The storefront at 420 N. Church St. in Kalamazoo is unobtrusive, easy to miss unless you know it's there -- appropriate for a business with a name that puns on speakeasies.
But inside Suite One, Nate Welling and Silvano Vanegas have built
Geek Easy Computers into a thriving computer store, repair center and small business technology consulting company.
When the duo's previous employer closed, Welling and Vanegas discussed buying out the owner and keeping the company open, but ended up buying just the customer list. They planned to start an IT support consulting company without a physical location. As opportunities fell into their laps, however, their plans evolved.
First, Vanegas was in the MetroPCS store at the corner of Kalamazoo and Church streets and started chatting with staff about their computer system. That led to the owner telling Vanegas about the empty space behind the store, which had been partially remodeled as a computer store, then abandoned and left a mess.
The opportunity was too good to pass up. So, Geek Easy opened June 1, 2010 in the small storefront on Church Street.
It wasn't long before another irresistible opportunity popped up. DigiLink was closing, and staff there contacted Geek Easy to ask Vanegas and Welling to buy their stock and fill their niche. As they expanded their retail, the pair ran out of space in the storefront and expanded into the back room.
"It's a hybrid business model," Vanegas says. "We have the retail or consumer side as well as the small business IT. It seems like when one picks up, the other drops. They balance. It really depends on the day and what we've got going on."
The staff grew as well. The co-owners hired an employee to answer phones and be in the store full time as they ducked in and out on consulting calls. Eventually, they added a second, then a third, employee.
Now they are considering expanding into extra space available to their south and east. Clearly, business is good.
"We are one of the few shops in town or really in the general area that do Apple repairs," Vanegas says. "We're pretty much it if you don't want to take it to Best Buy and have them ship it off for two or three weeks, or drive up to Grand Rapids. We've built a following around that."
Geek Easy also does a good business in used computers, which they dub "double refurbished" because they buy refurbished laptops and reformat them again. Their retail business also includes new computers and computer components, accessories, adapters and cables.
The retail business slows some in summer, as it draws heavily from college students -- a prime market for affordable refurbished computers as well as computer repairs. The consulting business goes strong all year and draws from towns all around the area, including Battle Creek, Schoolcraft, Plainwell and Richland.
Welling and Vanegas are not all business, however.
"We like to have fun whenever possible," Welling says.
They had fun coming up with a business name.
"We were tossing things around," Welling says. "Other places, the names are so boring, like Tech Place, Information Integrated. They seem to mean nothing. We wanted something tied in with one of our core philosophies, which is that technology should be easy. We're the guys who know things, who make it work, and, well, we're geeks."
Welling came up with the name, integrating their identity, philosophy and his love of puns. Vanegas took the idea and ran with it, creating a logo that suggests Star Trek as well as a sideways computer power button.
The owners also have fun giving back.
"I really don't have time to volunteer," Vanegas says. "But now we're in a position where we can give back to the community. We obviously get brand recognition from it, too, but it's really a way to give back."
They offer a discounted rate and occasional favors to nonprofits. They also sponsor organizations such as Fancy Pants Theater, participate in local events such as the Douglass Community Association Business Fair and Western Michigan University's Bronco Bash and sponsor events at the Arcadia Creek Festival Site.
"We have a Kalamazoo focus," Welling says. "This is my hometown. It's fun, people come out, and it gives us a chance to get out of the office and do something.
"It's nice being part of the downtown community, seeing other business owners who are keeping Kalamazoo alive."
Writer: Fran Wilcox, Second Wave Media
Sources: Nate Welling and Silvano Vanegas, owners, Geek Easy Computers