networking business startup

[blackshadow]

I've been thinking about starting up a business in which I install wired and wireless networks into houses that have been both already built and ones that are currently under construction. I have both wired and wireless networks in my house that i have set up and have made installed ones for friends. I feel confident with both the physical setup and am trying to figure out what the first steps are in starting up a business like this. If anyone could share information about the startup of a business of this sort including funding, tools needed and actually getting myself out there i would really appreciate it. thanks

 

[RavinDJ]

Sounds like a great idea! But, there's a million and one things you need to think (a.k.a. worry) about:

-Is the market saturated? Do other companies do this already in my area? If so, how much do they charge? If so, how far am I willing to travel?
-What equipment am I gonna need? What jobs am I gonna do? What job is too small or too big?
-Am I doing this full-time? If so, can I forget about income for the next few months?
-Am I a student? Can I fit this in my schedule?
-Company name?
-Funding?
-Marketing?
-Advertising?
-Etc., etc., etc.

Your biggest friend (sort of like a big brother watching over you) is the SBA @ www.sba.gov

Good luck and post questions and/or info on how it's going!

 

[BobSutan]

Well for starters, you've got to look at the business aspects of this first.

--Location, location, location
--Rental agreements, utilities, etc
--Startup costs/loans
--Business License
--Insurance
--Bonding for Cabling (but this may not apply for all States)
--Legal councel (contracts, possible lawsuits, etc)

Once you've got your bases covered and done all the CYA aspects, you can then push forward. And you can't move forward without any customers. This is where advertising will come into play.

--Radio
--TV
--Word of mouth
--Flyers
--Printed Ads & Billboards

Then when you have customers you can do your thing. But many peolple seem to think, "Hey, I like working on computers. Why not make this into a business?" But what many fail to realize is that a real business has business concerns, a certain amount of politics, and then there are taxes to take care of. While not nearly as cool as installing a new video card into a user's PC, about as much time should be given to the above concerns as would be required from the regular day-to-day work. That's because balancing the books at the end of the night is day-to-day work.