In 1996, as I was approaching 50 years old and thinking about retirement, I wondered how best to fund it. My earlier experiences with rental properties and the stock market had not gone too well, so other options were considered. Most of my life had been spent enjoying mechanical repairs and I had a long career in appliance repair. Countless people had commented to me over the years at how difficult it was today to learn a trade, like appliance repair, and how lucrative many trades were. To me, it seemed as though there was a growing dissatisfaction with the traditional "college degree, then a corporate manager path". Too many people were suffering layoffs, moves and other career disruptions. Many of those laid-off, or fed up and over forty, have decided to open their own "cottage industries". That trend has continued.

I decided to assemble my knowledge of appliance repair into a program that would provide an easy entry path for interested men and women into this lucrative field. If my program sold well, I could continue sales in my old age from a nursing home wheelchair.  

It took many hours and nearly two years to take the hundreds of photographs included in the text and write the program. (By the way, I am still repairing about 1000 appliances per year.) During that time, jobs were carefully analyzed and every tool and technique used was noted. All normal and unusual customer situations and events were recorded daily on a small tape recorder and later transferred to and edited on Microsoft Word. This information was supplemented with interviews of expert mechanics, old employees, suppliers and all their recollections and mine from the last 30 years. During that compilation period, I constantly reflected on what would be truly valuable, necessary and useful to an aspiring entrant in the appliance repair business.

My original goal of sixteen manuals evolved into a complete package with online training, an advanced website and hands-on training. The manuals are based on techniques that have been proven effective in training dozens of technicians over many years and are used daily by me and other appliance professionals. Appliance technicians are not design engineers; rather, we come in after the design mistakes are made and then correct the errors and weak spots. The manuals , videos and hands-on training concentrate on understanding designs, recognizing failure patterns and quick replacement techniques.

My web site is a complete, ever evolving comprehensive source of major appliance repair information. Our Appliance Repair Wizard >> includes complete diagnostic tools, factory manuals and flow charts for quick, accurate analysis of specific appliance problems.

As a graduate engineer, I have always had the option of performing a technical job within a corporation. In fact, for a few years I worked as an engineer for both Proctor and Gamble and the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company. But the corporate life is not for me. Instead, in the last 30 years, I've invested a lot of sweat equity (and I must admit some college training) and started several successful business. Without a doubt, the appliance repair business has been the best. Why? It is one of the few fields left that is not overrun with regulations. It still has the flavor of the old wild west; there is little, if any, licensing and almost no governmental interference. For the competent, it is very high paying ($70.00- $100.00 per hour), and offers the freedom of self-employment. It requires minimal start-up capital, can be operated from home, and is relatively clean and hazard free. And the part I like most of all - it is never boring. Customers are always interesting and repairs offer a tremendous variety of interesting and challenging problems.

In recent years, my son has joined me to carry on the business and allowed me to devote more time to students.

Uncle Harry