A COMPUTER WHIZ

As Nolan Baker works his magic on computers and other technological systems, he surprises many people when they find out how old he is.
He has become known as the teenage computer whiz as the junior in high school has been operating his own LLC computer company, Baker Tech Services, for the past year.
Baker laughs at the notion of being referred to as a computer whiz.
“I don’t know if I consider myself one, but my clients sure do,” he said.
He developed an interest in computers at a young age as his father, Rod, works in the IT department at Federated Insurance.
At 17 years old, Baker logs in as many as 40 hours a week traveling across southern Minnesota to areas like Mankato and Rochester and, of course, his home base of Owatonna, installing residential and commercial computer systems. He has even had jobs in the south metro.
“It’s a full-time job,” he says. “We are keeping pretty busy.”
Baker isn’t alone in his business. His assistant? Another technology geek, Jack Ruiter, who is a year younger than Baker and a sophomore at Owatonna High School. They connected through Boy Scouts and school.
“Jack has been a great help,” Baker said. “He is better at the phone systems than I am. We work pretty well together.”
The two are often called upon to help new businesses, particularly restaurants, design their technology infrastructure, including TV monitors, security systems and Wi-Fi networks.
Baker said businesses like utilizing his service rather than having to get several companies to install their technology. He said there aren’t many companies in southern Minnesota that offer what his firm does.
“It’s a one-stop shop,” Baker said of his services. “It makes everybody’s life easier.”
His company is tailored to small businesses that don’t have their own IT departments.
The business has taken off faster than Baker ever expected it would. Just three months into the year, he has already doubled revenue from last year.
Baker is already facing a situation where he will likely have to add another part-time position in the coming months to keep up with the demand.
And, while he finds businesses are surprised when they find out how old he is, they become more comfortable when they discover he has insurance and is a registered LLC. “I haven’t had a single business turn me down because of my age,” said Baker.
Baker has purchased a truck and a 20-foot trailer to haul his tools around to complete his jobs. He estimates he has already invested around $30,000 in tools and equipment. For now, he has been putting most of his profits back into the business to build up capital.
Baker hasn’t minded the COVID-19 restrictions over the past year, especially when it comes to school. Distance learning has played into his favor as he is able to concentrate on his business during the day and do school work at night.
But he admits it’s a challenge sometimes to focus on school no matter when it needs to be done. “School gets pushed aside,” Baker said. “School gets done, but it may take longer than the average student,” he said, adding most of his teachers have been accommodating.
He expects to continue with the business after he graduates in 2022. “This will become my full-time job after high school,” Baker said, adding he would also like to explore online college business courses.
The future for technology services, Baker said, appears to be bright. “With everything being online, we’re not going to see a drop off of this business in popularity,” he said. “It’s just going to get bigger,” he added.
He already likes the idea of being his own boss. Asked if he could work for someone else, Baker replied: “I probably could, but I wouldn’t enjoy it as much as myself. I enjoy not answering to people.”
The future of Baker’s company looks bright.
“I see it becoming a bit larger and covering a larger area,” he said. “I think it will be fairly successful.”