it grow without the big expenditure and see if it makes sense after all that... I suspect it still won't but you won't have lost thousands on an idea if you go slow..
Pete10141748 Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 (edited) Have to agree with others, at the current time I think an actual shop would be a risky thing to do. It's something I have thought about occasionally in the past few years, there are a few nice locations in town that seemed to always be up for rent and good-sized too. But in these times of simple Ebay shops running out of someone's living room, being able to post free ads online, Facebook groups, Twitter and creating your own web presence all while working at home, a brick-and-mortar store is probably always going to be more difficult to maintain as time goes on. If it were me, my idea would be to create it as something bigger than just a repair shop, even something bigger than just a computer shop - I would try to appeal to all niches of the 'computer / gamer / geek' culture. Offer repairs and upgrades, but also LAN gaming / Internet Cafe, sell comic books & trading card games, xbox/ps3/pc games, hold events like Friday Night Magic (MTG card game weekly event) and gaming tournaments on the kit..... basically trying to make it appeal to people beyond the service they need from you now and then and turn it into a place they would want to come regularly for things that appeal to them. I reckon such a shop would go over quite well in my town, but only because we have no Comic Book / Games Workshop type stores (and the club where we used to hold our weekyl gaming club closed down forcing us to close our group too sadly), and the only PC repair shop I know of besides PC World is a small stall in the market in town which, in all honesty, I personally wouldn't use because as good as they may be it just looks dodgy. Edited March 22, 2011 by Pete10141748
dhicks Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 in the after school times, you could have teenagers in, keeping them off the street, and playing the latest clan games. Mind, though - they might wind up being your only custom. Seeing a bunch of grubby teenagers hanging around a shop isn't going to make the place attractive to anyone else. It's the sort of thing you'd need to work out, but there might be a better market in work-from-home professionals who want a serviced office to rent per-day rather than teenagers wanting to play gamesfor a few hours - I'm guessing office workers are quieter and pay better. Maybe LAN gaming of an evening or weekends, and you can always get past the initial startup costs for equipment by getting people to bring their own, which you could of course then sell them. 1
aerospacemango Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 Mind, though - they might wind up being your only custom. Seeing a bunch of grubby teenagers hanging around a shop isn't going to make the place attractive to anyone else. It's the sort of thing you'd need to work out, but there might be a better market in work-from-home professionals who want a serviced office to rent per-day rather than teenagers wanting to play gamesfor a few hours - I'm guessing office workers are quieter and pay better. Maybe LAN gaming of an evening or weekends, and you can always get past the initial startup costs for equipment by getting people to bring their own, which you could of course then sell them. Agree with some of that! However, I'd be looking at a space at the back of the store, to kit out, so that the dirty, smelly oiks are separate from the main shop!!!
JoeBloggs Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 Even adding something like a LAN centre is difficult to maintain. I remember the Omega Sektor I went there, also competed. It was really really good... but just didn't make enough money I guess!
Little-Miss Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 Birmingham have started doing 90 day leases on shops because people were too worried to take them on incase it didnt work and didnt want to end up still paying rent on a shop they weren't using.
Pete10141748 Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 I'm not surprised. With the ongoing costs involved in running a shop, being able to leave after 90 days if it's not working out seems a good idea.
cpjitservices Posted March 23, 2011 Author Posted March 23, 2011 Thanks for the info and advice guys - I've tried to contact the agents about the premises but seems like they don't have an answer phone and no one to pickup - tried 4 times throughout yesterday!! SO I've decided to advertise and do it form home - attached is a price guide would you all like to kinda tell me what you think and if I've missed anything. price guide.doc Cheers
sidewinder Posted March 23, 2011 Posted March 23, 2011 Your prices seem a bit cheap! Especially the per hour rates Also maybe combine the health check/virus removal - eg £20 for a health check including an hour of virus removal if necessary or something.
witch Posted March 23, 2011 Posted March 23, 2011 Too Many Capitals!! 'Reinstall' is one word per hour or an hour - not both (NO CAPITALS) £10 per hour is very cheap. Round here £25 for the first hour and then £20 per hour or part thereof is a cheap rate. Some charge much more. Are you only going to fix things in your own workshop or will you go to people's houses? If the latter then the health check shouldnt be free as you will have to travel to get there. Just a few first thoughts - hope you don't mind.. Are you going to do a website?
penfold Posted March 23, 2011 Posted March 23, 2011 Besides charging too little? If you are going to be doing call outs, I would definately have a charge especially as most people who want you to look at stuff will probably not know what is wrong in the first place. As a result they might not know how much you would charge when you find a problem. And if they dont like what you say it could end up costing you money. Maybe a flat call out fee with extra hours charged based on the problem? PC World charge £70 for PC repair to identify what is wrong and what is required to fix it regardless of the time it takes(as far as I can see) You have put down Windows Reinstalls £25 fixed fee, but I would expect that to include backup & restore of data(where possible), however as you have this as a seperate charge, does the reinstall not include that? You might want to seperate out the clients you are aiming at. Group up the services that you can provide so that any home user can see everything you can do for them, and also any business needs can be identified quickly.
cpjitservices Posted March 23, 2011 Author Posted March 23, 2011 nice one folks thanks for your advice i'll make amendments and see where we go from there! prices may seema bit cheap so ill make some changes see how it goes. Might do a website - see if I get time Will post a new price list later!!
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