A 62 year-old joiner by trade in Kelowna with his red seal, Hans has worked in construction much of his life. He wants to use his woodworking skills to start his own business, being particularly interested in working with repurposed wood to make new product.

Having depression and anxiety, Hans learned about Neil Squire’s Digital Jumpstart program to learn the computer skills he needed to be successful in self-employment.

Through Digital Jumpstart, Hans received a computer, monitor, keyboard, and a mouse.

He started out learning the basics on the computer, including Microsoft Office — Word, Excel, and Power Point.

He particularly enjoyed the fact that the lessons he did with his tutors were recorded, so that he could access them again and re-play them, making it easier to retain the knowledge.

“They were excellent, and very understanding and very patient. They were able to understand me and my challenges, and were able to actually walk me through things, I was very impressed,” Hans says of his tutors.

“My age and my abilities, I am dyslexic, and I do have learning challenges and things like that, so having that coaching and encouragement has helped me a great deal to be able to work with this.”

One of his main goals joining the program was learning about using social media for social marketing, so he learned how to use platforms like Facebook to market his business.

Thanks to Digital Jumpstart, Hans feels a lot more confident on the computer.

“It’s not as scary to open a computer anymore,” he laughs. “Because I would open up the computer and just start trying to go here, trying to go there, and I’d just get confused and lost. They were able to show me take step one, step two, step three — it made it a little easier for me to understand and to cope with.”

With his newfound computer skills and equipment, Hans has the tools he needs to be successful. He is currently working towards launching his business by developing a product line.

“I’m very impressed with your program, it’s been very helpful, it’s been very encouraging, very impressed with your instructors. You guys are doing an amazing job, you really are.”