Running/Managing Networking Business, please advice if it's possible.

itconsult99

Hello, I'm new here and really glad I found this wonderful community. I have a Bachelor degree in Management Information Systems(MIS) since 1998 and took an entry level job as Programmer Associate but ended up assisting CCNA on the Networking Systems upgrade and thougth it was good idea to help the company until I would moved to programming project when available within. I didn't learn much because the company pretty much went down south. So 4 years later without programming experience or Networking certification, I couldn't find an IT job. Since then I have been working as Certified Pharmacy Technician at the hospital and now I really want to go back to IT world focusing on Networking system. I plan to visit the Hennepin Technical College because it seems to have a really good program for Network Administrator/Anaylst(A.A.S). I also believe with my MIS degree along with schooling program, this would help me land an entry level job somewhere in Networking related. My 5 years goal plan is to manage my own Networking Consulting business oversea and my employees are project base only salary. Is my plan doable or would work only in my dream? With my study plan, would it be enough to run Networking business? If I hire Networking Engineer(CCNA, CCNP, CCIE) to help me for a small project to start out with, would this only person finish the project from start to finish and support the clients?

Or my second business option is to operate similar kind of services as AT&T company. I like to start out small then expand the business. What field of study do I need? Telecommunication and Broadband technology?

Please advice, hope all this make sense

Thank you in advance for your valuable time,
Ed

itconsult99

Oh no 133 views and no responds!, I'm screwed!Please come again!

shodown

to start a networking business you will either need to know Business and fill in the networking gaps or know networking and fill in the business gaps. Your idea of hiring someone is a good fit, but nobody knows business. You have to have a guy or girl who knows sales, relationships, customer service.

paul78

Good luck with your venture. Starting a business is hard work and takes a lot of patience and willingness to "do it all". It's really not possible to comment on your thoughts with just a quick summary. There are lots of people doing what you are suggesting. Have you started putting together a formal business plan? Your challenge based on your description is not likely to be technical but sales and marketing. How are you going to fund the business?

As to what field to study - it's basically business administration as the primary core study.

ptilsen

Starting a business is hard, and the competition in the Twin Cities is heavy. To be honest, I don't think any amount of education and just five years in the field would make you automatically succeed. You would need to do something different to prosper. Even if you're a great engineer, you need sales, marketing, funding, and a business plan, as Paul said. Doing those things yourself doesn't leave you much room to focus on being a great engineer.

I worked for such a startup (if it can still be called that) for about two years, and it was rough. The company has been around for around a decade, and it took six or seven years before it was actually profitable enough to make sense for the CEO to have stopped being an engineer himself. He was pretty good (just pretty good) at being both, but that wasn't enough to make him good enough at being either to drive the business. The company is pretty stable now, but one employee leaving or one big client leaving would likely yield 5% or 10% contraction of the entire business.

I don't want you to think you can't do it because of all this. If you have the drive and the aptitude, you can. But it will require a lot of work and a lot of learning, possibly more than five years, and I just don't know if an AAS and a few years of IT experience is going to get you there.

As far as that degree goes, it makes no sense to me to go Hennepin Technical for an AAS when you already have a B.S. There is nothing in that AAS program you can self-teach, and it won't add anything to your resume since you already have an MIS. Self-studying for, say, the CCNA, and earning it would get you a foot in the door somewhere and get you on a path to success. I really don't think a two-year degree will do that.

paul78

Btw - despite my previous comments, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't do it. In the US, it is exactly people like you that grow the economy and create jobs. So go for it... I have worked for 3 startups and I have started 2. Only one was successful, so be prepared to fail and start again. Good luck.