Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Christopher Cater. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Christopher, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Necessity breeds Innovation. The idea didn’t come from me. I started my first tech job one week after my high school graduation. RadioShack recruited me early, but you had to have finished high school to work there, so they waited for me. I was able to learn so much about gadgets and tech. I then got recruited to take my skills to Bestbuy, surrounding me with even more consumer electronics, other tech enthusiasts, and people who wanted to be own more tech. While working, a customer appreciated my knowledge and asked if I could show her how to set up and use the new computer she just purchased. Bestbuy offered set up but no service existed that would sit down and teach her specific device to her needs. I drove to her home within the week, and was able to provide her with everything she needed. That buried the idea of Teach Me Tech. A company dedicated to helping others learn how to best use the technology products and services they interact with everyday.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I have loved gadgets and technology my entire life. Like most my age, my first taste of tech support was with my family and friends. I enjoyed solving their problems and was offered an opportunity to sell tech and gadgets right after high school. My love for tech and desire to always do my best led me to do very well in the position from a technical perspective. My love for human interaction and my communication gifts set me apart when it came to selling and supporting the devices. Being able to professionally support tech for over 10 years gives me the knowledge to train others. My passion to help paired with my patience and teaching skills uniquely qualifies me to be a great Technology Trainer. I make sure that I understand the goals each learner has and together we make sure that you feel much more comfortable with your technology after working with me.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The inspiration for Teach Me Teach came from supporting the electronic devices that are sold at Bestbuy. It transformed into also supporting the software that can be installed on the devices. After doing many workshops helping to set up and teach the basics of electronics, I met many growing business owners who needed assistance as well. After no longer working for an electronic retail company, the opportunities to support these Entrepreneurs outgrew the ones helping to support devices. With the Pandemic stopping my ability to drive to the customers home to setup and train, that provided the chance to pivot the focus to growing business owners and the products they need to be successful. Now, Teach Me Tech is primarily focused on software and tools necessary to help businesses scale and grow instead of Amazon Alexa tricks.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

As a young trainer who had lots of tech knowledge, it was easy to finish the learner’s sentences or assume a solution or workaround to problems they had. It was also easy to fix any issues myself because I had the experience and know-how.

Then I would have the same learner call me again when the problems appeared for a 2nd or 3rd time. For most businesses, repeat business like this may be considered a good thing, but the company is Teach Me Tech, not Fix Me Tech. I realized that if I fix the issue without asking why something happened or what part the learned doesn’t understand, they don’t remember. I must fully understand the core problem and work with the learner to make sure they know it too and are comfortable solving it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.teachmetech.net
• Instagram: @teachmetech
• Facebook: Teach Me Tech
• Linkedin: Teach Me Tech
• Twitter: @teachmetech