Monthly Archives: March 2014

Client Spotlight: Michelle with Swap Boutique

| March 25, 2014

Michelle Reinhardt, a New Orleans native, opened Swap Boutique just over five years ago.  It has grown from one shop to four locations, including Metairie Road, Maple Street, Magazine Street, and Perkins Road in Baton Rouge. In her own words, Michelle describes Swap as follows: “Swap Boutique is a fresh, contemporary designer consignment shop, a haven for fashionable and budget conscious women. Each dress, shoe, and handbag is chosen deliberately for the discerning eye of our customers. We cater to the fashion-minded shopper who appreciates current trends and loves to get a deal.” Here are Michelle’s response to our “fun facts” questions (yep, just like we did for the Nerds): Why do you love owning a business in NOLA?  The people. The community. The culture.Read Full Article

My Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Story (Part I)

| March 20, 2014

During the spring of 2013, I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program.  This program is designed to give business owners the skills required to grow and sustain their existing businesses.  And in some cases, it may even open a few new doors. For me, the journey started before I even knew about the program.  In 1997, I started Rent-A-Nerd, Inc. with little to no business experience.  I had been working in the computer industry for three years prior, but mostly in a sales capacity.  I strategically placed a few signs around the city, and my new business was born.  At first, invoices were handwritten and logged onto a spreadsheet.  This was easy enough for one person.  AsRead Full Article

Meet the Nerds, Part VII: Charlotte Piotrowski

| March 18, 2014

I am the final Nerd in our “Meet the Nerds” series, and it is really hard to interview myself!  I’m happily and proudly married to the chief Nerd, Darrin, and joined Rent-A-Nerd on a part-time basis in the fall of 2013, when we realized I had a lot of ideas that we wanted to implement.  I focus on our online presence and business development.  Be sure to read my article about working with your spouse here! So, here are my responses to the “fun facts” questions: What’s your Favorite local restaurant:  It depends on my mood, though I am always in the mood to go to Martinique and Ralph’s on the Park.  For special occasions, I love Clancy’s and Patois.  I think a casual breakfastRead Full Article

Out of Milk App Review

| March 13, 2014

Don’t you hate it when you get to the store and can’t remember everything you’re supposed to pick up (especially when it was only three or four items!)?  Wouldn’t you like to be able to easily send your spouse your list of items when he’s swinging by the store on the way home?  How about create a shared to-do list? I recently discovered the Out of Milk app, and it does all of the above, plus more!  This little app allows you to keep and share grocery lists and to-do lists, easily with other people.  And, it’s really easy to add items onto the grocery list–there’s even a quick scan option: just hold your phone above the bar code and press the scan button.  ThatRead Full Article

Meet the Nerds, Part VI: Beibei Lin

| March 11, 2014

Beibei is one of the newest Nerds, though he has been with us since 2006.  Beibei is our Network Technician, and he focuses mainly on business clients.  He was born in Shenyang, China and moved to the U.S. when he was twelve.  He joined the Marines in 2000, and was deployed overseas in 2003, during Enduring Freedom.  Here are his responses to our “fun facts” questions: Favorite Local Restaurant: Don’t really have a favorite, maybe Drago’s.  (We understand not being able to choose!) Star Wars or Star Trek: Star Wars Favorite Mardi Gras Krewe: Endymion (You may have noticed a trend.  This is the favorite Krewe of the six Nerds profiled thus far.) Dream vacation location:  I have always wanted to go to Tokyo.  (SoundsRead Full Article

Darrin guest lectures at Delgado Community College

| March 7, 2014

Darrin was recently asked to give a presentation to students at  Delgado Community College.  So, on a recent morning, he gave a talk to the Introduction to Business class, along with Kelvin Gipson, Alumni Services Manager for Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses.  Here’s Darrin’s account of the experience: I gave a brief presentation on being a business owner and entrepreneur as well as fielded questions from students.  I met fellow graduates of the Goldman Sachs program, Heidi Raines of Medical Executive Partners, and Tracey Ryals-Frazier of B&S Equipment Company.  Not only did I learn a lot about their businesses and the common issues that we as business owners come across.  I also learned that many of the students had questions that were in line withRead Full Article

Help, my computer is infected! Or, Ways to Prevent Your Computer from Being Infected

| March 6, 2014

Wikipedia defines Malware (short for malicious software) as: “software used to disrupt computer operation, gather sensitive information, or gain access to private computer systems.It can appear in the form of code, scripts, active content, and other software.’Malware’ is a general term used to refer to a variety of forms of hostile or intrusive software.” As a Rent A Nerd field technician, hardly a day goes by where I am not called upon to remove all manner of pop-ups, toolbars, fake antivirus programs and ransomware (a class of malware that restricts access to the computer system which it infects, and demands a ransom paid to the creator of the malware in order for the restriction to be removed). The main thing most people want to knowRead Full Article