Full guide
How to start a tech help business as a teenager
There are a lot of people who can afford help and cannot get it. Their grandchildren are impatient, the store is a forty-minute drive, and the phone support line is worse than the problem. What you are actually selling is patience. The technical part is usually easy.
What it costs
What you actually need
- Nothing to start
- $0
- A USB stick and a card reader
- $20
- A printed one-page cheat sheet
- $1
- A notebook
- $3
You already own the knowledge.
Photo transfers are half the work.
Leave it behind after every visit. It is why they call you again.
Never store a customer's passwords on your phone. Better still, don't store them at all.
Borrow before you buy
Do your first three jobs with equipment you already have access to. Buy your own out of money a customer has already handed you, never out of money you are hoping to make.
What to charge
Pricing, honestly
Start at the lower end of each range. Raise it once five people have paid you without hesitating.
- One hour at their home
- $20–$30
- Phone or tablet setup
- $30–$45
- Photo transfer and backup
- $30–$60
- A quick question by phone
- Free
Most problems take less. Round down and they will call you back.
New device, accounts, contacts, the lot.
Price by the job. It takes longer than an hour and matters more than anything else you'll do.
Give these away. They turn into paid visits and into referrals.
Your first five
Exactly who to ask, in order
Warmest first. Your first attempt should be with someone who will be kind about it, because you will be bad at it.
Person 1
Your own grandparents, and then their friends. This is almost always where it starts.Person 2
A neighbour you have seen struggling with a phone.Person 3
The seniors' centre or legion — ask an adult to introduce you rather than walking in cold.Person 4
Your library, which may already run a help desk and want a volunteer first.Person 5
Anyone who has ever asked you "how do I..." at a family gathering.
Send this
“Hi Mr. Kowalczyk — I'm Noor from down the street. I help people with phones and computers, $25 an hour at your place. My gran says you've been having trouble with your printer. I could come by Saturday morning and have a look, and if I can't fix it there's no charge.”
Change the names and the price. Keep the shape: who you are, how they know you, what you do, the price, and an easy way to say yes.
Not optional
Staying safe
- Never ask for or write down a banking password. If a job needs one, the customer types it, not you.
- Always have the customer present and watching the screen. Explain what you are doing as you do it.
- Take an adult with you for a first visit to someone you do not know.
- If you find something that looks like a scam in progress, stop and tell their family the same day.
- Do not install anything they did not ask for, including things you think are better.
Tell a parent or guardian where you are working and when you expect to be finished, every time.
The actual business
Getting them to book you again
- Write down what you did in plain words and leave it on the table.
- Call a week later to check the fix held. Almost nobody does this.
- Teach them the fix rather than just doing it, when they want to learn.
- Never make them feel slow. That is the whole business.
- Ask if a friend of theirs has the same problem. They usually do.
Anything about licences, taxes or getting paid under 18 is on the Ontario guide. More ideas are on the full list.
Free, for students
Want help actually starting one?
These are what people commonly charge, not what you will make. Look up what adults near you charge for the same job, then start a little under it and raise your price once you have five happy customers.
All the ways to make money 50 business ideas Getting your first customer