Computer wizard Mike DeJong owns Digerati Computing, which is the West Kootenay’s only authorised Apple Dealership. He runs his business with marketing man and muso Ben Midwicki and together they keep Nelson’s Macs in good working order.

Digerati has been open since 2005.

“I’ve been working with computers since 1994,” says Mike, “initially I focused on Windows and Linux. Then a number of years ago I realised there wasn’t any real Mac support here, but there were a lot of Mac users. So I switched.”

Mike says Mac is popular in Nelson because of its unique make-up.

“Small business is an integral part of any small town but those businesses don’t necessarily need Macs. But Nelson is an Arts’ driven community. We have lots of photographers, designers, graphic artists and they are Mac users.”

Mike was born and raised in Nelson.

“I’m second generation. My grand parents, on my Dad’s side, moved here in the 30’s. They were from Holland. A lot of people were emigrating from Europe at that time and my family ended up here and in the Okanagan.

"I moved away for a couple of years after school but I was away just long enough to realise I wanted to come straight back.”

The pace of life and the attitude towards work/life balance are big factors for both Mike and Ben.

“I lived in Calgary when I moved away and the city was not for me,” says Mike emphatically. “My family is here so even though most of my friends had moved away at that time I needed to get back. Now, I try and be as flexible as I can with my work schedule so I can spend time with my family. I do the all the seasonal stuff around here; it’s a beautiful place.”

Ben is young, enthusiastic and fairly new to Nelson but he’s already hooked on the Queen City’s laidback feeling.

“When it comes to doing business with people it’s not so gung ho and in-your-face. Everyone is very competitive in the Big City. But here people are on the same page, so you can be more honest with people. If you’re taking the afternoon off to ski you can say so, and your client will probably want to go with you.”

Mike agrees.

“If I close the shop for a week in summer to go camping with the family everyone understands that it’s part of the lifestyle. Nelson is a small town and it has a small town feeling. We trust our neighbours, we all know a lot of people and a lot of people know us. That’s why I’m here and I’d like to see it stay this way.”

The “Big City” Ben is referring to is his hometown of Toronto.

“I hopped on a freight train like a carpetbagger,” he laughs. “No, I came here three years ago because I was sick and tired of Toronto. It’s too much. I’m a marketing graduate but I had some friends from Nelson who told me how great it was here so I decided to make the change. I moved out here and I definitely don’t want to leave!”

Mike and Ben met when Mike was on the hunt for a very special laptop. He had been looking for a specific model of a 12-inch PowerBook for some time. Then voila one turns up just around the corner.

“I decided to look on craigslist and there it was for sale in Nelson and it was Ben. And he happened to be living two blocks away from me. We met, we talked the same language, Ben offered to help me with the business and it grew from there.”

Ben says Mike is a genius when it comes to Apple; but clearly they both love what they are doing and the camaraderie between them makes the business feel more like a hobby than hard work.

And despite the current economic climate business is good. Mike says Digerati is consistently busy, especially on the service side, which is great. But there are some challenges.

“Being a business and service provider for Apple can be hard. The business model is designed for larger centres. So my typical phone call goes like this … ‘Hi I just bought an Apple online and I can’t figure out how to make this work. I called Apple and they said to call you and that you could help me!’ Or … ‘Hi, I just bought an Apple in Kelowna.’ Etcetera etcetera.”

Mike and Ben want to spread the word that buying local is the best choice even when it comes to computers.

“We support local businesses even if it costs us extra money and we’re trying to encourage Apple buyers to do the same. Especially as with our products there is absolutely no price difference!”

You can find Mike and Ben at DIGERATI COMPUTING at 508G Latimer Street, Nelson (Nelson Brewing Company Building), and phone: (250) 354-0588.

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