The business in one offer
Who it serves
Accounting, insurance and architecture offices with five to twenty staff and no internal IT person. Partners often rely on a relative or an occasional technician, and they pay for predictable support because downtime during busy seasons costs real money.
What to sell first
A per-device monthly plan for Windows or Mac workstations: automated patching, endpoint protection, a weekly backup check, remote help desk during business hours, and quarterly network documentation updates. Excluded: new hardware purchases, on-site visits beyond one per month, custom software, phone systems and after-hours emergencies unless separately priced.
Per-device pricing scales with the office and is easy to explain on one page. Standard tools for each device keep your work repeatable, and excluding hardware and projects stops the plan from turning into unlimited work.
What could it cost to start?
This is an original example budget for the limited pilot described above. It is not a researched market average or a complete quote for every location.
| Item to price | Example allowance |
|---|---|
| Remote monitoring and help desk tools, first three months | $600.00 |
| Used firewall, switch and mini PC for a test lab | $700.00 |
| Certification study materials and exam | $400.00 |
| Cyber and professional liability insurance allowance | $1,200.00 |
| Documentation platform, three months | $150.00 |
| Simple website with plan details | $200.00 |
| Example total | $3,250.00 |
What this assumes—and excludes
Assumes you already have hands-on IT experience, a reliable laptop and a vehicle. Excludes office rent, owner pay, hardware resale inventory and local business licenses. Tool pricing often depends on device counts, so get quotes from vendors and an insurance agent before launch.
Collect actual supplier, insurance and local-authority information. Add a reserve for delays and unexpected costs; the example total is not a funding recommendation.
How the unit economics work
At an assumed $45.00 per managed device and $9.00 in direct costs, contribution is $36.00 before monthly fixed costs, owner pay and taxes. With 0.5 all-in working hours per unit, that is $72.00 per delivery hour before those deductions. These inputs illustrate the arithmetic; they do not establish a market price or expected earnings.
The example also allows $300.00 in monthly fixed costs. Include unpaid acquisition and administrative time when deciding whether the offer is worthwhile.
Try your own numbers
These are editable planning assumptions, not prices we have verified. Calculations stay in your browser.
Operating result = (price − direct cost) × units − monthly fixed costs. Before owner pay, taxes, financing and startup recovery. At these inputs, delivery requires 5 hours per month, plus any work not included in your per-unit estimate. Sales volume is a scenario, not a forecast.
How to find the first customers
Test a small offer before scaling traffic. Record the source of each enquiry, whether it fits the offer, and whether the buyer pays.
- Offer a free network and backup checkup to two local professional offices, documenting what you find in a short written report with clear priorities.
- Introduce yourself to office managers through a local chamber or business association, describing the plan in plain language and the devices it covers.
- Partner with a local copier or phone system vendor who does not handle computers, sharing referrals in both directions with clear disclosure to clients.
- Keep a record of response times and resolved tickets for each client and share these with prospects instead of making broad claims.
What to validate before spending more
- Run your full tool stack on your own test lab for 30 days, including a simulated failed backup and a restore. Note any alert you miss.
- Calculate per-device tool costs at five, ten and twenty devices to make sure your price still works at low counts.
- Ask an insurance agent which cyber incidents your policy covers when the breach involves a client's systems you manage.
- Draft a service agreement that lists supported devices, response times and exclusions, and have an attorney review it.
The operational catch
Remote management tools give you powerful access to every client device, which makes your own accounts an attractive target. Protect your tools with strong multifactor authentication, separate admin accounts and regular access reviews. A compromise of your management console can affect all your clients at once.
A practical way to fund the first step
Start with one or two offices and use monthly tool plans scaled to their device count. Ask clients to pay the first month before onboarding, and resell hardware only on client approval with payment upfront.
Separate cash already available from money still to earn. Count only proceeds after direct expenses, and do not spend customer funds needed to fulfill their existing orders.
Questions before you start
Should I charge per device or per user?
Per device is simpler when staff use one computer each. Per user works better when people use several devices or cloud apps. Pick one model and list exactly what counts.
What about old computers that cannot be updated?
Put unsupported systems in a written exception list and recommend replacement. Avoid promising security coverage for devices that no longer receive updates.
How should I dispose of old hardware for clients?
Wipe storage properly, document the process and use certified electronics recyclers. Some clients want a certificate of data destruction, so plan for that cost.
Source-backed checks
These references support the specific checks below. They do not endorse this business idea or substantiate the example prices, costs or demand.
CISA provides cyber guidance tailored to help small businesses improve their security practices. CISA: Cyber Guidance for Small Businesses.
EPA says donating or recycling used electronics conserves natural resources and avoids air and water pollution. EPA: Electronics Donation and Recycling.
The PCI Security Standards Council publishes data security standards for merchants that accept payment cards. PCI Security Standards Council: PCI Security Standards for merchants.
- Cyber Guidance for Small BusinessesCISA · Reference checked September 8, 2026
- Electronics Donation and RecyclingEPA · Reference checked September 8, 2026
- PCI Security Standards for merchantsPCI Security Standards Council · Reference checked September 8, 2026
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