pc income


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Old 03-15-15, 10:26 AM
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pc income

I have been involved in software for about 15 years now. I am not an IT but have been able to help many people with no errors for quite some time. Being on a fixed income, I have thought about asking people who want help to pay what they think my work is worth if it works and nothing if it does not. I would also tell them not to blame me if something went south.
I would image their system before beginning to reduce the risk of problems.

What do you think of this idea to supplement my shrinking pension as I am elderly and infirm. I can reinstall OS's and run many remedial functions to right the woes in pcs. I learned in several forms and continue to participate.
I just downloaded and iso file, burned it to dvd and can now reinstall 8.1 with a generic key to install and the win 8 product key to activate both the OS and WMC. Most of the clients would be elderly like me but never chose to keep up.
I know it is subjective but I have no one to bounce it off.
 
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Old 03-15-15, 10:45 AM
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Might amount to nothing but what do you have to lose?
 
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Old 03-15-15, 10:56 AM
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I'll give it a try but knowing me I'll just do it for nothing.
Thank you.
 
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Old 03-15-15, 11:20 AM
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Not to be a cynic but my best guess is this will amount to a few dollars a month, tops.

Now, go prove me wrong and get rich
 
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Old 03-15-15, 02:42 PM
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I understand and easier said than done. I will either do it or not and it depend upon my diligence and skill. I was just feeling the waters with an other mind.
Thanks.
 
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Old 03-15-15, 03:09 PM
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My experience has been if you do work for nothing just to be helpful you'll get all kinds of "customers". But as soon as you charge there is no incentive for people to come to you. I hope I'm wrong in you case.
 
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Old 03-15-15, 03:23 PM
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I think you hit the nail on the head.
At 75 I have learned most, but not all, want something for nothing.
 
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Old 03-15-15, 09:46 PM
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If you start charging for your services then at some point you will need a business license. For some things you need to take an exam before you can get the license. You could though avoid some problems by advertising repair services on e-bay. Or you could buy laptops and other electronics at thrift stores and then replace the operating system or put Linux on some that are too old. Laptops don't weigh much and are easy to pack and you can get free shipping supplies from the post offices website. There is a book about e-bay business in the for dummies series of books that is good.
 
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Old 03-16-15, 04:08 AM
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business

Yes, my wife has a small business and has as licence do she could help with those details while I concentrate on the pcs.
I certainly appreciate your help.
EBay is a good place to do this and also to buy low and sell high.
 
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Old 03-16-15, 08:31 AM
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You are certainly welcome peterr I am happy to help. I have a link to the book I was talking about Written by Marsha Collier. You might have seen her during those PBS fund raising marathons as they had a special show that talked about e-bay a few times. Anyway in her book she talks about what you need to start including about postage scales(which you can get cheap on e-bay) and many other things. Here is the link http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...ay+for+dummies .

Notice I didn't point to just one book and gave you the general search page. I did that because Marsha Collier has a book out for seniors too that might interest you although the general book listed at the top of the page should work great for you too. I really believe e-bay would be best as then you wouldn't have to be certified although certification is always nice to have if possible. Most of the service ads are very specific in what they will or will not do that I have seen on e-bay.
 
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Old 03-16-15, 09:37 AM
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income

You were very generous with your information and thank you for that.

I was at my doctors and he told me how I could generate income to supplement SS
He explained in detail how he earns over 18K a week by buying low and selling high. He had a cubicle where he stores stuff he finds at sales etc. and sells them for a profit. His spreads sheet was impressive. He has his wife do what he has no time for. I think he was trying to do me a favor but it was not the best medical visit I have ever had.
I think I lived too long from what I am experiencing these last 2 decades.
: confused:
 
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Old 03-16-15, 08:04 PM
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I like hedgeclipper's idea of buying low and selling high. Yard sales - sometimes stuff goes dirt cheap. At the end of the year, residential sidewalks near universities are often lined with people's castoffs, still quite usable - furniture, those small refrigerators, tvs - stuff they can't be bothered to pack up and take with them. Maybe electronics? And you can always put a small sign up to the grocery or on the community bulletin board in a busy college hallway, soliciting used items which you can refurbish.

What about tutoring senior citizens on using their computers? That's if you are patient and can explain things clearly.You have the same vocabulary as they do and could translate some of those oddball terms, which would be a good start! And there'd be no generation gap to inhibit their further learning. Remember when IE would freeze because you had committed a "fatal error"? My niece (a middle-school IT person) used to get called over by a neighbor whenever he got that "fatal“ message. He was glad when IE upgraded to a less violent term. .... Or helping them think through what kind of equipment they'd want to
buy before a big store's display stuns them. Or just figuring out what kind of ink to buy, and how to install the cartridge. Some of this amounts to hand-holding, but there are a lot of people who need that to work up their own courage. It's certainly worth charging for! I agree that not charging for your work is a poor way to start - for one thing, you develop a habit of under-charging that will be hard for you to break. You need to start as you mean to go on.

Besides ebay, do you have Craig's List? It's another place to advertise, and I believe it's simpler to list there than on ebay. ... You are certainly in the right field. Congrats on staying up to date ... and Go for it!
 
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Old 03-17-15, 05:38 AM
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typing

Because I do not reply with a long letter like you did, only means that I am a hunt and peck typer, not that I do not appreciate the information. Your ideas were spot on and I am going to give the read further consideration.
Thank you
 
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Old 03-17-15, 12:14 PM
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Peterr, I do exactly what you want to do. The problem is that a million others also do it. If you don't have a store front, most customers will always try to get you to lower your price. I don't only repair PCs, I repair anything that I can. It's the same across the board. Don't laugh but lesbians are my best customers plus some of them greet me with some nice hugs & kisses. Except one, they never question my price. At the moment, I only have cards that I made in MS Word for advertizement. I have to find another way to target my best customer base.
 
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Old 03-17-15, 02:40 PM
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base or marketing

My wife started out by going from store to store to sell things she made.
After about ten years she found there were fairs held in different areas. She slowly but surely began to get accepted, paid her dues and now makes a fair living doing just that. She goes to a fair about 4xs a year and has clients who take her card, get in touch and ask for gifts for family and friends. The only kicker is that you have to go to wealthy areas or you won't make anything. We travel to them and participate then come home to our humble abode.
I am too ill and old to travel and really market but perhaps you might follow her trail of success. She deals in pen and ink house portraits, jewelry and embellished apparel.
She had an art skill it took a while to get going and now works from home.
I have no such skill but perhaps you do.
Many times minorities have learned to be sensitive to others needs which is a good quality and one lacking in our general society. It is also mistaken as a weakness which is wrong.
 
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Old 03-17-15, 04:58 PM
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Peterr this wouldn't work for you but our farmers market in either North College Park or in downtown College Park would be a great place for your wife to set up. I have never been to the downtown farmers market but walk to the one in North College Park. It starts this year on April 25th I will give you a link to their page Hollywood Farmers Market | College Park, Maryland . They also have a Facebook page you can go to to find out more and see pictures. They are sponsored by many different places including My Organic Market or as we call it MOM's and MOM's is in that shopping center.
 
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Old 03-18-15, 05:07 AM
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I shall be sure to pass this along to my wife and thank you very much
 
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Old 03-19-15, 10:30 PM
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You are most welcome your wife's art sounds great and I am sure it will sell well at the farmers market. They have wood workers and knitters there and I think I remember a photographer selling pictures there. I also have seen some handmade jewelry at the market and some people selling cosmetics. I will look for her work and might even buy something.
 
 

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