With every person from age three to senior adulthood owning and using multiple computers and devices, computer repair businesses are in high demand. If you have the tech savvy to go into business repairing computers, printers, modems, and other devices, you can make a nice income while being your own boss. Here are the best practices involved in running a successful computer repair shop — from setting your rates to hiring the help you need like an answering service.

Set Your Hourly Rate on Par with Other Shops in Your Area 

Nationwide, computer repair labor runs about $100 per hour, but this rate is considerably higher in big cities like New York. Find out what other shops in the area are charging and set your rates competitively. If you set rates too high, people won’t use you, but if you set them too low, nobody will think you’re as good as the others. Keep your rates on par with similar businesses in your area.

Decide What Type of Customer You Want to Cater to 

Will you serve residential customers or will you cater to businesses? If you decide to go into repairing computer equipment for businesses, you’ll likely need to specialize in a niche, such as networking devices or perhaps desktop PC repairs. Keep your niche large enough to attract plenty of business, but not so large that you can’t keep up with changes in the industry or get to all your clients’ work. Repair businesses that cater to individual customers usually offer a one-stop shop for everything to do with computers, including PCs, laptops, printers, and related devices.

Know Your Personal Talents and Hire Out Work You’re Not Suited For 

If technology is your thing, you might need to hire out other services that aren’t your strong suits, such as bookkeeping, answering the phone, and marketing. An answering service is also helpful so that you can focus on the repairs and handling customers in the shop, without having to be interrupted to answer the phone.

A well-run computer repair shop is a true cash cow in today’s economy. Set up your shop for ultimate success.