by Jonathan Stanley – PC Specialists
I love fixing computers, it’s my passion.  But I’m not a geek.  Okay, I guess that depends on your definition: Yes, I love technology and seem to think on the same level as the machines.  But I believe most people think of a “geek” as the college age “kid” with a pocket protector and thick framed glasses standing at the counter in a retail electronics store. Maybe that’s the way it’s been for the last 5 years, but my story starts a while before that…
I co-founded PC Specialists, a computer service business, all the way back in 1990 in Ocala.  In computer years that’s a long time ago!  I have personally been servicing computers on a daily basis since then.  Back then most computers ran DOS, a text based system usually without icons or even a mouse.  I provided custom programming services to many area businesses.  At that time, there were no retail stores with shelves lined with hundreds of different computer programs.  Instead, I would go to a business, consult regarding their needs, and develop custom applications.  That’s how it all started, but things sure have changed!
Over the past 20 years I have lived through the changes in the world of computers day by day, watching the speeds and capacities multiply exponentially, servicing all the different versions of Microsoft Windows, being there when the Internet exploded onto the scene and changed the world.  Looking back, it seems like it all happened so fast, but for me it has been a gradual progression and I have enjoyed it thoroughly.  In 2005 I moved with my family to Palm Coast and have been providing daily computer repair and service throughout Flagler county.
My work is rewarding because I can take the technological experience I have gained and use it to solve problems for people.  I have been told so many times when I arrive: “We are about to throw this computer out the window!”
I totally understand that kind of frustration, we all rely on computers so much now.  It’s like when you think about cell phones and wonder how you ever got along without one.  A short time later the computer is working properly again, much to the amazement of it’s owners.  In many ways I am like a doctor.  While the sick patient is actually the computer, it is unable to express that it is happy to be working again.  But the smiles and thanks of it’s human owners sure do let me know.  And while I love computers and technology, helping other people to be happy is the real reward.

Jonathan on twitter: @PC_Specialists | On the Web: PCRepair911.com

Note from Business Life Stories: Jonathan has a very cool ad in the form of a comic strip, and we had to insert it here…