Dana Stibolt

Dana Stibolt

Always enjoyed helping others with their problems, computer or otherwise.

My Blog
Contact

About Dana

A friend once told me, “You sure do see a lot for a blind guy”! Why should you hire me as a Mac or business consultant, or life coach? I see things differently, and that can bring a unique perspective to finding and solving your issues.

I work fast! My consulting and coaching style is about getting to work to meet your goals as quickly as possible. There’s no blah blah blah Internet coaching speak or algorithms where small tidbits of information are doled out over time, and it’s all time-tested advice right from my big nerd brain. I’ve succeeded in business by focusing on the work, not the money. I do the same for my clients; maybe we’ll work together for a few weeks or for many years. I’m here for as much or as little as you need as a coach or consultant.

I’m Dana Stibolt, a lifelong entrepreneur, computer and business consultant, and all-around computer guy. I own and operate a successful, award-winning Apple computer consulting and sales and service business (www.macmedics.com) that I founded in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1989. My Apple consulting, service, and sales work have been featured in The Baltimore Sun and The Capital (multiple times for both) as well as The New York Times, CNET, Cult of Mac, The Mario Armstrong Show, Wired, WYPR/WJHU, WEAA, XM Radio, and even mentioned on the Today Show. My Apple service videos on YouTube have been viewed 1.2 Million times.

My first Apple computer was purchased in 1979 from The Comm Center in Laurel, Maryland, a HAM Radio shop! I own a collection of over 100 Apple computers, ranging from an Apple II all the way to an M1 Pro Max 16″ MacBook Pro and an Apple Studio Display. I am a strong advocate for backing up your data and backing it up in multiple ways automatically. I enjoy solving complex problems (computer or otherwise) and strategic planning.

I’m visually impaired (legally blind) and have had a living donor kidney transplant, so I’ve learned how to plan for anything. I carry two iPhones, two flashlights, a Leatherman Multi-Tool, and a good knife everywhere. I always have a toolkit with me, and I’m famous for always carrying a 40-pound backpack with me. When I work on-site, I also take a 30-pound tool bag. I am a fan of the Navy SEAL saying, “Two is one, one is none.”

I am a Vegan and a daily bike commuter (No spandex, but always a dorky helmet), and I ride rain or shine! My challenges in life (facing death, finding a kidney donor (the big ask), and all the while slowly going blind) have battle-hardened me to take on big goals and achieve time-accelerated outstanding results. In the year I received my kidney transplant, I purchased a competing Apple retailer, macUpgrades, so no matter what, I’m not slowing down when it comes to my goals and living my best life.

About my coaching, consulting, and cooking:

Through my company, MacMedics, I’ve helped countless customers with Apple computer service, support, and consulting. Since 1989 (way before the Apple Store), I’ve had a hand in completing hundreds of thousands of Apple repairs, on-site consulting visits, and remote service calls. Before I had an office or a store, strangers would come to knock on my door to ask about my Apple service. I’m known for solving the toughest Mac issues, including data recovery.

I was Tom Clancy’s personal tech “wizard” (his words) from 1998 until his death in 2013. and I served as a technical consultant for Clancy’s book Red Rabbit in 2001. His estate hired me to collect all of his computers and hard drives and catalog his entire data collection. His domain, www.tomclancy.com was at risk of expiring at one point, so I secured it for him, and I remain the Technical Contact for the domain today. In fact, I convinced him that he needed a website after his domain had no site associated with it for many years. In this photo (from Martha’s Vineyard, MA) to the left, I think I was unknowingly channeling Tom.

I’ve worked with the White House on multiple occasions (For several different administrations, and in one instance, my visit was worthy of its own Tom Clancy story.), and I have hundreds of corporate customers, including some from the Fortune 500, Federal, State, and Local governments, and also the Baltimore Ravens and the Baltimore Orioles! I’m on speed dial for multiple celebrities and at least one billionaire.

I have an eye for design and the refinement of interior spaces. I also design furniture and retail fixtures for use in my retail stores. Apple uses my store, MacMedics, and my building in Severna Park, Maryland, in their official style guide as an example of what a free-standing Apple Authorized Service Provider’s store should look like.

I’ve also got a knack for sniffing out BS, and in one instance, I overheard the personal assistant of one of my clients talking on the phone to a cabling contractor, so I asked about the price for the job in question, and it sounded high! I put them in touch with my cabling guy for a second opinion and saved them a cool $40,000!

I’m a vegan chef too, and I can teach you how to cook great-tasting, high-energy, healthy food to fuel your success and make you feel great!

Personal Coaching

Over the years, as I worked on Macs and networks on-site and in my stores, my customers started pulling me aside to ask for my advice on other business projects and other issues they faced. When customers and other people that don’t even know me started stopping by my shop to ask for help in other areas outside of computing, I knew it was time to bring my coaching and business consulting to the mainstream (It gets weird when customers mention my name to someone else, and then they tell someone else, then that third person comes looking for me. That’s outstanding word-of-mouth!).

I’m still actively working at and running the show at MacMedics, but I love helping people and solving challenging problems, so coaching and consulting are a natural fit for me. As a gifted troubleshooter, I am always on the lookout for things to help with! I’ve assisted with branding, business matters (start-ups and existing), career, confidence, dating, design, diet, health, marketing, pricing strategy, and even matters concerning divorce.

Business Consulting

As a business leader, business niche holder, and IT industry veteran, I can teach you how to make strategic moves to help push your business forward. I can teach you how to tell your story compellingly so that it does not sound like a (vegan) cheesy self-serving diatribe.

I can show you how I got greenlighted for a $1,000,000 loan with just my elevator pitch in less than ten minutes and had it underwritten the next day. The bank’s Vice President said, “As a banker, I get to hear my fair share of bad ideas, but yours is the best I’ve heard in years”!

When the call comes to you, be it for a new life-saving kidney or when the Deputy Counsel to the President says, “That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day,” I can teach you how to respond with quiet confidence and certainty and make a plan for success while staying cool and undercover.

Dana's Blog

Rescuing data from a “no power” M1 MacBook Air

Before I sent this severely liquid-damaged MacBook out to Apple Depot (from MacMedics) for a $299 AppleCare liquid service, I recovered the data before it was shipped out. Even if your machine doesn’t power on, or if it has liquid...

Read More

Dana and the MacMedics team are lifesavers!

“Dana and the MacMedics team are lifesavers! If you are having trouble with your Mac or Apple product or are in the market for a new device, I highly recommend visiting them. They are knowledgeable, kind, and actually out to...

Read More

Why MacBook Pros and milk don’t mix!

Here, I am talking about why AppleCare+ is such a good investment! This is the SECOND time this customer has had a liquid spill incident, and this time, it was a full glass of milk! Also, I talk about why...

Read More

Let’s talk about two-factor authentication!

Let’s talk about two-factor authentication. I’ve posted about this before, but my own mother, who put eleven years of hard work into her Facebook page to support the books she has authored, and her business Facebook page got hacked a...

Read More

“Damn, I wish I had your business sense, Dude”!

Here’s what my client said to me when I broke this all down for him: “Damn, I wish I had your business sense, Dude”! One of my coaching clients, whom I have been working with for about a year, has an established business. He...

Read More

I fixed an AirPod Pro for $8.

“I took my AirPod Pros to the Apple Store, where they told me they weren’t repairable and I had to buy a new one, and that I had to wait until an appointment three hours later that day to be...

Read More

Unraveling a subscription bombing attack!

This morning, I received an email followed by an even more desperate voicemail from a new customer regarding what he called a “subscription bombing” attack. I called the customer and asked him to forward six or seven emails so I...

Read More

Testimonials

As a small business owner, I have to wear a number of hats - not all of which have always fit comfortably. Since I have an extensive technical background, I've always found it easier to perform technically-oriented tasks in the business's day-to-day operations than the more business-oriented tasks, like marketing. Dana has been a massive help to me in the areas in which I've tended to struggle in the past. He is able to convey important, business-critical information and insight in an extremely simple, straightforward, no-nonsense manner that doesn't waste time and helps me get down to business.

I would highly recommend his services.

Phil Q.

Severn, Maryland

I am so happy and pleased with the customer service I received from Dana, the owner. I took my Mac there for a bad screen, the repairs were more than the machine was worth and I should purchase a new Mac instead of going with the repair. Not what I wanted to hear, but was happy with the upfront honesty. I decided to have them do the backup since the screen was not working. When I got the external hard drive back and ran the migration assistant on my new Mac I noticed I no longer had ANY of my documents, they were gone. I called MacMedics in a panic – Dana took my call and assured me the documents were somewhere and I should not panic. He looked, I looked, and then he got the help of some colleagues – none of us could figure out where all my documents were. I called Apple and spent HOURS on the phone with them – I emailed Dana late at night telling him what I was told by Apple (Microsoft documents don’t back up to the cloud, they were gone). Dana emailed me the next morning and said he didn’t believe that. Later that afternoon Dana emailed me some instructions that he came across on an Apple chat… he helped me find my documents! Without him I would have never restored my documents and they would have been permanently deleted. I am so grateful for Dana’s determination to help me recover and restore what I thought was gone forever. He could have easily told me they did what they were paid to do and it wasn’t his problem, but he didn’t. I highly recommend MacMedics for any and all help with your Apple needs 🙂 Thank you, Dana!!!

Ashley B.

Baltimore Maryland

So inspired to find a truly caring person on the other end of a tech call! Dana helped fix my iPhone -> Gmail syncing issue in minutes, and he didn’t charge me. Wow. Worth every penny of the service charge, so I insisted to pay! Can’t give more than 5 stars or I would. Thanks again Dana!

MJ Garza

I had been having trouble with Safari loading URLs extremely slowly and could not figure it out. I walked in, and Dana went to work on it. He solved it pretty quickly. No charge! To fix something I had not been able to solve for months. Always a superb attitude and knowledge base. They are a pleasure to do business with, and always reassuring to know they are so consistently effective.

Mike K.

"Dana and the MacMedics team are lifesavers! If you are having trouble with your Mac or Apple product or are in the market for a new device, I highly recommend visiting them. They are knowledgeable, kind, and actually out to help you find the best solution to your problem or the best product for your needs. (They won't try to oversell you!)

Dana saved me from losing all my data, including about 130 hours worth of work on a project that was due for print submission the very next day.

I was absolutely distraught when, after not having backed up for a month—yikes, bad move on my part, my 2015 MacBook Pro shut off with no warning, never to take another breath. Not only was the MacMedics team able to save my data, but they also helped me download just the stuff I needed to complete my project onto an external drive so I could get back to work right away on a different machine I had available without waiting for my new laptop to come in.

I was able to finish and submit that night, and the books arrived in time for their intended event—and they turned out beautifully!

I bought my brand new MacBook from MacMedics and am using it to write this review. They helped me pick the right one for my needs, and I was even given credit for my very dead, old laptop.

I cannot say enough how thankful I am for their help, calm advice, fairness & excellent customer service. If I could give them ten stars instead of just five, I would"!

Rachel Buxton

Codetic

"Dana and the MacMedics team are lifesavers! If you are having trouble with your Mac or Apple product or are in the market for a new device, I highly recommend visiting them. They are knowledgeable, kind, and actually out to help you find the best solution to your problem or the best product for your needs. (They won't try to oversell you!)

Dana saved me from losing all my data, including about 130 hours worth of work on a project that was due for print submission the very next day.

I was absolutely distraught when, after not having backed up for a month—yikes, bad move on my part, my 2015 MacBook Pro shut off with no warning, never to take another breath. Not only was the MacMedics team able to save my data, but they also helped me download just the stuff I needed to complete my project onto an external drive so I could get back to work right away on a different machine I had available without waiting for my new laptop to come in.

I was able to finish and submit that night, and the books arrived in time for their intended event—and they turned out beautifully!

I bought my brand new MacBook from MacMedics and am using it to write this review. They helped me pick the right one for my needs, and I was even given credit for my very dead, old laptop.

I cannot say enough how thankful I am for their help, calm advice, fairness & excellent customer service. If I could give them ten stars instead of just five, I would"!

Rachel Buxton

Contact

Contact Information

  • 410-514-2128
  • Location