"I like pushing boundaries." Visiting Joel aka JOCR

Programmer, agency founder, actor - Joel aka JOCR has done many things. Now, he explains computers to people. In 2014, he started his own individual Apple support business. Recently, not only in private living rooms, but also on YouTube. We visited him in his new office in the idyllic Immanuelkirchstraße in Prenzlauer Berg.

"I like pushing boundaries or trying things where everyone initially tells me - that won't work!"

SETTING: How did we end up here today?

JOEL: So - I was born in Ottersberg near Bremen, then I moved to Hamburg, studied at SAE, got a diploma in media production, then I started my own advertising agency - we programmed and designed websites, after a few years I sold it and studied acting - because my then-girlfriend was an actress. I worked as an actor for four years, eventually got fed up with being in front of the camera because I'm not really a show-off, it happened rather accidentally. Then I spent six months in New York just enjoying the city. And then I moved to Berlin. Here, I built a casting studio for a friend from Hamburg as a branch, and I left there in 2013 because I wanted to do something on my own.

SETTING: Back to computers again?

JOEL: I've always noticed that I get endless calls from people because of computer problems. It used to bother me, but eventually I said okay, I'll turn it into a business. And in October 2014, I founded my own company.

SETTING: Again, in a way. Where does your entrepreneurial spirit come from?

JOEL: I recently read a sentence about my birthdate - apparently, I love pushing boundaries. That's true. Things that people say, "you wouldn't dare" or "are impossible" have always intrigued me. That was also the case when I started that agency or went into acting training. They thought, now he's totally losing it. Or - what's he doing now, that doesn't fit him at all, he's just a computer nerd! That intrigued me because I thought, I can do something completely different too. And it worked.

SETTING: You work all alone. How is that?

JOEL: When I'm at home in my apartment, I can quickly start thinking, oh God, nothing works, everything is terrible! That's why I like having the office here. It's kind of a command center, in terms of feeling. When I'm here, I know that I somehow have everything under control, that things are moving forward. At home, there was always a fluid transition from the office to the kitchen. Here, I know - here are my things, here I can work, and at the end of the day, I leave and know what I've accomplished. That's what I like about being self-employed, that you have to be totally awake. That you have to look around like in the wild, who's coming from left and right. That you have to find and assert yourself. That's what I enjoy the most. Even if it sometimes means sleepless nights. Because with some decisions, you don't really know what to do - because you have no experience.

Foto © Xiomara Bender

SETTING: What are the most difficult decisions?

JOEL: Changing a product. Changing prices. Completely rebuilding a website that has been well received. At the moment when things are going badly, it's of course easier to make adjustments. But I always try to anticipate the moment before something sets in and becomes unchangeable.

SETTING: Are you very disciplined?

JOEL: Yes, very. I've tried a lot of methods. When I was about fifteen or sixteen - my parents are Waldorf teachers, so we didn't have a TV, no computer, nothing at all - I secretly installed a satellite dish on our roof. And then I brought home the first computer and completely immersed myself in the computer topic. Just out of interest. I'm not one who always follows the same rhythm. Sometimes I work from six in the morning and stop when I can't anymore. But I try out a lot of things. I like optimized work, I like planning the day absolutely structured. Also with digital products.

SETTING: Do you also exchange ideas with other startups?

JOEL: I'm not such a networker who goes around exchanging ideas with people. I'm more of a person who works for himself. The best customers come to me because I'm recommended. But I do have some tech nerds around me, or people who work in the field. There's also a big community on YouTube with other YouTubers that I exchange ideas with there. But that's more on the side. I already have the self-confidence to know what the goal of my self-employment is.

SETTING: And what is that?

JOEL: I want to give people who have no idea about computers the opportunity to work with them. I really cater to beginners and people who are still stuck in the 80s computer-wise, but who now say okay, I have an iPad or an iPhone now, and I want to engage with it and not be afraid of the computer anymore. I enjoy that.

SETTING: What advice would you give to other startups based on your experience?

JOEL: Based on my experience, the most important thing is to do it. Not to overthink and constantly reconsider decisions. Not to think too long about the logo, font, and color, but rather about the product. That's why it says here: "DO IT!" It took me a long time to say I'll just do it instead of asking this person and that person. And everyone somehow fills your head and says think about it, I don't know if that's good, I don't know if you can do it, and so on. So I can only say - if you really want it - blinkers on and go!

JOCR can be found on the internet here!