So I've read through a lot of the forums and I can't quite find exactly what I'm looking for here. I've had in my head an idea for some time now to start doing some freelance work on the side in the capacity of existing system repair and minor consulting. Here's the angle I'm working from- I frequently get calls from friends of friends who dabble in some sort of tech support for either a school or performing space or church where volunteers or non-skilled employees do a bulk of the operating of equipment.
Most of the time, these are well-meaning non-trained individuals who don't see an obvious fix to the problem. The most recent encounter was at an elementary school that was having feedback issues when using choir mics. The problem was that their sidefill monitors where on the same output as their mains and everything was going through both. I repatched to use an aux out and they are back in business. They had told me that prior to my help, the school district had sent 2 or 3 people out to investigate, and these were vendors not district personnel. That's where I feel a market might exist. If a vendor can't identify a problem that straightforward, then maybe I can find a side gig here is my thought.
My two big questions are pricing and how do I protect myself? I have no idea where to even begin looking at pricing outside of what I bill for my own hours here (set by our school board) at $25/hr for house manager/TD. I feel like a flat rate for up to 2 hours of work, plus travel beyond a certain radius might be a decent place to start, but I am curious what others think.
Protecting myself legally is also another big concern. It's one thing to walk in for free and fix stuff. No one's going to raise hell when it's broken a week later from a component you never even saw failing. But the minute you charge someone, then if anything is out of place your work gets called into question. I've seen "no-fix, no-fee" guarantees, but should I look into insurance and/or licensing for simple stuff? It's hard to justify investing a lot up front since I don't know how far this will actually go.
I think this is a service that would be useful in my area. There are a few other shops that do event support, but not many that specialize in on-site repair like this. A lot of them do it begrudgingly and rather just rent rigs for various events from large-scale outdoor music down to weddings.
Most of the time, these are well-meaning non-trained individuals who don't see an obvious fix to the problem. The most recent encounter was at an elementary school that was having feedback issues when using choir mics. The problem was that their sidefill monitors where on the same output as their mains and everything was going through both. I repatched to use an aux out and they are back in business. They had told me that prior to my help, the school district had sent 2 or 3 people out to investigate, and these were vendors not district personnel. That's where I feel a market might exist. If a vendor can't identify a problem that straightforward, then maybe I can find a side gig here is my thought.
My two big questions are pricing and how do I protect myself? I have no idea where to even begin looking at pricing outside of what I bill for my own hours here (set by our school board) at $25/hr for house manager/TD. I feel like a flat rate for up to 2 hours of work, plus travel beyond a certain radius might be a decent place to start, but I am curious what others think.
Protecting myself legally is also another big concern. It's one thing to walk in for free and fix stuff. No one's going to raise hell when it's broken a week later from a component you never even saw failing. But the minute you charge someone, then if anything is out of place your work gets called into question. I've seen "no-fix, no-fee" guarantees, but should I look into insurance and/or licensing for simple stuff? It's hard to justify investing a lot up front since I don't know how far this will actually go.
I think this is a service that would be useful in my area. There are a few other shops that do event support, but not many that specialize in on-site repair like this. A lot of them do it begrudgingly and rather just rent rigs for various events from large-scale outdoor music down to weddings.