Middle River business celebrates 20 years

Pivoting to become an entrepreneur can have amazing outcomes, but fear and uncertainty prevent many from taking the leap.

Fear was never a part of Jerry Robey’s vocabulary.

Robey is the founder and owner of Onsite Computers, a small full-service computer repair shop on Wilson Point Road in Middle River.

In June, he celebrated 20 years as the community’s go-to tech guy. A longevity that even astounds the fearless Robey.

“[In the beginning] I thought I was just going to assist people with fixing computers,” Robey said. “Just the little old guy in the shop fixing computers. I thought that was going to be the extent of it.”

He was recently honored as “The Avenue News Reader Approved: Favorite Computer Repair,” and on May 30, was awarded a citation from delegates Kathy Szeliga and Ryan Nawrocki.

Robey is more than just the little old guy in the shop fixing computers. He’s a staple of the community.

Built on his deep passion for computers, Robey’s business is steeped in his devotion for helping people. But he is hardly a life-long “tech geek.”

He served in the United States Marine Corp from 1970-1977 during the Vietnam War. Within that time frame, Robey served as a helicopter mechanic.

He also spent two years aboard Navy ships and did multiple tours in the Mediterranean and North Atlantic.

After the military, Robey worked for the Maryland State Police (MDSP) as a civilian employee — a career that spanned three decades.

For his first 18 years at MDSP, Robey worked as he was trained in USMC as a helicopter mechanic. By 2000, he hung up his tools and transferred to the MDSP’s Information Technology division.

This move, in hindsight, laid the foundation for Onsite Computers.

“Around 1985, I started playing around with computers,” Robey said. “And it quickly became a passion.”

Robey spent the final eight years of his near-30-year career with MDSP in I.T.

During this time, many of his colleagues outside of I.T. asked him a lot of computer-related questions and were in need of repairs to their personal computers.

It was clear to Robey that the community needed a place that could solve its computer problems.

“I felt there was a need for this kind of computer repair business,” Robey said. “A lot of people were constantly asking me basic questions about their computer problems and they needed repairs.”

In 2002, Robey started a small I.T. business. After two years, his side gig had grown to the point that Robey began searching for a storefront.

Robey was renting an apartment at Stansbury Manor in Middle River at the time. One day, he mentioned to the property manager that he was looking for a small business space.

As serendipity would have it, the property manager of the apartments also managed the small business shopping center just down the street.

Onsite Computers was born in 2004 and began operations out of a small shop toward the rear of the Stansbury Shopping Center.

Yet it would be another four years until Robey retired from his day job.

He continued working full-time at MDSP and would arrive at the computer shop around 4 p.m. Monday to Friday for another four to five hours fixing computers.

While Robey tackled I.T. problems for the state by day, his wife, Michelle, wore multiple hats to establish and keep Onsite Computers successful in the early years.

“She did pretty much everything,” Robey said of his wife. “She was the office manager, tech, advisor… she did everything.”

Robey insists that if not for Michelle in the early years, Onsite Computers would not be here today.

“[The business] never would have grown without her,” Robey said. “She would handle all the calls coming in during the day and provided that friendly face and friendly voice for the customers that came in.”

Michelle was also instrumental during intake and delivery, collecting enough information for Robey to diagnose and fix the problems, and she would then explain the repairs to customers.

“She had learned enough [about computers] to be able to tell customers what was wrong and what I did to fix it,” Robey said of his wife. “She also [assisted me] with troubleshooting. She was the go-between for me and the customers.”

In May 2008, Robey retired from MDSP and began to focus full-time on his computer business.

Two years later, Onsite Computers was no longer a tiny business that could fit in a small rear building of a neighborhood shopping center.

So, in 2010, Robey moved to a space in the front of the shopping center.

He continued to scale Onsite Computers and with better visibility in the new location, the business was doing well.

So well that a bigger space was needed once again, and Robey moved within the shopping center in 2014 to his current location.

“I have met some awesome people and made some lifelong friends, both in the people that have worked with me and the customers,” Robey said about his 20 years in business.

“This has become a way of life [and passion] for me. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have [Onsite Computers] to come to every day.”

After 20 years in business, Robey’s motivation continues to be his passion for computers and people.

“I love computers, I always have,” Robey said. “However, the main thing I enjoy about this business is meeting the people, because ultimately that’s what every job is about. I don’t care what kind of work you’re doing, you’re supporting people.”