One of the many reasons  I’ve been missing in action from blogging is that I recently purchased and moved into a new home.  It’s an exciting milestone in my life, as I’ve never owned a home before.  It also proved to be a hidden gem for finding new, loyal customers for my business.

It’s important to always be looking for new opportunities to spread the word about your business. After receiving a notice from my new homeowners association that they had a community message board, I fired up the computer to check it out and sign up.    It didn’t take long before I realized this would be a perfect opportunity to plug my services.

This is what’s known as hyper-local marketing: a very ambiguous buzz-word that I take to mean targeting advertising to the area immediately surrounding your business. In this case, my target is my new neighborhood.  Methods used for hyper-local marketing can be anything from fliers in the doorway to web-ads targeting local community websites.  An HOA forum is a less-intrusive way to find a couple extra customers, but considerations must be taken to ensure you maximize your potential.

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Well it’s that time of year again.  Time to take stock of what’s been accomplished this year and plan for the next big thing.

This has been an exciting year for me.  I officially started my own business and began blogging about my experiences.  These were two big milestones in my life and I’m glad I was able to share them with you all and the world.

I thought I’d let you all in on what I have planned for next year and then ask for your input as to what you’d like to see here at Y.F.N.C.G. in the future.

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I’ve been tagged!

I’m normally not big on Internet meme’s. I rarely forward chain emails and if there’s a RickRoll type fad floating around, I’ll usually avoid it unless it adds some sort of pertinent substance to my life.

But the other day one of my good blogging buddies and fellow computer consultant, Eric Hamm from Motivate Thyself, tagged me to participate in such an event.

My first inclination was to laugh it off and say that it’s really not something that would fit into my blog about starting a computer business. But I thought this would give me a great opportunity to give you a glimpse at the man behind the blog. And a great opportunity for me to get to know my readers!

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If you’re anything like me, you’ve got those hard-to-buy-for folks on your Christmas list that take some extra shopping time on your part. Well if one of those people happens to be a computer repair technician or consultant, worry no longer!

I’ve compiled a list of some wonderfully cheap (under $100) and practical items that your cherished geek will adore! Each item includes a picture and title that link straight to Amazon, or similar online store, where you can order it.

If you are a computer tech, forward this post to your friends and loved ones to give them some good ideas. Happy Holidays and happy shopping!

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Warning: If you’re not a computer nerd, you may not fully appreciate this post.  Proceed with caution (and set your phasers on stun).

Until the recent past, the entertainment world has given computer nerds a bad rap. Long have we been eschewed to the ranks of the socially inept, uber-sarcastic losers like Dennis from Jurassic Park or Nick Burns the Company Computer Guy from SNL.  Well, we mouse jockeys finally have someone to root for!

Tonight marks the premier of the second season of the NBC action-comedy Chuck.  The show’s outlandish premise follows the adventures of Chuck Bartowski, a computer repair tech, who had the last remaining copy of the worlds greatest spy secrets downloaded to his brain via an encrypted message sent by his old college roommate who now works for the CIA.  I’ll spare you the full synopsis which you can read here.
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I decided I’ve collected enough information over the past month or two to finally start fleshing out my Resources page over there in the yellow box to your right.  Since I’m still in the early stages of starting my computer consulting business, there isn’t a whole lot there, but that will change as I continually add links to resources I use.

The following is a break-down of how the page is currently organized. I have tried to organize it in a linear fashion starting with basic information at the top and drilling down to more specific and advanced services toward the bottom.
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With so much competition out there (I revealed in an earlier article that there are over 150 other computer support and repair companies in my county alone), I’ve started thinking about ways that I can stand out from the crowd.  One crazy idea that I’d like to suggest, as a way for the average computer consultant to find a niche and stand out from the hundreds of other companies out there, is by targeting consumer electronics. How many people do you know own an iPod or other MP3 player? How many people do you know that own one of the three major video games consoles?  These are hot items that are popping up all over the place.  (more…)

My thirties are waving at me from the dock as the good ship ‘Twenties’ slowly pulls into port. That’s right ladies an gentlemen, I turned the big 2-8 yesterday, and while I still have a couple years left in my roaring 20’s, I can’t help but feel a little bittersweet nostalgia as I think to myself, “where did all that time go?”.
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Hello fellow nerds, geeks, and other computer-curious people. This is my blog, and with it, I will attempt chronicle the path I take on the road to starting and maintaining my own computer support business.

This is the start of something new and scary for me. Actually, it’s the start of a few new and scary things.

Firstly, this post marks the official beginning of my journey into entrepreneurship. I’ve never done anything like this before. Y.F.N.C.G is the first step on this path. There’s no going back now. I can’t begin a blog about starting my own business and then chicken out or set it aside for another time. This is it. And that’s kinda scary.

Secondly, this is my first blog. If you don’t count my sporadic MySpace blogs (and you shouldn’t) then I was, up to this point, a blogging virgin. I’ve read other’s blogs and I’ve been fascinated by them. I figure there’s no better way to get input and support from my peers than to start a blog. The problem is that this is going to be yet another thing I’m going to have to worry about. I’m going to need to update it at least weekly to keep it relevant. That’s a lot of pressure. And what if nobody reads it or comments on it? It’ll feel like I’ve been wasting time. But I’ve been doing alot of research on the topic of blogging and I think I can get started in the right direction.  I want to give it a go, and if it works out I think it will be well worth the time.

Lastly, and most scary of all: I’m not quite sure what I’m doing with any of this. I’m not sure if this is going to be a small pet project I do for a couple years or if it’s going to turn into my full-time job. I’m not a big planner, I’m more of a go-with-the-flow guy. Can a go-with-the-flow guy start his own computer business and blog about it and be successful? I guess that depends on your idea of success. <—Sounds like a good topic for one of my future blog posts!

So that concludes my first entry. I’m still learning WordPress, and will spend the next few weeks working on the layout of this site.  And a special shoutout to Rick from Fam*Wise.com for creating this theme for me! I think it turned out great: simple, light hearted, and easy to read.  Hopefully this sets a good tone for the rest of this experience and gives everyone who might stumble upon it a good gauge of my intentions.

Thanks for reading!