A business idea I had, but first a few things:

Thing 1: I've talked about the subject of women in computer science a little bit before. Doesn't make me an expert on the subject, but the paucity of women in the computer and overall engineering fields is unfortunate and confusing to me.

Thing 2: Living in Alaska, geographic distance from everything else excludes us from a number of privileges, one of which being convenient and expedient shipping. It is expensive, time consuming, and in some cases impossible due to the fact that some businesses refuse to ship to Alaska. While online shopping is often still the way to go depending on the product and the need, we don't have the flexibility in terms of quick shipping options, or quick turnaround on return items.

Thing 3: We have 8-9 months of winter, during which we have record numbers for movie watching and eating out for our population base. Part of that indoors crowd are the computer geeks, specifically those that are the professionals, the hobbyists, gamers, or just designated family computer repair-person. There are a few, small email groups, but to my knowledge there isn't a physical commonplace for these people, nor is there a business that caters to the mid-to-higher end of computer hardware and support. Best Buy doesn't count, as they are much less centered around repair and more about retail, plus their target demographic is considerably less technically savvy. To put it short: there is not a Boscoes equivalent for computer people (even of Boscoes people likely intersect computer people with a high hit rate).

Thing 4: I can't definitively say that it is unique to Anchorage or Alaska, but I have not seen the "coffee shack" trailers anywhere else I've traveled. In terms of safety, from my sister's own anecdotal stories, to recent events, these are terrible places to work. Furthermore, for these coffee shacks, and similar businesses (see: Great Harvest Bread Company, any clothing store), they have fairly obvious and one-sided hiring practices when it comes to choosing employees. And in terms of doing business, that is their prerogative: young, attractive women attract customers, get better tips, and have more chance of repeat patronage and continued brand loyalty than anyone else. However, it's hard for me to see how this benefits the employees, particularly in the case of the coffee shacks. While I had an opportunity for a programming internship in my mid-teens, my sister was learning to be a barrista (which has nothing to do with her career now, and may have been her choice over other things at the time, but I'm bringing up the difference in opportunity, not the later career choices).

Thing 5: Computer literacy is a commodity. Computer repair shops around Anchorage, while mostly honest, are not impartial in their support, and it is not in their best interest to impart knowledge. Again, back to business prerogative, but mostly in terms of avoiding the long shadow of legal liability.

My business idea is in three parts:

1. A membership-based, self-service computer shop, catering to mid-to-higher end computer hobbyists and professionals. Membership fees would allow a person entrance a facility, in addition to cheaper prices on some items, but more importantly, access to computer components in a diagnostic as well as try-before-you-buy capacity. It would give members trying to fix their own computers the ability to quickly identify malfunctioning components by short-cutting the "process of elimination" troubleshooting. It would also allow members to test new components to determine whether an upgrade was necessary or effective.
2. Given that new computer hardware and there shipping and stocking thereof is expensive, one would have to find ways to offset capital costs with things like trainings, certifications, and basic computer literacy courses. In addition, there could be a mentorship program, similar to the one I explained towards the end of this article, that would help small businesses in return for donated expertise and cheap technical labor.
3. Hire employees with a heavy bias towards women, particularly those interested in technology, or other geeky exploits. Provide training, internships, and allow for certification, but in an environment intent on inviting and accepting and engaging women as intellectual peers, not as tippable sex objects or walking clothing racks.

I like this idea for a few reasons:

• The reason I rarely throw away computer parts is because replacements and spares are 2 weeks away, and I can't always be certain that what I received after my 2 weeks will be exactly what I need.
• Membership would keep the lights on, as well as provide deals to members that may not be available at box stores. It would also serve to always know who a customer was (in terms of employee safety), but also what their previous issues were, notes, and other things that could help the customer in the future.
• Employees would be free to impart knowledge, free from legal liability, provided that they were not the individuals performing whatever repair (note: I said self-service).
• Practical, utility rules could be in place for "break it, you bought it" in terms of handling diagnostic or try-before-you-buy hardware.
• Employees would benefit from work experience, could gain training and certifications, as well as establish connections in the community for career or educational advancement.

There's at least one, very real problem with this that I'm not sure how to solve. If indeed the community this type of business would cater to thrives on the dispersing of computer knowledge and overall computer literacy, that knowledge would have to come from somewhere. And unfortunately, that knowledge doesn't come cheap. The reason that good, consumer computer support is often so poor is because the folks with the expertise to make a place like this work wouldn't work for the wages this would be able to pay. Somehow, the mentorships and the expert-level knowledge would have to be on a volunteer basis.

Thoughts?