Personal computing discussed
Moderators: askfranklin, renee, emkubed, Captain Ned
jaHer wrote:Aha. I laugh, too. Out of cynicism. $9.00/hour is on the edge of a demanding wage for me right now. I can't seem to find any employers around my area (for anything, mind) even willing to pay me that. What's typical of my area is $7.36-$8.00/hour, with some physical labour jobs at $10.00-$11.00/hour.
Firestarter wrote:My point still stands though, if you're trying to earn money and only charge say $10 an hour, you would have to bust your ass for 10 hours to bring home $50 a day. Any job on a wage will net you that with just showing up and not getting kicked out. And that's before you even consider expenses (driving to your clients?) and taxes.
just brew it! wrote:You might actually be better off offering to service/upgrade existing systems, rather than build new ones.
nerdrage wrote:just brew it! wrote:You might actually be better off offering to service/upgrade existing systems, rather than build new ones.
Absolutely.
nerdrage wrote:For comparison, when I worked as an on-site tech doing service/repairs/builds for a small mom and pop shop back in the late 90s, we charged $75/hr for individuals and $85/hr for businesses. When I did jobs on the side, I charged $50/hr and my customers thought they were getting a bargain.
TheEmrys wrote:1. Charge a flat-rate - $20 or $25 per machine with infections - offer it free of charge if you can't do it because its too involved or stuff might be lost. As you get some cash, get an external enclosure so you can deep dive the stuff.
DrkSide wrote:TheEmrys wrote:1. Charge a flat-rate - $20 or $25 per machine with infections - offer it free of charge if you can't do it because its too involved or stuff might be lost. As you get some cash, get an external enclosure so you can deep dive the stuff.
While the other points are good I don't see charging $20-$25 a machine making any money. I would think (depending on the area) to charge at least $40 if not $50. Just remember it is never easy to increase rates after you have started. This is especially true with word of mouth marketing. If so-and-so tells their friend that they got it fixed for $20 and then you tell them it will be $30 they will wonder why it is not cheaper and will throw them off.
Scrotos wrote:is Fort Collins that poor?
Scrotos wrote:AMD has a campus in Fort Collins, don't they? And NASA is moving into the campus in Loveland that HP ditched, aren't they? I always thought there were some high-techy places in that area but I only go there to visit (in-laws, ugh), I don't live there so I don't really know.
I know that isn't helping the guy trying to get his foot in the door, but my impression of the area was different than what I'm hearing now so it's kinda interesting to get a different perspective than the slow-driving old rich people in Loveland that I know and loathe.
The moral of the story is that your services hold a lot more value than you know