Offering Computer Support – Home, Business, or Both

Delivering computer support to businesses is rather different than supporting home users. While there is admittedly some crossover when it comes to working with home-based, one-man businesses, fundamentally the type of work is quite different.

If you are unsure whether to provide computer support to homes, businesses, or both, this article presents you with a few points you should consider:

1. Businesses have more money to spend. It’s fair to say that there’s only so much money each home computer user is going to spend on IT support. This means that you will need to work with more individual home clients to earn the same revenue.

2. Working with businesses may be more stressful. If a home computer goes down, most families can handle waiting a few days to get the problem resolved. Businesses do not have this luxury; after all, three days with no IT could result in a significant financial loss. It’s therefore reasonable to say that working with businesses will, at times, be significantly more pressurized than working with domestic customers.
   
    

3. Home clients can drain time. While you’re in the early stages of a computer support business, a few additional billed hours for home clients will probably be very welcome. The same won’t apply when you have business clients needing you for days at a time. A two-hour home visit may involve an hour of travel each way—which is at least half a day gone.

4. Business clients mean more responsibility. If you accidentally delete a company’s budget spreadsheet you won’t be popular—you may even get sued. If you accidentally delete a few personal photos, you may escape with a sigh and a “never mind.”

Have a good think about these points, and consider what you want from your business and working life. It will quickly become clear which market you are more suited to working with.

Do you restrict your computer support activities to home or business clients? Share your approach in the Comments box below. 

And to follow-through on the tips introduced in this short article, be sure to download your free copy of the special report on How to Start a Computer Consulting Business: 6 Proven Ways to Build Your Initial Client Base. 

Creative Commons Image Source: flickr Dave Dugdale