Sole Trader - PC Build & Repair: Advice needed

AZZiDO

Hi all,

I'm 20 years old living with parents in Coventry and only have £650 in my bank account. I left school at 18 with three A-Levels and held down one job at parcelforce although now I'm unemployed.

I had an idea to start a PC Repair and build company because thats what I've been doing at home my whole life so decided I want to go into business alone. I will be working for homes and small businesses.

Here are my initial ideas and questions:

- No fix no fee. Call out charge of £10 to cover petrol.
- Setup a website where people can contact me via e-mail.
Monthly cost of host/domain?
- Setup a freephone number which redirects to my mobile phone.
Or is it better to just use my mobile number and make customer pay for call?
- Buy the parts for computers from local suppliers such as Eclipse.
As a sole trader is it correct you don't have to pay VAT?
Would people trust me with a cash deposit of like £300-£500?
- Charge people according to time taken and complexity of the work carried out.

I don't own a car so most of £650 will go on a car.
What is insurance for 19/20 year old?
Will business make enough to be able to pay for insurance and other costs?

If the company does set off what is price to rent an office as it is quite inconvenient to work from home for me.

What things do you have to do once registered a self employed sole trader?
Keep record of all profits and expenditures?
Not pay National insurance contributions if annual turnover less than £60000?
Fill out self assesment tax form once a year?
What are other taxes I have to pay?
Do I need any form of insurance?
What are implications of employing someone else if company gets busy?

What are the major costs involved in a project like this?

I'd appreciate any feedback on this because I need to know if it's possible to start a small business such as this on only £650 and would I get many customers. Anybody with first hand experience feel free to post.

ryandj

A lot of the answers could be found here .... https://www.google.co.uk

AZZiDO

ryandj wrote: »

A lot of the answers could be found here .... www.google.co.uk

I want opinions as well as answers.

Browntoa

have a look at this thread

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=701077&highlight=pc+repair

littleowl

Hello AZZidO,

I can't help with our detailed questions but I do know that there is plenty of opportunity out there for computer support in the home and in small businesses for someone with both software and hardware experience.

I wish you well and expect that someone with more detailed knowledge will be along soon to advise you.

cowbutt

albertross wrote: »

You only don't pay VAT on business expenses if you are VAT registered, and if you are, you have to charge customers another 17.5%.

Of course, if most of your customers are themselves VAT registered, they can claim the VAT you charge back (and additionally, some customers may interpret VAT registration as an indicator that you're a bit more serious about things), so VAT registration shouldn't necessarily be viewed as a bad thing. If you exceed the registration threshold, then you must register, but whether you choose to voluntarily register depends on the balance between VAT registered customers and non-registered customers.

globalds

I would forget the web site .
People like you ,Who build your own machines and know a bit ,go on web sites to order new PC's or fix broken ones .
Think about your customer base .
Probably older folks who aren't to sure .or younger mums who don't know what they mean when the kids says they want something special.your after repeat custom .So you buy them a well spec'ed machine for the money ,They want someone to instal the anti virus, set up a network You want them to come back to you
You should be aiming for the free local papers or advertise in places frequented by older people or single mums..
Make it easy for them ..Not a huge amount of money in it .But you sound like your not wanting a fortune ,just an opportunity .

Just remember people who don't know computers may well not know how hard you've worked to save them a few pounds ..

AZZiDO

albertross wrote: »

There have been many threads on this subject, and without wanting to dissuade you, the consensus was it isn't worth the hassle because people don't want to pay much for fixing PC's when a new one is £150

£650 is unlikely to pay for your car insurance, never mind a car. It will also have to be insured for business use, and you will need public liability insurance.

You only don't pay VAT on business expenses if you are VAT registered, and if you are, you have to charge customers another 17.5%.

Stuff like freephone numbers, staff, and premises aren't worth thinking about until you have loads of money rolling in.

There is advice on the HMRC website about all tax related matters, you need to inform them as soon as you start, and keep copious records and accounts of all money in and out.

£650 could easily get me a car in Coventry - doesn't have to be flash. I'm hoping the profits from business will pay for insurance.

Would anyone recommend taking out a loan to get the business going?

pandora205

Why don't you start small and off simple stuff, like setting up new PCs and laptops, installing printers and routers, installing antivirus, customising desktop etc. and giving demos of basic operations? There are a lot of people out there (and I can be one of them on a bad day!) who need really basic help.
When I had problems installing a printer recently I looked in our local parish magazine and phoned up a guy, whose rate was £35 per hour. I didn't use him as a friend had a go and we decided the printer was faulty so it went back. However, if it had all been set up when needed I'd have gladly paid for an hour (My son was in the middle of GCSE coursework so it was a fraught time).
If you were offering this sort of basic service you could always cycle until you had some money in the bank.

Ken68

Chap just mended my computer...he was an oldie himself..very competent...here about an hour. £30.
He said he worked mainly for silver surfers, got a good name via the library.

Hagar_uk

You call out charge is very low. To be honest If I saw a call out charge at £10 I would think: a) its a con, or b) its too low you would not know what you are doing. Others around here charge £35 ish. I would not offer no fix no fee, you will end up working for nothing.

regarding telephone, a mobile number IMHO looks cheap, get something like a VOIP line, incoming calls are then free, and if you want you can divert to mobile.

I would say the biggest skill you need is not IT, but marketing / sales.