When business owners consider computer maintenance and IT solutions for their business, LGBT-friendliness may be a secondary consideration. Chris Butler’s The Computer Butler does us one better: here we find a socially conscious, LGBT-owned and operated business providing comprehensive computing services for small and medium-sized businesses in the Nashville area.
Chris is the definition of an entrepreneur: at just 24, he’s been operating his business in Nashville for three years already. Up until this year, he developed his business while also working another full-time job. 2014 has seen him turn his venture, at last, into his sole focus.
The services he offers are comprehensive. As Chris put it, “we offer complete care for our customers. Basically, if it works on electricity – computers, but also printers and copiers, and other electronics – we service it.” They also offer services that include “disaster recovery and planning,” web design, and search engine optimization and marketing support.
One thing that Chris prides himself on is offering his customers preventative care. Like in medicine, a lot of services focus on treating what’s already gone wrong, or break-fix support. Chris believes that a more responsible business model is to provide a service that saves his customers a great deal over time. “We run updates, set up security and plan updates, and do physical cleaning of the components. While we could make a lot more money charging people to fix problems caused by the lack of these preventatives, we want to make sure our customers experience as few issues as possible.”
The Computer Butler’s primary customer base is businesses without IT support in-house, and Chris estimates that his services save his contract customers between $10-15,000 over having a single IT support person on staff.
As a business owner for whom ethics and social consciousness is very important, Chris offers a significant discount to non-profit organizations, LGBT and otherwise, that he serves. He sees it as a social obligation to offer such organizations affordable alternatives. He also serves on the board of a number of non-profits, including Nashville Harmony.
As he moves forward he hopes to engage and reach out more explicitly to the wider LGBT community through his business and social endeavors. In supporting LGBT-owned or –friendly businesses, he sees the possibility for “building the kinds of relationships between businesses that creates a safety net and a foundation for social equality in the Nashville business community.”
When asked about his overall aspirations for his business, Chris said, “It is my intention to make The Computer Butler the preferred choice for IT solutions in both the GLBT business community, and the Music Business industry in Nashville.”
For more information, visit computerbutler.net or call 615-200-8113