hello everyone,

i'm considering attempting to start a small part-time IT related business. i don't know what is involved and was hoping someone who surfs off-topic might have experience they could share with me.

i was thinking along the lines of enabling technology within offices that need technology... ie setting up the cat5 wiring, setting up computers, setting up a hub/ap, server, backup, etc. all this to be completed within a weekend.

would anyone happen to know if certification is required to perform these tasks? do you need to be an electrician in order to run lines behind walls? do you know what this type of business is even called?

any help/guidance/pointer to a website will help greatly. even the type of business would be appreciated so i could do a google search on what requirements are necessary in order to start a business like this.

thanks for your time!

- mike

 

i dont think u need any sort of certification to perform the work, however, having a certification gives the customer more confidence while deciding on perspective network projects. i think a cisco network cert is helpful.

 

Yep I did this for years. Kept plenty busy with zero advertising, all word of mouth. Made decent money but worked my ass of for it and was on the weirdest sleep schedule ever.

Took a 66% pay cut to move to a young start-up company and it was definitely worth it in the long run.

Consider all your options before moving ahead. Last thing you want to do is pick up clients and have them relying on your, then have to back out and leave them with no IT support.

 

You don't necessarily need any certs for this. Certs are only good for if you want to get hired somewhere. If you're feeling fancy though, CompTIA certs are easy to get.

 

This is true.

I'm in technical recruitment now, and the only use for the certification is for staff employment. Companies do a quick look and say, "yup, he/she has got the papers, they're good to go."

Personally I've found that nobody ever asked me about my certifications when peforming any IT work.

 

so this type of business is considered 100% IT and not electrician or general contracting or something along those lines.

 

MikeyCB, can you please elaborate on what you work life was like? I'm only considering this part time, which I'm assuming would absorb my weekends 100%.

 

Well, I did a combination of things. I pulled data cabling then evaluated and helped select network components, configured the components, and supported all parts of the networks including servers and workstations (desktop and laptops), and all peripherals.

When you are working on your own, obviously you're only making money when you're actually working. No paid days off. Not a big deal since you wouldn't have any better in any other part time job.

It's very hard to do part time, unless you are always going to be able to drop your things to offer support over the phone or respond to them with a quick visit. Remote desktop applications can be your friend in this case, provided it's not a network issue preventing you from connecting remotely.

I enjoyed the change of environment on a near-daily basis, visiting different client offices and a few homes as well, but it is hard to get a real routine together. Again, not a big deal on a part time basis.

That's all I feel like writing at the moment because I want to finish up a couple things and get the helllll out of my office Let me know if you have any questions and I'll be happy to help as much as I can!

Mike

 

I am actually thinking about doing this too. I think im going to start around my neighborhood and try to slowly expand using local newspaper ads. My theory behind this is older people who arent tech savvy read the paper instead of going online and reading articles there so if they need support, where would they look? the local papers or go to some place like geek squad