[OFFTOPIC] Finding the next lucrative niche (was: Re: Goodbye, Lingnu)

[geoffrey mendelson]

On Nov 14, 2011, at 3:45 PM, Dotan Cohen wrote:
>
> I can vouch for this. I am not a CS major and I consider myself a
> Linux amateur, but I have worked supporting various Linux servers for
> locals. Of course, I was making nowhere near the level of income that
> Shahar discusses on his blog, experience wins hands-down in that
> department.



The problem inherent in support jobs is that the majority of customers  
are unable to tell the difference between someone charging 50 NIS an  
hour for support and someone charging $50 an hour or $100 an hour.

It's especially common among "creative" people who think that they are  
unique in their field and charge top dollar, but think that you are an  
idiot who can be replaced with another idiot who charges less.

I subscribe to English language lists populated by anglo olim, and  
always see questions for who is the cheapest as in cell phone  
companies, satellite TV companies, ISP's and every vendor you can  
possibly imagine. I never see anyone asking "who is the best?", "who  
provides the best service?" and so on.

Long ago I got out of the PC repair/support business when the 50 NIS  
an hour people took over.

So the trick is not just being able to support people better than  
anyone else, it's as Omer said, finding a salesperson to convince them  
to believe it.

Geoff.

-- 
Geoffrey S. Mendelson,  N3OWJ/4X1GM
My high blood pressure medicine reduces my midichlorian count. :-(