Tired of donating blood and sweat to the "man"...
 

A couple of coworkers and I are contemplating starting a IT consulting business. We, however, have a dilemma. Should we try to initiate the business with a narrow range of services (namely small business systems administration), or should we aim high and offer a turn key solution for businesses which would include everything from the aforementioned systems administation to database management to web developement (Internet or Intranet) to inventory management?

I'm 25 years old and I am tired of seeing my company profit from my labor while I just barely survive (after paying student loans, rent, car payment, etc). I work for a consulting firm who contracts my services out to a large corporate client (there is a team of 10 - not including help desk personnel) and I know that my company is making about 750,000 (per person) a year in profit after they pay my salary. Obviously, I understand that businesses have overhead costs, but even if you budget an additional 100k a year, the numbers are still very uneven. I think that if each (the new business partners) of us can maintain about 10-15 hours of billable time per week, we can keep this thing afloat with little personal financial impact.

Okay, now I am beginning to ramble so I will stop....

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Tired of donating blood and sweat to the "man"...
 

As a 45 yr. FOG (fat old guy) all I can say is welcome to the real world. Just wait until you are married and have a couple kids and a mortgage and then it's braces and dance lessons and hockey gear and the list just keeps getting longer and longer...

I guess what I am trying to say is if you have a dream, go for it, because you will never get another chance like you have right now.

Oh, and the first time she mentions getting married, you go to the bathroom, jump out the window and run like the wind.

That advice would have worked for me 20 years ago.

As a small business, the best way to seperate yourself is to show a focus on a paticular need. That does not say that once you are in the door you have to say no to any work that you can complete in a capable and competent way. Instead it is to say that your "message" to your prospective clients needs a very fine focus. There are a lot of companies out there that do everything. If you show your prospects / clients that you listen as well as have knowlede in a specific area, you will do well.

good luck.

I did that for close to 20 years.... I was glad to stop doing it for myself and cruise into a good high paying corporate job :)

i now work 1/16 as hard as I used to and get to really enjoy my life more than I've ever done before.

you could start small and work your way up... I just recommend you avoid taking on too much at once.

No reason you shouldn't go for it, just document everything. business expenses are tax deductable :)

yeah, go for it. start small and grow big. aiming too high could go badly. best of luck!!

When you start up, it's rough going for the first year or so. If you want to make it, and it's a dream, I'd do it now before it's too late. I've always wanted to start some type of business. If I had a plan, dammit, I'd be on it foresure.

For the type of business you want to start, what will the market bear? Where your currently located, assuming you dont want to move, how much competition will you have. Get involved in some groups that business owners belong to and feel them out, see what the needs are for that area. If there are 20 people offering the same thing, you won't be very successful, however if you are the only one....

You can get information from the Small Business Association, they're somewhere on the net, about putting together a business plan - and how to get your business up and running.

Best of luck on your venture. With time, hardwork, and some sound planning I'm sure things will be turn out great.