Going to the SBDC

It's been crazy and being pt on retainer at work is not all that I would want it to be. But I am going through the process of setting up a business so we can do something formal there.

So basically the computers are Mr. Fix It are running well enough that they don't really need me for that anymore and the business model has changed again so they don't need extra people for the phones. So I am being put on retainer so they have someone to call to fix the computers is something goes wrong.

I set up an appointment at the local Small Business Development Center which is conveniently around the corner and down the street, and talked to one of their counselors and have started the work of setting up a business plan.

I've come to realize that all I am doing is setting up a job. This kind of self-employment is a job with the added responsibilities of marketing, sales, accounting and insurance.

While the big name competition is Geek Squad and Firedog, I am really competing with geeks in high school and the local college who just need a little extra money for games. They have much lower expenses then myself with a family.

Am I good at this? Yes, but not the best and I am not really interested in being the best computer support guy out there. It just isn't worth the aggravation anymore. I want the tools to work, I don't want to spend my time getting things to work before I can get any work done.

So that leaves me to looking for a new job and trying to do a number of things too: finishing moving into our apartment, and writing an emergency plan for my church and expanding my wife's and daughter's horizons with math and science.

My wife and I are taking an Amateur Radio class together and it is a lot of fun thinking about making radios again. Lately every time we drive past a car dealership with a giant balloon above it, I think about how much it is carrying capacity must be. The tie down they use is often a heavy bit of rope with flags on it and it goes up 75-100 feet. A bit long for thin coax but doable, it might be better to run a very low power system to transmit up to the balloon and then use a higher power transceiver to launch from there. This is exciting but it is also just a hobby and for emergency preparation the niche is pretty darn small.