Ways to make money on the side?

[stevenontheinternet]

Hey,

I'm wondering if there is any way to make money on the side doing something tech related.
For example:

• Repair computers.
• Build custom computers.
• Install drivers / software, etc.
• Remove malware / viruses.

(I'm currently studying and I would like to earn some money on the side)
Some issues are: How would I find clients, how much would I pay (hourly rate or fixed rate), etc.

(Note: I'm sixteen years old, not sure if this would affect my chances of getting clients)

Thanks in advance.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

To be honest, at your age, you won't be getting clients unless you are very well-known or actually have a physical computer shop set up in a commercial area, such as a computer shop on a local road. People generally like fixed rates.

I'm not saying you can't try, but what you're getting into will be extremely difficult without money and an actual building.

 

[stevenontheinternet]

To be honest, at your age, you won't be getting clients unless you are very well-known or actually have a physical computer shop set up in a commercial area, such as a computer shop on a local road. People generally like fixed rates.

I'm not saying you can't try, but what you're getting into will be extremely difficult without money and an actual building.

Not sure what you mean by "well-known". Nope, I don't have a physical computer shop set up (16 years old..) however the physical computer stores in my area, all offer horrible support and quality (my dad has gone to them in the past, they did not fix his computer)
.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

To be honest, at your age, you won't be getting clients unless you are very well-known or actually have a physical computer shop set up in a commercial area, such as a computer shop on a local road. People generally like fixed rates.

I'm not saying you can't try, but what you're getting into will be extremely difficult without money and an actual building.

Not sure what you mean by "well-known". Nope, I don't have a physical computer shop set up (16 years old..) however the physical computer stores in my area, all offer horrible support and quality (my dad has gone to them in the past, they did not fix his computer)
.

Oh I totally know that most of those computer shops are all scams, with the Geek Squad in the lead. But the people going to those shops don't know that. The people going to those shops to get their computers fixed are not tech-savvy at all, and they're under the impression that these people at shops are "honest experts".

Basically, what you want to do is set up a basement or garage shop. Best way to do that, put a nice big sign in your front yard. "I fix computers" "Cheaper and better than scam shops" "Call this number" or "visit this website".

Put posters on your (or your parents') car, advertising. You have to draw people to it, they won't come on their onw.

 

[stevenontheinternet]

To be honest, at your age, you won't be getting clients unless you are very well-known or actually have a physical computer shop set up in a commercial area, such as a computer shop on a local road. People generally like fixed rates.

I'm not saying you can't try, but what you're getting into will be extremely difficult without money and an actual building.

Not sure what you mean by "well-known". Nope, I don't have a physical computer shop set up (16 years old..) however the physical computer stores in my area, all offer horrible support and quality (my dad has gone to them in the past, they did not fix his computer)
.

Oh I totally know that most of those computer shops are all scams, with the Geek Squad in the lead. But the people going to those shops don't know that. The people going to those shops to get their computers fixed are not tech-savvy at all, and they're under the impression that these people at shops are "honest experts".

Basically, what you want to do is set up a basement or garage shop. Best way to do that, put a nice big sign in your front yard. "I fix computers" "Cheaper and better than scam shops" "Call this number" or "visit this website".

Put posters on your (or your parents') car, advertising. You have to draw people to it, they won't come on their onw.

I agree with you, however I am great with getting contacts. I've also worked in service before (which I was very good at). I'm not looking to earn a ton of money or to do this full time, I just want to earn some money on the side, doing what I love.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Except you have to find contacts who need computer assistance, which is a small fraction of people, so you can't rely on old contacts, you have to hunt down new contacts. As I said, the best way is to simply advertise.

You can actually work on software, such as removing viruses, remotely using a program like Teamviewer.

 

[hang-the-9]

Word of mouth is huge, as is finding people through places like craigslist, although being underage you should work with your parents for that. And make sure that you know what you are doing, may inexperienced people don't know many things to watch out for, like where data that needs to be backed up lives, what symptoms show what issue, etc... There are way too many people that mis-diagnose issues and spend a lot of money and time chasing down things that will never fix the core issue. Like buying new motherboards when the issue is with a video card, re-installing Windows when the issue is a bad hard drive, etc...

Keep an ear and eye out for people that are talking about replacing computers because they are too slow, or have issues, and suggest that you can cheaply clean them up.