The most common question I receive from technicians and entrepreneurs is:

“How do I successfully run a computer consulting company out of my home?”

It’s actually really easy to do.

First Step – Your Image
First and foremost, you really have to commit yourself to projecting a professional image.  It is really easy to do that. You need to make sure clients see you in a professional way through your marketing, your 1-800 number, your business cards, your website, and other elements like magnetic signs on your car.

When I first started out, and didn’t have any clients, I got polo shirts made that had my logo right on the chest.  So, I had a brand, I had a color scheme, I had a logo, I had a website, and I was running it out of my home.  So, I did all of the work in house, but nobody ever knew that I was running it out of my house. All they saw was a 1-800 number, they saw professional ads, they saw me in a uniform, they saw my logo on my uniform, they saw my business cards, and they saw signs on my car. Each of these things were like little check boxes being checked off in their minds that helped them come to a conclusion that I was a professional company.  So, that’s the first thing. You want to project that professional image, and it’s not expensive or hard to do.

Second Step – Your Business Model
The second thing you need to think about is what your business model is going to be.  You could run this business out of your home for the rest of your life.  You could run a million-dollar consulting firm out of your home if you wanted to.  I have seen it done.  I’m here in Pittsburgh, and I have a client locally who has been doing this for many years. He runs the whole thing out of his home and people love it. His clients even come to his home to drop their computers off and he makes a lot of money.

Sample Business Model #1
The first business model that’s easy to run when starting out is providing all in-home appointments.  In this scenario, anytime someone schedules an appointment, you will go to his or her home or business and work on the machines there.  Now, if you run into a problem on site and you need to spend more time on the computer, then you would tell your client that you have to take the computer back to your shop for an ‘advanced diagnostic’.  With this model you never have them drop their computer off or pick it up at your house.

Sample Business Model #2
Now, the second business model is the pick-up and drop-off model. I am a big fan of this model.  In this scenario, anytime someone schedule’s an appointment with you, you pick up their computer, fix it at your house, then drop it off the next day.  The key is to not make a million trips. You want to create a weekly schedule on certain days such as Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Pick up all the computers at one time of the day, and drop them off at another time of the day.  You want to build your schedule and organize it so that you are combining trips. The pick-up/ drop-off model is very effective because clients don’t have to wait for you to fix their computer in their house and they don’t have to ‘lug’ their computer across town to get it fixed.  Also, you can take your time repairing the computer, and most importantly, you can fix multiple computers at one time.

If you run a service like the Windows Renew Service, you’ll make between 75 and 100 dollars per hour.  With the pick-up / drop-off model you can service 3 to 4 computers at one time in your home. As a result, you’ll end up averaging upwards to $200 an hour.

Conclusion
If you’re running on a tight budget, than I recommend you strongly consider one of the above two business model’s as the structure for your business.  Once you get started with one of these models, you can either continue to run it out of your home or you can transition into a storefront.  I don’t recommend starting out with a storefront if you are strapped for cash because there are a lot of unnecessary expenses involved.  It’s going to take a while to get your business going. It will take a few months to build your base clientele.  So, their really is no point in having a storefront and paying 3 to 4 months worth of expenses when you are not going to have the clients established yet.  As a smart business owner, you want to do everything you can to give yourself the best opportunity to be successful in your business.

A Proven System To Running A Computer Consulting Business Out Of Your Home
If you are looking for a complete, ‘done for you’, system to starting up, running and growing a profitable computer consulting company without having to spend a fortune to get started, I recommend you consider the Computer Consulting Business-In-A-Box.

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The most effective strategy to growing your computer consulting company is to develop your unique selling proposition (USP). A USP is an “age-old” concept, but it works.

A USP answers the question, “Why should I choose you over your competition?”

The Dangers Of Not Having A Solid USP
The reason a USP is so important is because if you can’t tell somebody or convince somebody in a short statement why you are better than your competition then they can’t differentiate the two of you, and you become “more of the same”.

When you are the same as your competitor your service becomes a commodity – which is the last thing you want to happen.

Getting Shopped On Price
When your service becomes a commodity you start getting shopped on price. If your marketing, service, and unique selling proposition are all the same, the only thing that makes you different IS your price.  Prospects have to make some kind of decision on whom to go with and if price is the only differentiating factor, that will be the one used to hire you or not. This is a worst case scenario. The last thing you want is for someone NOT to focus on the value you can provide them and instead force you to compete on price and lose profits.

How To Stop Getting Shopped On Price
The quickest way to get someone to not focus on your price is to get them to focus all of their attention on your service, on what makes you unique, and on how you can solve their problems.  Doing all of these things will make people willing to spend more money with you than with your competition because they feel confident that you can give them what they need.

Developing Your USP
An important aspect of a USP is it needs to be easy to understand.  It has to be so obvious that your grandma could read it and know exactly what you do and why that is useful to her.

6 Example USP Categories
Now, I am going to give you a few different topics that you could base your USP around.

1. How you deliver your product.
   Maybe you deliver your service different than your competition. I know of a few companies that only provide remote support. They do 10 to 15 work orders a day specializing in this niche.
2. A different kind of business model.
   You could focus your USP around providing a unique offering like a free computer crisis hotline or a pick-up and drop-off model.
3. Financing you provide
   While other competitor’s in your area are charging full price up front, you may find success offering high-end solutions and putting together financing options to make it easier for clients to spend money with you.
4. A niche market you focus on
   Many tech companies specialize in nice markets like the health industry. If you do work for a law firm or accounting company, you may find that targeting similar companies can provide a profitable marketing solution.
5. Response time
   Think Dominos. They guarantee their pizza within 30 minutes or it’s free.  You too could build your USP around your response time. Determine what response time you can realistically commit to and consider using that to stand out from the crowd.
6. Money back guarantee
   I am a huge, huge, huge fan of money back guarantees, especially in the tech business, and any other business where trust is a big issue.  For example, with my computer consulting business-in-a-box I have a one-year money back guarantee.  I have this because trust is very important; you have to build that with your clients.  When you provide IT services and you offer a money back guarantee, you will find that sales will go up because less people feel there is a risk with hiring you for the first time.

USP In Action
I was just at GNC the other day, buying different supplements, and I wasn’t aware of their return policy. There was a product I wanted to try, but it was expensive and I was afraid of spending the money. Then the clerk told me about their guarantee which states that I can use as much of the product as I want and if I don’t like it, no matter how much is left, I can bring it back for a full refund.

I was blown away, and I bought the product I was considering because there was no risk involved.  Because of their return policy, I knew that GNC was confident in their product and so I ultimately became confident in the product too. Ultimately, that was enough to convince me to buy.

Famous USP’s To Study

1. FedEx – “Overnight delivery guaranteed.”
2. AAA – “24 hour roadside assistance.”
3. Ford – “Built Ford Tough.”
4. Walmart – “Always Low Prices.”

Conclusion
Every major, successful, multi-million dollar business in the world has a unique selling proposition.  That is specifically why they are making a lot of money and outselling their competition. They have a strong brand, and that brand makes them unique.  So, I urge you to start thinking about what your unique selling proposition is, and how it ties into your marketing message.

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I am going to give you a fast track system to developing your marketing message as well as a few really good pointers to help you get started.

3 Key Elements Every Marketing Message Must Have:

1. Element #1 – You need a specific target market
   
   It’s important to identify specifically who your ideal client is. Determine the demographics and psychographics of your client-base so you know who you will be targeting your marketing message to.
   
   
2. Element #2 – Identify your target market’s problems and emotions
   
   You can uncover this information by talking to potential clients on the phone and subscribing to the same publications. In doing this, you are going to discover what problems your target market is dealing with, what emotions they experience (e.g. – are they frustrated with slow computers), whether or not they know how to make smart technology decisions, and what problems they have with their business that technology can help them solve.

3. Element #3 – Explain the benefits of your service

   A big mistake that I see IT business owners make all the time in their marketing is they list out what their service IS but they don’t list out what their service DOES.

   The reality is, people don’t care what your service IS – they hire you for what it DOES. They hire you because they have a problem and they want it fixed, but they don’t care what you do to fix it.

   The easiest way to determine what the benefits are of your service is to first list out all of the FEATURES that your service provides and then list the BENEFITS of each feature.  For example, if you are marketing a virus removal service, example features might be the amount of time it takes you to do the work, a special technique you use to perform the work, steps you take to remove the virus, and your response time to emergency calls. For each one of these features, you would then list out the benefits they provide your client.  Example benefits might be an end to your client’s frustration or the productivity that your client gains due to their computer running faster and more efficient.

   Once you discover the benefits of your service, list them in bullet point form in your marketing. Use the benefits of your service as the centerpiece for your marketing, because they will generate the largest emotional response from potential clients.

KEY TIP  - Whenever possible…market to PROBLEMS! Marketing to problems is powerful, especially in the IT industry, because problems are “hot – buttons” that motivate buying behavior.  This is due to the fact that we all endure problems and we are “wired” to want to solve them.  When you talk to someone about problems in your marketing, 2 things happen:

First, you grab their attention by talking about something they truly care about. Second, just the fact that you can identify the problem they are experiencing makes you more credible because they will assume that if you know what their problems are then most likely you know how to FIX their problems.  This will make them much more inclined to hire you.

For a complete “paint by numbers” system to starting up, growing, and running a profitable computer consulting business, consider investing in my Computer Consulting Business In-A-Box.

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The IT certifications you may or may not need will dramatically depend on what market you are targeting and what services you are offering.

Home-User Market
Certifications are most important for establishing credibility, so if you are working with home-user clients, at the very least, you are going to want to be A+ certified.

Small Business Market
If you are working with small businesses, it gets a little tricky because you have many different certification options to choose from. Many software and hardware vendors offer certifications with their products. When choosing which vendors to support and specialize in, you should also strongly consider going through their certification program.

The first place to start is to begin researching the available hardware and software solutions that are out there.  Pick one or two hardware and software vendors and stick with them.  Be sure to get certified by the manufacturer because then in your marketing you can explain to clients:

“Hey. I specialize in this software. I am CERTIFIED by the manufacturer and my competition is not. This should be important to you because in order to get certified, there is a high level of qualifications you have to meet.

There are certain standards that I have to abide by that your existing IT firm isn’t responsible for. Nobody is holding them accountable.  You don’t want to trust anybody with your server who could potentially cause problems if they are not certified with that server’s manufacturer.

If your server goes down then your profits are going to go down, your productivity is going to go down, and your competitive edge is going to vanish.”

Top 9 IT Certifications To Consider

1. CompTia A+
   This certification is hands down at the top of the list for individuals looking to break into the computer biz. CompTia A+ will certify you as a computer technician in hardware, OS, and networking. It is recommended that you get a minimum of 6 months experience. There are 2 exams involved.
2. Microsoft Certified Professional
   This is the first step to getting certified with Microsoft. After the first exam you will be MCP certified and will then be qualified to take Microsoft’s more advanced certifications like MCSD, MCSE, etc.
3. Microsoft Certified Desktop Service Technician (MCDST)
   This certification requires two exams. If you like troubleshooting, than this certification will be ideal for you. It will certify you on desktop computers.
4. CompTia Security+
   Security is vital now with the sophistication of technology and the internet. It is recommended that you have 2 years of experience before taking this exam. The Security+ certification works as a prerequisite for the MCSA and CNE.
5. Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW) Associates
   This internet technologies exam covers html, dhtml, networking, graphics, and internet history. After you take the associates exam you can advance to the Professional and Master CIW levels.
6. Sun Certified Java Programmer (SCJP)
   This is step 1 in Java certifications on the Java 2 Platform.
7. MySQL
   This certification requires just one exam. You will need a basic understanding of SQL and MySQL. If you have more advanced skills, you can take a professional level exam for a higher certification.
8. CCNA and CCDA
   These two certifications require dedicated training (especially if you are new to IT). Cisco certifications are popular and well respected. After you pass these certifications and then receive experience to back them up, you will be able to advance to higher level Cisco certifications.
9. Microsoft Office Specialist
   Microsoft provides certification on their Office products, such as Word and Excel. You will be required to take several exams and have a comprehensive knowledge of the products.

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When starting your business, the last thing you want to do is arbitrarily pick your services and your target market without doing any research up front. Just picture yourself a year down the road, not having researched your target market, only to find out that after spending thousands of dollars in marketing and months of hard work that there are just not enough potential clients in your area to sustain your business. Or, maybe you find out that there ARE enough potential clients in your area but that they simply don’t have the money or NEED for your services that you thought they had.

I see this happen all the time with startup companies. Lack of research up front is the #1 contributor to small IT firms failing within their first year.

It’s absolutely critical to the life of your business that you do the necessary research up front to determine the most ideal market for your services. You want to do this BEFORE you spend money on marketing or dedicate any time to establishing your business. 

The definition of what IT market is “right” for you is going to differ depending on what area of the country you’re in, and what services you offer.

The first step to targeting the right IT market is to pick a market that you think you might want to focus on, and perform the following research to determine if it is ideal for your business.

Once you pick a market to research, you are going to want to look up the demographics and psychographics of that market. 

Demographics are the physical or tangible aspects of a potential client. Examples of demographics are average income, typical education, how many kids someone has, what neighborhoods they live in, etc. 

Psychographics are the intangible or emotional aspects that your potential clients share or have in common. Examples of psychographics include common interests, places your clients like to frequent, websites they visit often, similar problems they experience at work, etc.  

4 Critical Questions To Ask When Researching An IT Market

1. “Is my particular market easy to identify?”For instance, lets say you decide that you want to focus on accountants. Maybe you worked on an accountant’s network and you feel like you could specialize in doing IT work for other accountants. In the example of an accountant, it would be easy to identify who the accountants are in your area. 
2. “Are they easy to locate?” In other words, is it easy to locate your target market in your community. Can you easily lookup where they work? Are there organizations they might belong to?  Do you have access to their contact information for marketing purposes?

   If you’re targeting a group like lawyers or home users, it would not take much effort to find lists of contact information.

3. “Are there enough people in my community to sustain my business?”Before you start your business, you’re going to want to sit down and write out goals – financial goals – for yourself that you want to achieve. Lets say your goal is that you want to make $60,000 in a year with your new business. You then need to break this figure down to determine how many sales you need to make and then how many clients you need to hit your sales goal.

   Most importantly, you’re going to want to know what the lifetime value is of a client over the course of a year. The lifetime value of your client is equal to the average amount of money you make from that client. For example, lets say you’re doing a virus removal service and you charge $150, and lets say that the average home-user hires you twice a year – your lifetime value of that client would be $300. So if each client that you get is typically worth $300 to you and your financial goal for the year is $60,000, then you would need 200 new clients.

   If you need 200 clients and you are targeting accountants, you better make sure there are at LEAST 200 accountants in your area to turn INTO clients. If there are less than 200 accountants in your area then you need to either increase the lifetime value of your clients or pick a different market to target.

4. “Do they have enough capital to buy my services?”It’s really important to know if your target market has enough money to hire you, or if they even DESIRE the services you offer.  The only way that you can find out if they’d be willing to hire you or how much they can afford to spend on IT projects, is to conduct one-on-one questionnaires with actual people in your community who fit the market you are considering targeting.  

Conducting Telephone Research

 Pick 10 to 15 potential clients, get them on the phone, and ask them questions to get the answers you need.  Ask them what websites they frequent and what church they go to. Ask them what their income is – if they don’t feel comfortable telling you their income – ask them what income BRACKET they are in. Find out what neighborhood they live in, how many kids they have, how often they outsource IT work, etc. Make sure to find out who they are currently hiring to do their work. You want to find out who your competition is.  

Quick Tip  - An extremely powerful technique to conducting telephone research with potential clients is to RECORD THE CALLS. Make sure to ask permission.  That way you will not drive yourself crazy trying to take down a lot of notes. This will allow you to really just listen, and then at the end of the call you can review the recording, write down their responses word for word, and then turn around and “spit it back out” in your marketing.  What better way to communicate to someone than to use THEIR OWN WORDS to do it! 

2 Great List Building Websites

1. ZapData.com
2. SRDS.com

Both of these sites are list sites; you can buy lists of target markets in your area.  You can go on and search for any type of client in your area, and you can purchase lists of potential clients that you want to start marketing to.  These are also great places to get a free count of how many potential clients are in your area, and this will really help you to decide whether that is the right target. 

Also, another really good recommendation that I have is for you to find out what local and national organizations your target market is most likely a member of.  You can contact these organizations, and ask them for a list count of how many people in your area belong to that organization.  

Furthermore, if you join these organizations, you can get your foot in the door for marketing to these people.  For instance, if you are specializing in accountants, and you are also a member of the same organization as them then you have common ground – you have something you can talk about on a cold-call. 

Additionally, I always recommend that you subscribe to their publications.  Find trade journals that are specific to that industry.  Not only do you need to be good with the technical side of things, but also you need to understand their industry, and you need to understand their concerns.  The more of this information that you can arm yourself with the more you will be the clear choice over your competition. Because you are specializing in their market, you will prove to them that you know what you are talking about, and that you can help them specifically. 

Why My Computer Consulting Business In-A-Box Guarantees You A Flood Of IT Sales
I’ve literally logged hundreds of hours researching small businesses and consumers in various markets across the US, UK and Australia. I’ve uncovered what hot buttons get small business owners and home users to buy technology services and pay premium prices. All of my research and knowledge is packed into my Computer Consulting Business In-A-Box, along with 1 year’s worth of “done for you” marketing campaigns that have already been proven to generate millions of dollars in new IT sales for my past clients.

Shortcut your path to success and guarantee future income by investing in my Computer Consulting Business In-A-Box.

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