Written by Ben Cox – A self described “home schooled nerdy kid,” Wiley Wood is the owner and operator of a business that has been keeping businesses in the Brownwood area going for a decade.
After Hours I.T. is the result of a life long passion for computers that started with a Commodore 64 and turned into a business almost by accident. A friend of Wood’s asked him to manage his computers for his business and offered to pay him a contract fee every month, and that was the beginning of it all.
The company, which has one employee, aside from the owner, is the I.T. department for local businesses that are too small to have one of their own. Services provided range from remote accessing computers in order to maintain security software, to physically cleaning the machines at the client’s location.
The joys and stresses of working for yourself don’t seem to phase Wood, who says “It’s a small business and it’s hard work, but we like it.”
Wood has around 500 clients, but the bulk of his work comes from 20 or so businesses that retain his services.
Maintenance, repair, backups and installs for clients are the bread and butter of the operation, but Wood’s employee, Luke Hutchins, also repairs smartphones and laptops for individual clients. The pair will also build PC’s, upgrade existing computers and printers, as well as maintain servers.
Operating from a building behind Wood’s home in Brownwood, After Hours I.T. is celebrating its 10th year in business. Wood gives God the glory in making the business a success.
When reflecting on the companies trajectory, he says “I look at it and it doesn’t even make sense.”
Wood also works part time as the worship leader for the Common Ground praise team at FUMC Brownwood. He and his wife Carolyn are the parents of three boys. One of the boys is currently home schooled, just like his dad was.
