Hi there,

This is my first time posting here... I hope I don’t make this too long. Ok, so I've been dwelling on an idea regarding an online call centre that out-sources to primarily tech companies such as internet service providers, communication providers and other service oriented companies . I haven’t started a business plan as of yet but I have done some basic research on software and voip costs. I have also gone over the basic systems required for the call management from incoming call to happy client and most of the steps required to run the call center . I have also done planning on the way calls are handled and trained for.

In the first phase of the business I will focus on basic tech-support and Customer service, later potentially expanding into web hosting and domain service. I intend to hire people who will work from home using there own PC or laptop and have worked in a call centre who will handle basic tech, I will also hire people for regular basic CS and train over the phone or in person if they live in my proximity. In my area there are at least four call centers with a base of at least 300 experienced employees.

I have worked in a couple call centers and am familiar with the systems supporting the service as well as the software needed to run the call management system. It will be somewhat expensive to start up; the software alone is the main overhead with a potential initial cost of 100,000 or more. However I believe it can be successful due to the minimal overhead costs after the startup. They are low because there is no building or land to rent or purchase and no need to buy and upgrade workstations. Another way I intend to minimize costs is by paying support agents based on a per call basis, this is a method that would need extensive research and may fail due to high and low potential call volumes. But if effective would lower costs due to idle time.

The real problem I face is the lack of cash and time to commit to the start-up at the moment. I am attending business classes full time at the University of Prince Edward Island and I only have $20,000. If anyone has any comments or suggestions please email me or post here,
Thanks in advance and sorry for the lengthy post.

Generic consumer service sounds more reasonable like taking calls, writing down names and numbers and passing that information to whoever uses your service. Tech support can be quite difficult. People need to be trained, and depending on what kind of tech support you want to provide, you need highly skilled people.

Thank you for your comments, I will take them into serious consideration. You have a very good point. It does seems as though what you mentioned should realistically be the first stage of operations. However, where I live there is a large number of well trained tech support agent who would love to work from home, many of which I know from having worked with them or know people who have worked with them, some of which are highly skilled technicians. As I mentioned we would do only basic tech support such as dial up tests and basic connection configuration for high speed and dial up data flow issues, all of which can usually be fixed with basic troubleshooting steps and a power cycle, other than many issues are hardware related and would not be supported.

Another question I have is, would I be able to contact companies who I would like to provide services for before I am ready to take calls, or would that be unprofessional even if I am looking to start small?

I don't think it's unprofessional to contact companies before you are 100% ready, besides you always have some problems to address, so you cannot really be 100% ready realistically speaking.

Well that gives me a bit of added motivation to follow up on my idea even more. Thanks I'm sure I'll be back with more question soon

Thanks, and good luck with your own ventures!