One link leads to another

by Colin MY COMPUTER TUTOR

After a lean couple of months things are really picking up in November. This week is going to be a busy one with 11 lessons and an "exploratory" session as well. So while I have the chance I'd better sort out this month's charity.

This arose through one of my clients. It's always the best way, I think. The lady's daughter sent her an email, telling her mother to "look at the pictures and read the article". The lady didn't understand how she could see any pictures or read an article, until I explained that her daughter had pasted an Internet link into the email.

I always make a Big Thing about clicking on anything in an email - there are so many scams out there - and I always teach my clients to think about whether they know and trust the sender. Having been so cautioned, and having completed the vetting process on her daughter, the lady opened a webpage from the link:

The Children's Trust

Her daughter is a consultant who refers children to this trust. So there it was staring me in the face, and I immediately said to my client "Well, that solves my charity donation for November". The Children's Trust is based at Tadworth in Surrey, which is very near where I was brought up, so it all ties in very neatly!

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A further mention for the charity Shelter who were campaigning again in Hereford High Town last week. I was bounced up to by Laura. I assured her that I had already made her charity mine, as it were, in October. I gave her my business card so she could find my website and from there perhaps this blog.

So if you're reading this, Laura: Hello! Keep up the good work.

Colin

Three Years of Business!

by Colin MY COMPUTER TUTOR

Some time ago I heard someone say that if you had started up a business, you'd be doing well if you broke even after three years. Well, at the end of each of my three years as "My Computer Tutor" I've made a profit.

Of course, the comment about breaking even after three years is a general one applied across all types of business, and the home computer tuition business is something of an exception to the general rule. In effect, it's a "cottage industry". You run it from home, so you have no separate business premises to buy or rent, heat, light etc. etc.

Then the equipment is minimal:

• I already had a desktop computer and a printer, but I bought a bog-standard laptop so I could empathise with my clients experiencing Microsoft's OS Vista.  "Sympathise" would be a better word, wouldn't it!
• I intended to provide manuals for any returning clients so I purchased a laminator, 90gsm A4 paper, laminating pouches and hardback presentation files.
• You need to keep records of everything so I ordered wallet files, NCR duplicating notebooks, receipt books and sheets of labels.
• Above all, I needed to advertise, so I sought out parish magazines and local community magazines, both of which are comparatively cheap to advertise in - cheaper than newspapers. And I had 3000 A5 leaflets printed.

And that was it for the first few months.

Since then, I've backed off from the local magazines and concentrated on the local freebie newspaper, which gets around the county. So that I too can get around the county I've invested in a car. I made a mistake about one form of advertising (see last month's post!) but I've given myself a lot of healthy exercise in delivering 20 000 leaflets through doors.

Here is a graphic showing the fruits of my labours over three years:

Red marks the starts of my business years in November, and green marks the calendar years.

The dark red line is the general linear trend over three years. The hummocky blue line is the average over each four months, which gives a truer picture of the ups and downs. Click on the chart and it will open in a new window.

The amounts are the values of the lessons I have given, which is the bulk of the income. I have made a bit out of website and spreadsheet design:

• 2008 - 2009.........£  400
• 2009 - 2010.........£  635
• 2010 - 2011.........£1335

Most of this is website design....and the ensuing update work, which partly explains the upward trend. The other part of the explanation is that I've grown in confidence with websites and am now charging more!

I've kept my lesson rates the same over three years! How many of you have done that? You can find mine on my website. Instead of increasing the rates, I'm phasing out my discounts! Originally I gave very generous discounts after 4 lessons - I thought that this would encourage business and I made a point of telling prospective clients when they phoned. But no longer!

The average values of sessions (1hr, 1.5 hrs and 2hr) has been:

• 2008-9...............£31.72
• 2009-10.............£32.83
• 2010-11.............£33.77

This trend is partly because of success in pushing more 1.5 hour sessions (not many people want 2hr sessions, but I have done 3hr sessions!) and partly because of my phasing out of the discounts since April this year.

Well there we are. It's now November 4th (just turned!) and at sunset I will have completed my third business year. I have broken the £15 000 turnover target I set myself and my expenditure has been nearly £5000.

Is this good, bad or indifferent for what we do? Get back to me and let me know.......................


Colin