Striking out on my own!

[Waffles]

I never talk much about work except that I managed Thornhill for the last year. Well, the rest of what I do is in the information technology world. In the last 15 years I've done everything from basic computer support to infastructure design to security and forensics.

So basically, I've decided in the last few months to do some contract consulting and see how things went. Well, things seem to be working out. I've picked up a few clients, one that's a genetic sciences labratory that has just been piling more work on me. I've decided to start up my own company and seek out more clients and do this permanently and full time. The name of my company is NOVUS Technology Solutions.

I'm still making decisions about if I need office space or if I can work from a home office. I'm also trying to decide if I want to keep it just me, or if I want to hire someone to do basic computer support and repair since that's not really my specialty. There's not much money in that, but it often leads to other work.

So, at this point my offerings are geared toward small to medium sized business. If anyone has any needs or can give me a referal I would be greatly appreciative. If you know of anyone that has specific networking or server needs, please let me know. Also, I will do a full IT services audit. Essentially, I'll come in and look at your business as a whole and determine how well your current IT solutions are actually working, how they can be improved, and then implimenting the technology to make things better.

Thanks in advance. I'm really excited about how things are going so far!

[DeckerEnt]

Congrats Chris!!! Jump in with both feet and make a go at it!!! Best of luck to you!!!!

[sean]

sounds great. I am sure it will work out great.

[k062693w]

Congratulations Chris !!! I wish you the best of luck !!!

[Stangman]

Good luck man! I work for an IT company in Blue Ash...


Tech support sucks! :lol:

[Waffles]

Thanks everyone, I'm truly pumped about it. I'm looking at some space on 5th St in Covington. I know a developer there and he's willing to divide up a suite to give me an office on a month-to-month for a reasonable price. So, I should decide something early next week.

Jesse, what do you do for them? I used to work for Entex up there, which got sold to Siemens shortly after I left and went to Sarcom.

[NXcoupe]

Congrats Chris! Don't get too big too fast. If you can work out of your house, I say do it, the IRS advantages to that as well as how stress free it is, make it really worth looking hard at. Besides, you go to your customers 99.9% of the time, rather than having them come to you. Get a second phone line or if your cell works at home well, then just use it.
Good luck and cograts!

[Waffles]

Thanks Mike!

Those have been the arguements I've made myself. One of the issues I'm having some trouble with when I'm working from home is discipline. I have friends that just see my car in the driveway and stop by. It's not that they're just being rude and won't leave me alone or something, but it's hard for me to WANT to work when friends stop by.... lol... you know how I love to talk! lol

I still haven't made a decision yet, and I'm sure you're absolutely right and I'm just going to have to learn to say no.

[Mista Bone]

If you are gonna work from home, make a room an office, you only work from there, and others in the household know it is off limits unless important.

Doesn't have to be a big room, only need 6'x6' unless you like to walk around while chatting with clients. Think about sound proofing the room as well.

Buddy of mind did the acoustical foam treatment on three walls and the ceiling, left the outside wall with window untouched.

http://www.parts-express.com/images/item_large/260-515_L.jpg

This works great if he is on speakerphone, but also doubles as a nice sound room, just the IRS doesn't understand that :)

[NXcoupe]

I understand you completely! In my business that happens all day long, and at the end of the day I wonder where the day went and why I got nothing done.
I agree with Bone, go into your office and close the door, turn on some music and work, don't listen for the door and post a sign on the door that says, sorry I'm at work, see me after 5 or whenever your day ends. It will work and your true friends want you to succeed and will understand.
I had to do the same things, had to just say I need to get to work, and go to work, if they want to watch or wait for my break to talk, thats cool too. You can make it work, the key is keeping your money flowing into your account and not making others rich off your business, through rents and fees.

[relaxednoma]

Jesse is with Sarcom actually, he ended up coming to Sara Lee on a project, I heard and saw his 5.0 leaving work on numerous occasions, figured out that the guy listening to Metallica all day with the Trick Flow hat was the mustang guy. Oh, his fault I'm on here to haha, you all can blame him.

I work for TekSystems as a contractor at HP for Sara Lee as a Wintel Analyst, but I'm usually home thankfully here in Union

[02mingryGT]

Good luck!

[Waffles]

I think you guys are absolutely right. That certainly saves me the extra loot every month. I can get a P.O. Box for mail. I have zero walk-in business since I don't really "fix computers." In fact, most of my time SHOULD be on a clients site and not even in the office.

You know, I did I short stint with TekSystems before they actually split TekSystems off and everything was still AeroTek. That was in 1998 I think and I was the first contracter at a Johnson & Johnson company not from Kelly Services. I was out there at Ethicon Endosurgery. I did a stint there later in 2000 for Sarcom also. Kristen Kaufman was mt contact there at AeroTek. We actually got to be friends and I took them into several other clients with me later. I know she left there, but I lost touch and haven't seen her in like 8 years.

Sarcom was one of the most poorly organized companies I ever worked for, I hope they're better now lol. There were a lot of great folks there when I went to work for them, and by the time I left they'd all been replaced with people that were clueless. There was a big reorganization, not sure what the intent was. That was in Jan or Feb of 2001.

[jdubya]

Nice! I still do small business consulting a few times a month myself.

[Stangman]

Thanks everyone, I'm truly pumped about it. I'm looking at some space on 5th St in Covington. I know a developer there and he's willing to divide up a suite to give me an office on a month-to-month for a reasonable price. So, I should decide something early next week.

Jesse, what do you do for them? I used to work for Entex up there, which got sold to Siemens shortly after I left and went to Sarcom.

LOL I work for Sarcom!!!

Oh, and seeing Scott's post now.. I am on the tech support hell desk for the Healthy Advice Networks project...(THey have health advertisement kiosks in waiting rooms of Dr's offices)

BTW

I HATE MY JOB :lol:

Sorta wishing I went to an auto tech school...