Happy Birthday Absolutely PC

by | Mar 13, 2023 | Company News, IT Support

John Williams, owner of Absolutely PC

 

Its our Birthday

Wow, how time flies!  You know your business has been around for a while when you employ apprentices that weren’t around when you started the business. Yikes, I am old!

The Journey

When I started the business I had no idea it would become what it is today.  I started Absolutely PC as a computer repair service and it launched from a spare bedroom.  To be honest back then I was “nursing” my very sick wife 24×7 and this was an outlet for my brain.  It stopped me going insane.

It was not until 5+ years later when my wife semi recovered that I started to think of it as a “proper” business.  I moved it from the spare room to a small office and took on the first member of staff.

Over the years I built the business with a focus on giving great value and honesty in what was a “smoke and mirrors” industry.  Around 10 years ago we also transitioned the business to a managed service provider – essentially outsourced IT Support.  As a result of this we had the opportunity to take on our first apprentice.  I’m guessing he must have enjoyed the business as much as we enjoyed teaching him as he is still with us today and is now our Security Manger.

 

The Customers

A business is not a business without customers!  After 18 years we have worked with hundreds of customers and many of them are still loyal to us now…. yes after 18 years.

What surprised me most as we built the business is that good IT Support makes a difference to not only peoples businesses but to their lives.  I remember taking on a new customer over 8 years ago and then wondering if it was such a good idea.  Day one of their contract I had one of their staff screaming down the phone at me that their *$%*ing computer wasn’t working again.  This concerned me so much that I arranged a meeting with him to get a better understanding of why he was so angry.

Turns out his workload had been increasing week on week and his days becoming longer and longer because their computer was continually crashing and being incredibly slow. The anger was not directed at me (we had only started support that morning) but was a long-term stress that had started to affect his job and family life.  All this because of bad IT support?

Two weeks later we replaced part of the system and completed all outstanding maintenance and it was if thier business didn’t exist anymore,  No phone calls, no emails, nothing.  I took the same drive 2 weeks later and met him again but he was a completely different person.  No anger and no stress.  It really is possible fo bad IT to not just mess with people’s productivity and profitability but to cause stress beyond the work-place.

Seeing this transformation is partly the reason our vision now contains the goal of being the “best IT Support company”.  IT support should be supporting not only business to succeed but people to be the best that they can be.

 

The Future

In 18 years I have learnt so much and yet I feel the journey has only just begun.  IT has become embedded in all parts of our lives from businesses transactions to booking a holiday, recruiting staff to finding a spouse.  With our dependance on technology growing exponentially it is clear that IT support is no longer the primary concern for businesses, security is now top of the agenda.

Good IT Security starts with good IT setup and support but it encompasses so much more.  Interestingly, the biggest weakness in most IT systems are the people using those systems.  As a result Absolutely PC’s journey over the next 18 years will be one focussed on IT but also the interraction of IT with people.  What affects one affects the other and our job will be to balance this to get the best for both.

What this looks like I’m not absolutely certain.  18 years ago I was not able to predict how the business looks today!  What I do know is that by being focussed on both people and systems we will be able to evolve to remain relevant in whatever World exists.

Happy Birthday Absolutely PC and thanks to all of you that have been part of our journey.

What next?

If your business would like to talk about planning IT for growth then fill out our contact form, phone us or click on the appointment button below and lets start a conversation to see if we are able to help you and your business.

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