Looking for some advice and potential help

Your chances of competing with HP and Dell are extremely slim to none. Sorry, but it's the truth. You can pour as much money into your business as you want to even compete with them, but without advertising, name recognition, and suppliers - you're not going to get far.

You are far better off finding an innovative niche in which you can create a decent business.
 
cool thats your opinion and I respect it. Remember me though 01001010 and we'll see. The names Ronald Patton
 
^ I wish you plenty of success, believe me.

Let me ask you a question - have you ever heard of CyberPower or Novatech?
 
Yes I have, what about them?

I'm willing to bet 80% (if that) of the consumer market doesn't. Both of them have been manufacturing computers for someodd years, and look at their market growth.

Given the current market conditions, you'd be hard pressed to get a good loan to help jump start your business. The market is going to need to recover. They're not going to lend to someone who's new to the business world. I'm trying not to be harsh, because it's the current reality of our world.

Find a niche and start from there. Develop your core product, and expand. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
 
Listening to my favorite radio host Ric Edelman he thinks the market will be better by 2015 he hasnt steered me wrong yet...Dont worry this plan is over 20 to 30 years. 20 being the optimal time. But 30 to 40 to be realistic. I plan on going to school for about 10 more years, then get a job and work on it.
 
Listening to my favorite radio host Ric Edelman he thinks the market will be better by 2015

I'm not going to go into detail, but these market analysts have been wrong before, and they'll be wrong again. I've watched them day in and day out. They can either lead you to success or down the shitter. Don't put all your weight on their analysis alone.

If you're going to follow their advice, do it collectively. Gather up all the top financial analysts and see the trend of their predictions.
 
Okay. I'm just going to put my thoughts out for you to read Ron.

1) I've had a very small PC business running for a little over a year. In the tax world, "officially" since March of '09. The town I live in is about 3,500 and it's where 90% of my customer base is. I serve the surrounding 50 mile radius and only a fraction of my customers come from there.

2) In a little over a year, I'm lucky to have 5 or 6 customers a month, on average.

3) I'm not pushing hard right now. I want to get college out of the way, so the above statistics do not bother me in the least. This has gotten me by the last year without having to get another job. But I don't have anything in the bank (I mean, I do...but)...figuratively speaking; I'm even right now....not in the red, not in the black, for the most part. I'd be in the red if I owned my home and paid the bills, but I luckily don't.

4) When I'm done riding out my 4 year "1/2 scholarship" at the college I'm going to, I'm getting my master's degree in business. I'm going to try and find a good job somewhere (hope to be a professor in college somewhere) and bank some money. Not a lot, but a enough.

5) I'm going to get married/start a family. This may carry over from item 4 depending on the time frame. I figure by the time I'm done with what's looking at potentially 6 years of schooling, the market will have rebounded.

6) I'm going to research THEN about owning my own business again. To me, things are too shady 6 years into the future. I'm playing it as is right now. I'm a Christian, and I believe that God has a plan for us all, and I--for the most part--am along for the ride with most of the big stuff that he has planned along the way. What happens, happens for a reason.

7) With all of that said, if I find a teaching job I love, I'm keeping it...who knows...maybe till I retire. If I don't like it, well, I'll try a few other things. And, if it's in the works, then I'll give the PC business another go.

__

Our differences:
1) I do NOT want a big company. I think that the big companies now are pathetic...I don't want to relate to them at all. I want to focus on quality and customer service (my strong point, being that I'm very good with people). I've had so much fun so far running my little podunk shop out of my home.

2) I do not have $500,000 being handed to me, nor will I ever. I prefer it that way. Don't take this the wrong way at all (seriously), but I don't ever want to be handed something like that in my life. It wouldn't feel right to me, as I wouldn'tve been the one to work for it.

All in all, I want to live an honest, humble life. I want a good degree, decent job that pays the bills and leaves some extra money for security and fun, I want to find the love of my life, have kids, watch them grow up, get old with my wife, get closer to God, watch my kids have kids...watch them grow up...and eventually, return to my Maker when He calls me up to Him. I think that I'd be very satisfied with that life if I touch people along the way. And I think that it's only possible to truly touch people if you stay humble at heart, and if you make time for it. With me, if I went big time with my computer stuff (or tried, for that matter), I think I would forget the true meaning of my life (which, I might add, I have yet to figure out).

That's just my 2 cents, Ron. I hope nothing offended you, because it wasn't supposed to.

I wish you the best of luck in all of your endeavors. There was a time when I was very ambitious just like you; then I sat down and thought about what I truly wanted in life and came up with what I wrote above and was more than satisfied with it. And I can honestly say, I don't think I'd have any regrets with that life...maybe a few "what-ifs", but no regrets.

Let the peaces fall where they may.
 
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