Entrepreneurs often have to start their own businesses while they're doing another full-time job. That has been the case for Noel Taylor, who extraordinarily long hours pursuing his labour of love, as he told reporter Tania Targett.

Noel Taylor may not have always known exactly what he wanted to be when he grew up, but he certainly knew he was of the sort that likes to have busy hands. "As a kid I was always tinkering," he said. "I was always taking things apart and putting them back together, toys, phones, televisions. I fixed my grandmother's television. I have always been 'the techie guy'."

Today the upstart entrepreneur tinkers all day long and well into the night. He works nine to five as a programmer and analyst for Government and then runs his new computer sales and repairs store, The Laptop Shop, in his free time.

Mr. Taylor opened his shop less than two months ago. Located on Middle Road in Warwick, next to the MarketPlace, the tiny shop is already doing a booming business. Mr. Taylor reports that he has had to increase his weekly stock orders every week that he has been in business.

The shop prides itself on selling quality laptops at US prices. The laptops range in price from $450 to $950 and Mr. Taylor said he hopes to keep them selling for under $1,000. Rather than ordering in, the laptops are all on hand and customers can walk in and walk out with their new prize.

The Laptop Shop is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and Mr. Taylor, busy in Hamilton throughout the day, operates the new business with two full-time consultants and a few other professionals who help part-time. He already anticipates that he will have to add one full-time staffer immediately and another within six months, demand has been so heavy.

Staff are kept busy with repair work as well as sales. Mr. Taylor said at the moment the work at the shop is divided about 50-50 between sales and repairs. Repairs give him a great deal of professional satisfaction. "There is no better feeling than seeing a big smile on someone's face and hearing a really genuine 'thank you' when they get back a computer, I have repaired and it costs less than they expected and they are really delighted," he said. "That just feels good."

Working full-time with Government and essentially full-time as well on his new venture means long hours for the 34-year-old father-of-three. "This week, the earliest I went to sleep was 2 a.m. but that's unusual, usually it's 3 a.m. I am lucky if I get an average of four to six hours of sleep." It's a labour of love for the young father, however, and he is passing on to his three sons — aged seven, 11 and 12 — a work ethic he describes as "old school".

All the boys know how to build a computer from scratch, he said, and they take on roles to help out Mom and Dad. "My 11-year-old will get up early and go make sandwiches for everyone's lunch to help his mom and me," Mr. Taylor said.

Opening the shop in June formalises a side business — a classic Bermudian "hustle" — that the proud card-carrying Microsoft professional had been dabbling in since university. After finishing his schooling in Bermuda at Francis Patton and Saltus, Mr. Taylor went to the University of Massachusetts, where he obtained two bachelors degrees in Political Science and Economics.

While at university, a laptop he had kept breaking down and he kept fixing it. His fellow students saw this and soon started asking him to help them with their computer woes. "I realised I could make some money fixing computers," he said. Eventually this led to a job with the university's computer help centre.

When he returned to Bermuda, he started working with Northrock Communications in computer sales and repairs. Then he moved on to Maximum Financial as a stock broker. "Well I was IT-slash-stock broker there," he admits with a laugh. A stint with Logic as a consultant followed. "I was deployed all over to various companies," he said.

Finally, he landed at Government as senior programmer and analyst in the IT Department. Along the way, however, he had built up a loyal following of people who sought out his computer skills, whether for their personal computers or for help with their small businesses' needs.

He loves his work for Government as well, however. "Often the work that I am doing at night is for Government," he said. "Government operates by far the largest network on the Island and I take great pride in my role in keeping that up and running. And that network is also the biggest toybox to play in for us techie, geeky guys."

Mr. Taylor admits there might have a been a higher payday for him out in the private sector but he sees his work with Government as a national service. "I am a very loyal guy," he said. "I feel good about the service I provide for the country. It feels great to do something for the people."

At the moment he fully intends to stay with both his new business and Government although, he said, if the shop's growth continues he may be facing some hard choices in 18 to 24 months.

Opening the shop has meant a delay in buying a home for his family, as funds were diverted to get the business off the ground, but Mr. Taylor is building for the future. "I don't believe in credit," he said. "If I can't pay for something out right, I don't buy it." This holds true for how he operates the shop and his personal consumption habits.

"I really like my work," he said. "The IT industry is always changing, it's very vibrant. You must be always be learning, things change so quickly. We see that even in the stock we offer, things change weekly."

The Laptop Shop sells laptops primarily as Mr. Taylor said there are good venues for accessories already on the Island, such as Red Laser, a shop he himself uses for the parts he needs on the repair side of his business, which he truly believes in.

"About 90 percent of laptop problems can be repaired," he said. The rare exceptions often occur when the machine is dropped. "Desktop PCs don't get dropped, laptops do," he said.

Unusually in the modern era, the consultants of the Laptop Shop even make home visits for repair jobs. Their hours of work are flexible and customer-driven.

"We never close the door at 6 p.m., " Mr. Taylor said. "If there is a customer here, we stay here. We rarely close the door before 8 p.m. We strive to offer a good quality, honest service. If I can't satisfy people, then there would be no point in doing it."