Rob Abraham loved working on computers. It was working for other people that got a bit old.
So, the junior at Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake got a better job–president of his computer consulting firm.
With fellow Prairie Ridge juniors Nicholas O’Connor as vice president and Scott Main and Russ Meyer handling sales and marketing, Abraham runs RMA (for Robert Martin Abraham) and Associates, a company he started last year.
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“Just playing around with computers and lots of reading” is how Abraham explains the expertise he and his high school co-workers developed.
The company has several corporate accounts and personal clients throughout McHenry County. It occupies space in the Coldwell Banker Excel real estate office in Crystal Lake, where RMA and Associates installed and programmed a $40,000 system that links 30 phone lines and computer terminals for internal communications and Internet access.
Excel President Ron Prather, who knew Abraham through a church youth group, liked the work of him and his friends so much that he kept them on as his firm’s systems support team. They do the work after school.
Abraham got his experience working for other people.
“When I was 14, I saw an ad on the McHenryCom (company) Web site for technical support,” Abraham said. “I e-mailed the boss’ wife and told her I was pretty sure of myself, that I could do all that stuff. They interviewed me, and the boss came over and asked, `How old are you?’ I said 14. They thought about it a minute and said, `OK, we’ll give you a try.’ “
He became a Web site developer during two years there, then worked at two other local Internet service providers before deciding he could have more fun and earn more working for him-
self. He told O’Connor of his plans and asked whether he’d like to be vice president. A company was born.
O’Connor has worked on computer systems at Cary-Grove Elementary District 26 and at McHenry Elementary District 15, where his mother, Gina, is a teacher.
“Most of our teachers are amazed when they hear we’re doing this,” O’Connor said.
He estimates he spends about 30 hours a week after school on RMA and Associates business.
Abraham and O’Connor say they want to keep the business going and make it their career. Both plan to go to college to study business. Main wants to study civil engineering in college.