The issue with going out of Palatka is that I run into established competition. The only competition I really have here is the shop I used to work for, and all of the business work we did would come straight over to me if they see I'm in business myself. I didn't pursue them last time because I wasn't properly equipped for that type of work because I didn't even own a laptop or a pair of telecom crimps. Now I have picked up a lot of the tools I need and wouldn't have to spend more than $100 on equipment to do everything computer related.
In my experience at the big shop in town, it was the businesses that nickel and dimed us to death. They'd call up for small end-user issues and complain when we charged them an hour showing a 17 year old how to print to the network printer. I'd set them up on a contract, which is something no one here does.
Until I build up to the point where I'm running the business out of a shop, I won't do much in the area of sales of anything other than replacement parts. That means I wouldn't be competing directly in the $300 Dell market because I can offer a far better warranty with better components for around that price and sell it for $500-$600 because I could back it with a 3 year warranty. Very rarely will that warranty ever be used because it's a better computer and will have a longer service life than the $300 Dell.
I've got a lot of ideas going through my head about this right now, so I'm going to sit down and start writing out ideas and put it together as a viable business.
