Patrick Palmer The Computer Guy | Computer Repair Blog

Jul

Featured Business
Business: The Computer Guy
Website: http://www.thecomputerguy.bz/
Owner: Patrick Palmer

Patrick Palmer

Family: Married to my wife Becky of 3 years and we have 2 cats, Hershey and Pumpkin.

First Job: The first full time job I had was working as a morning announcer/program director at a local radio station. At the time, it was a pretty neat job, but as time wore on, it got to be a grind. It was tough pretending that I enjoyed the work, so after 17 years and 4 different radio stations, I gave it up and did something else.

Worst Job: When I was in high school I was a dishwasher at a local restaurant. I pity those people who do that work. However, after 17 years as a morning announcer, there were days I’d rather scrape plates.
Grew Up: I grew up in Hampton, Iowa, where I currently live. For me, there’s no place like home.

What did you want to be when you grew up: I wanted to be a pitcher for the New York Yankees, but looking back, if I would have thought more about it, I would think that being a funeral director would have been a job that I feel I could have done pretty good at.

How did you end up owning your own business: When I was at the radio station in 1995, the owner suggested that I give myself a name and start doing some work for people on the side, since I was doing some of that already. I knocked on a lady’s door and the daughter hollared, “Mom, The Computer Guy’s here.” — so that kind of stuck. After working on commission selling cellphones for 6 years, I decided to go full time and have never looked back.

What is the biggest decision you are wrestling with now: I just opened my storefront on 7/1/09 — lots of people seem to have their hand out. I need to really take a step back around the end of the month and figure out what is really needed as far as advertising, promotions, etc. Right now with the new store, many decisions are being made.

What is one thing you would change about your job: Being local and from here all of my life, I think that a few people in the downtown business community really don’t respect me or what I do. I’d like a bit more respect from a few people in town that lets them know that our town NEEDS this business. A few people need to understand that I don’t HAVE to be in Hampton, I could have located in several other communities but I believe in Hampton and want to be here. Lots of small-town politics, but overall, I really wouldn’t change much.

What do you like most about your job now: I really love helping people and feel that the business will grow because of it. I have a good tech at the store, which gives me the confidence to go on the road for 5 hours a day knowing that everything is handled back there.

What motivates you: I like to think of new ways to promote the business, new things to do with the business. The challenge of the new day motivates me.

What do you do for fun: a big fan of the 3-day weekend. I’m not the kind who leaves on vacation and can be gone for a week at a time. With the new storefront, I think that there will be more time to spend with my wife doing things her — I certainly owe her for the time and patience that she has given me over the past six months through my new venture. Lately, for me, spending a peaceful night at home is fun — without a house full of computers staring me in the face is enjoyable right now.

What do you consider your greatest achievement so far: Last year my business was name “The Best Of The Best” by a North Iowa newspaper, based on votes and other public opinion. That was a big feather in my cap, as I beat out the Geek Squad who had held the title for the past 3 years before that. On a personal level, becoming an Eagle Scout when I was 14 years old and being able to help other scouts achieve the same success that I have had.

What’s the best career advice anyone has given you: In 2006, the cellphone company I was working for provided wireless Internet and was the 2nd largest wireless internet provider in the country. Some moron in the corporate office then thought it would be a really neat thing to get into the computer repair end of things. Little did I know that they had a “non-compete” agreement they decided they were going to throw at me because they were threatened my the work I was doing on the side. The best advice was that the corporate lawyer for the cellphone company told me, “You can either work for this company and quit your part time computer repair, or you can continue with your computer repair and leave this company. We will give you the weekend to make your decision.” On the following Monday morning I told them, “I quit.” 4 months later, their computer repair division was gone and they were being sold to a bigger company that thought computer repair wasn’t a part of their plan. While the pill was bitter to swallow at first, leaving the cell company was the best thing I ever did. It forced me to step up my game and take my business to the next level. To me, everyone needs a kick in the butt at some time or another. This was mine.

The second best advice given to me was by the person who was teaching a small business class at the community college that I was taking. He said, “The fastest way out of business is to cheat the government.” That was probably pretty good advice as well.

**Patrick Palmer is the owner of The Computer Guy in North Central Iowa

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