Computing And Financial Services—

Mom and Pop Go High Tech

By Kaaren Valenta

Dan and JoAnn Tannenbaum like to refer to their business as a mom and pop business – a high tech computer and financial services operation, but a mom and pop business nonetheless.

They opened their business, Newtown Computer & Financial Services, LLC, at 28 Church Hill Road in March, fulfilling a dream they have had for many years.

“We like living in Newtown and working together,” Mrs Tannenbaum said. “Our daughters can come here after school and do their homework and research on the computers. We are a very family-oriented business.” 

Dan Tannenbaum, the technical partner, has done IT (information technology) work for police and fire departments in Los Angeles, on Wall Street and with Fortune 100 companies for more than 25 years. His wife, the financial partner, is an accountant and a certified financial planner who has worked with individuals and hundreds of small businesses over the past 22 years.

“We always thought we had a good mix of skills and talked about creating a training center,” Mr Tannenbaum said. “But the more we talked about it, the more we realized we could offer a variety of services. Finding this building on Church Hill Road was the final sign that we were meant to do it.”

Previously occupied by Invisible Fence Company, which moved to Wilton last winter, the 1,000-square-foot office suite includes a large office, a sunroom that serves as a conference room, and a computer teaching lab designed to accommodate a maximum of eight students.

 “As soon as we get our license to train, we plan to offer computer classes for beginners to advanced,” JoAnn Tannenbaum said. “Training facilities now have to undergo a complete evaluation by the Connecticut High Education Department to get a license to train. They will look at our qualifications, examine our entire course syllabus, our catalogue, our computer systems, our facility – everything, because we have to meet tough standards.  I think this is really great because it will verify that we offer top-quality services.”

Dan Tannenbaum performs computer diagnostics and repairs, upgrades, installations, and virus remediation, backups to CD or 100 MB Zip Disks, as well as Web site design, consulting, project management, and small business networking.

“I started out [in computers] in the Air Force and I never looked back,” Mr Tannenbaum said. “I’ve been all over the country and around the world. When I started, computers were so big they would have filled this house, yet no way were they as powerful as today’s PCs.”

Newtown CFS will offer computer and Internet classes that will range from beginner to advanced.  The lab will be available for corporate training and also serves as an authorized demonstration center for high-speed cable Internet access.

“If we can get the license in time, we’d like to offer a computer camp for children this summer,” Mr Tannenbaum said.  “We also plan to have special classes for kids, including those that teach the basics of repair. These will be smaller classes, for four students, so that they will get individual attention.”

  Mrs Tannenbaum performs bookkeeping services for individuals and small businesses, income tax preparation, financial planning, and complete services for small business start-ups.

Their company will offer free monthly seminars on such topics as basic computers, the Internet, Web sites, small business problems, retirement, investment, educational, insurance, tax planning and wills and estates.

“I’ve been self-employed since the early 1980s,” Mrs Tannenbaum said. “Although I have a degree in accounting, and passed the CPA exam, I really like to work with people throughout the year – not just at tax time – so I decided to become a certified financial planner. I like to show people the simple things they can do to help them in their everyday life.”

Originally from New York, the Tannenbaums moved to Sherman in 1993, then to Newtown in 1997. “We wanted a more family-oriented town with good schools to raise our daughters,” Mr Tannenbaum said. “Sherman was nice but the schools only go to eighth grade – there isn’t a local high school.”

Maegan, 13, will be entering Newtown High School in September, and Alicia, 11, will be going into the middle school.

When they decided to go into business together, the Tannenbaums scoured Newtown for a good location.

“We looked at a half dozen other places but this was ideal,” JoAnn said. “Finding this building was the final sign that we were doing the right thing. Now we will see what the community needs, and we will try to meet those needs. We’re going to be here for a long time.

On Saturday, May 12, there will be an open house at Newtown CFS from 9 am to 5 pm. Four free seminars are scheduled: “The Ins and Outs of Buying a PC,” 11 am to noon; “Credit Card Processing for Businesses,” noon to 1 pm; “High-Speed Internet Access,” 1-2 pm; and “The Worldwide Web and Web Sites,” 2-3 pm.

Newtown CFS is open Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5:30 pm, and Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm. For more information call 270-3700, check the Web site at www.netowncfs.com or email Dan Tannenbaum at tech@newtowncfs.com or JoAnn Tannenbaum at money@newtowncfs.com.