Indies Only: Tony Sidio Finds Solutions to Computing Problems

Tony Sidio works from home to solve computer problems – big or small. He is a people person who enjoys technical challenges and strives to provide value-added service to each of his clients.

“I’ve always had a knack for figuring things out and was the unofficial go to guy for any computer problem,” said Sidio, whose background includes advertising and sales. He officially started in the computer business in 1994, working in sales for a small computer company where he was able to wear lots of hats and gain technical training.

In 2004, the company Sidio worked for was sold. He began Tony Sidio Consulting from his home office, keeping expenses down and passing those savings on to his clients, he said.

Sidio doesn’t acknowledge that the US is in a recession. Instead, he says, “the economy got interesting.” Seven years into his consulting business, Sidio’s fees haven’t changed.

Small businesses with five to 25 computers are Sidio’s target clients, but he works with companies of all sizes and individual consumers. He described his relationship with his clients as a marriage of sorts.

“We need to have trust, communicate well, and respect each other. If we don’t have these things, then it’s not going to be a lasting relationship," Sidio said.

For established businesses, Sidio looks at what they have in place and asks what the business wants. He offers regularly scheduled maintenance to check all computers, saying “when the computers are down, it usually costs the business money.”

Dr. Eric Carson of Carson Chiropractic hired Tony Sidio Consulting four years ago. Sidio does “monthly maintenance of all seven office computers, new installations, software installs, pretty much anything related to a computer,” said Carson. 

“His dependability is worth his fee schedule. … I trust him to the point that he has a key to my office to fix things while we are closed,” said Carson. 

Sidio said his time is spent roughly 50/50 between working with businesses and consumers. Most consumer business is a result of Malware – or malicious software. Sidio feels www on the Internet stands for “wild, wild West where there are no rules and there is a constant battle.” Malware slows down computers and can be very frustrating, said Sidio.

Jack Mikolay of Mik’s Tasty Bites recently hired Sidio when his work computer crashed.

“He was very accommodating,” said Mikolay. He diagnosed the problem, made recommendations on purchasing a new computer, saved virtually everything I needed and also counseled me on how to avoid problems in the future," said Mikolay.

“I probably paid more than if I went to a local Big Box electronic store, but I feel the service was faster and more competent.  It was worth every penny when you consider his value-added customer service,” said Mikolay.

Sidio is heavily involved in , which he joined in January 2007.

“I’m not a dip my toe in the water kind of person. I go to every event the Chamber sponsors," he said. "…I’ve met great people, had a lot of fun and gained clients as a bi-product of getting to know people.”

Sidio is serving his second term on the Board of Directors and in May he was voted to the voluntary position of Vice Chairman.

“Ninety-eight percent of my business is by referral,” said Sidio, who believes this is the best way to build a business. “I’ve almost forgotten how to do a sales pitch.

“I love what I do. I’m providing a service that has significant value to the client and I’m helping clients prevent potential problems,” said Sidio. “I get the greatest satisfaction in taking something that’s broken and restoring it. I enjoy the challenge.”

To reach Sidio call him at 630-551-8695 or by email at tony@sidio.com