My name is Steven Goethner and I’m an independent Apple consultant. I’ve been helping people with their Apple products since 1986. I cover Fairfield and Westchester counties. For all these decades I’ve enjoyed the “WOW factor” of helping Apple Mac users. I’ve made a career out of providing one-on-one teaching, pre-purchase advice and troubleshooting. Don’t wait in line at an Apple store (even when you’ve scheduled an appointment), call 203/319-0600 to schedule an appointment for me to come to you in the privacy and convenience of your home.
My rate for new clients needing Macintosh help is $125/hour. I do not like the idea of charging for travel time. I have a minimum instead. Less than a 45 minute drive, the minimum charge is 1 hour. For drives that are 45 minutes to an hour and a half, the minimum is 2 hours. For trips to NYC or longer than an hour and a half, the minimum is 4 hours.
Remote training is an option too, with a 1 hour minimum.
FileMaker Pro:
In addition to Macintosh support services, I develop custom database solutions with FileMaker Pro. I’ve been working with FileMaker before it was FileMaker. It existed under DOS as Nutshell before the Macintosh existed. Through the years, FileMaker is a great example of well designed Macintosh software. FileMaker has always had a terrific balance between power and ease of use. Many years ago they took it cross platform. That feature made it THE choice for mixed environments.
Databases can be used to track anything. Sometimes the need is simple and sometimes it’s complicated. Most businesses can find off the shelf software to do what they need done. But, it’s never 100%. The important question is: is that 10% that the canned software can’t do mission critical? If it is, a custom solution is needed and FileMaker Pro is a great tool for the job. Call me at 203/319-0600 to setup a time to talk about your needs and see if FileMaker is the solution for you.
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My background for Apple support:
I’ve lived in Fairfield Connecticut for most of my life. I started selling computers shortly after college. That was the beginning of 1984, just in time for the Macintosh. When I started, part of my job as the sales person was to provide instruction and support. I found I liked the Wow factor of showing people how to use them. I realized that my important ability was to understand the technical jargon and turn it into English for regular people.
Shortly after starting, the industry matured to the first time people where buying their second computer. they didn’t want to spend the extra money for a service they felt they no longer needed. So discount stores started to pop up and then spread like wildfire to become the norm. Then management didn’t want me to take the time to help people. There was not enough profit left in selling the computer to afford to do that. It had become a commodity item, all the way back in 1986! That took all the fun out of it for me. With the help of a friend I decided to go on my own and become a “consultant”. I purposely chose the Apple Macintosh because I enjoyed it so much more. If I was going to make a career at it, I wanted to enjoy it. PCs, especially then – running DOS, – were NO Fun at all!