Introduction

Tips & Tricks Tuesday: Save $50 On AppleCare

Today’s tip was changed because I have heard a lot of chatter about AppleCare, it was going to be a post on some Snow Leopard tricks.

AppleCare is something you get with every new Apple device. The details are however, it’s a 1 year limited warranty. You get 90 days of free phone support, after that, it’s pay per call. Keep reading to see how I can save you some money, and why, on this product/service.

Within the first YEAR of purchase though, you can get AppleCare Protection Plan which extends your protection to 3 years from date of purchase.

I highly recommend this. The average cost for a repair out of warranty is more then the cost of the warranty and this will protect you for a whole 3 years. If you’re like me, you’ll probably get a new computer in that time :P

Don’t blame me for promoting myself in this post, but if you purchase AppleCare from me, you can save $50. Thats right, the same AppleCare warranty, box, all that, for $50 less then retail.

• MacBook Pro = $349 or ($299 from Hollywood Mac Guru)
• 13″ Machines (MacBook Pro, Air, Plastic MacBook) = $249 ($199 from Hollywood Mac Guru)
• Mac Pro = $249 ($199 from Hollywood Mac Guru)
• Mac mini = $149 ($99 from Hollywood Mac Guru)
• iMac = $169 ($119 from Hollywood Mac Guru)

Here’s another plus, as an Apple Certified Macintosh Technician I can do AppleCare work at no part cost to you. Most repairs at Apple Store or Service Center? You’re out for 7-10 business days. If you need expedited service, more. Just pay me a flat fee (depends on situation) and you can get your machine back usually in about 36 hours.

Drop me a line if you need more info, leave a comment if you have a question. I used to run an Apple Service Center for 3 years and I was a Mac Genius so I’ve seen both sides.

I don’t make any money off selling AppleCare (or any Apple hardware) my income comes from billable time for managed professional services. My motive is to help you save some money. We have to look out for each other and maybe you’ll need my services or refer me to an associate of yours.

You do not need to be in the Los Angeles area to take advantage of this, AppleCare is a code, I can fax/send you your info which can only be used once, attached to a serial number, no need to ship unless you want.

Hope this helps!

Mac Guru Monday – Humbled

I had asked some clients and business associates to be so kind as to take some time out of their day and send any recommendations they have, using the business network tool LinkedIN. I was very happy to see they responded quickly and so well, I put the results up on the Buzz section of this site.

Things have progressed well over the past few months. I do have to say it is an interesting time to own your own business. I collaborate with other entrepreneurs to exchange tips, news and feedback. Everyone appears to be somewhat optimistic we will see some big growth over the next few months.

My business was started pretty much through referrals and even today, 6 months later, I have yet to really invest any significant amount into advertising. I feel that satisfied customers and business referrals are working well enough now and I’d rather keep costs low to keep my rates reasonable.

I hope to beef up the Services section soon. It’s hard to really see that I can do remote work, phone support, video conferencing etc. You don’t have to be in the Los Angeles area to be able to use my services, but it does make it a lot easier if you want me to drop by in person :)

I’m going to continue to keep my eye on growth through the holiday season, provide some daily posts (Friday was a mixup/didn’t get any Fix It questions) for consumption and as always I look forward to your feedback.

Tomorrow is Tips & Tricks, what would you like to see me cover?

Wednesday is What App? Do you have a need for a Mac or iPhone app and want some in depth info?

Thursday is Training.

Friday is Fix It! Send me any problems, issues, troubles you may have and I will answer them here.

Let’s start a discussion. What are your experiences like with other consultants/technologists? What do you wish they would do more of or less of? Leave a comment and I hope you’re having a good week!

Technician Versus Consultant

One of the places I advertise my services is on Craigslist.org and I have noticed lately, well, as expected there are a very large volume of posts under computer services. I’ve managed to get a few hits here and there from it, but I’ve been trying to discover why I may not be converting the posting into leads.

Read on to see how Craigslist is a good place to find a technician, a poor place to find a consultant, and what I think the difference is.

I’m sure plenty of people go to Craiglist to find someone to immediately solve a problem but obviously big connections aren’t made there. As a consultant I am finding it a little difficult to find leads, even though referrals come in.. sort of and maybe it’s because people don’t see me as a consultant but more of a technician.

I started out a few years ago as what I would gladly call a tech. I had all the required skills to solve technical issues, I had begun studying and getting certifications. I enjoyed my work and frankly, it was the boom boom mid 90s where people easily spent money on $800 chairs so hiring a team of techs was nothing. As I progressed along I noticed it was time to step it up, and I put myself in a position where I could take on more responsibility.

This led eventually to being the ‘tech lead’ or team leader on build outs and other work but eventually I hit a ceiling. My career could not progress unless I wanted to do one of two things, run my own business or change and adapt to a different job within the same field. I chose the latter.

I had the opportunity to learn new systems, earned new certifications, all that stuff. More importantly though I started positioning myself for the ultimate goal, something I really wanted to shoot for.. a consultant. You see I always had this sense of wanting to do more. It wasn’t that I wanted to be in charge or that I didn’t like authority, it was more that I wanted challenges. As corny as it sounds, I also wanted to put myself in a place where I can do more good. As cheesy as it seems to even me to say it, I do what I do because I love helping people and I see a beauty in the symbiotic relationship between technology and creatives.

Being a consultant means taking risks, handling budgets, managing relationships. I’ve managed over time to make some great connections and meet some wonderful business associates. It’s the vendors, mentors, freelancers, other business owners etc that I met that puts me in a position now to do the most good.

I’m a technology consultant specializing in Apple hardware and software solutions. I have general tech knowledge as well in a variety of fields because this is my passion and in my free time I explored storage, security, media.

This is what separates me from a technician. I may get hands on very frequently and I can still strip down a piece of Mac hardware to the screws and build it back up. However, I’m now doing what was inevitable from the moment the spark inside turned on with my first tech experience, my own thing.

Contact me if you want training, equipment at a discount, someone to partner up with to solve problems, someone to work with. Oh, and also call me if your drive fails on your laptop and you need someone to take the whole thing apart, do data recovery and put it all back together again. :)