[MikeW]

Hi,

I'm looking for some feedback on our site - link in sig. Basically the idea is for it to be simple and effective, do you think it lives up to that? (Of course, don;t just restrict comments on it to answering that question, any constructive feedback, good or bad. is greatly appreciated!)

Thanks,

Mike

[Inzvestor]

Hi Mike

My thoughts as follows;

Home
If you have graduated already consider changing the text to 'Setup by 2 I.T graduates' as this will inspire more confidence than 'students' will.

Support
Remove the 'anything you want' wording - use examples of your work and sell the benefits of engaging you.

Repair
On http://www.circuitonline.co.uk/repair.html , consider showing print screens of commonly seen errors as the visual recognition may prompt people to call.
Advise them what the early warning signs are (slow running pc, blue screen of death etc)

Design
Portfolio of sites or examples would be handy - many people make their minds up visually based on previous sites developed, and then check the price of similar sites.

General Comments
Most people are afraid to ask for assistance.

Have you considered writing some helpful 'how-to' guides that you could publish on your site?

Will you be changing the header images?

Hope this is seen as constructive as it is not intended in any other way.

[IP2]

What is it with 'black' at the moment? Although I do feel it works better on your site than most I have seen recently.

Setup by 2 I.T students fed up of extortionate high street prices, we feel the need to offer professional services at an affordable price.

This line doesn't give confidence, I know age should not be a factor, but the use of numeral 2 and 'students' will put some people off, I suspect. How about...

"Founded by two IT enthusiasts, determined to offer a professional service for far less less than you would pay on the High Street!"

...or similar.


On your "Support" & "Repair" pages, I would like to have been able to click on "Slow PC?", "Network Support?" etc, to hear a bit more detail of what you could do for each one.

Likewise on the "Design" page, I would have preferred to see examples of your work, even if they were only designs to show off your talents and not used for a client.

On your contact page:

Circuit Online is a LLP registered in England and Wales. Company Number: OC327444

Might just want to add "Limited Liability Partnership" in there to clarify.

Hope that is some help, otherwise seems to fit your goals.

[Indizine]

One major myth and common factor of business failure amonst others, is thinking you can massively undercut the competition whilss offering exactly the same service or product.

It gives me the impression you have not yet experienced overheads, taxes, etc, let alone a decent profit margin. Furthemore, high street businesses account for branding in their costs, which you do not have, but which pulls in the punters.

[MikeW]

Originally Posted by Indizine

One major myth and common factor of business failure amonst others, is thinking you can massively undercut the competition whilss offering exactly the same service or product.

It gives me the impression you have not yet experienced overheads, taxes, etc, let alone a decent profit margin. Furthemore, high street businesses account for branding in their costs, which you do not have, but which pulls in the punters.

Hi,

The reason we can currently do this is because we are only running the business part time, due to sixth form studies. We are also (just, so we need to keep an eye on it!) under the turnover threshold for income tax and NI. if we were to go full time, then yes we would have to increase prices I agree, and we would do this incrementally leading up to going full time (this probably wont happen anyway as we both intend to start university or work placements September 2009, but if it did...).

Hope that clears it up for you, and others who are reading this

[IP2]

Originally Posted by MikeW

Hi,

The reason we can currently do this is because we are only running the business part time, due to sixth form studies. We are also (just, so we need to keep an eye on it!) under the turnover threshold for income tax and NI. if we were to go full time, then yes we would have to increase prices I agree, and we would do this incrementally leading up to going full time (this probably wont happen anyway as we both intend to start university or work placements September 2009, but if it did...).

Hope that clears it up for you, and others who are reading this

Which way do you want it to go Mike?

[MikeW]

In all realism, probably would like the company to close (or at least I resign as a director) in around 12 months from now, as whilst I enjoy the challenge of running a small business, I would like to go to university or do an accounting based work placement. The plan in my head at the moment is to start another venture up either during or immediately after university, but that's a long way off now so may change

[IP2]

Originally Posted by MikeW

In all realism, probably would like the company to close (or at least I resign as a director) in around 12 months from now, as whilst I enjoy the challenge of running a small business, I would like to go to university or do an accounting based work placement. The plan in my head at the moment is to start another venture up either during or immediately after university, but that's a long way off now so may change

Fair enough. Not an angle I have seen to often on a business forum, but I admire your honesty.

Which Uni are you aiming for?

[MikeW]

Either Birmingham or Westminster

[Inzvestor]

In the interim, why not pay tax - as long as you have steady income coming in and keep on top of tax payments you will be fine.

Not growing because of tax fears is not really an option.
If you built the business up then you could market and sell the business next year which may net you a greater return.

Have you considered this exit strategy yet?