It's All Geek to Me
Do you want to start a tech business but think you have to be a computer geek? Not so, says this franchisee.
Diana Formanek is not exactly what you'd call a tech wizard.
She bought her first computer just two years ago, and it took her
about a year to figure out how to burn CDs. Despite this dubious
track record, Formanek, 28, had few concerns about becoming a
Friendly Mobile
Computer Services franchisee. "I was technically
challenged, and I honestly didn't even want to learn it,"
she says. "I thought 'We'll just hire the tech
people.'"
Since March 2002, Formanek and her husband, Rob, 35, have been
dispatching techs from their homebased franchise to help families
and businesses with computer problems. The Formaneks also repair
computers at their home in Omaha, Nebraska. Their revenue from the
10 months they operated during 2002 totaled $73,000, while their
projected sales for this year are expected to be in the
neighborhood of $110,000.
Spending so much time around computers has provided Diana, who
previously worked in the restaurant management field, some
on-the-job tech training. "Kind of by osmosis, I've picked
it up to the point where I actually do work on some computers in
the shop," she says. Diana credits this developing tech
proficiency with making her a better manager to her team of two
tech-support people. "In restaurant management, I learned the
employees work harder for you when they actually see you delve in,
get your hands dirty and do the same things they do," she
says.
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As her computer skills increase, so does Diana's vision for
the Friendly Mobile Computer Services franchise that she and her
husband own and operate together. The Formaneks, who have two young
children and are expecting another baby in June, plan to move to
St. Louis in the near future . . . and they've decided to take
their franchise with them. "We'd like to own multiple
units," Diana says, "maybe six or seven before we top
off."