Rizzutis take on computers

James and Kerry Rizzuti both admit to being computer geeks. Thus, the name of their business, "Afford A Geek."

"We are computer geeks and we take pride in our geekiness," James said. "We know computers. We're willing to do house calls during the day, nights or weekends at reasonable fees. A lot of people call and ask questions and we're glad to try to help them. People are appreciative of that."

Afford A Geek offers quick turnaround, usually one to two days unless parts need to be ordered.

"We know our customer's computers are important and we know they need them back right away, so we work hard on fast turnarounds," Kerry said.

To get the business out of their home, James and Kerry rent space at the Humboldt Newspapers offices at 512 Sumner Avenue. It also gives people a place to drop off and pick up their computers during regular business hours.

Afford A Geek works on both personal and business computers. They do a lot of virus and spyware removal, fix software issues, help speed up slow running computers, do upgrades of hard drives and build custom computers for customers.

They do house and small business wire to wireless networking.

Afford A Geek also offers tutoring, website hosting, website design and email hosting.

"We communicate well with people. We're regular people like everyone else and can offer our years of experience with computers. Business has been growing and we think it is because of the way we work with people. We work hard to make sure they have a positive experience and outcome," James said.

That computer experience extends back many years. Kerry got her first computer in 1994.

"I really focused in on it. I wanted to know all about it, so I started tinkering. I did a lot on my own computer and read a lot of books. Then people would ask for help and I started helping them out," Kerry said. She also volunteered to help with a help channel for Windows 98.

James got his first computer in 1984 when he was in the fourth grade.

"I developed an instant love for computer games. It lit a fire under me to figure them all out," James said. That summer, his parents sent him to class to learn to program his own DOS games.

"As computer games and computers evolved, I evolved with them," James said.

During high school, he broke his parents' computer several times to teach himself how to fix it. A friend of the family worked for IBM and if James couldn't fix a computer problem, he learned from him how to do it.

"When I finished high school, I was the guy people would contact for their computer or electronics questions," James said.

Kerry was born in Fort Dodge and graduated from Fort Dodge Senior High School in 1991. After high school, she worked at the Webster City Freeman-Journal, Community Pizza and at Wal-Mart for three years.

She worked for The Chantland Company in their printing department for three years before coming to Humboldt Printing Company in August of 1998.

Kerry and James were married in 2004 and live in Dakota City with daughter, Amber.

James was born and raised in Toronto. He graduated from Markham High School in 1993. During high school, he ran a car wash at a gas station and continued to work there after high school for two years. He then got into the printing industry and worked for Deluxe check printers and various print shops after that.

He worked for the AEA in their printing department for a summer, then at Land O'Lakes in their printing operation for a year, then at Turroso for two years. For the past two years, he has been running a web press at Allen Printing in Clarion and continues there today.

In 2006-07, James and Kerry operated a computer business out of their home called Dakota City Computers. They put the business on hold when James' work schedule (60 plus hours a week) made it difficult. That work schedule has since relaxed.

"It's something both Kerry and I really both love. Computers are our hobby. It's neat to get paid to do your hobby," James said.

"We like to help people with their computer problems and see them happy," Kerry said.

"We also like to teach people and talk to them in a way they'll understand," James said.

James and Kerry said when the opportunity arose to rent space outside their house, they decided to pursue what they love. And as for the name of the business?

"People like the name Afford A Geek. It's very unusual and unique. It's goofy like us. We are definitely computer geeks," Kerry said.

The Humboldt Independent