After a decade of volunteering “ad naseum” she decided she needed a job. Dawn DeCosta had been an account manager for US Bank and left when she had her first child. In 2010, Dawn applied to work at an Apple Store. “I felt like I had landed at the mother ship. They liked me for my computer skills and my ability to interact with people. ”
Some friends told her it’s harder to get a job at Apple than it is to get into Harvard. She thrived at the job and especially loved teaching Apple users how to operate their products. But the retail hours were brutal, “I had to be there on Black Friday, weekends, holidays – it was so tough with two kids in grade school.” When she turned 45, Dawn sat down and thought about what she wanted to do with her life and where she saw her job at Apple going. “I asked myself what I love to do and always came back to teaching.”
Wondering how she could make teaching computer skills a business, Dawn decided, “Do what I love, the money will follow.” And it did. Focusing on Apple products, Dawn was adept at the IPad, IPhone, and computers. She also kept up with her education, taking all the Apple classes she could. Word of mouth spread about her teaching services and before long clients were calling. Having been at the store, some clients remembered her and asked her to set up their new Macs and their email. She even taught users how to use and interact with the cloud.
When asked what the profile is of most of her clients, she says seniors reach out to her a lot, “They didn’t grow up with computers the way kids today have and they need help one on one. The Apple staff is great but it’s loud and chaotic in the stores. Sitting with clients in a quiet setting is so much more conducive for learning.”
Dawn is moving into developing social media campaigns for different companies, town referendums and political runs for office. She even teaches group classes at the local Parks and Recreation locations. “I taught Facebook and Twitter to four women at their kitchen table in an hour and half.” But Dawn is just at the beginning of her venture, “I don’t have a web site and I haven’t advertised yet, I just got my LLC.” But this didn’t stop her from getting started. Her next step? She’d like to offer her services to corporations.
Her kids are a bit annoyed, “They don’t like that I know more than them.” But Dawn is a doer, she trained for a triathlon and at first didn’t know how to swim. “I feel you can do anything, you just have to wrap your head around it.” Someone stole her training bike and when she saw him on it in town she went right up to him and asked for it back. Wow!!!This is a woman who is not afraid to put herself out there.
Contact: [email protected], https://www.facebook.com/TechSavvyDawn
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