At an early age Chuck Berg knew he wanted to go into the computer networking field.

“Computers were just starting to make their way into schools and businesses when I was in high school and I was really intrigued by them,” he said.

At the time, there were no high school computer classes and just a handful of colleges were teaching IT skills, so Berg went into the Navy to learn more about the machines that would eventually become a main stay in households.

Berg, a self-proclaimed “nerd,” now runs a computer consulting company. With an image resembling the “PC” character from the Apple commercials, Berg wields mad computer skills from a tidy basement office which make up the headquarters for Riverside Computers.

“I try to capitalize on the “nerd” image,” he said. He uses the slogan, “We heard you needed a nerd,” to promote his business. “I had a van with that written on the side of it for a few years and people still talk about it,” he said. “I guess it’s an effective slogan.”

In his office, three monitors sit on a U shaped desk and computer towers are stacked on tables as Berg works on network problems for clients remotely.

“The whole industry has really changed over the years,” he said. “I’ve done some retail and I still do some maintenance on home computers, but these days computers are becoming more replaceable than fixable.” 

Since the cost of laptops and tablets have dropped significantly, Berg has switched his focus to the consulting portion of his business.

With about 450 active clients, Berg does does everything from integrating mobile technology to building computers.

“He is my IT guy,” Shakopee accountant Roger Menden said of Berg. “I haven’t had a computer problem yet that he hasn’t been able to fix.”