I'm thinking of....

[63083]

Well, that is a loan possibility. I will look into them. Thanks. I will need to create a business plan though.

And I live in fairly rural area and there is not a good computer business around for at least 10-20 miles. My only competition is places like best buy, staples, office max, walmart, and this INCREDIBLY overpriced computer store. So I am in good shape there.

And I am fortunately in one of the more "well-to-do" areas of the US so that's also good with a low economy.

And I do have some knowledge in marketing as I have been in a marketing course at school for 1 1/2 years.

Until I can afford a renting space I can run my business out of my apartment though.

 

[PokerDegenerate]

If you need some help with setting up a business plan there is one on Microsoft powerpoint that you can use as a reference to know what exactly they are looking for....

 

[Lowndsey]

I don't know much about the SBA but I wouldn't expect them to give a loan to get a business started to someone who is still in school? I am sure they get thousands of applications a week and would choose someone who could put 100% of their time into it over someone just having some free time after school.

 

[63083]

Well thank you. I still think I might be able to get some funds from the grandparents if nothing else works.

 

[David Lindon]

How are you going to market it? Are you planning to sell on ebay?

 

[Jesusfrk611]

And I live in fairly rural area and there is not a good computer business around for at least 10-20 miles. My only competition is places like best buy, staples, office max, walmart, and this INCREDIBLY overpriced computer store. So I am in good shape there.

Those are some heavy competition really, more than you may think. They sell name brands and some offer overpriced computer service that gets your computer, which people will readily pay for some reason or another... You really have to market your business well to succeed against the big names. If there was a reputable company that charged a bit more, and a brand new company with no reputation, I'd probably go to the more expensive place personally because I know I can get stuff there fast... That's people's mindsets.

I ran a computer business from home using craigslist to resell them. I was fairly profitable, but there was competition even on craigslist. I lived a bit away from the city I was posting in (a good 30 minute drive), so I didn't get as much business as another guy that lived in the city even though he had higher prices. But every computer resellers reputation was kinda ruined by some of those people on there and I eventually stopped selling stuff so much because of the economy and competition. Just my personal experience with my home business.

 

[Tommy Boy]

The first thing you need to do is check out how much competition you have in your area before you do anything. If you are surrounded by businesses that are just like what you want to start, then you don't have a very good chance of making it work. People will just go to the other places that have been around a while and have built up a reputation. If there are only 1 or 2 then you have a better chance. And you need to do things to make your business stand out from the rest.

And if you are going to make it work, you have to be absolutely 110% committed, sorry to say this but 90% of new businesses fail, for different reasons.

Then you need to come up with a plan, get a piece of paper and just start writing stuff down, brainstorm. You can't just jump into a business head first not knowing where you are going or what you are doing. If you want it to succeed that is.

Good Luck with your business

Edit: I missed the post where you mentioned Staples, Office Max, Walmart, Best Buy....etc.......
Thats some pretty heavy competition man.......you won't be able to compete with them very well.