Brooklyn self-storage unit on Atlantic Avenue<\/a>, takes orders over the internet and fulfills them as needed. His customers are typically businesses and come from all across the country. One of his bigger customers is Goodwill.<\/p>\n\u201cTheir IT department will be looking for a screen or a hard drive or they get something donated but it needs to be fixed, and the bottom line requires they get their parts used,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
In this day and age, computers are often manufactured to last just a short time, Shawn says, and the \u201cbreak fix\u201d culture has become more like \u201cbreak replace.\u201d His customers don\u2019t want new goods that are cheaply made and value the older models, much like some drivers prefer older car models. The challenge is that many computers demand extremely specific parts which the average user can\u2019t find even on eBay or Craig\u2019s List, he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cTake a Sony laptop, for instance. You need special screws for it and you might have to buy a whole laptop to get those screws if you don\u2019t know where to look,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
When he\u2019s not sourcing or selling computer parts, Shawn moonlights as a freelance IT professional working on a temporary basis at area companies.<\/p>\n
\u201cCompanies bring me in for routine maintenance or data transfer. I work through an agency with hundreds of clients. These days, most places don\u2019t use full-time staff for certain issues and things can often be done remotely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shawn\u2019s free time is scarce because he\u2019s currently studying to be certified in a new area, as a network architecture engineer. It\u2019s a huge commitment that he says will take years to complete but he\u2019s looking forward to having new, better-paid opportunities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I would work to help companies design their networks from the ground up,\u201d he says. \u201cThe process has been tedious and it\u2019s a lot of work but when I get on track I\u2019ll have a whole new career ahead of me.\u201d<\/p>\n
We\u2019d love to hear how self storage has positively impacted your life. Share your #HumansofSelfStorage story in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\t\t\t\tRead how a laptop with a broken screen set the career path for Shawn Elliot and fed his passion for running his own business.\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":13287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1938],"tags":[152,691,924,232],"class_list":["post-13282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-life","tag-brooklyn-storage","tag-customer-stories","tag-humansofselfstorage","tag-inside-self-storage"],"yoast_head":"\r\n
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<\/p>\n