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Yampa — Jim and Nita Naugle have been using computer software to run the finances for their businesses for several years. But because they were self-taught and recently upgraded to new software, Nita said "there are a lot of gaps in our knowledge."

To fill in those gaps and more, the couple signed up for a Wednesday night class from Paul Lell, a computer instructor from Westminster who set up shop in Yampa this week.

Lell, a former instructor for Comcast network technicians, said he switched to private business because he was more interested in working directly with the customers and teaching people how to handle problems on their own.

"I'll crawl around and put your cables in for you if you'd like, but I actually charge a little bit less if I teach you how to do it for yourself," he said.

The courses Lell teaches range from computer networking to basic operating system operations. He said most of his lessons are geared toward people who may have had little experience with computers or with a specific type of operation.

"It's a helping hand for parents who, in this day and age, may not be able to keep up on what their kids are doing on the computer," he said.

The course he was teaching the Naugles was more complex - a question-and-answer period about QuickBooks software.

"When Jim first started, he never messed with a computer at all, and now he does all of his bookkeeping for his business," Nita said.

Jim, the owner of a trucking business, and Nita, an artist who sells her art and greeting cards, were interested in delving into the more complex features of the software.

To start his new business, Lell said he is in the process of securing small business loans so that he soon will be able to open up a storefront in Westminster. In the meantime, he is sharing space with a karate studio. Even when he does secure a new space, Lell said he may keep sharing space with the karate classes so that parents can take computer courses while the children take lessons on the mats.

When Lell isn't teaching classes, he's also an author, with a new 70-page novella, "Jumah's World," for sale at Leisure Mountain Studios in Yampa and online. Proceeds from the book benefit Denver Children's Hospital.