SeniorTech

That was the name of my company when CLU found me. I was in private practice serving the needs of seniors in Ventura CA. I started out by fixing a few computers for folks at my church, and before I knew it, “word of mouth” had changed the occasional favor into a small business. It happened in the laundry room.

One of my “favor” folks posted a simple flyer in the laundry room at their mobile home park. It was one of those hand written flyers pinned to the builtin board with tiny slits at the bottom with my name and phone that you could tear off. I didn’t see it coming.

Before long I was getting calls almost every day from a senior who was having hardware or software problems or just needed some training. Some had inadvertently stepped into a steaming pile of malware or worse yet hand fallen head-long into a ransomware scheme. It wasn’t long before I had to hire an employee and so I hired my wife (who is also a geek) because I got her cheap.

Here’s the funny part, I began to feel like an old country doctor, traveling from home to home and being paid with chickens and apple pie. Let me tell you, if you don’t know, homemade apple pie is a payment of incalculable price, especially when made by the loving hands of an adopted grandparent. More than that, they always tried to pay me more than my fee.

When I started, I didn’t have grandparents of my own any more. Now I have a bushel basket.

The biggest lesson that I learned is patience. The second lesson is, that when you can put a smile on someone’s face it makes your day worth while. The third lesson I learned, is that it is better to give than receive. However, if you get an apple pie, don’t turn it down.