Entrepreneurship...ing

Ok, so it seems like word of mouth is the best way to go.

gregs656, yes I'm looking for sidework right now, but there is always a chance in the future that it will turn into a buisness. ;)

Slartibartfast, I completely agree with you when you say that people like to see certs, but I don't have the time to get them. This is not what I plan on pursuing as a full time career (yet) so I will use peoples word as my certification rather than a piece of paper.

commiecat, it never occured to me to use craigslist as a form of advertisement. I will definitely put that on the list. My services will be whatever the client needs fixed. If I don't know how to do it I'll find the answer, and if I can't then I won't take the job. Pretty simple. If there are any "my buddy did blahblahblah" issues I'll either ask them to purchase another license or provide the key. If they don't I can't really do anything for them. Data backups are something else I hadn't thought of. That would be very simple to offer which means I'll look into the BartPE disc. Thanks! :)

leadduck, buisness cards, another wonderful idea! Thank you :)

So, here's my marketing list so far...

word of mouth
simple website
facebook page/group
craigslist
flyers around school/town
buisness cards
good service

That should be a pretty good start in marketing a buisness. Thank you guy so much for your help. Hopefully I can get all of this going so I won't be stuck flipping burgers and cleaning tables.

Now off to work.

Kevin

All really good replies. I want to add the best piece of sage advice I have every received. Sit down and write your business plan if you have not already done so. The business plan IS the business. A marketing plan is a subset of the business plan, along with your proforma, cash flow plan, business ratios, break even analysis etc.

Additionally, start networking at your local chamber of commerce. You can also join leads groups.

David

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alembic

... Sit down and write your business plan if you have not already done so. The business plan IS the business.
David

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Will do.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alembic

... along with your proforma, cash flow plan, business ratios, break even analysis etc...
David

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It looks like I have some googling to do :mace:

Thank you for the advice.

My advice in terms of marketing is that make sure you target the right audience. Someone mentioned coffee shops and dorms, I for one think that is the OPPOSITE audience you should target. Coffee shops and dorms are full of tech savvy people these days. Geek Squad makes Best Buy tons of money because they've got the non-tech savvy people in the store, scared out of their pants wondering how they're going to make this thing do what they want when they get home.

You should concentrate your marketing where non-tech savvy people hang out. For example apartment buildings known to have lots of elderly people living in them, banks and other office buildings full of accountants and other "business" type guys, areas like that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RobertH

My advice in terms of marketing is that make sure you target the right audience. Someone mentioned coffee shops and dorms, I for one think that is the OPPOSITE audience you should target. Coffee shops and dorms are full of tech savvy people these days. Geek Squad makes Best Buy tons of money because they've got the non-tech savvy people in the store, scared out of their pants wondering how they're going to make this thing do what they want when they get home.

You should concentrate your marketing where non-tech savvy people hang out. For example apartment buildings known to have lots of elderly people living in them, banks and other office buildings full of accountants and other "business" type guys, areas like that.

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Point taken.

Don't even get me started on the fail squad. :soapbox:
I'm just going to look on the brightside because they're going to make me lots of money. :angel: