Page 1 of 8 1234 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 16 of 114

Thread: Business Plans

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Holsworthy, Devon
    Posts
    513
    Thanks
    9
    Thanked
    11 times in 11 posts
    • Ben Rogers's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8P67 B3
      • CPU:
      • Intel core i5 2500k @ 4400MHz
      • Memory:
      • 12GB DDR3 (8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz)
      • Storage:
      • 60GB OCZ Agility 3 SSD (boot) + 1TB Samsung F3 + 500GB Samsung F1 SATA II
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI HD7870 2GB
      • PSU:
      • 650W Coolermaster VX
      • Case:
      • Coolermaster Centurion 5 II
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 64 bit SP1
      • Monitor(s):
      • 19" Samsung SyncMaste
      • Internet:
      • 23Mbit / 1.1 Mbit ADSL2

    Business Plans

    Hi, I aim to setup my own business repairing computers throughout North Devon and North Cornwall and have written the start of a business plan with the exception of expected earnings because I honestly have no idea how much profit I will make.

    I am wondering if anyone has experience in business plans or is willing to spend time reading through mine?

    I would be very greatful for any help.

    Ben
    E6850@ 3700MHz / 6GB DDR2 / 500GB SATAII / nVidia 7800 GTX / Lian Li Plus7B

  2. #2
    HEXUS.social member finlay666's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Newcastle
    Posts
    8,546
    Thanks
    297
    Thanked
    894 times in 535 posts
    • finlay666's system
      • CPU:
      • 3570k
      • Memory:
      • 16gb
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 6950 2gb
      • Case:
      • Fractal R3
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 8
      • Monitor(s):
      • U2713HM and V222H
      • Internet:
      • cable

    Re: Business Plans

    My advice... Don't
    H3XU5 Social FAQ
    Quote Originally Posted by tiggerai View Post
    I do like a bit of hot crumpet

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Holsworthy, Devon
    Posts
    513
    Thanks
    9
    Thanked
    11 times in 11 posts
    • Ben Rogers's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8P67 B3
      • CPU:
      • Intel core i5 2500k @ 4400MHz
      • Memory:
      • 12GB DDR3 (8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz)
      • Storage:
      • 60GB OCZ Agility 3 SSD (boot) + 1TB Samsung F3 + 500GB Samsung F1 SATA II
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI HD7870 2GB
      • PSU:
      • 650W Coolermaster VX
      • Case:
      • Coolermaster Centurion 5 II
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 64 bit SP1
      • Monitor(s):
      • 19" Samsung SyncMaste
      • Internet:
      • 23Mbit / 1.1 Mbit ADSL2

    Re: Business Plans

    Why's that? I can't find a job around here and I look on the job centre website every week day and it's usually the same rubbish jobs as usual. I have also signed upto many recruitment agencies and CV Libary etc and have not heard much.
    E6850@ 3700MHz / 6GB DDR2 / 500GB SATAII / nVidia 7800 GTX / Lian Li Plus7B

  4. #4
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Posts
    199
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    3 times in 3 posts

    Re: Business Plans

    Good on you for having the gumption to start your own business. Try to research as much as you can. Do you really need a business plan though? Are you going to be borrowing money?

  5. #5
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Holsworthy, Devon
    Posts
    513
    Thanks
    9
    Thanked
    11 times in 11 posts
    • Ben Rogers's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8P67 B3
      • CPU:
      • Intel core i5 2500k @ 4400MHz
      • Memory:
      • 12GB DDR3 (8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz)
      • Storage:
      • 60GB OCZ Agility 3 SSD (boot) + 1TB Samsung F3 + 500GB Samsung F1 SATA II
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI HD7870 2GB
      • PSU:
      • 650W Coolermaster VX
      • Case:
      • Coolermaster Centurion 5 II
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 64 bit SP1
      • Monitor(s):
      • 19" Samsung SyncMaste
      • Internet:
      • 23Mbit / 1.1 Mbit ADSL2

    Re: Business Plans

    I was informated when I phoned my job centre advisor to check out business link as they help people setup new businesses of any kind. They e-mailed me a lot of PDF documents regarding liability insurance, tax, VAT and a whole lot more and part of it mentioned about writing a business plan. I read through a business plan on the site that somebody had written as an example and have followed similar principles for mine, albeit without writing how much I expect to earn over said period of time due to me simply not having any idea how much it is likely to be.

    I will be repairing desktops and laptops as well as installing broadband, offering computer tuition and setting up networks, domain based and peer-to-peer.

    I will offer web design and SEO work too but this won't be my main line of work. I already have a website for the company as well as 5 domains pointing to it and have adapted the meta-tags accordingly for every page (15) for as close to 100% relevant to the page content for each, according to the SEO meta tag analyzer for title and description most importantly but also keywords. I have also put alt tags on my images as I think this can lead to better page rankings. I have gotten the URLs onto search engines and have a robots.txt file listing all the URLs sitemap locations.

    As to the above post, I am going to try and get a grant but I know this is unlikely to happen for a car/van as I do not have transport and I live in a rural location but the guy who I will be going into business with drives, but obviously if the job only requires one person and I want to do the work then I will require transport.

    I have written the business plan to show my job centre advisor to start off with and also if I require a plan to show charities that can give grants such as the Prince's Trust then they can see it. If I can't get a grant I will probably end up getting a loan, somehow or a credit card.
    Last edited by Ben Rogers; 28-02-2010 at 05:18 PM.
    E6850@ 3700MHz / 6GB DDR2 / 500GB SATAII / nVidia 7800 GTX / Lian Li Plus7B

  6. #6
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Posts
    199
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    3 times in 3 posts

    Re: Business Plans

    What is the website address?

  7. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Holsworthy, Devon
    Posts
    513
    Thanks
    9
    Thanked
    11 times in 11 posts
    • Ben Rogers's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8P67 B3
      • CPU:
      • Intel core i5 2500k @ 4400MHz
      • Memory:
      • 12GB DDR3 (8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz)
      • Storage:
      • 60GB OCZ Agility 3 SSD (boot) + 1TB Samsung F3 + 500GB Samsung F1 SATA II
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI HD7870 2GB
      • PSU:
      • 650W Coolermaster VX
      • Case:
      • Coolermaster Centurion 5 II
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 64 bit SP1
      • Monitor(s):
      • 19" Samsung SyncMaste
      • Internet:
      • 23Mbit / 1.1 Mbit ADSL2

    Re: Business Plans

    E6850@ 3700MHz / 6GB DDR2 / 500GB SATAII / nVidia 7800 GTX / Lian Li Plus7B

  8. #8
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Posts
    199
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    3 times in 3 posts

    Re: Business Plans

    How much do you charge for a format and re-install of an os?

  9. #9
    HEXUS.social member finlay666's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Newcastle
    Posts
    8,546
    Thanks
    297
    Thanked
    894 times in 535 posts
    • finlay666's system
      • CPU:
      • 3570k
      • Memory:
      • 16gb
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 6950 2gb
      • Case:
      • Fractal R3
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 8
      • Monitor(s):
      • U2713HM and V222H
      • Internet:
      • cable

    Re: Business Plans

    Quote Originally Posted by Ben Rogers View Post
    Why's that? I can't find a job around here and I look on the job centre website every week day and it's usually the same rubbish jobs as usual. I have also signed upto many recruitment agencies and CV Libary etc and have not heard much.
    Because you will have to provide warranty with your work, you then have the issue of costs of parts and labour with time to order parts considered, as well as parts for computers that cannot be bought new. You will have to deal with returns yourself as a business.

    You will have to compete on price and quality with a number of other businesses including very big names that people trust and you will have to offer services that can compete with that.

    Your website has less than a paragraph per page. I don't know if it's intentional but the vast majority is just advertisement. which doesn't change page to page, the location of the information is also rather challenging to find.

    Your other domain of internetaddress.com also seems a silly one as it bears no reflection to what you do. There are no prices, no details. You also only provide a contact email and no other details of charges or anything like that. A number of the pages such as what you offer also redirects to your contact page. Having an email on a domain that isn't the one you are on is also quite concerning and tbh it looks like a fake email.

    You state you have qualifications on it, what are they?

    You might want to search for others doing a similar thing on here and see what others said
    H3XU5 Social FAQ
    Quote Originally Posted by tiggerai View Post
    I do like a bit of hot crumpet

  10. #10
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Holsworthy, Devon
    Posts
    513
    Thanks
    9
    Thanked
    11 times in 11 posts
    • Ben Rogers's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8P67 B3
      • CPU:
      • Intel core i5 2500k @ 4400MHz
      • Memory:
      • 12GB DDR3 (8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz)
      • Storage:
      • 60GB OCZ Agility 3 SSD (boot) + 1TB Samsung F3 + 500GB Samsung F1 SATA II
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI HD7870 2GB
      • PSU:
      • 650W Coolermaster VX
      • Case:
      • Coolermaster Centurion 5 II
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 64 bit SP1
      • Monitor(s):
      • 19" Samsung SyncMaste
      • Internet:
      • 23Mbit / 1.1 Mbit ADSL2

    Re: Business Plans

    I know that we have to compete with a lot of other companies offering the same work but as we have fewer overheads compared to businesses that run from a shop that have to pay rent, electric etc we can easily offer better prices for the same jobs as these companies.

    I know the website doesn't have much text per page but it is based around a template that I can't change unless I get a new template that is, and I will consider this as I need a lot more information on each page. As you can see I have had to use two pages to list our services.

    The e-mail address is real and works it is just an email I registered at mail.com. I cannot use a website e-mail such as alias@devoncomputerrepairs.com due to the domain being parked somewhere that the website is not hosted and I use different name servers to where the domains are registered.

    I will put a mobile phone number on there as soon as it arrives as my current phone does not work anymore and is out of warranty.

    I have an NVQ level 2 in computer systems support which covered hardware, software installs, networking and lots more and I can easily pass comptia a+ test exams for hardware online everytime. Also, less relevant to hardware, I have a GNVQ ICT and an AVCE ICT which was mainly programming and access, excel etc, just the basic stuff.

    If I remove the remote assistance logo it will give a lot more room on the page for more writing. I just need to do the same thing for every page to keep it consistent which isn't easy if you have never been tought web design before and learn stuff just on the net.
    E6850@ 3700MHz / 6GB DDR2 / 500GB SATAII / nVidia 7800 GTX / Lian Li Plus7B

  11. #11
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Posts
    199
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    3 times in 3 posts

    Re: Business Plans

    Looks good to me. You have to start somewhere. Good luck with the venture! (If typing a bit odd, just had a bottle and a half of wine after painting bedroom, cutting wood and getting rid of rubbish and playing with daughter!!)

  12. #12
    Studmuffin Flibb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Kent
    Posts
    4,904
    Thanks
    31
    Thanked
    324 times in 277 posts
    • Flibb's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3
      • CPU:
      • AMD FX-6300
      • Memory:
      • 16GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3 PC3-12800
      • Storage:
      • Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250G
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 3GB MSI Radeon HD 7950 Twin Frozr
      • PSU:
      • FSP
      • Operating System:
      • Win7 64bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • Deffl TFT thing

    Re: Business Plans

    Somebody at work who recently got made redundant has started doing PC repairs full time, he had been doing them part time. The vast majority of problems he deals with are software based, he has a no fix no fee price structure for call outs, with a minimum of an hours work, he also offers a set price windows reinstall with data backup. Last info I had was that he is taking around £2k a month (he has to take costs out of that). To be honest hardware warranty's arent a big problem, most problems are software / user created.

  13. #13
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    591
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    28 times in 26 posts

    Re: Business Plans

    Quote Originally Posted by finlay666 View Post
    You will have to compete on price and quality with a number of other businesses including very big names that people trust and you will have to offer services that can compete with that.
    Basically what EVERY SINGLE BUSINESS in the entire world does on a day to day basis?

  14. #14
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Holsworthy, Devon
    Posts
    513
    Thanks
    9
    Thanked
    11 times in 11 posts
    • Ben Rogers's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8P67 B3
      • CPU:
      • Intel core i5 2500k @ 4400MHz
      • Memory:
      • 12GB DDR3 (8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz)
      • Storage:
      • 60GB OCZ Agility 3 SSD (boot) + 1TB Samsung F3 + 500GB Samsung F1 SATA II
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI HD7870 2GB
      • PSU:
      • 650W Coolermaster VX
      • Case:
      • Coolermaster Centurion 5 II
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 64 bit SP1
      • Monitor(s):
      • 19" Samsung SyncMaste
      • Internet:
      • 23Mbit / 1.1 Mbit ADSL2

    Re: Business Plans

    Re: the email problem - if I use name servers where I registered my domain, then webforward my main domain relating to my company name to another domain pointing at the same site I can then use ben@domainname.com and this surely would be a step in the right direction.

    I am going to remove the logo in the middle of everypage that really not not need to be there, I dont even know why I put it there when this space can be used for more text which is so much better both for customers and search engines.

    Thanks for your very useful information, it is much apprechiated.
    E6850@ 3700MHz / 6GB DDR2 / 500GB SATAII / nVidia 7800 GTX / Lian Li Plus7B

  15. #15
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Holsworthy, Devon
    Posts
    513
    Thanks
    9
    Thanked
    11 times in 11 posts
    • Ben Rogers's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8P67 B3
      • CPU:
      • Intel core i5 2500k @ 4400MHz
      • Memory:
      • 12GB DDR3 (8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz)
      • Storage:
      • 60GB OCZ Agility 3 SSD (boot) + 1TB Samsung F3 + 500GB Samsung F1 SATA II
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI HD7870 2GB
      • PSU:
      • 650W Coolermaster VX
      • Case:
      • Coolermaster Centurion 5 II
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 64 bit SP1
      • Monitor(s):
      • 19" Samsung SyncMaste
      • Internet:
      • 23Mbit / 1.1 Mbit ADSL2

    Re: Business Plans

    Quote Originally Posted by Flibb View Post
    Somebody at work who recently got made redundant has started doing PC repairs full time, he had been doing them part time. The vast majority of problems he deals with are software based, he has a no fix no fee price structure for call outs, with a minimum of an hours work, he also offers a set price windows reinstall with data backup. Last info I had was that he is taking around £2k a month (he has to take costs out of that). To be honest hardware warranty's arent a big problem, most problems are software / user created.
    I have written in my business plan about setting set prices for software installations for operating system including drivers and updates and also installing anti virus software.

    I have also written about setting a set price for component replacements, depending on what the part is, with the motherboard costing more to replace and also I won't replace the motherboard if it isn't feasable when the computer is not worth a great deal of money.

    I need to get hard drive devices that let you put a desktop (SATA/IDE) or laptop hard drive into it and then it connects via USB to a PC so you can backup data that way when the operating system cannot be accessed, though you can just put the drive in another machine for a desktop without a problem except it takes longer but for a laptop it is pretty much essential I think.
    E6850@ 3700MHz / 6GB DDR2 / 500GB SATAII / nVidia 7800 GTX / Lian Li Plus7B

  16. #16
    mush-mushroom b0redom's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Middlesex
    Posts
    3,438
    Thanks
    174
    Thanked
    362 times in 279 posts
    • b0redom's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Some iMac thingy
      • CPU:
      • 3.4Ghz Quad Core i7
      • Memory:
      • 24GB
      • Storage:
      • 3TB Fusion Drive
      • Graphics card(s):
      • nViidia GTX 680MX
      • PSU:
      • Some iMac thingy
      • Case:
      • Late 2012 pointlessly thin iMac enclosure
      • Operating System:
      • OSX 10.8 / Win 7 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell 2713H
      • Internet:
      • Be+

    Re: Business Plans

    To be honest, I'd just use gmail and domain masquerading. It looks like you're running your own email setup, you can access it from anywhere, it's highly available and backed up. Most importantly, it's free.

    I'd make sure your website is bombproof before pushing it out live though. At the moment your online chat page links to:

    http://noshins.dnsalias.org/pcboxchat/phpfreechat/

    Which gives a:

    Parse error: parse error in C:\Program Files\EasyPHP 3.0\www\pcboxchat\phpfreechat\index.php on line 5

    Doesn't look great from a support perspective.

    Make sure you get a decent accountant - budget AT LEAST £70 / month for that, and decent liability insurance.

Page 1 of 8 1234 ... LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Printing technical plans at exactly correct size
    By JPreston in forum PC Hardware and Components
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 29-10-2009, 10:06 PM
  2. Anyone imported a laptop from USA before? Great prices atm
    By Marcos in forum PC Hardware and Components
    Replies: 36
    Last Post: 26-08-2008, 04:59 PM
  3. Starting a business
    By Rack in forum General Discussion
    Replies: 44
    Last Post: 24-02-2008, 06:02 PM
  4. BT Business Broadband - Need urgent change
    By ikonia in forum Networking and Broadband
    Replies: 15
    Last Post: 09-07-2007, 02:37 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •