Hello, would love your advice!

[greyhoundrick]

Hello,

This is my first post and I would like to thank everyone in advance for the opportunity to interact with you. Im sure your expertise and guidance will be extremely valuable to me!

I am 61 years old and we are getting out of the restaurant business after 34 years. Its been a struggle at times and not to bore you with the details, we are thankful to have survived!

My wife and I will both be working for a while in order to sustain an income that meets our fairly simple lifestyle. With that said, Im at the point now where I would rather do something I enjoy and make a modest income vs. something I dislike and earning a higher wage/profit.

I have always enjoyed using computers, both PC and Mac, however I am quite a novice when it comes to understanding the intricacies of how they work and how to be able to troubleshoot, program and diagnose their operations. I have done very basic things like install internal drives, RAM upgrades etc. and have become familiar with a few software programs like Photoshop CC, Excel, Word and the like, but am limited as to scope and depth of knowledge.

I understand that it is a long shot for me, at my age, to earn an IT degree or to create a large business repairing and/or consulting in this arena and frankly after being self employed for many years with numerous employees, we are more desirous of either owning a very small business and/or working for a company.

I would really like to be involved in the computer industry at some level (any level) and would like to ask for your advice as to the best way to proceed.

I would be interested in any of the following:

1. At Home Advisor

2. Tech/Consultant for a Computer support company

3. Sales person for a computer based firm (such as Best Buy)

4. Owner or partner in a very small consulting/repair business (very small office site or home office)

5. At home data entry, sales, marketing, help desk etc., position for a company like Amazon, GoDaddy, Geek Squad and the like

Im not sure if any of the above would be attainable given my age and relative lack of experience, but would love to hear your advice for someone like me who is interested in being involved in the computer industry in some fashion and not placing the amount of income made as a priority. I feel as though I need advice regarding the areas to concentrate on and the resources to accomplish my goals.

BTW, I am very thick skinned and don't mind at all if you tell me that I have no chance to accomplish any of the 5 aforementioned items above. I respect your advice and expertise and will listen carefully, with great interest and much appreciation.

Thanks for your time, sorry if I rambled a bit too much and hope to hear from you.

best always,

Rick

 

[ian]

If I were to start any sort of business, I would like to have sufficient income to cover my basic needs like food and a place to live, as it could take a long time if ever to actually turn a profit.
If you have 34 years experience in the restaurant industry, one option would be to go in to the computing side of offering support services to that industry, website development, marketing, bookkeeping, consulting/installation of some of the more advanced cash registers. Some sort of business that took phone orders and arranged home delivery for restaurants that don't offer that service as standard.
I think at home data entry jobs is a bit of a. Myth/scam.
As far as those jobs are concerned, you lose nothing by applying, after a while you will see if it is a viable option or not.

 

[beers]

As far as those jobs are concerned, you lose nothing by applying

It depends, some scam related positions can also turn around and steal your personal information (such as in 'murica where everything is based around your social security number).

 

[ian]

It depends, some scam related positions can also turn around and steal your personal information (such as in 'murica where everything is based around your social security number).

I didn't word that very well.
I was referring to the reputable jobs like Amazon, Godaddy and geek squad etc that he mentioned. I would steer away from those work at home data entry jobs or jobs which sound too good to be true, a lot of them are scams.