The email subject read: The biggest announcement since Apple removed the headphone jack.
How do you break it to a group of friends that you’re leaving them, after 12 years?
We were just honest.
After 12 years of trading, Tony & I announced that we would be graduating from the international Computer Troubleshooters franchise, effective 1 Oct.
I use the word graduating intentionally. The Computer Troubleshooters group has been with us since we started our own business in a new country, pre-kids, without the support of our corporate technical peers and hoping that we could make this work financially to be our primary source of income. We’ve learnt so much in that time about business, about tech and about each other.
Computer Troubleshooters gave us the confidence to run ‘MSP’ style fixed monthly fee support contracts. It opened up doors to suppliers and it opened up friendships around the world. It’s given us a lifestyle that means we can see our kids before and after school most days and all of their school holidays. And personally, it enabled me to stay in touch with the changing world of tech through two sets of ‘maternity leave’ (aka not really leave at all – but that was my choice and I don’t regret it).
It hasn’t all been rosy. We’ve had all-nighters, short cashflow, bad debts & no holidays, but show me a business owner who hasn’t.
Right now, we’re seeing the industry changing and we’re positioned to change with it.
Small businesses aren’t just looking for I.T. support. They are stuck.
Stuck with the range of choices available in the Cloud. Stuck with how to transition from how they have been working to how they need to work, to realise real business change. Stuck with where to turn to for advice.
They are missing a seat at their boardroom table (if they even have a boardroom table) – the person who helps them make business-aligned technology decisions and see them through to achieving real results.
We think that we can help.
We’ll be rebranding, with a new identity focussed on I.T. strategy and guidance. We’re looking for customers who think like we think, who want to work like it’s 2016 and who are ready to lead their staff through some changes. That’s really going to narrow our potential customer base, but as Simon Sinek says, the goal isn’t to do business with everyone.
If you’d like to stay in touch and follow our journey, subscribe to this blog and I’ll announce our relaunch when it’s ready. Even if you don’t think our new services are for you, we’ll be launching a blog style content platform so you might find some articles of interest.
It’s time to practice what we preach, and change how we work to make a bigger impact in the world.