How I turned passion into business

Introduction

My name is Ryan Dampier, born October 8th 1991. My passion for technology started a lot like any other kid growing up in the 90s, The Legend of Zelda. I spent hours hopelessly traveling the lands of Hyrule looking in every nook and cranny for Rupees.

As time went on we finally got our first family computer which resided in the living room. I was fascinated with the dial tone and how every time my mother needed to make a phone call there was a holler from the other room “Get off the phone I need to call Grandma!”.

As time went on I got my first personal PC which was used for online games like RuneScape and IRC chat rooms. It was my pride and joy from the time I received it until one gloomy afternoon it went to PC heaven. The PC was nothing special and lagged often, I decided I had had enough and asked my IRC friends how to fix the lag.

IRC Friend “To fix the lag you need to delete the folder System32, which holds all of the “lag files.””.

I looked up where System32 was on the machine, browsed to that location, selected the folder, and hit the delete button. All chaos pursued after that and the PC was down for the count.

That was an important lesson for me as it taught me to not only research before making changes but also that not everyone can be trusted on the internet.

The Early Days

From then on I was fascinated by how computers worked. I would spend hours researching every possible topic of how the different components worked. Countless times I was late for dinner or school because I was so engrossed in the YouTube tutorial or article I was reading.

I continued my passion for gaming at the same time, the research not only taught me how different components worked but how to build a computer in the process. When I turned 16 I finally had enough money to build my first custom PC that would handle anything I could throw at it.

When my time at high school ended, like anyone else I was thrust into a position of somehow knowing what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I knew I loved computers but I didn’t know if I could make a career out of it. I decided to enroll in ITT Tech to study Network Systems Administration. I spent the next 3 years learning the ins and outs of how networks worked and how workstations (the professional word for PCs) integrate into them and found myself in love again.

For the past 12 years, I’ve continued to learn and implement new technologies for different industries nationwide. I’ve enjoyed the learning aspect, but at times loathe the fact that I’m utilizing skills I’ve harnessed for over a decade to make an owner who refers to employees as “Employee Number 334”.

My second child was born and I decided I had had enough, and the idea for Pirate Tech came to life.

Starting the Business

I knew this venture was going to be an uphill battle from the start. I live in a very rural area with a limited population. I decided that hurdle could actually be my saving grace, with a rural area full of blue-collar workers there isn’t much competition for an “IT Guy”, but how do I get them to buy into the fact that they NEED one?

In starting this venture I never wanted to get rich quickly, I want to provide a valuable product to people who need it the most.

On November 1st, 2024 I started planning how to implement my idea of a quality product at an affordable price. I designed a pricing structure that will give my clients the best bang for their buck, and not break their bank doing so. I created a basic pricing structure based around a set price for a specific job, but soon realized not every hard drive replacement is the same.

I altered the pricing structure not to be a flat rate but a by-the-half-hour rate. In doing this I found that there are certain jobs that not only don’t make the amount of money required for myself but also don’t make sense for the client to pay for. If they have a 10-year-old computer that was limping along before it crashed, why would I get it back to a limping-along state and charge them what they could pay for a low-end consumer-level machine? I would rather invest my time and their money in trying to recover as much of their invaluable pictures of children growing up, family vacations, and much more and migrating it to a new machine.

On November 11th, 2024 we created our first social media page on Facebook as a marketing tool. I found that most of our customers utilize Facebook groups to find services of all kinds in their area, so we joined as many local Facebook groups that allow business advertising as possible.

By the 18th of November, our first marketing post was cross-posted through multiple local groups. I continued to do my endless research sessions (between bottle cleaning, and diaper changes) as I could manage, all while posting in the Facebook groups as much as I could. I also developed a service to entice new clients to utilize our services. Regardless of the issue, we include a PC tuneup for every first-time customer. This complimentary service not only helps the clients day to day tasks but develops a sense of trust with Pirate Tech.

On December 7th, 2024, my hard work paid off, and I received my first customer. The job was a typical desktop support job: the customer couldn’t get their computer to display on the monitor consistently. The fix was less of a tech issue: I had to replace the HDMI cable. I offered the complimentary PC Tune-Up, and they were thrilled! They asked for my business card to refer their friends to me for any technology issues.

From there Pirate Tech has slowly gained traction. In my eyes, the key to running a successful technology business in my small town rural area is providing a quality product that the consumer understands, at a price that is fair.

Conclusion

The journey so far has been a long, tiring process, but using the same energy and drive as the 16-year-old researching every topic about computers, but transitioning it to running a growing professional venture will pay off.

I urge anyone who reads this to find your passion and muster up the grit and determination to chase it with everything in your being until it becomes a reality.

If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at contact@piratetech.info, or find me on Facebook at Pirate Tech. I will personally take the time to read and respond to any comments whether they are constructive or or criticism.