thinking of Opening A shop

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I'm thinking about opening a computer store selling hardware and servicing computers by myself. I'm not sure how its going to go. I have no idea if i can get enough customers in the door and keep them happy and no idea if its going to succed. And wheither there is too much competion or not.

Only think I know is I know my stuff when it comes to computers. And I seem to be able to sell my ideas to people... Not sure if I small talk too well. Or have the right conversation to people.

Theres a whole wealth of things to consider when starting a Shop. I will rent a shop and get signs and stock. I will try to no cut into my captial too much. I have around about $100 000 set aside to try and get off the ground but I hope to only have to use about $20 000 to get the shop up and running.

A big worry is what if I open up the store and no one comes. Or not enough people come. Or the people don't like me and then stop coming.

The good thing about opening a shop that caters to people with your interest is that you don't need to make small talk. Talk about computers. That is what they are there for. And if you can make a reputation for yourself through your good work, you will do fine. Just remember professional integrity is what it is all about. And of course, believe you can do it!

Yea. I only thought about doing it after alot of people have told me they think I could do it. People that I have fixed computers for.

One lady said "you are well spoken well dress intellegent and good looking and have some thing about the way you act that makes people want to trust you." I'm not sure why I quoted that. I just thought it was interesting to hear some one else explaining how I appear to them.

I hope so blessedmom. I think believing in myself is probably the most important part. Its the key.

And yes about the coming there to talk about computers. It seem great, I will get payed to talk and play with computers... Sounds like a dream.

If you're serious about opening a shop, my advice is to find a good accountant that has experience working with small businesses like this. My biggest challenge when starting my business was thinking that since I'm intelligent that I didn't need to spend money on stuff I could just "figure out".

While we are certainly capable of doing that sort of work, it is not really what you are in business for. You want to spend your time and energy on developing your business, not trying to navigate all the rules and regulations. Hire a pro and just figure the costs into your budget.

I think owning a shop that is about our special interests would be a dream job for us aspies! I agree that when you know about computers and you work with computers, all you need to talk about is computers. After all thats what you are an expert on.
BTW That quote by that person reminds me of somethings people have told me. People think I'm just really inocent. It is so interesting to hear from people what I look like to them because of THEORY OF MIND. Ohh man I'm such an aspie

That's a great idea. I'm pretty sure my computer guy is Aspie. He has his own shop, with another tech, and his sister too. It's really small, barely enough room to get in, with shelving to the ceiling, full of all sorts of stuff.

He knows Windows and Mac operating systems/computers. He not only repairs, but sells used computers. That's where I got the iMac I'm using right now, after it was decided that my other computers hard drive was completely dead.

He also has a 30-day guarantee, parts and labor. So that if any used computer he sells dies, then he'll fix it. And that did need to be done, with this computer. There's no telling with used parts what will die or when. But having that 30-day guarantee really helps. Makes him seem more trustworthy too. Not just trying to sell junk.

He has a supply of new and used parts. He has many operating systems he will install and test the used computers with.

He is definitely not into chit-chat and has major eye contact problems. He basically keeps his eyes closed when he's talking to someone. Or they flutter a bit. It's just a step away from my own eye contact problems, so I get it.

He's really smart. Very technical. Uses technical terms that may not be familiar to a non-tech. I gave him a gift of a couple things I have used myself, that you can use also. I made them up.

One is:
There is a one-letter difference between one who knows and one who doesn't:
H and D.
As in:
"Huh, maybe it's supposed to do that?"
and
"Duh, it's NEVER supposed to do that."

Another is when I was explaining to a friend about a hard drive and memory. She didn't understand why she was running out of memory when she had some huge hard drive. I told her that her hard drive was like kitchen cabinets. And her memory was like a stove top.

She could have a warehouse of cookware in cabinets, but if all she had was on little burner on the counter, she could only use one of those pots or pans.

Likewise, if she had only one pot, but had a restaurant kitchen, it wouldn't matter that she had 15 burners, she only has one pot to use.

Those kinds of simple analogies can really help people understand their computers without knowing tech speak. It bridges the gap. YOU know a bunch of stuff, but that doesn't mean everyone else does. The "Huh" and "Duh" thing is good to remember when you have people coming in like I did, with the iMac that first month. He said "It's NEVER supposed to make that noise!" Well, what did I know? It was a different computer for me, maybe it was supposed to be that noisy.

Those simple analogies will make it easier to fix or upgrade computer systems, when explaining to your customer why it will always freeze if you try to do 14 things at once and only have this amount of memory.

You can be matter of fact with folks. Ask them "What do you do on the computer?" That's what I told my guy. All I do is go online, and play a few computer games offline. I need to do this and this and this. That's it.

That's where your intricate knowledge of parts and applications comes into play. They might need certain applications to do what they want to do, and didn't know it. Remember that Huh and Duh rule. You know, they might not.

I don't know if there is a magazine similar to Mac Addict for Windows users, but that magazine comes with a CD every month. With trials and demos of new applications. So you can try them out on your own computer and be even more familiar with the new products. There's always something new coming out, and people will be asking you for advice or why something won't run, etc.

You might even consider making a "library" of sorts, if you have the time, space, and inclination, of those kinds of magazines with CDs. So customers can come in and check out the latest.

Be careful also, as my computer guy had some things stolen. Someone just ran in, grabbed stuff and ran out. So you want to consider where you have items. If you are going to be working in a back room, someone has to watch the front. If you are going to be working in the front area, realize you may get more people asking you questions while you are trying to do a specific job.

You might want to start out by running
it out of your home. The only real cost
(other than your time) is putting some
ads in the paper. It's less likely to succeed,
but the risks are almost non-existent. Then,
if you're doing well, and are getting a good
rep, you can open an actual store.

Be careful also, as my computer guy had some things stolen. Someone just ran in, grabbed stuff and ran out. So you want to consider where you have items. If you are going to be working in a back room, someone has to watch the front. If you are going to be working in the front area, realize you may get more people asking you questions while you are trying to do a specific job.

Its unlikely that some one can run fast enough to out run me... Unless there car is at the front door and the driver has fast reactions.... Aspie running skills + martial arts for the win. Long enough to get the computer parts back.

Yea I hope this works. I can't run this from my home as my dad is funding me for a shop. Hes not funding me for working from home. Therefor... No funding that way.

I mite have to get a accountant I think. Rather than spending too much energy trying to figure that stuff out at the same time as running a business.