Three brothers and one former co-worker each found themselves running some sort of computer business from their homes in recent years, so they decided in 2003 to pool their skills and work together.

Brian, Patrick and Chris Brodeur and Scott Adams run My Own Computer Guy and euGenius Solutions at 520 S.W. 3rd St. in Ankeny, where they’ve been open since November. Making the transition to an actual storefront was like putting the final seal on the joint venture, Chris Brodeur said.

“We thought by combining the services and offering it under one umbrella company, we would be unique,” Chris Brodeur said. “We would be more than just a niche company, and be able to offer the full spectrum of IT services to people, from simple repairs all the way up to designing and implementing local area networks.”

Before the four men went into business together, Brian Brodeur worked full-time as a system administrator for the State of Iowa. He started My Own Computer Guy in 1999 as a side business doing home computer repairs. Patrick Brodeur, also a former system administrator for the state, ran a part-time business, which became known as euGenius, specializing in networks and Web development. Both knew Adams, a former IT professional with the state, and Chris Brodeur had also done some part-time technical support work for the state.

“Separately we have our own strengths, but put us all together and we are kind of one giant IT kind of know-it-all,” Chris Brodeur said.

The three Brodeurs grew up on the south side of Des Moines before their family moved to Ankeny in 1988. Ankeny’s growing population made it the ideal place when their business was ready to expand beyond their homes.

“There’s a lot of young families here, and with them, a lot of computers,” Chris Brodeur said. “Our client base has changed dramatically on the My Own Computer Guy side – the hardware side – since we opened doors here. Our business on that side has exceeded our expectations.”

Chris Brodeur said many of the walk-in customers he has seen recently have complained of their systems running slowly, even ones that are only a few months old.

“Their systems aren’t performing near as well, even if they’ve never loaded a new program on it, and it’s all because of some of these insidious Spyware and Adware (programs) that load themselves on your computer when you’re browsing the Internet,” Brodeur said. “There’s no single solution to the problem, but we’ve found ways to use a combination of techniques and programs to isolate and eradicate those threats from the system.”

In addition to diagnosing, repairing and upgrading personal computers around Greater Des Moines, the team also serves businesses with Web development, network administration, building custom applications and more. They market their services as a low-cost option for small- to medium-sized businesses that can’t support an in-house IT person. The basic service package starts at $24.95 per month per computer, and includes free replacement and installation of computer parts.

The staff of euGenius and My Own Computer Guy plan to start offering training classes at their Uptown Ankeny site soon, covering topics such as securing a wireless Internet access point. The store also sells refurbished computers, starting at $99, and a variety of software.

“We hate to be considered ‘a jack of all trades, a master of none’ because we do offer such a wide variety of services,” Chris Brodeur said. “We have quite a few masters on staff who know their fields.”