All this bad news about economy is scaring the sh****** out of me. So I am looking to explore some other possibilities and ways to pay my bills in case the worst happens.
I have these assets I can count on.
I have tons of viable website ideas , more than a couple of them are already up but not running ( I have no time to market and manage them)
I know how to repair computers ( desktops only not laptops ). I find it mind boggling to open them up and put them back together. I can learn though.
I can restore computers which have get infected with viruses, Trojans, spywares
I know a little bit about website design and programing , not a whole lot but I can learn more at a very fast rate. I have friends who can help me tutor the tricks.
So am I in good shape ? Can I count on them as a fall back ? Which one will be most promising in case I have to use one them for making some dough ?
Anybody has enough insight/expertise in any of these areas as a business model ?
None of them will be enough to sustain you. Computer repair people are dime a dozen. If your websites are not already bringing in revenue, they will not start magically doing it as soon as you lose your job. And there are already hundreds doing the website/programming thing already. Just search for webdesign . You will get many results.
None of them will be enough to sustain you. Computer repair people are dime a dozen. If your websites are not already bringing in revenue, they will not start magically doing it as soon as you lose your job. And there are already hundreds doing the website/programming thing already. Just search for webdesign . You will get many results.
I took laptop of my kids which was under extended warranty plan to Best Buy , they ran a diagnostic and said it had trojan and it will cost me 130 dollars to get it removed since that kind of repair is not covered under the warranty plan, then for data backup they said it will cost me 99 dollars .
I told them hey buddy you just take care of the keyboard which aint working I will take care of the rest , they called me after two weeks to let me know that they have replaced the key board.
Many friends of mine know that I am in IT , I do all this for them for free and they are so obliged. But when I sit down at a community gathering I hear those horror stories where they ended up paying 100 dollars an hour to get some virus or trojan removed.
You are telling me that computer tech are dime a dozen , may be where you live , where I live they charge $100 dollars an hour for the things I do for free for people.
I took laptop of my kids which was under extended warranty plan to Best Buy , they ran a diagnostic and said it had trojan and it will cost me 130 dollars to get it removed since that kind of repair is not covered under the warranty plan, then for data backup they said it will cost me 99 dollars .
I told them hey buddy you just take care of the keyboard which aint working I will take care of the rest , they called me after two weeks to let me know that they have replaced the key board.
Many friends of mine know that I am in IT , I do all this for them for free and they are so obliged. But when I sit down at a community gathering I hear those horror stories where they ended up paying 100 dollars an hour to get some virus or trojan removed.
You are telling me that computer tech are dime a dozen , may be where you live , where I live they charge $100 dollars an hour for the things I do for free for people.
So how much will you charge? $75? $50? Sometimes what Bestbuy charges is the right amount. If it took you 2 hours to remove a virus, do you think people you know will be like "Oh, thank you, here is $100"? Doubt it. They will be like "Mirch bhai, thora discount?". You are making the mistake in thinking that the same people who are so obliged to you because you are doing a $100/hour job for free will be the same nice and thankful people once they are paying.
I am not saying that people don't make a living from this, but they probably didn't make it happen in a few days after getting laid off. It probably took some time to get going, get customers, and start making money.
I am not saying that people don't make a living from this, but they probably didn't make it happen in a few days after getting laid off. It probably took some time to get going, get customers, and start making money.
I am not planning to start making money tomorrow , I want to start it now to start building a customer base, and I know those same people who I help out will not be my customer base , they are so near and dear to me that I will not think of even asking them for money for my help.
Don't just follow the 'herd' and start panicking about the current economic downturn. The US/EU governments are starting to take pretty bold and robust measures that will guarantee the recovery of all the large bourses.
Mirch, you're thinking along the right lines. Regardless of how the economy is doing, you should find good investments or startup opportunities to supplement your income, who knows it might become your main source of income.
the thing is though... you have all these ideas and so called plans which are up in the air... and in order to seriously invest in a fall-back option, you need more formalism to get you there. An elevator pitch about these things will just not cut it.
Like TDW said, these days, pretty much anyone with some technical aptitude can repair computers and design websites. Besides the whole web 2.0 thing is making it much easier for ppl not to even need the services of a full time developer. You can pretty much use plug n play functionality for a variety of online applications that are available through widgets and APIs.
Also, ppl who pay more $$ for these services, don't pay for the actual service as much as they pay for the brand name or service mark. In order to establish that name for yourself, you need a strong brand equity strategy which takes time.
What matters in the end is how seriously you want to pursue these things. Are you willing to sacrifice three to four hours of your time at home every day to invest in building up a business concern? if your answer is no and you just want to work within your comfort zone, then I won't term these options as a fall-back or a contingency plan but just mere remedies that can be applied if and when needed.
