By Martin Jansen, Owner of Jansen-PCINFO
I have always wanted to own my own business. Even when I was working in the IT department of a large insurance company in Green Bay, I started working on the idea.
I created a business plan after I graduated from Cardinal Stritch University in 1990. My Master’s degree is in Business. I was working some side jobs in Green Bay to supplement income. Many associates at the insurance company needed help with their home computers.
So I created my first business card:
It’s not a stretch to see where I got the idea for my current business name.
Quite a bit of my learning in computers is self-taught. Since I was a terrible typist, I created my first word processor while at Silver Lake College (sadly now defunct) in order to write term papers without tons of white-out.
I started out in non-profit work and became the computer”expert” at the American Red Cross in Green Bay. I fondly remember adding memory chips to a Compaq luggable without bending the centipede like pins:
I wrote my thesis for my Master’s degree using a Commodore 64 and Star dot matrix printer. I finished my degree (before children) while working full time.
When IBM Compatibles became affordable, I started using them for pleasure, business and tax purposes. I remember working with MSDOS 1.1 and Windows 1.0.
My first official job as a PC Analyst came when I was hired at Employer’s Health (which became Emphesys and then Humana.) At the time, since they had ties to IBM, they were running OS/2 on their computers. Getting Windows apps to run well on these computers made for interesting times. Always learning, it didn’t take me long to break the OS on my computer.
My nickname at Humana was “Martin Hardware” since I knew intricately how computer components worked.
Through the years I have participated in many roll-outs of new operating systems and computer systems. I’ve supported thousands of users and their computers.
Toward the end of my time at Humana, I sensed a need to get into the Big Data side of business and transferred to the Finance department. I retired from Humana (and commuting from Appleton) in 2012. I wanted to pursue creating my business again.
Fate, however, was not allowing me to build the business from scratch. Wife, Lydia, lost her job, which forced me to start looking for another job.
This need was answered by McClone Insurance in Menasha. They were dumping their old sales management software and needed someone to lead the charge in finding a new sales platform. I was charged with comparing and finding the best software for the job.
Before I knew it I was their Salesforce Administrator. I created meaningful reports tracking sales progress. I also made sure the data concerning potential clients was accurate.
All this while, I kept my hand in the computer business by reading up on the latest trends. This is a constant in technology – keep up or be left behind.
I retired from McClone to resume building my business.
Being set financially has allowed me to start writing articles on my website. Hopefully many will find the articles interesting and helpful. I write mostly about computer technology, but will sometimes vary to write about my experience with wind and solar power or even a simple mailbox alert system.
Meanwhile I volunteer at the Appleton Public Library as a Computer Help Assistant and sing at church, Christmas Stars, All Rise! Passion Play as well as Appleton MacDowell Male Chorus.
I recently became an Election Inspector.
Jansen-PCINFO is always open for business. You can contact me through the website, email, or my cell phone. I specialize in optimizing computers to run the operating system as quickly as possible. Upgrading to a SSD is an amazing way to speed up a computer. I also eliminate computer viruses and malware from Windows systems which can slow a computer to a crawl.
Linux Mint, however, is resistant to viruses designed for Windows and is a better OS in so many ways, friendly to new users. Call me if you are sick of slow Windows. Many older computers running Windows 10 are not eligible to upgrade to Windows 11. The clock is ticking on these computers as Microsoft has determined that October 2025 is the date these computers will no longer be supported.
I also have a limited amount of computers for sale, running the better OS, at very low prices. Because I work out of my home, my price for service is also low. I offer computer buying services as well, getting customer’s the best bang for their buck.
My competitors, like the “Geek Squad,” offer similar services, but with a much higher profit in mind. After all, they have to keep their big corporate operation running.
I urge you to pick me to do your computer work! You won’t be sorry.