Thanks: 
Likes: 7 years that's awesome. I'm interested to know why it's way better than working for someone else. For me, if I was to list it:Originally Posted by finlay31
Make my own decisions -control
Opportunty to Increase in Income
Freedom...
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7 years that's awesome. I'm interested to know why it's way better than working for someone else. For me, if I was to list it:
Make my own decisions -control
Opportunty to Increase in Income
Freedom...
Downloaded the kindle ebook version from my local library app, thanks! Will also listen to the audio. Lord knows I needs this.
From analog to digital 30 years plus. Starting selling off lease liquid savins and lived to talk it!
I do not own a copier business but I work with lots of dealer owners who were service techs originally.
The main thing to remember is that there is no pot of gold waiting for you when you decide to retire. At best you will sell your business to someone for far less than you think it is worth. Therefore, you need to plan for your retirement and put a little away each month.
If you are starting out as a "one man band", life will throw you curve balls like injuries, sickness and family events. You need to partner with somebody else that you can rely upon and share support services when one of you is not available.
Your drivers license is your business so do not drink and drive ever.
Get good at performing remote service via TeamViewer and Windows 10 Quick Assist. It will save you time and maney and improve customer satisfaction.
Get good at automatically collecting meter via email, etc.
Do not be afraid to outsource tasks that you are not good at like bookkeeping, payroll or taxes.
One other big danger is trying to move copiers by yourself so as to save some $ and risking personal injury.
You need an economic to operate delivery vehicle with a very low tailgate. No fancy cars or pickup trucks as a business vehicle.
Also, to keep costs down, consider working out of a heated storage locker where the operator can receive goods for you.
Good personal computer skills in both Windows and Mac are mandatory and forget about your job being 9 to 5.
Beware of customers who think they can force "the little guy" to get what they want at low cost.
Be careful of cash flow as this will put you out of business quicker than anything else. A payment today with a 3% merchant fee on a credit card is better than waiting months for a cheque to arrive.
I take exception with a lot of this. Starting with: "there is no pot of gold waiting for you when you decide to retire".
That all depends, doesn't it? Is there a pot of gold waiting on a copier tech if he retires? It's all relative, isn't it? Anyway, you're throwing out bold "one size fits all statements." I also sold my first copier business for a lot of money back in the day. I wasn't even thinking about selling it but another company offered more money than I could pass up.
Next statement: "You need a proper delivery vehicle with a very low tailgate like a Dodge Caravan."
Not necessarily bad advice if that's all you can afford, but I prefer a big box trunk with a tommy lift preferably. If not a tommy lift, a ramp will work. I found one for 5k here locally.
Also, to keep costs down, consider working out of a heated storage locker where the operator can receive goods for you.
I would highly advise against that. No one wants to do business with someone who's doing business out of a storage locker. I'm not even sure it's legal to run a business out of one. Good luck getting a permit.
I could go on but that's enough for now.
By the way, here's the box trunk I bought. I think it has about 60k miles on it. It was used by a catering company. It wasn't that expensive. Now, getting the graphics put around the trunk ran into some money. It all depends on how you want to be viewed by a customer or potential customer.
box trunk 2.jpg
Yes 15 years and in that time managed a Republicans win for Congress and all Copying and Printing throughout the campaign and after elected handled supplying advance placement of VP and Presidents visits to the area. Then got divorced and lost interest and worked for others. It can be a basically service oriented business with little investment at first, and finding customers when you can charge less was not hard and then growing from there.
I work out of my home. I drive a car when doing service calls and pull a trailer for copier deliveries. If you're not in good health it will be tough to run a small business. An independent business is not worth much these days but if you're authorized the big dealers will probably want to buy you out. I much prefer to work for myself. It has it's ups and downs but overall it is very satisfying. With technology slowing down paper usage it will probably eventually turn into a hobby instead of a business. But who can predict the future.
I hear you. There's more than one way to grow a business and I started my first business with very little money. I would put every penny made back into the business. My dad told me from the start that "perception is reality in business." What he meant is that if you look successful that people with believe that you are successful.
Has anyone seen the movie "Catch Me If You Can"? Based on a true story and it goes to show that people believe what you tell them to believe about you. All they know is what they see. If you pull up to deliver a demo copier in a less than ideal vehicle, it most often times will hurt you. If you dress the wrong way, it will hurt you most times. The way you speak. It all matters in my experience.
My car is in rough shape. My trailer is in rough shape. I dress well no Polo shirts, not to impress but to look professional and as a sign of respect when I'm in someone's office. Frankly I don't give a dam about the rest. For me it's about the end result. I'll sell them a good machine for a good price and I keep it running. I had one former customer who was flashy. Drove an S class Mercedes. I sold him 5 copiers. I was the best decision he made as far as saving his company money. He talked a good line on how he was going to expand the company. He opened an office in a different state and wanted to fly me there to do a service call on a machine I did not sell him . I politely declined. He eventually got the boot for wasting the companies money. I still work on those copiers minus him and his cronies.
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