- 100% Self-taught
- Over 10 Years IT Experience
- Honest
- Personality
- Professionalism
Code Of Conduct
Ethics: I hold myself to a higher set of standards to do what's right regardless of how much money's involved.
Leader: I lead by example. I never promote any new service or technology if I wouldn't consider using myself.
Commitment: When I'm working for a client, I consider it my duty to stay committed to my client's needs, such as not receiving or making calls when I'm with a client, staying focused on the task at hand, being able to rapidly switch between working on a problem to answering questions and back again without dropping a beat.
Value: I offer cheaper prices than Geek Squad, but offer premium level service which typically costs almost twice that. I'm committed to work every minute I'm with my client because my time with my clients is the lifeblood of my business.
Honesty: I'm honest with every one of my clients. Telling the truth about a product or service even if it means less business for me in the short-term. My clients appreciate it and give me more business in the long run.
Think everyone has a code of conduct like me? The truth is no. From the BBC show "House of Horrors", a Dateline NBC styled-show that exposes people who are out to scam, rip off, steal and con people in their own homes, shows the typcial "computer repair guy".
What Is A "Realistic" Technology Consultant?
"My family taught me to strive to be more unique and honest than people are accustom to as a way to get ahead in business and in life."
Never heard of a realistic technology consultant before me? There's a reason for that... The title "realistic" is unique to me. "Realistic" isn't a cheesy title I've slapped onto myself, it's a title I've earned from my clients over the years. In addition to being a technology consultant, my clients view me as a trusted advisor. They come to me about technology and even business issues. They know any advice or recommendations I give are going to be the same advice or recommendations I'd follow myself. They use adjectives such as "honest", "practical" and "just plain real" when describing me to others. The reason why is from my approach to business and technology. My family taught me to strive to be more unique and honest than people are accustom to as a way to get ahead in business and in life. That's how I have a different approach to business. And because I aintageek.com and have the lifestyle of a typical person (I worship life, not technology), that gives me a different mindset and perception of technology that's vastly different than others in my field.
This approach has affected my interaction with my clients. It's about my business ethics and non-loyalty towards technology (yes, I'm not loyal to technology). I've had clients approach me with a $300 product recommended to them by IT professionals and ask me to install it, which would be three hours of business for me. But I would be honest and them there was a $60 product on the market that could do the same thing and would only take me one hour to install (which meant one hour of business for me instead of three). It's repeated situations like these that left a lasting impression on my clients, so when referring me to business associates or neighbors, they would describe me as "a real honest person" or "an IT guy who keeps it real" or "someone who will tell you what you really need", etc. Then one of my clients, working at Raymond James Financial, called me a "realistic technology consultant" to an associate I was introduced to and the rest is history.
You Wouldn't Take Your PC To A Mechanic, Would You?
Mostly all issues with technology are software related. Of those issues, most of them are personal in nature. Questions need answers, such as "When did you notice this problem and what were you doing at the time?", "Is this program something you installed?", "How do you use this service?", etc. If not, how is someone trying to fix your problem going to know which settings where set by you or set by an error, which program is something you use for work or which program is possible spyware, etc. Most of the time, the "discovery" of the solution comes from asking the person questions while attempting to fix the problem (this is to avoid trying out 10 different methods to find the one that works, saving time and money). So this means the best way to find a solution to a problem is to be there with the person.
This is why, when you have a problem with your computer, don't take it to a shop. You wouldn't take your computer to a mechanic, so why treat it like a car by dropping it off to a computer shop? "Hi, good day to you! Fill out this form, describing in full detail what's wrong with your computer, sign and date the waver below and make sure to leave at least two contact numbers we can call you at when your computer is ready in the next few days." You don't know if they understood the problem you had or even fixed it until you get it home or if they're scamming or stealing from you because you don't know if the CPU they claimed was "bad" was even replaced because all this work was done behind closed doors.
"You don't know if they understood the problem you had or even fixed it until you get it home or if they're scamming or stealing from you..."
That's why I setup my business to be completely onsite. I actually come out to my client's home or office and work with them because that's the best way to do business with them. It's about getting the job done as efficiently as possible with full transparency. I explain what I do and everything that's done is in plain view and my clients are able to ask questions and socialize while I work on the problem.
Same Person, Same Expectations, Same Experience
So what's the name of my business? The name of my business is my actual name, "John B. Baird", for one very good reason; I don't outsource anything. Everything is done by yours truly.
In 2004 when I started my business, I followed the advice and trend of the hundred other IT guys around; do everything yourself until you get some business and then hire on people to work with you. I did this, hired on some technicians on-call. But none of my clients wanted to work with them. It wasn't that they weren't good, they were, but it was because it was me they wanted. My clients started refusing service unless it was from me solely. Problem was I was doing business typically like everyone else was and I couldn't do it all myself.
It was then that I reformulated my strategy. I decided to do everything myself by embracing new technology that makes owning and operating your own business easier. I started using services for myself such as Google Voice, Salesforce CRM, Wordpress, Invoice2go, Google Apps and others to create an "untethered" way of doing business so that I could manage my business on the go and by myself. This cut my overhead immensely and allowed me to keep my prices cheaper than my competitors. Also being the one person who did everything, I could start offering my clients the same experience and same expectations every time because I was the same person.
And that's what you get with "John B. Baird". The person who returns to your emails, answers and returns your phone calls, shows up at your home or business and speaks at your function is the same person every time. I don't do any outsource. I'm the person my clients deal with each and every time.
Reach Out
Reaching out is one of the best ways to get to know me. So get in touch with me.