Customer Portrait: How David Cohen provides IT support virtually anywhere

Ever wonder how other FreshBooks customers run a business and do what they love? Customer portraits connect you with your fellow FreshBooks peers to share guidance and inspiration.

David Cohen knows how to provide great technical support. He started Memphis-based DCo Solutions from his kitchen table with his last $300 in savings. What began as an idea to provide remote technical support on the side has become a successful company that works with small to medium-sized businesses, and even some top-fifty universities.

Remote tech support is a faster way to troubleshoot problems and DCo Solutions can connect to virtually any computer in the world to fix software-based problems (even at the bottom of the sea! Alright, this photo wasn’t from a job-site, but David is often seen giving the a-OK to projects!). We caught up with David to learn more about how he started his own business.

How did you come about starting DCo Solutions?

Before this I was working at big box stores, doing their tech support or selling computers.  Although it was fun, the money wasn’t there and it wasn’t very fulfilling.  I had the idea of trying to do some remote support on the side, so I bought some software to get started. Now the business has grown, and provides services such as managed and unmanaged support for small and medium sized businesses, web design and a few web properties.

What do you love about running your own business?

I get to see my clients happy. If a price is wrong, then I can change it; something I could never do while working at a big box store.  Not having anyone to answer to is the biggest plus I can have. In cases where something doesn’t go as planned, I can make things right without having to pitch it to two or three managers.

What are some challenges that you have come across? 

Things like billing and taxes were way more of a chore than I would have thought them to be. Sure, Freshbooks helps out a TON, but I never imagined how many expenses and how much paperwork go into running your own business.  Also, being able to slack off directly impacted the size of my wallet, so to speak. Since I didn’t have a set schedule, I found myself taking more days off in the beginning. Realizing that bills don’t pay themselves, I have little to no time off now, but I love it!

What do you hope will happen with your business?

I’d love to grow and expand to another city. Maybe that’s just an excuse for me to move, though!

What advice can you offer other small business owners just starting out? 

Keep at it! Do what you love and the money will come.