Getting My New Computer Repair Business Established

Getting an office ready, finishing a website and Facebook page, and researching education opportunities...

     I honestly have not made a lot of progress on my office yet.  I am still trying to get a second vehicle ready so my wife and I don't have to juggle our one car around all day.  She works second shift, so the scheduling gets a little complicated.  The way I see it, I would rather have reliable transportation so that I can make more house calls than have an office when it is possible for me to work from home. However, I do still feel that having an office is important as it is difficult for me to establish the level of professionalism that I desire when working out of my house.

     I have learned a lot about creating websites from reading articles and such, and would like to share some of that here.

1. Keep it simple, especially at the beginning.  To many fluff items like apps, widgets, buttons, forms, and links...it just starts to clutter everything up until you have a better grasp of how you want the page to flow.  This is true for me, as I tend to let projects evolve and adapt as I go rather than sticking to a strict plan or picture in my head.  Thus, if I try to use everything that I see, I tend to make a big mess.

2. Don't try overdo the text, either.  Keep it concise, simple, and to the point. Like writing ads and flyers, assume that your readers are in a hurry, and write as though you need to give them enough info to know what you're about but not so much that they do not finish reading it.

3.  I used webs.com to create my website.  They offer a free site (however, you will have to use a hosted domain name like tech-ease.webs.com).  They do offer premium packages that get you a custom domain name and various other features depending on the package purchased.

4.  Make sure the theme and layout of your website matches your business.  If you are a cutting-edge tech company, make your website bold and daring as if to declare your confidence and willingness to take risks.  If you are a financial consulting business, you may want to town it down to appear more conservative and stable.

I have to say that many of the same ideas hold true for your Facebook page.  Keep each field concise and to the point, and keep posts friendly and conversational.

As far as education goes, I am at a bit of an impasse.  I am currently attending WITC in Rice Lake as a Computer Administration Specialist, but I am not sure if that is the route I want to go.  I was thinking that, in light of the new business, it might be a better idea to go for certifications one at a time rather than trying to juggle three to five or even more classes while establishing a business.  I was thinking that pursuing a COMPTIA A+ certificate might be a better idea.  Does anyone have any input here?

As a final note, what computer/electronic repair walkthroughs would you be interested in?  I would like to start posting these, but I am honestly not sure where to start.  If you could offer some suggestions I would really appreciate it!