Re: Getting the band back together

Post #136,053 by deSitter 1/16/04 9:15:46 AM Reply	Re: Getting the band back together My idea of a van fleet for home repairs would still work. I'm in if this thing is at all viable. I'll do the onsites for not a lot of money. -drl
Post #136,086 by orion 1/16/04 11:07:01 AM Reply	I'll consider you if I do get the company operational and you still do not have a job I will most likely need a Linux expert, I expect to install and support Linux servers with SAMBA to avoid the cost of NT/2000/2003 Servers. I hope we can put aside our differences and work together. I will teach you management skills that I know, and empower you to make decsions that effect your workplace and job. So you get to decide what tools to use, standards to support, software to reconmend, and whatever language you wish to develop in. I promise you that buy using Organizational Management that it will not be a PHB situation because I will empower you to make some decisions on your own instead of supervising you and making the decisions for you. The reasoning is that you are the expert with more experinece than me in the subject, thus your decsions may be better than mine. This leaves me more time to focus on executive decsions. Can you work that way? This stuff I am learning is going to change the way that people work. *"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"*
Post #136,087 by deSitter 1/16/04 11:09:06 AM Reply	Re: I'll consider you Are you asking, do I want you as my PHB? No. Do you want me to make you money? -drl
Post #136,092 by orion 1/16/04 11:14:22 AM Reply	We can work it out I do not want or desire to be a PHB, I am learning how not to be one. All this is wishful thinking so far, I am going to try to get a client list from a company that a friend of mine used to run, he did Linux support. We can contact the clients who run Linux and see if they need any help or support. I like the $200 flat fee, $133 to the consultant and $66 for the company. I might use that with other consultants or employees. I believe in sharing the wealth, another concept I learned in Organizational Management. *"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"*
Post #136,094 by deSitter 1/16/04 11:17:32 AM Reply	Re: We can work it out This is a standard rate (2/3s) for contractors who work for good proxies. A key thing to emphasize is remote control administration - a customer could request a remote check-up, allow the remote dude to do things like install OS updates, install software etc. I think this would work extremely well. -drl
Post #136,095 by orion 1/16/04 11:24:02 AM Reply	We need to tweak it a bit There will be a $200 Flat Fee, $133 to consultant and $66 to company. This is good for up to 6 hours of work. After that it is billed at $35/hr with $23/hr going to consultant and $12/hr going to the business. I think I kept the ratios the same, let me know if I goofed. If this is too little, we can charge a bit more. This will cover it in case it turns out to be an all day job. Otherwise we lose money. If less than 6 hours, the $200 fee is still applied. It is the minimum charge. So you can do 1 or 2 hours of work, and still make $133, and if it goes into overtime, you can earn more too. Deadly if it takes days, but the up to 6 hours and $35/hr afterwords will make up for that. *"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"*
Post #136,100 by deSitter 1/16/04 11:46:03 AM Reply	Re: We need to tweak it a bit NOT hourly - the customers will balk and run at hourly. It has to be "per-visit". They can contract for N visits. There would be rules for abiding by contract - as in voiding warranty for self-improvement of system. The customer would essentially turn over maintenance to the company and trust them. You have to structure the support so that 1) the customers don't get in the way 2) the customers realize they are getting what they pay for and are not being ripped. Now, there would be analogous situations to a broken toilet that could be charged hourly - but this would not be part of support, it would be a separate, "emergency repair" thing. -drl
Post #136,102 by boxley 1/16/04 11:51:04 AM Reply	Has either of you priced the competition in the area? Would be worthwhile so that you dont end up sitting around waiting for the phone to ring because you have the highest prices in St. Louis. Market research is the term, and dont be the cheapest, this will make people suspicious. thanx, bill same old crap, con artists ripping off fools. Ah, hell, Catholic Church it start off that way. They All do. Jesus probably had three walnut shells one pea, then he's dead and can't be questioned, Gabriel Dupre questions, help? [link\|mailto:pappas@catholic.org\|email pappas at catholic.org]
Post #136,104 by deSitter 1/16/04 11:53:52 AM Reply	There is no competition No one goes door to door with a reasonable and worthwhile service. The big shop service is junk. -drl
Post #136,111 by boxley 1/16/04 12:00:18 PM Reply	yeah, right basic research all done my ass [link\|http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=home+%22Computer+repair%22+St.+Louis&btnG=Google+Search\|http://www.google.co...tnG=Google+Search] thanx, bill same old crap, con artists ripping off fools. Ah, hell, Catholic Church it start off that way. They All do. Jesus probably had three walnut shells one pea, then he's dead and can't be questioned, Gabriel Dupre questions, help? [link\|mailto:pappas@catholic.org\|email pappas at catholic.org]
Post #136,119 by deSitter 1/16/04 12:13:16 PM 1/16/04 12:17:50 PM Reply	That's not competition Those places are the usual vague collection of access/hosting/service. A real company would have TV and billboard advertising, and there is none. Those that have attempted it, like Brick.net, had the usual vague collection of access/hosting/service for business/home. This would be strictly targeted at homes, with a mindset that mirrors the home user. This is close: [link\|http://www.ncw-stl.net/258732.html\|http://www.ncw-stl.net/258732.html] but notjce that it is so vague that the service must be just as vague. -drl Edited by deSitter Jan. 16, 2004, 12:17:50 PM EST Expand All History
Post #136,135 by boxley 1/16/04 1:02:33 PM Reply	so you called them and asked what they charged for what service? Let us know what that amount is. thanx, bill same old crap, con artists ripping off fools. Ah, hell, Catholic Church it start off that way. They All do. Jesus probably had three walnut shells one pea, then he's dead and can't be questioned, Gabriel Dupre questions, help? [link\|mailto:pappas@catholic.org\|email pappas at catholic.org]
Post #136,152 by orion 1/16/04 1:25:21 PM Reply	I have the prices range from $60/hr to $99/hr for most estimations for a small business. Or at least based on the information I gave them. Still $200 for 6 hours of work, is cheaper than $60/hr for 6 hours of work. It all averages out. *"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"*
Post #136,151 by orion 1/16/04 1:23:09 PM Reply	I priced competition all sorts of services ranging from $12/hr for some High School kid to repair your computer, to $75/hr shops that have better trained experts. Many companies have a call for an estimate and the rates differ based on organizational income, or if it is a home user. My rates were $35/hr which I found out were too low, but not the lowest. I like the idea of a flat fee, no nonsense and you know up front how much it will cost to repair and write the invoice in advance. Then have them sign a standard contract, collect the $200 and we can work on their system. Our marketing ploy is that we hire experts with years of experience, and those experts do not work cheap. That they will get a better quality from our experts than most repair shops. Total Qaulity Management, another concept I learned in college. We won't be flipping burgers, we will be broiling steaks. *"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"*
Post #136,174 by deSitter 1/16/04 2:29:54 PM Reply	Re: I priced competition Most problems will be instantly fixable via downloads of service packs etc. The average call might last, say, 2 hrs. Schedule 4 a day per truck would be ideal. Evening hours allow overtime. Would have to carefully demarcate a standard fixup or software install vs. an emergency repair of a totally horked system. -drl

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