I'm thinking of starting a tech help buisness.... need some advice/legal info!

[Vesayen]

I am working a summer job in an electronic store that I absolutely HATE... job pays well($10.00 an hour) but I can not STAND the work. Every day I give serious thought to quiting. They gave me about twice as many hours as I wanted and will not reduce them. The company I work for could not POSSIBLY be sleazier. Our store is also devoid of customers because our prices SUCK horribly.

I spend about half my time giving people free tech support for their computer troubles because I am bored and I am praying it might get us some return business.

It occurred to me.... I could do this.... ON MY OWN. We do hardware installation and virus/spyware removal in the store and I can not believe people pay good money to do the stuff we do for them. I do not have this job though, I have a crappy sales job in the same store.

We charge WAY too much for our services and I could do any of them, hardware installation, virus/bug removal, in home wireless networking..... I could do it all.

After giving someone an hour of free tech support today, then after they asked, telling how much we charge for network installation(which is about $300-NOT include parts!), they wanted to hire ME to do it. It was obvious to them I was up to the task.... I am not particularly afraid they are going to lock my corpse in their basement, it was a family, a husband and wife and their two kids(around 10 maybe). We did not talk about money yet though we exchanged phone numbers, I figured I could charge them $50 for the base, plus $10 for every hour after the first... should not take more then an hour. They already have the hardware(I sold it to them).


Ethically I have no qualms.... my employer is a fraudulent *expletive* who wants us to defraud the public.

I read the employee contract carefully when I was hired and there is nothing against this, as long as I do not solicit it-THEY asked me. I am not violating any laws. HOWEVER I would not do it while employed.... too dangerous.

#### corporate America(especially my dishonest employer!) I would probably make a little less money over the course of the summer but this is a job I would ENJOY, as opposed to one I hate. I am confident enough that I could guarantee my work, no payment unless it works perfectly.

So why not quit my job and try to do this for the rest of the summer? My one concern is who I meet.... I am 20 and I met these people, these are not the "lock me in their basement" type.

My slight fear is that someone who might hire me, may be the "kill me and store my corpse in their basement" type, like most people, I do not frequently enter strangers houses. I was thinking of putting an ad in a local small newspaper......

Any ideas how to SAFELY advertise, or how to screen my prospective customers?


ALSO, what do I have to worry about, legally? I want to, if reasonably possible, do everything legally. Do I need to file for business ownership if I do this?

ALSO I won't do any hardware installations besides networking unless I can get some sort of liability waver.... how much do you think a lawyer might charge for a standard boiler plate?

I am in New York(not the city) if anyone can think of anything else.

What do you all think? Any ideas?

I know I can do this, I know I can make about as much money as I make now, possibly much more and most importantly I would not be doing a job I HATE for a dishonest employer.

[Zkribbler]

It's extremely hairy to immediately go into competition with your previous employer. As an employee, you have a duty of loyalty to your employer, which means while you're employed, you can do nothing to "steal" the customers away -- expecially making -- or worse, copying -- customer lists or price lists.

Even if you go into business "clean" and have only customers you legitimately advertise for or in other ways find, you previous employer might sue you, falsely claiming you solicited them while you worked for him.

[Vesayen]

I have never solicated to anyone though....... I've only worked there for a few weeks.

I would do in home tech support, the store does in store tech support.... not in home. They DO do in home networking.... technically, no one ever pays for it because as I said, our prices are insane.

Do you really think they'd go after some 20 year old employee who worked there for a few weeks then quit?

[alva]

Am I the only finding the thread title somewhat ironic?



I'm thinking of starting a tech help bussiness for bussiness's starting up a tech help bussiness.

[Zkribbler]

It's a good argument if you do only home stuff and the store doesn't.

It's conceivable they might go after a 20-year-old ex employee (in violation of the unwritten rule to never-ever sue poor people because they have no money) if they see you as a threat to their business.

BTW: did you ever think of changing jobs to work for a firm that is honest?

[Vesayen]

I won't work on Saturday due to religious reasons, which makes it damn hard to get a retail(i.e. seasonal) job.

[Maquiladora]

If youre going on housecalls its a good idea to let someone know where youre going and perhaps get them to call you at a certain time, 1) makes you look busy (tell the customers you wont charge them for the time of the call), 2) checks youre not getting bdsm ass-raped.

I went on a few housecalls and delivering/setting up built PC's, my boss wanted me to get a mobile but i didnt want to get called for work on weekends, i ended up leaving anyway because they were thieves and he was a dick too.

[Urban Ranger]

Re: I'm thinking of starting a tech help buisness.... need some advice/legal info!

Originally posted by Vesayen
Any ideas how to SAFELY advertise, or how to screen my prospective customers?

Select an area that you think is safe, and send out flyers. You can even go stuff the mailboxes yourself.

Word-of-mouth is, of course, the best. Do a good job and more people will seek you out.

If you are afraid that somebody may kill you bring along a friend whenever you go to a new client's place. Buy him lunch or something. It would be even better if he knows this tech stuff and can help you out.

Originally posted by Vesayen
ALSO, what do I have to worry about, legally? I want to, if reasonably possible, do everything legally.

The biggest thing is when you foobared and your client wants to sue your arse off. So you need an indemnification form, which should be quite bog standard.

Originally posted by Vesayen
What do you all think? Any ideas?

You need to look pro. That means you need tools and devices. If you do network installation you need clampers, cable tester, multimeter, a box of cables, plastic strip ties, RJ-45 heads, network cards, etc., etc. If you do virus and spyware removal you need to have a CD with the software tools.

You can use some business cards. A mobile phone is essential.

[ajbera]

I have a job that includes, among other duties, troubleshooting & setting up computers 7 the occasional home or small office network. My boss charges $100/hr for my services. Clients have approached me asking if I would do side jobs, which I occasionally do for $65/hr. (I work in a wealthy area.)

Word of mouth is a good way to get further business. If you are willing to go to people's homes and charge less, you'll do pretty well. You'll do much better than $10/hr.

Don't worry too much about serial killers. If you're ever nervous, fake a phone call to "HQ" saying where you are. Most murderers won't take the risk with workers like that. Aside from that, carry a knife.

You should have access to supplies, and a small stockpile of stuff is useful. Have a credit card for purchases for a given job, don't expect clients to pay in advance.

Don't be afraid to back away from something over your head. Know your limitations.

Too high and tired for more. Good luck.

[Urban Ranger]

I think it helps to charge a fixed lump sum for an entire job instead on an hourly basis. This way a client can gauge easier if he can afford it.

Oh, and sign everything in writing before you begin.

[ajbera]

I still find it best to charge per hour, then modify the total amount downward if you feel you have to. It sucks to charge, say, $300 for a network job that turns into a 2 day nightmare for some reason. But, to each his own.

[Vesayen]

Stuffing mailboxes is a good idea..... I am in a very low crime area, I mean REALLY low. 5 miles in any direction is not as good but I don't think there has ever been a murder in my town in 20 years, i've never heard of any violent crime of any sort besides stupid high schoolers commiting rape.... so if the only way is stuffing mailboxes....... should be good. I don't have any friends that would be any help and I really don't want to pay any to come with me to stand there lol.

Anyone have any advice on how to cover my ass from liability of breaking something-or my customer thinking I broke something was already broken? Where/how do I get an indemnification form?

I don't have to file anything with the goverment for running a small buisness like this do I? It is temporary and the income will keep me in the lowest tax bracket I am sure.

[ajbera]

The only real way to minimize liability is to set up a small business and get insurance. Without that, it's up to skill and luck to keep you safe.

Cash transactions can often go unreported, but you may want to claim some to keep the IRS happy. It can remain unclaimed unless your earnings exceed (I think) $650, which is an easy threshhold to cross. Since I have a small business I set up a few years back, my above-the-table personal business is fully declared (some of it is under-the-table, though, and then there are tips.) Nice things about setting up small biz - low costs ($35 or so to apply for biz license), deductibles (gas, equipment, expenses); bad - pay double FICA at tax time (but it's pretty low), no taxes deducted from earnings, so you have to pay quarterlies, or all at once at tax time.

I don't know the particulars of just doing it yourself, without a business, in terms of taxes and whatnot. But starting small biz ain't bad or hard, and you have up to 5 years to turn a profit (more in than out.)

[Vesayen]

650 in how long?

[KrazyHorse]

there is nothing against this

Yes there is. You used company time to make a business contact for yourself.

You would almost certainly be terminated for this. It's unlikely that the store would take any further action against you, but they might be legally entitled to do so.

BTW, have you ever told anybody on this board your real name or what company you work at?