Computer/Phone Repair as a nomadic job?

[Team Peters]

As we are preparing to move our family of four out of our house and into a 1997 30ft Trek RV full-time, we are trying to come up with different jobs or sources of income. One idea I've had is computer/phone repair. In my current job I supervise computer sales and repairs. Specifically I am an Apple Certified Macintosh Technician who can also whip a PC into shape if I have to

The job I'm thinking of is mobile help and repair. I would be able to do hardware repairs for example; replace broken phone screens, replace batteries, hard drive replacements or upgrades, RAM upgrades, most internal's if we can find the parts. I can also do software repairs for Macs and PCs and virus/malware removal (while telling you about why my Macs never run anti-virus software). I originally got started working for Apple in 2007 doing personal training and at one point had a small business teaching people how to use and get the most out of their Macs. I also have video editing and production experience. 

So the question to the CRVL community: Do you think there is any demand among nomadic groups that a person/business like this might be useful or successful? 

I know the major hurdle is going to be proximity (to the customer) and me keeping stock of popular parts or being able to ship them to a near by town. The tools are small and a small investment so it's not going to take up a lot of space if it doesn't work out. 

Second question: Is there anyone out there doing something like this?

Thanks

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I'll speculate a bit.

I'm thinking most nomads who have trouble on the road probably take their computer to the nearest Best Buy  / Geek Squad or similar franchise  - I think most Staples have something like that, too.

Still, you might be able to do something like that at Quartzite for several months each winter.  I haven't been to Q yet myself, so I don't know how much competition you might find there.

If I were doing it, I'd probably get a big banner advertising my services that I could hang on the side of my rig, and print up a bunch of flyers or other handouts.  One of the interesting questions for that would be how to tell the people exactly where you are located at Q - maybe someone else here who's been to Q could tell you how that works.

You would also need to figure out how to get stuff shipped in to you via UPS or Fed Ex.  Again, maybe someone here knows how that works at Q.

Good Luck

Regards
John

 

[LeeRevell]

Very often, advertising can make or break a small business.  Being constantly on the move makes advertising your services difficult.

 

[akrvbob]

Welcome!! I think you would do extremely well in the winter in Quartzsite and possibly in Yuma, Parker or Lake Havasu, AZ. Snowbirds gather in the winter in those areas and they are mostly older and not tech savvy--but, they have disposable income. You'll have a big headstart being a certified tech. I think you'd do very well from November to February. I'd put up a flyer in every grocery store and in every RV park. RVers will be glad to have you come right to their rig and help them!!

You're going to tow an economy car, right! You'll need it to make the rounds.

BUT, in the summer we scatter to the wind and it gets much harder to find business because RVers don't concentrate. You'll be competing with local stores and that's hard when you are mobile.

However, it's easy to get a job in the summer as a campground host or in the tourist areas.
Bob

 

[Team Peters]

Thanks Bob. That's exactly the kind of answer I was hoping for. I figured it wouldn't be a year around business. Those locations sound great. Hoping to make it to the rubber tramp thing this year.

And no we will not have a tow car. All short distance trips will be accomplished by FAT bicycles. This is the other interest/challenge for us is to live by bike. My wife and I each have a FAT bike and two kids trailers.

These bikes can take us on any terrain. Sand. Snow. Rain. Heat.

I feel very comfortable biking 30 miles to somewhere. I also feel comfortable going 20 miles with the entire family.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

We'll look for you at RTR in Q. Got a laptop that needs a magic touch (or a bigger hammer, lol).

 

[Team Peters]

Ha thanks Bindi. Maybe a magical hammer might be the right tool.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

I'm interested in seeing how those fatty tires handle potato size rocks...BIG taters.
I don't ride anymore but they look cool.
Saw some cruising the surf line on a beach and they were moving along pretty good.

 

[Team Peters]

Drop the PSI to 6 and they just roll over them. If we ever run into each other you'll have to take a ride. The most fun you can have on a bike.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

We'll be at RtR, so see ya there. I'd give it a shot.

 

[GrantRobertson]

Specifically I am an Apple Certified Macintosh Technician who can also whip a PC into shape if I have to
The job I'm thinking of is mobile help and repair.

First of all, I have my doubts that a Mac service person is familiar enough with all the crap that can go wrong with a PC to do anything other than basic repair. I used to be a PC and network consultant. People used to ask me why I don't work on Macs. I would tell them that there is not enough money in it. They don't break often enough.   If you plan to work on regular people's PCs then expect to spend a lot more time working on them than you could ever reasonably bill. Once you convince business customers to only install what is absolutely necessary to run their business, the problems almost vanish (if you have reliable hardware). However, residential customers have over a hundred programs that they think they need and usually have around a thousand viruses or trojans on their machines. I once found 4,000 separate viruses on a woman's PC and she only had a 56K modem. Residential PC customers will often want you to "just clean up their computer" when it really needs to be nuked and reinstalled from scratch. And they will either want you to install that hundred programs, saving all their settings and saved games, or they will do it themselves, thus reinstalling all the programs that gave them the problems in the first place. It is a no-win scenario for you. Don't think you don't have to worry about that because you will never see them again. The RV community is a close-knit group and word will get around, even if you aren't really the cause of their problems. The only way to get around that is to be so super friendly and charge so little that they tell everyone that you are really nice. But then, you are back to not making much money out of the deal.

You might try to get away with ONLY doing hardware repairs. There is less the user can do to undermine your hard work.

Second, among the younger, or more independent RV crowd, you might have trouble competing against all the people who either do it for themselves, or have friends who do it for them for free. However, among the older, or more standard RV crowd (the people that spend most of their time at the big, commercial RV parks) you will likely find a ton of customers all year long. The problem is that you will have to stay at or near one of these parks. Some of those parks don't like people operating commercial enterprises out of their RVs but others will encourage you to put your card on their bulletin board and will actively help you find customers because they figure it helps them to help all their guests. The one good thing about the old-school RV community is that they often have lots of money. So they are more likely to have Macs.

Third, you should expect to either stay for relatively long periods at each park so you can have time to A) get the customer, B) evaluate their problem, C) find, order, and receive the parts then D) fix the computer; starting back over at A when necessary (especially for PCs). OR you will have to carry a certain amount of stock with you, which will still never be enough.

If I haven't scared you away from this particular niche, then I can also tell you that I think www.rvillage.com has a place on their site where you can list services you offer and the site will match you up with people who are planning to be near you. Yes, people put their itineraries on there and it helps people meet up with friends. They added the meeting up with service people part a while back. No clue how it works or if they still have the feature, but worth a look.

From what I have seen on-line. Most of the tech people who make good money on the road are freelance or teleworking programmers.

 

[ZoNiE]

My two cents:

Pulling up to a customer's home in a 20 year old motorhome with the family inside is gonna freak out ma and pa consumer. Rolling in all sweaty on a bicycle in the typical cyclists attire will do you no good as well.

You may want to consider a small towd (Smart car Scion IQ?) or doing stints in a kiosk in various swap meets and large events with some advance advertising... Perhaps a rolling computer/phone clinic that makes regular rounds in a circuit with the right advertising and word of mouth.

You will probably do best in places like Quartzite, as Bob stated earlier.

Again, my two cents. Looking at the big picture here.

 

[offroad]

Drop the PSI to 6 and they just roll over them. If we ever run into each other you'll have to take a ride. The most fun you can have on a bike.

Saw some in Boston a few months ago. Guess they can eat up pot holes and broken glass every day. Could you commute 20 miles daily on them? Guess the rolling resistance slows you down a lot? Is ten miles a half hour or a one hour ride?

 

[offroad]

As far as computer repair have to agree with grant Roberson. Was thinking of making a flat rate repair cost sheet for the most common issues and only those issues. If I did this myself. Will not get into software and virus fixes unless it's to "nuke" the machine back to factory settings. That makes perfect sense. Here is what to offer
1) transfer all pictures to google drive at low resolution. It's free and cheap insurance.
2) backup your top 100 files to a secure free Dropbox account. That will cover all the tax returns etc.
3). Nuke the machine back to factory settings. Then let it run 24 hours to update all possible via Microsoft servers for WINDOWS. Whatever version.
4). Install an automatic public domain virus tool and teach the user how to use that.
5). Fix hardware.

For any custom special software you always advise it's full of viruses. That until you can run virus checking and cleaning software effectively, to never use third party software.

 

[Team Peters]

First of all, I have my doubts that a Mac service person is familiar enough with all the crap that can go wrong with a PC to do anything other than basic repair. I used to be a PC and network consultant. People used to ask me why I don't work on Macs. I would tell them that there is not enough money in it. They don't break often enough.   

Thank you Grant for your response. I just checked out Village that might be a good resource. You are correct the tech people that are doing this on the road are programmers or app developers. I unfortunately don't have those skills. Although I would be great in the user experience area. Anyways, I bet I could change your doubt. I currently manage a computer service and repair center here at Oklahoma State University. Even though I'm Apple Certified doesn't mean I don't know Windows and all of it's ailments. Trust me college kids can mess up there PC in less than 24 hours trying to watch free shows and steal music. I know the tools to fix them and you are right sometimes the only solution is nuclear. Erase and reinstall. I'm up front and honest with the customer. I don't claim to perform miracles. 

One thing I notice about "Mac techs" and "PC IT geeks"; the IT guys/gals have spent so long ignoring Apple and Macs that when presented one that just write it off and won't touch it. Even though the basic operation is almost exactly the same as a PC. They also seem to have given up on learning something new. Well until Windows 8 and now 10 has come out. Us Mac nerds almost always know Windows. We are constantly training PC users on how to use their new Mac. Bottom line, in 10 years things will be very different. Check out any college campus for the last 5 years. 60-70% of students are now using Apple computers. 

I really think the business I want to do the most is phone repair. I'm guessing RVer's drop and break their phones just like everyone else. They don't want to drive all the way to an Apple store or go to some phone repair place that might either cost too much or do a bad job. Yes I will need to build that reputation. But when you know what you are doing and actually care for the customer then that reputation will build quickly.

 

[Team Peters]

My two cents:

Pulling up to a customer's home in a 20 year old motorhome with the family inside is gonna freak out ma and pa consumer. Rolling in all sweaty on a bicycle in the typical cyclists attire will do you no good as well.

You may want to consider a small towd (Smart car Scion IQ?) or doing stints in a kiosk in various swap meets and large events with some advance advertising... Perhaps a rolling computer/phone clinic that makes regular rounds in a circuit with the right advertising and word of mouth.

You will probably do best in places like Quartzite, as Bob stated earlier.

Again, my two cents. Looking at the big picture here.

Hi Zonie, I like your honest perspective. I also like the idea of a kiosk at large events. I'm going to use Quartzsite this year to learn a lot and see if and where I can fit in. 

As far as your concerns about the RV/bike freaking out ma and pa. 1st. I'm not going to drive the RV to someone. If they are not close enough to ride my bike to then they are out of range. As far as your concern about my attire, yeah I won't be wearing my cycling kit as they say in the sport. I commute every day on bicycle to my job here in Oklahoma, which this past weekend was over 100 degrees and 100% humidity. Guess what? I was wearing dark color jeans and a polo and I didn't shower OR change clothes. How did I do it? Well a combination of my clothes are made out of breathable materials and I'm not a sweaty guy. I also ride brisk but not too fast to get worked up. 

Bottom line if a customer wants or expects me to show up looking like most geeks out of BestBuy in Khakis and a Polo then we probably won't be a good match. But if they want someone who will listen to them and do more than just fix their computer then they might to keep my card.

 

[Team Peters]

Saw some in Boston a few months ago. Guess they can eat up pot holes and broken glass every day. Could you commute 20 miles daily on them?  Guess the rolling resistance slows you down a lot?  Is ten miles a half hour or a one hour ride?

Yeah Fat bikes are not really the best on pavement. But it's not about going as fast as possible. It's about adventure and taking our time. One of our goals is to not be in hurry and to explore. A Fat bike it perfect for how we will use them. Yes the big tires act as suspension. No different than big tires on a truck. Noisy like them too. A 10 mile ride with little elevation change would be a 30 minute ride. The other goal here is to build up endurance and strength. I do ultra endurance gravel road races here in Oklahoma and Kansas. I've actually ridden my fat bike in 100 mile gravel race in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Did I win, Heck no. Did I finish next to last? Heck yeah!. Even though the Fat bike is better suited for trails and snow, when riding on gravel, it's like your riding a lazy boy sofa. Not fast, but comfy and super stable. The easiest bike to ride with no hands.

Bob posted on his blog about Smiths Forks/Grey River road and once I saw that road I knew immediately I needed to explore it by bike. That road looks like would be an out and back day trip for me. 50-100 miles. Self supported. I'm seeing all these amazing areas that Bob is sharing with us and I want to ride my bike through all of them. 

Next June I will tackle the Dirty Kanza 200. Which is a 200 mile gravel race out of Emporia Kansas. Mostly in the Flint Hills, which if you never been will make maybe even experienced travelers feel like they are in the middle of no where. I have completed this race twice on a Cyclocross style bike. Think road bike with bigger tires and disc brakes. My goal will be to complete it on my fat bike. I sold my other bikes to start this adventure so I've got no other bike to do it on. 

Sorry I kind of rambled on sharing my passion/addiction. Outside of my family of course.

 

[Team Peters]

As far as computer repair have to agree with grant Roberson.  Was thinking of making a flat rate repair cost sheet for the most common issues and only those issues. If I did this myself. Will not get into software and virus fixes unless it's to "nuke" the machine back to factory settings. That makes perfect sense. Here is what to offer
1) transfer all pictures to google drive at low resolution. It's free and cheap insurance.
2) backup your top 100 files to a secure free Dropbox account. That will cover all the tax returns etc.
3). Nuke the machine back to factory settings. Then let it run 24 hours to update all possible via Microsoft servers for WINDOWS. Whatever version.
4). Install an automatic public domain virus tool and teach the user how to use that.
5). Fix hardware.

For any custom special software you always advise it's full of viruses. That until you can run virus checking and cleaning software effectively, to never use third party software.

You are right it's easier to do an erase and reinstall. But if you don't have a decent internet connection then the Windows updates might take forever. So then it might be worth it to try and clean up the computer. There are some tools I have in mind that would work good a slow internet environment. 

But I don't know if I agree with what you listed here. There are many ways to skin the cat but with your advice, some one might as well just never use a PC again. What  software do you use that's not 3rd party software? The entire web itself is 3rd party software. Unless you only use Internet Explorer and never install anything like Flash (which I wish would go away forever) or Adobe Reader, or Java. 

You make computers sound scary.

 

[akrvbob]

I know next to nothing about IT, but I do know this, if I ever find a person who is really competent and can listen and understand me, and then solve my problem, I'll gladly pay whatever it costs!

I'll tell you what might work well for you is classes. Some people are such good teachers they can make these hard things understandable. If you have that skill, I think you could fill a class. And yes, it could just be chairs in a circle outside your RV.

An example is taking videos. Everybody loves taking video, but most of them are crap. If you offered some classes on taking, making, and editing great videos you'd do well. Why? Because a person who can both know the material and make it easily understandable is so rare you'll pay whatever you need to get their help. I would!
Bob

 

[BC Guy]

As far as computer repair have to agree with grant Roberson.  Was thinking of making a flat rate repair cost sheet for the most common issues and only those issues. If I did this myself. Will not get into software and virus fixes unless it's to "nuke" the machine back to factory settings. That makes perfect sense. Here is what to offer
1) transfer all pictures to google drive at low resolution. It's free and cheap insurance.
2) backup your top 100 files to a secure free Dropbox account. That will cover all the tax returns etc.
3). Nuke the machine back to factory settings. Then let it run 24 hours to update all possible via Microsoft servers for WINDOWS. Whatever version.
4). Install an automatic public domain virus tool and teach the user how to use that.
5). Fix hardware.

For any custom special software you always advise it's full of viruses. That until you can run virus checking and cleaning software effectively, to never use third party software.

I am afraid that I do not agree.  I would not put my files under someone else's control.  Get a USB drive or stick depending on how much you want to backup.  Do regular backups.  I do them every two to three months.
Regarding Windows updates, you will find a lot of disagreement on whether or not they are necessary.  I have mainly avoided updates for the past 10 years.  There have been too many times when they have crashed systems. (Not mine.)
As for third party software being full of viruses, that is a crock.  You want to get your software from the manufacturer or a major site rather than Joe's Viruses Are Us, but if you do that things should be ok.  Mind you, with new laptops coming out with viruses already on them, there are no guarantees, just the same as with everything else in life.