Kimm in WA Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 My 16yo son has self-taught computer repair and website design. He has built a computer from "scratch" for our church, as well the church's website and maintains it. He makes our state minimum wage, $8.33, for his PT box boy job at a grocery store. For the past year friends, acquaintances, and church people have started asking him to look at their computers. He previously would do it basically on a volunteer basis for experience, not for pay, but they would occasionally give him $20 for fixing it for them. He was recently offered a job by a church member who wants to save some $. This guy's currently being charged $100/mo. for web hosting for his business (doesn't include building/maintaining the site) and wants my son to do the work for him instead, as well as some networking stuff, and other computer-related jobs. As I said, min. wage is $8.33. Some lower paid jobs like housecleaning and non-min. wage jobs around here get $10/hr. I'm wondering what a fair hourly wage would be, as this potential employee is asking my son what would be fair. Also, ds needs to figure up a rate for people he wouldn't want to volunteer the work for (acquaintances). He, off hand, though $10/hr. with a $20 min. This seems fair for his age but I don't want to under-value his knowlege. After all, people are calling him because computer repair people are EXPENSIVE. He would be traveling to some of these people's homes so I would imagine he'd also charge for travel time. Thanks so much for any advice! Kimm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimm in WA Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 anybody?? I could use some advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 I think that $10hr is fair as he gets more experience. People understand that they are hiring a teen who is not trained and that the repairs may take a little longer but they are trading that for someone who will charge them less. A person who has a legit business has many expenses that your son will not have. An office (sometimes at home but they are still paying for the space with a mortgage-I assume his office is his bedroom :D and your not leasing space to him), office equipment including phone lines, insurance, transportation, advertising, business cards (I would suggest he gets these though), taxes, business licensing, continuing training... After he has done it for a year or so he will get the feel from his clients on whether he is charging a fair amount. If people continue to tell him that he is undervalued, then he may decide to raise his rates. But, if he keeps his rates low enough, he will get more work, and in turn get more experience, and more advertising by word of mouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdie Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 (edited) I really have no idea because my dh maintains our computers. However, if I had to guess I would think that webhosting takes less skill than computer repair. So I think he should charge less for the webhosting job. Since it is an ongoing job I think $10 per hour is a good starting salary. Since computer repair takes more skill I think he should charge more - probably $20-$25 per hour, but I would not charge for travel time. If he is fast and efficient that would be about $50 per repair which seems fair to me. Have you called the Geek Squad to see what their local rates are? He sounds like a terrific son. Edited August 7, 2009 by Ferdie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st_claire Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 I would say $20 per hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherMayI Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 When we have computer problems I call a young man (early twenties) that used to be on the Geek Squad. I found him on Craigslist- he charges $10.00 per hour. Depending on the job I often pay him more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in OH Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 (edited) My husband, professionally trained with 20ish years experience was charging around $25 an hour with a 2 hour minimum. In county travel no charge. Out of county he charged for travel time. I know other people were charging more. He was keeping his rate low in hopes of attracting more business. Given your son's age and experience, I would say $10 an hour would be reasonable. As he gets older and gets more experienced he should raise his rate. At $10 an hour he will have a higher pay rate than the part time job, but not be charging so much that he scares off potential customers (times are tough right now and people are going to be tightfisted). *some days the hands and the brain just aren't working together. Edited for many typos* Edited August 8, 2009 by Dawn in OH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimm in WA Posted August 8, 2009 Author Share Posted August 8, 2009 Thanks, everyone, for your input. I think he's planning on going with the $10/hr. with a $20 min. Still not sure about travel time, as he could easily spend $7 in gas on one job since we live in a rural area and one person wanting his services is 1/2 hr. away. I appreciate everyone who posted. Kimm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey Mom Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 (edited) We own a computer/web design company. Our rates are $115/hour for computer service, and variable for web services. That said, we work mostly with just businesses. We will work for home users, but they pay the same rate. Any work that is done in the evening, over the weekend, or on holidays is at time and a half. That said, our 17y/o DD works for our business as well. Her rates run anywhere from $20 - $40 an hour. The main things your DS needs to do are: -keep track of all of his business expenses. This includes: mileage to and from the client's site, gas, any tools he buys for working, and any spare parts he uses. If he is ever meeting a client for lunch/dinner, that is a business expense. If he is playing golf with a client, that is a business expense. If he has to purchase business attire (polo shirts, for example), that is a business expense. A portion of his car payment (if he has one) is a business expense. A portion of his auto insurance...business expense. Anything he uses or does to promote his business is an expense of doing business. -He will need to pay taxes on his income. Anything over $500 (though this may have changed) requires a 1099. -You should check into the laws for your city and state regarding licensing. Find out if he needs to file a license to do business for the city, county, and state he is working in. If he is going to be selling any parts, he will also have to obtain a resale certificate. -If he is replacing parts in someone's computer, and he supplies the parts, he will have to tax the ENTIRE bill (parts and labor), and he will have to pay those taxes to the state. If no parts are involved, then the invoice to the client does not have to be taxed. Only if there is a tangible item on the invoice. Web sites are the exception to this rule. While he will be giving the client a tangible item (the web design) the law does not include that as a taxable item at this time. That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I think it's awesome that your DS is doing this. He has a special gift (computer knowledge) that many people do not have. Tell him not to sell himself short. If I were you (as his mother), I would encourage him not to go below $20/hour. If he has to spend a lot of money on travel charges, increase it to $30/hour. Trust me, most businesses already know what a good computer repair person charges. Don't let him get taken advantage of. Also, those businesses are looking for business expenses too, so don't feel badly about charging them what his time is worth. HTH. :) Edited August 8, 2009 by Hockey Mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimm in WA Posted August 8, 2009 Author Share Posted August 8, 2009 We own a computer/web design company. Our rates are $115/hour for computer service, Wow Hockey mom, that's expensive! What part of the country are you in, and are you in a highly-populated area? I'll keep your thoughts in mind. I appreciate it! Kimm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 We own a computer/web design company. Our rates are $115/hour for computer service, Wow Hockey mom, that's expensive! What part of the country are you in, and are you in a highly-populated area? I'll keep your thoughts in mind. I appreciate it! Kimm My mother owns a computer company and she says $35 an hour. The fact that he is 16 doesn't play into it if he knows what he is doing. She told me about a couple of local brother who started their first computer business at 14 and 15 - their mother had to drive them to their service calls. Web design should be charged at $75 an hour. If he wants to do it for $10, fine, but that isn't a fair wage for his expertise. Being a bag boy is a low-skill job, but computer work is not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey Mom Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 We own a computer/web design company. Our rates are $115/hour for computer service, Wow Hockey mom, that's expensive! What part of the country are you in, and are you in a highly-populated area? I'll keep your thoughts in mind. I appreciate it! Kimm We're in the south. Believe it or not, we're actually lower than some of our competition, and on par with everyone else. We don't charge travel fees, we don't charge per mile, and we don't charge if we can't fix the problem. We are certified, and we pay annual subscriptions to various manufacturers for high-level tech support should we ever need help (Microsoft, Citrix, Cisco, etc.). We also offer "Contract Rates" to our clients. Contract rates are for those who need us on a consistent basis. For example, a client wants us on site every Wednesday from 3-5pm. They pay $85/hour. Another clients wants us on site Mondays and Thursdays for four hours a day. They pay $65/hour. Web rates are a completely different animal though. We charge $150 for the first 2 unique pages, then $85 per page after that. However, we also do sites for significantly less depending on the project. We take 10% off the quote for all non-profit and church sites. That's not a hard-fast rule though. We've done a few sites that we would have normally charged $1500 for $199 just to have some work. Anyway, I didn't want to get into too much of our pricing structure. I just wanted to make sure your son didn't short-change his ability, and more importantly, to make sure he's reporting his income to the IRS (over $500). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 16 without degree or certificate of some type $10/hr is fair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 I charge $50/hour. I don't think it would be unreasonable for him to charge $30 with extra for travel expenses over a certain distance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chanda7 Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 My DH owns his own business that he has been running since he was 16. He also trained under a couple of mentors before starting out on his own. I think between $10-15 an hour is appropriate to start out considering he hasn't had any training. If he is doing home visits, he could also charge X-amount for the visit to pay for his gas, etc. (like $10) and then X-amount per hour during the visit. I think most people would balk at paying a self-employed teenager more than that. As he gains experience over the next couple of years or so, he could easily double his rates. He might look into taking the A+ certification test to add more credibility as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimm in WA Posted August 9, 2009 Author Share Posted August 9, 2009 Thanks so much, ladies. I appreciate your input. Kimm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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