When hearing the phrase contingency planning, many in the computer repair business and small business
IT industry automatically think of hot spares, off-site business
continuity, data replication, and diesel generators. And sure these are
all important areas for you to work on with your clients. However what
about protecting your new computer repair business from even more
certain non-IT-related business-interruptions?

Contingency plans
are absolutely critical for first-year business success. If you have a
contingency plan, you’ll be able to deal with the curve balls that get
thrown at you; because even if you do great research and plan
diligently, you’re going to encounter a mixture of good and bad
surprises.

You don’t want to get caught without a contingency
plan. Positive and negative things will happen, and you need to be able
to weather the ups and downs of your business. The more thought and
time you put into a contingency plan, the more you will be on track for
success and be able to avoid getting derailed as you make the
definitive choice and say, “I am ready to start my computer repair
business!”

Now normally this kind of contingency planning is
part of writing a business plan, under the heading of Risks. However
since writing a business plan gets the kind of procrastination
typically only reserved for the elliptical machine you bought for your
family room, that's now serving as a coat rack. Or the vacation home
you splurged on that sits empty 53 weeks a year. It probably makes
sense to tackle your contingency planning right now.

When you
create a plan to handle business curve balls, you need to list out
anything you can think of that will negatively impact or threaten your
business. A thorough contingency plan address 15 - 20 reasonable
possibilities that could affect your ability to remain profitable, or
even in business and are outside your control. The following are 4 of
the areas that must be included in a solid contingency plan.

1. Changes in Your Niche. Most computer
repair professionals find great success when they focus on a specific
industry niche and solving its unique IT problems. But what do you do
if your niche dries up or turns out to be unable to support your
business? Think about VARs focusing on real estate as the market
imploded in 2008 ... or solution providers catering to automotive
dealers that are currently on government subsidized life-support. You
need to have an alternative plan of action to roll with the punches if
you can’t find sufficient client projects within your originally-chosen
niche or niches.

2. Labor
Market Issues. If you’ve said, “Now’s the time to start my computer
repair business,” you need to think about who will help you deliver
your services to your valued clients as your company grows. You have to
plan for a lack of availability of contract workers or employees. You
need to be able to continue to provide solutions to your clients, even if you find yourself short staffed.

3. Comfort
Level with Software. What do you do if you decide to work with a
specific type of business that uses a particular software… but then
find out this particular market does not really need the solutions you
provide? You need to be able to branch out into different target
markets if one of your chosen specialties ends up not being a great
profit center. This means you need to include working with other types
of clients in your contingency plan, which often will mean knowing
about more than just one type of software.

4. Strategic
Alliances Between Competitors. While you need to focus on the concept
of “my computer repair business,” you also need to pay attention to
your competitors. How will you keep your business alive if there are
mergers or alliances within your industry that affect your ability to
attract clients? You need to think about your competitors as you
develop a plan for the future of your business and be prepared when the
business climate changes.