Andy's Little Blog

My plan was to start a small business in Salisbury back in 2007, and become self employed, after I’d moved here from Southampton.

I’d always had an interest in computers so it was decided that it would be a small repair business in the City.

I got in contact with an organisation called Business Link and had a meeting with one of their new business advisors.

We discussed various options available for new starts and how to register with HMRC for tax purposes as well as advertising options such as a website.

Start A Small Business At Home In Salisbury

The best option was to start a small business at home, become self employed, in Salisbury and to see how it would develop.

I had a spare bedroom available could be used as an office and workshop for repairs. It would be a lot cheaper than renting an office space in Salisbury.

As I was going to be a self-employed sole trader, I contacted HMRC and registered for self assessment.

I also registered for a Government Gateway user ID and password so that I could sign into my new HMRC account.

A short time later I received a letter with my Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number that I would need for tax returns.

I didn’t need to become VAT registered as I never expected to earn enough.

I also had to come up with a business name but didn’t want anything fancy.

In the end, I simply used the key words that someone was likely to type into a search engine if they were trying to find the services that I was offering. Salisbury Computer Repairs seemed like a good idea for a business in this City 🙂

Advertising My Small Business

If I wanted to get any customers for my new business then I was going to have to advertise.

Flyers and leaflets seemed like a good idea so I had some printed. A lot of time was spent walking around the streets in my local area, posting flyers. I suspect that many ended up in the rubbish bin.

I also contacted the Salisbury Journal and arranged for a small advert to appear in the trades section of their newspaper each week.

The advert seemed to do the trick and my phone was soon ringing. The phone was now ringing.

A website to be able to advertise my services online was also needed but there was a problem. I didn’t know anything about them or how to create a website.

I did some research online and discovered one of the website builders that I could use to create my own site.

It wasn’t long before I found out that it wasn’t appearing on the first page of Google’s search engine results pages (SERPS).

In the end, I bought a web hosting package, registered a suitable domain name built my own.

I also learned about On-page search engine optimisation and it wasn’t too long before my website was on page one of the results.

As far as I’m concerned, budget for a website if you can and/or use Facebook to advertise.

If you’re not comfortable with creating your own website then look into something like WordPress. This website uses WordPress and it’s very easy to use.

That’s a brief guide to how to start a small business in Salisbury and become self employed. Good luck.

I used to be a computer repair technician in Salisbury but took early retirement back in 2020. I used to deal with many of the common PC faults that people had.

The main ones were usually a computer not starting (booting up) or running slowly. These were often software issues but hardware problems were also responsible.

My small business in Salisbury operated from a workshop at my home in the city but I retired in 2020. I’d always been a bit of a tech enthusiast so the business seemed like a good idea.

The business started back in 2007 when Microsoft Windows XP was the most popular operating system.

MS Vista came along that year but I heard quite a few negative reports about if from customers so never tried it.

We then had Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and then onto 10. Version 11 has been out for a while now but I’ve not installed that on my desktop computer yet. In fact, I don’t think my machine is compatable with that particular operating system.

I used to deal with a range of common PC and laptop faults for customers in Salisbury. Can you guess what the issue was from the photo below?.

Yes, it was overheating in a big way and the computer would cut out. Once it had been cleaned, and a new layer of thermal paste was applied, it was working perfectly.

Computer Repair Technician In Salisbury : Common PC Faults

I used to deal with a whole range of common PC faults as a computer repair technician, some of which were easy to deal with while some could be a bit of a headache.

Broken laptop Screens

It’s fairly easy to replace but they can be quite fiddly. The other problem is getting hold of a replacement laptop screen that will fit as they come in many sizes and fitments.

Touchscreens and digitizers are more awkward as they tend to need a hot air gun to take them apart. The screens are held together with a glue and this needs to be warmed up

Overheating PCs

As you can see from the photo, overheating can be a problem in older computers and laptops. It’s due to the dust and fluff buildup in the CPU heatsink and it restricts the flow of air needed to cool it down. Smoking is also a problem as the nicotene also gets drawn in by the cooling fan.

DC jacks (charging sockets)

Sometimes the charging socket will wear and lose its contact with the charging plug. You can often hold the plug at an angle and it will charge but it really needs replacing.

Some laptops have a DC jack that is soldered to the motherboard. These can be fiddly to change even with a decent soldering iron. In other cases, the jack come with a short cable that plugs into the motherboard.. much easier.

Failed hard drives

Hard drives do fail and sometimes you know that they’re heading that way because they’re making a clicking sound.

If you’re lucky, you can recover the important data (photos, documents etc) from them by taking the drive out of the computer or laptop and putting it into a hard drive caddy.

If you can recover the data and transfer it to another hard drive or memory stick then the customer is likely to be happy. I’ve been very fortunate in the past but it’s not always easy.

If you own a computer or laptop, please make sure you backup your documents and photos on a regular basis. You might be very thankful one day

Software Problems

Quite a few of the problems with computers relate to the software. Sometimes if needs a good clear out of temporary files and cookies.. Sometimes a file has become corrupt.

There are so many reasons why a computer won’t start and far more that I have time to write about 🙂

If you can discover the reason then that’s great. Sometimes it’s easier to reinstall 🙂

Many thanks for reading, I hope it was of interest.. I have to say that I enjoyed being a computer repair technician in Salisbury but retirement is also very nice.

This is the story of how I created a website for my business in Salisbury and how I started to learn about On-page search engine optimisation (SEO).

I wanted a website when I started Salisbury Computer Repairs back in 2007 but I didn’t have a clue. I opted for one of the website builders that I found online and it seemed to do the job at first.

It looked ok but my phone wasn’t ringing and I wasn’t making any money.

It wasn’t long before I found out that it wasn’t appearing on the first page of Google’s results pages. I decided that there’s no point in having a website if no one can find it.

I started to do a lot of research into web design and soon realised what was wrong. That was that website content was the most important factor when it came to ranking well in the search engines. This content need to be written text, not just pretty pictures.

I found out that I could look at the source code behind a website as this was what the search engines were seeing.

I decided to look at the code behind the original site that I’d created with the website builder and found that the title tag was ‘Home Page’. <title>Computer Repair Salisbury | Laptop repairs Salisbury</title> would have been so much better.

No wonder my website wasn’t showing up in Google search.

How I created A Website For My Business In Salisbury

After the trouble that I’d had I decided that I was going to create a website for my business in Salisbury. There are things that you need before you can start designing your dream site:

A website hosting package

You’ll need some for of web hosting before you can create your own website as opposed to using a website builder such as Wix or Weebly.

The web hosting package will provide you with web space on a computer server and it’s where your site will ‘live’.

You web host will also be able to provide a lot of other services such as SSL certificates to secure your site.

A Domain Name

You’ll also need a website domain name. The is the website address and typically starts with http://www.

As an example the domain name that I used for my business was ‘http://www.salisburycomputerrepairs.co.uk’.

You will also want to create an email address for your website so that your customers can contact you.

I think that a professional email address that is consistent with your brand has far more credibility.

In my case, I used andy@salisburycomputerrepairs.co.uk although this address is no longer in use.

Website Editor

You’ll need some sort of website editor to create your website. It’s possible to design a simple one with notepad or, better still, notepad++ which is free.

You will need to learn a bit about HTML so that you can create the ‘container’ for your web content and CSS. You can learn about all of these things at W3Schools.com

Upload Your Website With FTP

Once you have created your website, you’ll need to upload this to the web space.

One of the easiest ways to do this is via FTP (File transfer Protocol) and with a small, free program called Filezilla.

Cherry Orchard Lane Salisbury (SP2) is a popular route from Wilton Road (A36) to Lower Road and Churchfields Industrial Estate. But, it is unsuitable for HGVs and high sided lorries because of a low bridge.

The twin railway bridges ( BAE2 E4/241 and SAL E29/75) have height limit of just 10′-3″ (3.12 Meters) and even luton vans hit it from time to time. Looking at the marks on the underside of the bridge, it’s been hit quite a few times in the past.

Aside from that, it’s a is a nice little residential street. From the bridge, up towards Wilton Road, there’s a nice row of houses on the left and some flats on the right.

The road was resurfaced in 2021 as it was in pretty poor condition with a series of potholes. They did a great job but I can’t work out why they didn’t resurface under the bridges. Was it because their machines wouldn’t fit?

Old Railway Engine Sheds

As you walk under the low railway bridge, towards Lower Road, you’ll see a lovely area full of trees on the left. This is where the old railway engine sheds were.

The was talk about redeveloping this site for extra parking at the Salisbury Railway Station at one stage but I believe there are concerns about contaminated land.

At the moment, it’s a beautiful area and is almost like a little nature reserve in Salisbury. I know that there are foxes and Muntjac deer over there because I’ve seen them.

Hedley Davis Court

Hedley Davis Court is also located off of Cherry Orchard Lane, Salisbury and is a small retirement housing complex for the over 55s operated by Housing 21. It’s a popular housing comples for people starting early retirement in Salisbury.

The entrance also leads to a collection of houses at Syringa Court. It’s generally very quiet aside from the trains that have to sound their horns as they approach the Gramshaw Road pedestrian level crossing, which leads to Lower Road in Lower Bemerton.

HGVs using Cherry Orchard Lane

We get HGVs and high sided lorries from Churchfields Industrial Estate turning into Cherry Orchard Lane. It happens almost every day and they’re forced to turn around.

It always looks so dangerous when they reverse back into Lower Road, Lower Bemerton. Especially with the impatient car and van drivers overtaking them.

If they don’t reverse into Lower Road then they reverse into Hedley Davis Court.

I sometimes wonder if they’re lost or following a Sat-Nav that’s designed for cars because there’s one of a series of low bridges in Salisbury that causes them to rethink their route.

Lower Bemerton Salisbury is an attractive residential suburb with a village-like feel and has a strong community spirit.

It is also home to the Old Rectory in Lower Road, which is the former home of George Herbert.

Indian novelist and poet, Vikram Seth once visited the Old Rectory and loved it so much that he bought it.

There are also some lovely walks in the area, one of my favourite ones is the Churchfields Riverside walk at the end of Newton Road.

Moving to Lower Bemerton Salisbury

I was lucky enough to move here in 2020 although I’ve lived in Salisbury for 15 years.

I must admit that my chance to move can out of the blue and I only had a short time to make the decision.

Within about a week of two of getting a phone call, I had become a happy Lower Bemerton resident.

The first time I heard a train blowing its horn was a bit of a shock, they sure are loud. It turns out that the Gramshaw Road level crossing is quite near to me.

I’ve since visited the crossing and I’m sure I could hear a loud speaker announcment of an approaching train. Was it all in a dream?

Broken Bridges – Lower Bemerton Salisbury

When I first moved to Lower Bemerton Salisbury, I was keen to explore the area and stumbled across the entrance to Broken Bridges.

I found it nestled between Bridge Cottage and Bridge House and it’s a lovely walk towards Harnham.

It’s like a little nature reserve and I enjoy seeing the Swans and Canada Geese, I’ve also been lucky enough to see a Heron.

Local History

I’ve also been keen to learn about the history of the area and have discovered a useful website belonging to the Bemerton Local History Society.

It also contains a very useful property index with historic details of local houses so there’s plenty to learn.

I’ve spotted a beautiful little Church called St Andrew’s a little way down the road from me. It dates back to the 13th century. and is the final resting place of George Herbert, a priest and poet.

St John’s place, a grade II* listed building, also looks very interesting and is home to some Commonwealth war graves.

Another little snippet of local history is that Mick Fleetwood’s parents once lived in Bridge House.

HGV Problems

The only minor gripe here is the issue of lorry problems in Lower Bemerton but that’s another blog post for you to read.

Andy Watts – Lower Bemerton Salisbury

We have lorry problems in Lower Bemerton caused by lorries coming from Churchfields Ind Est in Salisbury.

They end up driving towards Lower Road or Cherry Orchard Lane where they face either a 7.5 T weight limit, a 10′-3″ low bridge or have to turn around.

There are a few reasons why they end up in Lower Bemerton and one is the lack signage along Churchfields Road.

The only sign that warns drivers of a 7.5 Tonne weight limit in Lower Road is one at the top of Brunel Road.

The other reasons for lorry problems in Lower Bemerton may be that drivers are using a Sat-Nav designed for a car.

We have quite a few low bridges in Salisbury but car sat-navs show them.

The only other reason that I can think of is that they’re just trying to take a shortcut to get out of Salisbury.

Lorry Problems In Lower Bemerton

When an HGV, high sided lorry goes past the junction of Brunel Road and past the VW showroom it has few options.

If it’s below the 7.5 Tonne limit for Lower Road then it can continue but the road does get tight in places.

The road also becomes narrow at the point between the Old Rectory and St Andrew’s Church.

There is no pavement along this section of road and it’s a route taken by children to School.

There is a road on the right back to Wilton Road (A36) called Church Lane but it’s unsuitable for HGVs.

I drove past recently and it’s a 7.5 Tonne limit and there is a sign to say ‘No Articulated Vehicles‘

Cherry Orchard Lane

If the driver respects the weight limit then they will probably turn right into Cherry Orchard Lane with its 10′-3″ low bridge.

The lorry driver now has a problem, do they reverse back the way they came, across Lower Road?.

They can do so but there is probably other traffic around them which makes this manouvre a bit dangerous.

The driver’s other option is to reverse into Hedley Davis Court which is a narrow residential road.