When thinking about starting a computer service business, some people may not think about all of the costs involved and jump in unprepared. The following guidelines should help you gauge whether you are ready to start your computer service business or not.

One of the most common questions that new self-employed computer techs have is "How much should I charge?" I am not going to go into a lot of details and formula on how you should figure out your price because I think there is a simple answer for this.

First off, I believe on-site work should be charged by the hour and in-store work should be a fixed rate. When you are just starting out, don't worry about adding on a bunch of extra fees or anything like that. Do not add on cancellation fees or travel fees for short distances. Being a small player in the business, you do not have enough leverage to add on fees like these. Just keep the pricing simple and stick to it.

Don't try to sell yourself with price

Always remember that your services are valuable. Computer repair is a professional business and people expect to pay for professional service. So don't undercut all of your competition in order to try and get a bunch of business. I personally think low prices make people look tacky, shows a lack of confidence and shows inexperience. As long as you present yourself as a professional, people will be willing to pay big bucks. If you present yourself like a slob, people won't want to pay and many won't even hire you.

Set your price

I believe $50-90 an hour is fair for on-site work. I myself charge $70 per hour. For now I am going to stay with this rate until I open up my own shop. Once I get my shop open, I plan on charging around $70 for an in-store fix and bumping up the price of on-site service.

Since this will be the first article posted here at ProPCBiz, I think it is appropriate to start off with the very basics. I will go into great detail on the steps required to officially register your business as a sole proprietorship.

Before I begin, I'd like to give two pieces of advice.

1. Do not be afraid.
2. Just do it.

I believe these two phrases are the most important things that any business person can have in mind. Starting your own business for the first time will definitely put you out of your comfort zone. You will have to relate to the public and be accountable for all of your actions. You will be designing marketing material that people will criticize. You will be put down and rejected. You have no manager or boss to call for help when you have an angry customer. If you can not get over these fears, you will never be able to put yourself into a position for success. It is very important to identify when fear is holding you back and to figure out when you need to get over it and just do it.

With that said, I will now get into the nitty gritty of starting your own business. I know a lot of people are very confused and don't know what they need to do so I am going to hold your hand and walk you through the process of getting a fictitious name for your business and getting your business license. These are the two basics to starting your own business. Please keep in mind that I am talking about getting a business started in Riverside County, California. Laws change from state to state and county to county, so be sure to get in contact with somebody from your county to make sure you are doing everything correctly. I will not be liable if you screw anything up when starting your business.