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brownsburg: comings & goings Woman's work is manual labor Teacher's training books a hit in computer classes
March 30, 2005
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What Hammerle discovered in preparation for those first classes was that good, basic training books designed for three-hour classes didn't exist. So she started writing her own. "I wrote the books from my own teaching experience," said Hammerle, who prepared computer-training materials while working as a financial analyst for the Wabash Valley Power Association. She quit that job when her first son, Matthew, now 7, was born and worked part time in corporate training. She also taught adult education classes at Washington Township's J. Everett Light Career Center.
A 1991 Indiana University graduate with a bachelor's degree in business, Hammerle also earned a master's in business from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis in 1996.
In preparing her books, Hammerle said she was guided by a simple rule: "If it didn't work well in class, we rewrote it." The result is a series of 26 how-to manuals that teach everything from use of the Internet and e-mail, to the most popular Microsoft Office programs including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Publisher.
"I think most people who walk out of class are very positive with the content and the teachers," said Denise Feldman, assistant director of the Brownsburg Library. "For our clientele, it's a good basic book." As the training programs became more successful in Brownsburg, other groups in Hendricks County became interested, including Plainfield-Guilford Township Public Library and Hendricks College Network.
A year ago, with encouragement from her husband, John Hammerle, created the company and sent out query letters to 289 public libraries in Indiana. "I got my first order within four days of the mail," Hammerle said. Now, she counts libraries in Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio as customers, and two colleges.
Next month, Hammerle said she plans to market the books to 700 libraries in Wisconsin and Massachusetts, and is working on translating them into Spanish. She said her biggest seller this year has been "Computer Savvy Seniors." The book is designed to accompany a 10-week course for people who've had no experience with computers.
Although they are seniors, William "Smiley" McMillan and his wife, Mary, were attending a class last week at Brownsburg on how to use Microsoft Word. "I've been a Word Perfect person ever since I got involved with computers in 1975," William McMillan said. But the Plainfield couple bought a new PC recently equipped with Microsoft Word, and they needed an education. "I thought the class was very well done," he said.
Hammerle said the UPS Store in Brownsburg handles her printing and binding. She takes care of packaging and shipping. For now, Hammerle said she's content to spend about 10 to 15 hours a week working at the business. When her youngest son, Adam, 5, starts school, she said she'll likely plan a bigger expansion.
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When Patti Hammerle started teaching computer classes at Brownsburg Public Library in 2000, she had no idea the work would lead to a series of training books she could market across the country.
"I'm still flabbergasted," said the 36-year-old Brownsburg resident and owner of U-Can Computer Manuals. "What amazes me the most is that people are paying money for something I created." |
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Computer Training in 1/2 the Time! |
