[priester68]

I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about installing Directv systems having worked for Bruister. My question is, I help about 50 people in my town with their systems whenever they have problems. I do all this as favors because I know them and I want them to have Directv. How can I start a small business and make money off of this? I only see 1 mom and pop business in town that installs these systems and from what everyone tells me, they have to wait on them as much as they would if they had called Directv directly. (2-3 weeks) Can anyone offer up some thoughts on this? I know I could make a living doing this here in Natchez, MS 39120. Thanks.

 

[carl6]

Cost of business license.
Cost of insurance.
Cost of record keeping/accounting.
Keeping "personal" and "business" separate (to the extent the IRS will accept it). This includes vehicles, tools, phone lines, portion of your house you use for business, etc.

Most small businesses that are started fail. Many reasons but one very important one is lack of capitalization - not enough money to sustain the business until it starts to turn a profit (typically a year or more).

I'm not trying to discourage you, just get you thinking of some of the factors involved if you do it the right way.

Carl

 

[gen2rx7]

It is really tough to start out in this business. Due to the fact that everyone offers FREE INSTALLATION AND EQUIPMENT. I have a buddy that started his business about a year ago, he is a E* dealer (D* seems a lot harder to get in with) he is doing hardly any sat installs right now. He has focused his business on hometheater installs. So I am not sure that just doing sat installs is a good idea.

The amount of capital needed to start is high, if you want to ensure you can make it through the first year.

Having my own business before getting into the D* install business. I have to say that they both have their pros and cons. But I DO LIKE getting a pay check every 2 weeks.

Wish you luck on your business. Make sure you strap your seat belt on because it is going to be a fun and exciting ride (I truly enjoied having my business).

 

[priester68]

It is really tough to start out in this business. Due to the fact that everyone offers FREE INSTALLATION AND EQUIPMENT. I have a buddy that started his business about a year ago, he is a E* dealer (D* seems a lot harder to get in with) he is doing hardly any sat installs right now. He has focused his business on hometheater installs. So I am not sure that just doing sat installs is a good idea.

The amount of capital needed to start is high, if you want to ensure you can make it through the first year.

Having my own business before getting into the D* install business. I have to say that they both have their pros and cons. But I DO LIKE getting a pay check every 2 weeks.

Wish you luck on your business. Make sure you strap your seat belt on because it is going to be a fun and exciting ride (I truly enjoied having my business).

I really don't want to get into the whole business aspect of it but I really want to get back to doing installs and helping people with D*. My problem is that all my local people aren't hiring and they're work is half assed because of no competition. I would be an asset to any company that would hire me. I love the satellite world and it's the only job I ever had I didn't dread going to every morning. I loved my job at Bruister except for they're management team I had to deal with. The quota system was a joke and impossible to reach. Plus working until 10 at night on a regular basis was not cool because of wife and kid at home I wanted to be with. So any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[brant]

I have no idea how to get involved with satellite dish service; you may need to contact direct and find out if they have any requirements for you to be able to service their equipment.

As far as starting the business, you need to find out what equipment you'll need to operate, make an estimate of how much work you will have and create a budget based off this. You need to find your hourly operating costs. You need to have enough cash on hand to operate a minimum of 6/mo without any business coming in. Ideally you want to have enough cash to live off for a year. You should be hitting your target sales within 3-4 months, but not taking any money out of the business. There are a lot of books on the subject that can help you get started. For a service/contracting company, I recommend books by Ellen Rohr to get started.

Its EXTREMELY important that you know the exact operating costs of the business and know how to CORRECTLY set a selling price for your services. Don't even think about opening shop until you know these numbers.

 

[mjtville]

pm sent