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/biz/ - Business & Finance

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56209937 No.56209937 [Reply] [Original]

>Be me
>Sell everything in my god forsaken state
>Have $50,000 in my pocket and my car
>Move 15 hours west of my home
>Establish new IT business
>Advertise on FB, cold calls, go to every single business in town and talk with people about their IT needs, etc
>Start managed services, hope to get a few contracts in the first two months, plus doing break fix for residential and smaller businesses
>Goal is to gross $300,000 in the first six months

I'm tired of working a salary and following retarded rules by people who don't know how to run a company, so instead I'll make my own retarded rules and have no idea how to run my own business. I'm going to try and try and try. If I fail I'll try again.

Has anyone here taken off to a strange land and started their own business?

>> No.56209944

>IT business
Ahahaha
Larp

>> No.56210049

you are a bit lite for "managed services" its SaaS and cloud services now. you are competing with AWS

>> No.56210094

>>56209944
I don't program. I do systems.
>>56210049
Small businesses need an "IT Department" and can't afford to pay a guy full time. My previous employer did this model and does good, and I will be using his model. I'll be an MSP doing tech support for a multitude of small businesses.

>> No.56210176

Carpetbagger

>> No.56210227

>>56210094
>I'll be an MSP doing tech support for a multitude of small businesses.
yes, you will be a wagie, like everyone else. noted.

>> No.56210266

>>56210094
I used to work for a firm that did that, they did alright out of it, but like anything, you will have some clients that are absolutely not worth the money and make your life very difficult.

>> No.56210297

>>56210094
Godspeed bro. I applaud anybody with the balls and gumption to follow their dream.

Give 'em hell, guy.

>> No.56210375

>>56210176
Going west, not south. Escaping the shithole that is Illinois.
>>56210227
>you will be a wagie
No, I will have contractual agreements with clients. I will not be paid hourly or salary. Since it is my own business, I will get what I put into it.
>>56210266
I helped my previous employer start his MSP, but I was 90% technical. That said, I learned that when I can afford to choose clients I will avoid CPAs/accountants, churches, and HIPAA.
>>56210297
Thanks. I didn't word it quite right, but I haven't sold everything yet. Waiting on the house to sell then I'm packing up. All I have is a bed, a tv, and a dog right now.

>> No.56210390

>>56210297
Yeah, I wish I could do the same as OP. But alas, no marketable skills.

>> No.56210859

>>56210390
Don't need marketable skills to get a job somewhere new.

>> No.56210943

I recently did the same thing with dropshipping.
Within 6 months I'll either end up rich or homeless.

>> No.56210949
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56210949

Good move, OP. I'm preparing to start my own business in the 10 months; I'll keep working my current job for 1-2 years after that as I bring my business to scale, then I'll quit the wagie job and go all-in on my own business.

>> No.56210995

>>56210943
I considered doing this as well when I move. Extra income would be nice while I get established. I'll probably bartend on the weekends for awhile too.
>>56210949
Good luck. I'd start sooner but where I'm going I don't want to start in the winter. I'll be leaving in the spring, but I'm flying out to my future home once a month to start establishing a presence.

I considered finding a new job out there and trying to have the business grow on the side, but in my industry I think something around 83% of businesses started that way will fail.

>> No.56210997

>>56209937
>Be in muttland
>Try to solve life problems by moving to...
>muttland
You weren't exactly the brightest crayon in the box, were you, OP?

>> No.56211014

>>56210997
I'm moving from a dying state with no economy and shit infrastructure, high taxes, and no topography to a larger state with a bustling economy, higher quality of life, beautiful topography, low taxes, and good infrastructure. You're a retarded europoor aren't you?

>> No.56211172

>>56209937
Okay dude.
Here's the deal JACK.
Let me give it to you straight.

If you are to be successful, you must do what other people want you to do.
Setting up and doing what you want or thought up before even coming to town is a way to go out of business.
If you have tech savvy, I'd spent most of my time asking small businesses what they want and need and then doing that.

The majority of businesses that fail...they fail because the owner wanted to do what he wanted and no one actually gives a shit about what the owner wants.
You must do what customers want.

>> No.56211181

>>56210094
This is correct. Small business needs this and that and help doing things. They can't have a dedicated person and the boss can't do it either.

>> No.56211190

>>56211014
Europeans don't realize that our states are literally larger than their countries in most cases.

>> No.56211211

>>56211172
Kek. I know what small businesses want. I did this for 7 years as a wagie before getting a corpo job that paid more. I'll be a quasi IT department for these businesses, and also act as a consultant, etc. A 10 employee small business isn't a lot of money, but under a managed service contract I'd get paid roughly $1,500/mo. The less I work the more I make.

This is a common and very successful business model, and the town I'm going to doesn't have one like this and plenty of small businesses, Jack. If I fail it will be because I didn't market myself correctly, wasn't aggressive enough in sales, or unable to beat the competition from a neighboring state.

>> No.56211228

>>56211190
It cracks me up sometimes. I have had some euro friends in the past and they get appalled when I say I'll drive 8 hours for a weekend trip somewhere. Though, folks on the coasts think that's crazy too.

>> No.56211273

>>56211211
>If I fail it will be because I didn't market myself correctly, wasn't aggressive enough in sales, or unable to beat the competition from a neighboring state.
And that failure will almost always be that you didn't ask what they want and only told them what you were selling.
I'm your customer. I have a money and I don't have time.
How are you selling me and convincing me I want this?

>> No.56211300

>>56210094
absolutely viable business model. this is how you get rich boys, get a skill and do it for yourself. blessed thread OP, I am going to pray for you tonight.

>> No.56211304

>>56210859
I also need the funds.

>> No.56211335

>>56210375
>CPAs/accountants, churches, and HIPAA.
Why avoid churches and accountants?
Aren't churches piss easy?

>> No.56211338

>>56211228
you are wasting resources,
>> drive 8 hours
lmao

>> No.56211339

>>56211273
Find out your pain points, needs, and figure out how much time is being wasted on tech that you likely don't know much about, or if you already have a form of IT. Find out what you dislike about them, and sell myself on doing what they can't or won't do.

I'm not a salesman(yet) and am reading into it a lot before I fully commit. I misunderstood you originally when you said find out what businesses want, now I know what you meant.

>> No.56211348

>>56211211
I'm about to go to my lunch which is whenever I want as I am the boss.
People call me selling 30 times a week. Rarely do they sell me anything.

There is a reason there is a sales team and then they send a nerd out to do the work.
Nerds can't sell.
I'd suggest you dedicate time to learning how to sell. It will make you more money that anything else at this point in your process.

You are like any other business person who has inventory. You have the product.
You need to sell it.
Study how to sell. Local SEO is priority number one.

>> No.56211395

>>56211304
Fair point, time to acquire. I got lucky and bought a house in 2020. I owe $70k for it. I will be able to sell it for $120k and I've only put $5k into it regarding updates.
>>56211335
In my previous employer, churches always fuck you over when they hire a youth pastor or worship pastor that thinks they know tech. They convince the church leadership that they know better, and because they're in house they can take care of it. It is also cheaper for them to keep it in house when you have a pastor elsewhere.

One client I had was a decent size church, probably had a tithe of $50,000/wk. They had 26 employees, an active directory domain, office 365, etc. The new pastor convinced the leadership that mac and google docs was the way to go, and it would save them a ton of money etc. Probably right, but not feasible for the long term. Other churches, smaller, always end up in similar situations.
>accountants
Accountants, also from my previous experience, seem to think they are #1 priority during tax season, think they know more than you, refuse to listen to reason, and whine over every little expense. Tax and accounting software is often a pain in the ass, so when I start I will have inflated rates for accountants and eventually like to fire them. Some accounting firms are fine, but I'd say 2/3rds of them are shitty people.
>>56211338
>wasting resources
I don't mind driving 8 hours to go fishing for a weekend, sometimes I'll ride my motorcycle instead.

>> No.56211400

>>56211339
You should spend a day right now immediately setting up Google Places, a website, and make sure as hell people can find if they search "computer help boptown, bopstate"

>> No.56211414

>>56211338
>being this european
Be sure and not use resources anon. Please do not redeem.

>> No.56211435

>>56211348
I have some literature on selling, there's also a conference coming up that I am trying to go that specifically teaches selling IT services. SEO is something I've looked into, and the SEO priority is already #1 for me before I even move.

Do you have any literature or courses you recommend for sales?

>> No.56211448

>>56210375
>Going west, not south. Escaping the shithole that is Illinois.
Carpetbagger.

>> No.56211450

>>56211400
>Google Places, a website, and make sure as hell people can find if they search "computer help boptown, bopstate"
This is the plan, I have a few months to plan this all out. I'm still trying to come up with a proper name for the business, but I have a placeholder for now. I don't just want to call it "Cityname Computers" nor do I want to use my last name in the business title.

>> No.56211464

>>56211448
Nah, I wouldn't call myself a carpetbagger. I'm moving regardless, but I want to actually assimilate into the new state and their way of life.

>> No.56211607

>>56211450
If there is a tri state area or something similar that can work it's not bad.
"Catchyname Computers" can work and there is no right way, but "Yourlocaltown Tech Solutions" flies pretty well with immediate SEO advantage.
Godspeed.

You will be successful, but the speed at which you are successful depends on local SEO and selling yourself.
If I were you I would personally show up at these businesses with a card.
I'm very busy, but I will take a card from and remember a real person that comes in and says "Hey I'm Danny, I moved to town to start my own business as a tech solution provider, here's my card, here's what I can do"
You can angle for more time, but this will go a long way over time.
Do it at 100 places and 10 will hire you over the next year.

>> No.56211631

>>56210094
Good luck

>> No.56211688

>>56211607
It has a population of 60,000 people(Big to me, kek. I'm from a town of 250). The reason I don't want to go with a town name is because I think in this area it would limit me in the future should I expand. Not that I can't just have two businesses, but I'll be North and West. I was thinking of something like "Big Sky Technology".
>show up at these businesses with a card
Also in my business plan. The day I get there I will be going to every single business and introduce myself and leave business cards. Presently I moonlight, but here I have the benefit of my name and word of mouth what with it being a small town. Out there I'm just a nobody. I have gotten a lot of business just leaving business cards posted in hardware stores and diners.

>> No.56212121

>>56209937
Good strategy unironically, you need keep at it, people underestimate the ways you can make money because they always think from themselves, of course people on here dont need an it support

>> No.56212343

>>56211688
IT guy here. You will do fine. I was a "1 man MSP" for 20 years. You'll always have local servers and shit to handle, but get good at Azure and use it, sell your services on top of it.

>> No.56212372

>>56212343
I'll add that most MSP's are pure feces and you should be able to steal clients, especially smaller ones (insurance, real estate, property mgmt, small family attorneys, etc).

>> No.56212523

>>56212343
>get good at Azure
Most folks where I live are usually on-prem. The corpo where I work uses sharepoint, and we only use Azure AD for 365. I'm trying to learn it more otherwise. Smaller clients are going to be my go to in the beginning, and there are one or two MSPs in this town. Competition will be fun, I guess.

>> No.56212880

>>56210997
Dumb ass european cuck

>> No.56213480

>>56209937
I've posted about this before. I started a cleaning business with my wife.

We started off doing residential cleaning. Business spread through word of mouth. Just my wife and I doing all the work. We built up to around 30 houses a month and had to turn people down because of the workload. Most people had biweekly cleanings so we were clearing over 12k/month before taxes.

Eventually we bought a van and hired two employees. We both have experience in cleaning and maintenance so it was very easy reaching out to past coworkers and employees and getting reliable and experienced cleaners. In a year we doubled our work.

We got another van this year and hired four more employees, and are branching out into commercial cleaning. Offices, deep cleaning restaurant kitchens, etc.

I worked as an insurance underwriter and my wife was a housekeeping manager at a Marriott. We are making triple what we made now after expenses.

It's hard work and definitely not glamorous, but it's worked out great. I will never work for someone else again.

>> No.56213590

>>56209944
>He doesn't know how dependent laymen are on their mysterious computer boxes
>He doesn't know they'll pay hand-over-fist $100/hr for you to reformat their windows
tell me you're a fuccboi without telling me lol

>> No.56213681

>>56213480
That's good to hear, anon. I hope I have as much success as you do. I imagine the cleaning market is pretty saturated too. What makes you stand out from competitors? Do you do full on stripping/waxing floors, etc?

>> No.56213926

Also, if I fail here then I will go to Alaska and fail there. I can't come back to Illinois.

>> No.56214231

>>56211335
I have no personal experience with it but Churches will always try and play the charity card when you present them with invoices.

>> No.56214629

>>56213681
We offer all sorts of things. Deep cleans, waxing, carpets, cleaning heavy curtains and furniture, anything that can be cleaned we will do.

Most people are mainly concerned with the kitchen and bathrooms so those are a priority. Small details like making sure light fixtures, baseboards, tops of TVs are cleaned and dusted is also helpful. Basically don't half-ass the job.

Providing excellent customer service and addressing customer concerns and issues is the most important. If a customer complains about a job, you have to address it and make sure it doesn't happen again.

There may be a lot of competition, but there is plenty of business to go around. People paying for cleaning services is only getting more commonplace. It's almost always a working mother who is our customer.

Commercial cleaning has been more competitive and headache inducing.

>> No.56214742

>>56214629
About five years ago since I was work from home I talked to our Mexican cleaning couple and I set them up a google places, small website, placed a review for them, etc.
This is all it took to double the business they had from like 15 years of word of mouth.
It's so easy in a small town if you want to work and do the job well.

>> No.56215357

>>56209937
Better hope you can sell.

>> No.56215431

>>56210375
>IL
should have just moved north for tax reasons. really hope you make it though,anon.
>t.wifag

>> No.56216608

>>56215431
Nah. I’m getting out of the Midwest. Besides I’m 3 hours south of Chicago.

>> No.56217060

OP again, want to keep this thread alive. Salesmen: What do you recommend for me to practice, how to sell, what to do?
>>56212343
>>56212372
Do you use ConnectWise?

>> No.56217665

>>56209937
God speed anon. 12 years ago I moved to a town I had never been to before, newly married, no money, to start a business. Took 1 year to get off the ground. Took another year to pay my bills. Now I clear around $180k or more and have 4 months off per year. I have no formal training or education beyond high school.