Last week I had to make a choice: to extend my contract of service with the US National Guard, or to let my contract expire and leave the military for good.  This was a big decision for me and my business, one that I didn’t take lightly.  Although the National Guard is a part-time job in the military, it still requires  a big time commitment and many sacrifices on my part.

I’ve been in the military in one form or another for almost ten years now.  I joined the Army in 2000, traveled the world, learned a lot, and had a wonderful time.  My contract ended in 2003 and I decided to stay in the military part time, serving in the National Guard.  I’ve been serving in the National Guard ever since.

Honestly, I have mixed feelings about the military.  Although I don’t always agree with how our country uses it’s military, I believe it is an honorable organization full of amazing people.  That’s why I’ve stuck with it up to now.

This time around, when I was asked to reenlist, it was a harder decision than it has ever been before.  My computer business is one of the main catalysts in my struggle to make a decision this time around. As always, I had to factor in the positive and negative outcomes of my decision.  I was left making some uncomfortable choices, but choices that I feel will be beneficial in the long run not only for me, but for my business.

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Welcome to the 5th edition of Computer Guy’s Corner.  This is where I collect a small handful of links to useful news, reviews, and blog postings that relate to Tech and Small Business from a computer consultant’s viewpoint.  Feel free to comment about any of the links and let me know your take!

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The “My Inspirations” series is my opportunity to highlight specific people, books, or resources that have helped lead me to where I am today and inspired me to take on the challenge of starting a computer business.  No journey is ever taken alone.

If you stay abreast of the latest trends in personal development, or read a fair number of blogs, you’ve probably heard of The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss.  This book skyrocketed to the top of the New York Times Best Seller List out of nowhere about two years ago, thanks to the viral nature of Tim’s marketing campaign, which concentrated heavily on word of mouth and the Internet.

Normally I don’t pay too much attention to books with titles like this, promising something for nothing or a quick and easy “plan” to make millions of dollars.  However I was intrigued not by the book itself, but the man behind the phenomenon.

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Welcome to another book review brought to you by Your Friendly Neighborhood Computer Guy.  I try to keep these reviews simple to read and concise in delivery so you can quickly find out if the book being reviewed is right for you.  I will focus on books specifically about starting a computer business. If you’re in a hurry, skim the BOLD sentences and then read the Final Verdict.

Today I’ll be reviewing a book called How to Start and Run your own Computer Repair Business (HSRYOCB) by Joe A. Wisinski.  I stumbled across this book while looking for a new book to review for this blog.  The two other books I’ve already reviewed, Computer Repair Business Lessons Learned and Start your Own Computer Business, seem to be the most well-known among the do-it-yourself computer business crowd.  But I was pleasantly surprised to find this one, along with a few more,  that I will be reviewing over the coming months.

The front cover of HSRYOCB is pretty straight forward: a photo of the guts of an ATX computer case set against a white background.  Lets see if there’s some meat underneath this unassuming exterior.

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The following is a guest contribution written by Tim Lenahan, author of many blogs including TimmyJohnBoy.com, where he often speaks about technology and computer support topics.  Make sure to welcome Tim in the comments below the post!

This post marks two firsts for Y.F.N.C.G.  It’s the first post in a new series I’ll be running here called “Computer Guy’s Toolbox”, which serves to highlight a product or service that I think will benefit the independent computer tech with an emphasis on affordability.  This is also the first post written by a guest contributor!  If you are interested in joining the Y.F.N.C.G. team as a guest contributor, please contact me and let me know what you’d like to contribute!

What is LogMeIn?

I’ve been using LogMeIn Free for quite some time and have fallen in love.  LogMeIn.comoffers several paid services with different levels of usability, but in this post I would like to focus on LogMeIn Free.

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Happy February all you friendly neighborhood folks!  Lets kick the month off with a guest post, shall we?

This time I’m flexing my blogging muscles for Matt Ringer over at SmallBizBee.com.  I’ve been a loyal reader of SmallBizBee for a while now. Matt’s posts are easy to digest and always insightful, perfect for a small business beginner like me!  Both Matt and I have been blogging on our respective websites for about the same amount of time, and I’ve had the pleasure of seeing SmallBizBee really start to take off from the very beginning.

In the article, I take a look at some of the techniques the Fast Food industry uses to consistently stay successful.  I then offer suggestions on how all small business owners can use these techniques in their own entrepreneurial endeavors.

But enough of my yapping.  Head on over to SmallBizBee.com and check it out:

Would You Like Fries With That? The Fast Food Approach To Thriving In A Down Economy

Creating a logo is an important part of starting a small business. It’s the calling card of your business name so it should be memorable and unique. It’s going to be displayed on your business cards, invoices, letter heads, website, and advertisements.  Customers see a businesses logo as an extension of your business and from it they will judge your seriousness and professionalism.

For the computer repair business I’m starting, I decided to tackle the logo design process right after I registered my business name.  This is partly because I’m a superficial graphic design geek and I love me some nice sleek logo goodness. Also, I thought it was important to have a good logo in order to present a professional look for my computer support business right from the start.  I wanted to make sure people understood I’m not messing around with this.

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I’m always thinking about the types of services I’d like to offer for my computer consulting business customers.  Of course I offer the usual PC repair/troubleshooting/upgrading that all computer businesses offer. But I’m always curious about out-of-the-box ideas for services that will separate me from my competition.

I recently came across a post on Technibble that got me thinking.

In the post, a new member asks about the viability of an interesting niche business idea he has. Here’s an excerpt:
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Just a quick update to let you all know about another guest post of mine that was just published!

In this one, I tap into my love of Jazz music and mix it with my penchant for entrepreneurship to show everyone how music and business are inextricably tied together in my mind.  The post is part of Derek Halpern’s “Success Factors” series on his blog Prevential.  Check it out and let me know what you think by leaving a comment here or over on Prevential.  I’m sure Derek would love to hear from you also!

A Lesson In Cool: What Miles Davis Taught Us About Success

I was also recently interviewed by Tim over at his blog www.timmyjohnboy.com.  In the interview, Tim asks me questions about my opinions on a whole slew of tech-related items.  Check it out, and while your at it, drop Tim a line and get to know him, he’s a real nice guy!

“Techie” Interview Series 2 - Matt Rodela

I know, I know, I need to stop guest posting and start working on my business!! But guest posting is fun, helps me make connections, and is great practice for THIS blog!  I hope you’re enjoying getting to know me through my guest posts and reading some of my stuff in other forums.  Rest assured, I am actually working hard on my business, and  have some good content coming up for this blog, including my adventures with creating a logo for my business and what VoIP telephone provider I finally decided to go with.

I finally did it.  After many months of testing the waters, I finally dove into the Twitter ocean and created an account for Y.F.N.C.G.  For the sake of full disclosure, however, this isn’t actually my maiden voyage on Twitter.  I’ve been tweeting for about a month now for my music website, but I thought it was about time to create a special twitter account for my blogging/computer repair/small business owner persona. Why did I go through the trouble of creating another Twitter account?  What do I think the benefit will be to me and, more importantly, to you?

Let me explain.

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