When trying to run a computer consulting business, you can’t waste valuable time and your clients’ budgets trying to work through problems with a monitor or CD-RW drive. If your computer consulting business is so large that you have senior-level and technician-level staff, you will be able to work through these problems efficiently.
But what if you are a one-person company? In this case, you would be wise to let your PC vendor’s tech support staff handle hardware warranty repairs using national service providers.
What is Warranty Service?
When you are a computer consulting business, you need to know how long the warranty period is for hardware. You also need to know if it covers parts and labor and what the response time will be on the service.
Is the vendor going to pressure your clients to do their own work? And will your clients be willing t pay your computer consulting firm to do it?
Hardware Warranty Service Calls
You should have your clients’ internal gurus do the scheduling for hardware warranty service calls so that they are at the same time as computer consulting business you might be doing. At the very least, your clients’ gurus need to be present to supervise the hardware technicians.
You Need to Get Involved
You have to think about how involved you want to be as a computer consulting business when it comes to managing hardware warranty repairs. Sometimes getting fully involved, end-to-end makes sense. Other times, you might be better off training internal gurus to make the vendor tech support calls and supervise hardware warranty repairs.
Added By: Joshua Feinberg
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Monday, August 27, 2007
Saturday, August 25, 2007
What Are Hidden IT Consulting Costs During Startup?
While $75 - $85 per hour might seem like enough to sustain you in the IT consulting business, you need to think ahead when setting your rates during startup. If you keep charging those low rates beyond your grand opening special, your business will not become successful enough to last long term.
Think about Overhead Expenses
While when you first do the math, $75 an hour seems to be $150,000 per year in IT consulting it does not really work that way. You can’t bill 2,000 per year. IT consulting professionals just starting out often forget about overhead expenses that develop as their businesses grow. You just can’t handle 40 hours per week every week of billable work if you want to run a computer consulting business.
Expect Inconsistencies
You need to bill higher rates from the beginning, because starting an IT consulting business is not as easy as it might seem on the surface. While your overhead might be low, especially if you are working from home there will still be expenses, and you will have an inconsistent work schedule.
Your Utilization Rate
You need to always keep your utilization rate in mind. This is basically the reality of only being able to bill out about 75% of the 40 given hours each week. If can take you six months to a year to even get to this level.
The Main Idea about IT Consulting Startup
What happens when your IT consulting business grows and you want to scale up? Keep this in mind when setting your rates appropriately in the beginning.
Added By: Joshua Feinberg
Think about Overhead Expenses
While when you first do the math, $75 an hour seems to be $150,000 per year in IT consulting it does not really work that way. You can’t bill 2,000 per year. IT consulting professionals just starting out often forget about overhead expenses that develop as their businesses grow. You just can’t handle 40 hours per week every week of billable work if you want to run a computer consulting business.
Expect Inconsistencies
You need to bill higher rates from the beginning, because starting an IT consulting business is not as easy as it might seem on the surface. While your overhead might be low, especially if you are working from home there will still be expenses, and you will have an inconsistent work schedule.
Your Utilization Rate
You need to always keep your utilization rate in mind. This is basically the reality of only being able to bill out about 75% of the 40 given hours each week. If can take you six months to a year to even get to this level.
The Main Idea about IT Consulting Startup
What happens when your IT consulting business grows and you want to scale up? Keep this in mind when setting your rates appropriately in the beginning.
Added By: Joshua Feinberg
Monday, August 20, 2007
Computer Consulting and Hard Drive Replacement
Most of the time you will be dealing with computer consulting clients that have business-focused rather than technical backgrounds. Therefore many will not immediately understand concepts such as hard drive replacement.
In order to manage the expectations of your computer consulting clients, you need to educate them on how to format a hard drive, load the operating system, configure device drivers, load software applications, customize the operating system and restore data.
Computer Consulting Client Education
When you are a computer consulting business owner, you learn that hard drive replacement doesn’t just mean removing shrink wrap and installing the drive into the PC. But your clients might think the process is that simple, or they might think the OS files, drivers and software applications will already be available without any effort. Make sure you take a few minutes when you are talking about PC warranties to explain the real situation with hard drive installation to clients.
How Does the Vendor Deal with Hard Drive Replacement?
Your preferred PC vendors will have different ways of handling hard drive replacement under warranty, and you need to understand the policies. Find out what types of labor is involved and covered with desktop PC and notebook hard drive replacements under warranty.
Some vendors’ warranties state the hard drive needs to be physically replaced and operational and recognized by the PC hardware setup program. This type of warranty will mean the technician’s job is complete the moment the replacement hard drive is installed on your computer consulting client’s PC.
What is the Real Cost?
Many PC vendors are getting pressure financially to reduce support and warranty costs, so your computer consulting business clients are probably going to get fewer features than they got before. Hard drives for desktop PCs are only about $100 to $200.
You need your clients to understand hard drive replacement under warranty and to know that the replacement doesn’t cover substantial labor costs associated with replacement and restoration of the system. Your clients can outsource this work to your computer consulting business, but will risk paying $200 - $500 or more in labor just to get their computers up and running.
The Main Idea about Hard Drive Replacement
Recovering a crashed desktop PC hard drive can be really expensive in terms of soft costs, most of which will not be covered by the PC vendor’s warranty. Therefore, purchasing extended warranty coverage for entry-level desktop PCs often will not be worth the extra money for your computer consulting clients.
Added By: Computer Consulting Kit
In order to manage the expectations of your computer consulting clients, you need to educate them on how to format a hard drive, load the operating system, configure device drivers, load software applications, customize the operating system and restore data.
Computer Consulting Client Education
When you are a computer consulting business owner, you learn that hard drive replacement doesn’t just mean removing shrink wrap and installing the drive into the PC. But your clients might think the process is that simple, or they might think the OS files, drivers and software applications will already be available without any effort. Make sure you take a few minutes when you are talking about PC warranties to explain the real situation with hard drive installation to clients.
How Does the Vendor Deal with Hard Drive Replacement?
Your preferred PC vendors will have different ways of handling hard drive replacement under warranty, and you need to understand the policies. Find out what types of labor is involved and covered with desktop PC and notebook hard drive replacements under warranty.
Some vendors’ warranties state the hard drive needs to be physically replaced and operational and recognized by the PC hardware setup program. This type of warranty will mean the technician’s job is complete the moment the replacement hard drive is installed on your computer consulting client’s PC.
What is the Real Cost?
Many PC vendors are getting pressure financially to reduce support and warranty costs, so your computer consulting business clients are probably going to get fewer features than they got before. Hard drives for desktop PCs are only about $100 to $200.
You need your clients to understand hard drive replacement under warranty and to know that the replacement doesn’t cover substantial labor costs associated with replacement and restoration of the system. Your clients can outsource this work to your computer consulting business, but will risk paying $200 - $500 or more in labor just to get their computers up and running.
The Main Idea about Hard Drive Replacement
Recovering a crashed desktop PC hard drive can be really expensive in terms of soft costs, most of which will not be covered by the PC vendor’s warranty. Therefore, purchasing extended warranty coverage for entry-level desktop PCs often will not be worth the extra money for your computer consulting clients.
Added By: Computer Consulting Kit
Saturday, August 18, 2007
IT Consultant: Does Your Personality Pass the Test?
There are specific personality traits you need to have as an IT consultant. You can’t just have technical knowledge, or you will not be able to work well with clients, employers and vendors.
Do You Have Candor?
As an IT consultant, you have to be able to be truthful with people, even if the truth hurts. You need to be very confident in your solutions or people will not trust you. When you go out on sales calls and service calls or engage in networking events, you need to be fearless or people will take advantage of you.
Can You Deal with the Unknown and with Uncertainty?
As an IT consultant, you will have to be able to handle uncertainty. When you go into business for yourself, you are taking a risk, and you need to be able to deal with that fact.
Can You Make a Decision?
You need to pick and choose your battles when you are an IT consultant. You will have a lot of things to deal with when working with clients – particularly with long-term clients – and many will really grate on your nerves. You need to be able to step back and let things slide sometimes.
You will also have to know which prospects are wasting your time and which clients have become bad clients. Are you an IT consultant with time-sucking, energy-sucking prospects and clients? You shouldn’t be. Similarly, you need to be able to decide which employees and contractors you should hire to help you.
Added By: Computer Consulting Kit
Do You Have Candor?
As an IT consultant, you have to be able to be truthful with people, even if the truth hurts. You need to be very confident in your solutions or people will not trust you. When you go out on sales calls and service calls or engage in networking events, you need to be fearless or people will take advantage of you.
Can You Deal with the Unknown and with Uncertainty?
As an IT consultant, you will have to be able to handle uncertainty. When you go into business for yourself, you are taking a risk, and you need to be able to deal with that fact.
Can You Make a Decision?
You need to pick and choose your battles when you are an IT consultant. You will have a lot of things to deal with when working with clients – particularly with long-term clients – and many will really grate on your nerves. You need to be able to step back and let things slide sometimes.
You will also have to know which prospects are wasting your time and which clients have become bad clients. Are you an IT consultant with time-sucking, energy-sucking prospects and clients? You shouldn’t be. Similarly, you need to be able to decide which employees and contractors you should hire to help you.
Added By: Computer Consulting Kit
Monday, August 13, 2007
Places to Find Great Partnering Opportunities
A great way to find partnering relationships that will benefit you is through referrals from clients. As an example, you may be taking on a new client and find yourself meeting a deeply-niched expert. Invite this person to lunch or coffee. The goal is to propose a situation in which you can get together and talk about your clients and which might be potential mutual clients. When you’ve proven your abilities to each other on a mutual client account, partnering in the future is all but solidified.
When a new client introduces you to a partnering opportunity, jump on it.
Partnering Relationships Take Effort
Partnering opportunities won’t just appear magically. You need to be active about seeking out partnering opportunities. This means you have to go to the chamber of commerce and talk to people that say they are consultants. Set yourself apart by defining your strengths.
Everyone else might be saying they do PC hardware, software, LANs and service. Because these are pretty general categories, you may have a hard time deciding whether or not there is an issue of competition. Ask questions and be specific about what you do to find out which consultants are the best candidates for partnering in your area.
Keep an Eye Out for Specialists
You need to explain to others that you are looking for something unique when it comes to partnering opportunities. If you plan to be a generalist, you need to find specialists. You can look at the Websites of people in your local market to find potential partners as well. Still, meeting them face-to-face is your best option.
The Bottom Line about Partnering
Meeting people in person at a channel event or user group meeting or through a mutual client are great ways to find potential partnering opportunities.
Submitted By: Joshua Feinberg
When a new client introduces you to a partnering opportunity, jump on it.
Partnering Relationships Take Effort
Partnering opportunities won’t just appear magically. You need to be active about seeking out partnering opportunities. This means you have to go to the chamber of commerce and talk to people that say they are consultants. Set yourself apart by defining your strengths.
Everyone else might be saying they do PC hardware, software, LANs and service. Because these are pretty general categories, you may have a hard time deciding whether or not there is an issue of competition. Ask questions and be specific about what you do to find out which consultants are the best candidates for partnering in your area.
Keep an Eye Out for Specialists
You need to explain to others that you are looking for something unique when it comes to partnering opportunities. If you plan to be a generalist, you need to find specialists. You can look at the Websites of people in your local market to find potential partners as well. Still, meeting them face-to-face is your best option.
The Bottom Line about Partnering
Meeting people in person at a channel event or user group meeting or through a mutual client are great ways to find potential partnering opportunities.
Submitted By: Joshua Feinberg
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Virtual IT and the World of Computer Consulting
If you own a computer consulting company, chances are you are looking for opportunities to build your relationships with small businesses and better understand the value of virtual IT.
Most Computer Consulting Companies Get Virtual IT All Wrong
Most computer consulting business owners don’t work as efficiently as they could because they get too obsessed with technology and don’t pay enough attention to the real meaning of bringing virtual IT solutions to small businesses. If you don’t fully understand how to run a computer consulting business, you will not achieve longevity. Keeping small business clients needs to be your first priority as a consultant, and keeping abreast of the latest tech advancements can’t get in the way of this priority.
Don’t get sidetracked by hardware, operating systems or applications. Instead get sidetracked by business opportunities that determine how you will solve clients’ biggest business problems with virtual IT solutions.
Combine Computer Consulting and Virtual IT
The concept of virtual IT should be at the heart of your business. This allows your computer consulting company to work as an integral part of your small business cleints’ companies. Your computer consulting company needs to be an outsourced IT department for small businesses. You will become the CIO, CTO or IT manager for your small business clients.
Like any great internal IT department, your virtual IT business will need to have a complete solution for clients that includes help desk, desktop support, network admin, engineering, security, training, procurement and asset management. Anything less than a total virtual IT solution will leave computer consulting earnings up for grabs.
The Main Point about Virtual IT
Computer consulting companies often make mistakes when they work with their small businesses because they get too wrapped up in technology and not wrapped up enough in business solutions and the real idea behind virtual IT. Virtual IT should be at the core of every solution provided to clients.
Added By: Computer Consulting Kit
Most Computer Consulting Companies Get Virtual IT All Wrong
Most computer consulting business owners don’t work as efficiently as they could because they get too obsessed with technology and don’t pay enough attention to the real meaning of bringing virtual IT solutions to small businesses. If you don’t fully understand how to run a computer consulting business, you will not achieve longevity. Keeping small business clients needs to be your first priority as a consultant, and keeping abreast of the latest tech advancements can’t get in the way of this priority.
Don’t get sidetracked by hardware, operating systems or applications. Instead get sidetracked by business opportunities that determine how you will solve clients’ biggest business problems with virtual IT solutions.
Combine Computer Consulting and Virtual IT
The concept of virtual IT should be at the heart of your business. This allows your computer consulting company to work as an integral part of your small business cleints’ companies. Your computer consulting company needs to be an outsourced IT department for small businesses. You will become the CIO, CTO or IT manager for your small business clients.
Like any great internal IT department, your virtual IT business will need to have a complete solution for clients that includes help desk, desktop support, network admin, engineering, security, training, procurement and asset management. Anything less than a total virtual IT solution will leave computer consulting earnings up for grabs.
The Main Point about Virtual IT
Computer consulting companies often make mistakes when they work with their small businesses because they get too wrapped up in technology and not wrapped up enough in business solutions and the real idea behind virtual IT. Virtual IT should be at the core of every solution provided to clients.
Added By: Computer Consulting Kit
Monday, August 06, 2007
Handheld Devices and Giving Your Clients What They Need
Small businesses looking for IT consulting professionals to handle their technology needs have should consider a variety of factors when choosing the right firm to fulfill their many needs.
Independent IT Consulting Professionals or a Small Firm?
As a small business owner with IT needs, think about whether you would rather work with an independent, solo practitioner or a small IT consulting firm with several consultants on staff. Make sure you look at the pros and cons of each option before deciding which is right for you.
You Have to Start Small
When looking for the right IT consulting firm, you have to start consultants on small, limited proving ground projects before signing on for a major tech project or a long-term support agreement. You need to make sure you can work well with the company and that it can fulfill your sophisticated, unique business needs before you start a long-term relationship.
You will have a difficult time increasing your profit margins by selling desktop or notebook PCs. Similarly, you can’t expect to make a profit selling handheld devices such as PDAs to small business clients. They typically are marketed as consumer electronic devices than real computers.
Handheld Devices Are Very Popular
Today’s handheld devices – those based typically on Palm and Microsoft Windows CE OS’s have a lot of power. PDAs have become really popular with business organizations, but they carry with them some IT support issues that will need your attention as a small business computer consultant.
Handheld Devices Provide Options
Many times your consulting firm or your clients’ internal guru will get a handheld device support question. Even if the handheld device was independently purchased, people will expect you to help them with questions.
Will the Client Pay for Support of Handheld Devices?
You need to make sure you talk to your main client contact to find out their view on handheld device support. Will they fund it for their employees?
The Main Idea
There are a lot of different product and operating system variables to think about when you are trying to figure out how to cost-effectively deal with handheld device support to clients, including data security and ability to connect to desktops in the office.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting Kit
Independent IT Consulting Professionals or a Small Firm?
As a small business owner with IT needs, think about whether you would rather work with an independent, solo practitioner or a small IT consulting firm with several consultants on staff. Make sure you look at the pros and cons of each option before deciding which is right for you.
You Have to Start Small
When looking for the right IT consulting firm, you have to start consultants on small, limited proving ground projects before signing on for a major tech project or a long-term support agreement. You need to make sure you can work well with the company and that it can fulfill your sophisticated, unique business needs before you start a long-term relationship.
You will have a difficult time increasing your profit margins by selling desktop or notebook PCs. Similarly, you can’t expect to make a profit selling handheld devices such as PDAs to small business clients. They typically are marketed as consumer electronic devices than real computers.
Handheld Devices Are Very Popular
Today’s handheld devices – those based typically on Palm and Microsoft Windows CE OS’s have a lot of power. PDAs have become really popular with business organizations, but they carry with them some IT support issues that will need your attention as a small business computer consultant.
Handheld Devices Provide Options
Many times your consulting firm or your clients’ internal guru will get a handheld device support question. Even if the handheld device was independently purchased, people will expect you to help them with questions.
Will the Client Pay for Support of Handheld Devices?
You need to make sure you talk to your main client contact to find out their view on handheld device support. Will they fund it for their employees?
The Main Idea
There are a lot of different product and operating system variables to think about when you are trying to figure out how to cost-effectively deal with handheld device support to clients, including data security and ability to connect to desktops in the office.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting Kit
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Computer Consulting and Micro Small Businesses
Those new to the computer consulting business often ask what they should do about smaller clients that have two to five PCs. Is there a problem with keeping micro small business clients, even when they are willing to pay an hourly rate and agree to be scheduled in when a computer consulting firm can make time? Many new to the industry don’t want to miss out on an opportunity for income before they get larger clients.
Ask Yourself, “Are Micro Small Business Clients Taking Too Much Time?”
The answer to this computer consulting question is based on time management. If you can fit these clients into your schedule, then you should. But you need to make sure you are leaving time for marketing activities – direct mail campaigns, follow-up phone calls, expos, seminars and other networking events.
You shouldn’t take all your free time during the week to provide service to micro small business clients, because they will most likely not grow in the next year or two.
Always Make Time for Marketing
Computer consulting professionals often complain that they spend so much time tending to running a store that they have no time left for marketing books and learning new business skills. To add to that, they then can’t find the time to get out and practice the skills learned.
The truth is, you simply need to devote time to marketing your computer consulting business and serving sweet spot small business clients.
Added By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit
Ask Yourself, “Are Micro Small Business Clients Taking Too Much Time?”
The answer to this computer consulting question is based on time management. If you can fit these clients into your schedule, then you should. But you need to make sure you are leaving time for marketing activities – direct mail campaigns, follow-up phone calls, expos, seminars and other networking events.
You shouldn’t take all your free time during the week to provide service to micro small business clients, because they will most likely not grow in the next year or two.
Always Make Time for Marketing
Computer consulting professionals often complain that they spend so much time tending to running a store that they have no time left for marketing books and learning new business skills. To add to that, they then can’t find the time to get out and practice the skills learned.
The truth is, you simply need to devote time to marketing your computer consulting business and serving sweet spot small business clients.
Added By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit
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