How to Start a Cell Phone Repair Business

Part 1 - How to start a Cell Phone Repair business - Background

A cell phone repair business focuses on repairing broken or damaged cell phones and tablets.

You may also be interested in additional low cost business ideas.

Our guide is in 3 parts:

• Part 1 - How to start a Cell Phone Repair business - Background
• Part 2 - Our planner tool to see if this idea is the right fit for you
• Part 3 - Action plan to get started

What are the costs involved in opening a cell phone repair business?

Depending on the location of your shop, most of the costs involved for the startup will be rent and utilities. Some cell phone repair shops operate as kiosks in a mall or other heavily trafficked consumer center. These can be more cost effective, but may not have the storage area needed for your business, as it expands and grows.

Some businesses operate out of a home and reduce much of the overhead associated with a brick and mortar location. There will be some loss of walk in customer business, but most customers will find your business online through a website or webpage via social media. There are a few options and configurations for how you will set up your business, so consider them carefully and think about what will work best, both currently and for the future.

What are the ongoing expenses for a cell phone repair business?

Other than rent and utilities, if you have a brick and mortar, most costs will be generated from buying parts and supplies for the actual repairs. And you should be able to recoup these costs, once the repairs are completed. As you grow as a business, you may find additional costs pertaining to advertising or hiring additional staff, but this business tends to have a relatively low overhead.

Who is the target market?

Your target market is technology consumers. To be specific, you’re gunning for the savvy tech user, who understands how a repair can save them time and money. Especially as cell phones and other devices become more expensive and more powerful, the owners will want to stay with their tried and trusted choices for tech connectivity.

Another smaller, yet growing, target market is the environmentally conscious tech consumer. As more people become aware of the growing problem of added tech waste to our landfills, there are more and more consumers who wish to keep a device as long as possible, with repairs and upgrades keeping their device working and out of a dump pile. Appeal to both of these aesthetics to increase your overall business bottom line.

How does a cell phone repair business make money?

Revenue is generated through the fees customers pay to have their cell phone or other mobile device repaired or upgraded.

How much can you charge customers?

Repair and upgrade prices will vary, depending on the make and model of the device. An average cost for a broken screen, for instance can start around $75 but can climb to as much as $300. As stated before, make sure your prices are competitive, but remember that a repair on a $1000 phone will still be much more affordable than replacing the phone all together.

How much profit can a cell phone repair business make?

An average cell phone repair business could net profits in the range of $50-65,000, with greater earning potential, as you continue to become more well-known and successful.

How can you make your business more profitable?

Many cell phone repair businesses expand to include repairs on all kinds of tech gadgets. Gaming systems and music production equipment may also be good fits for your repair business. You can also offer customers phone and data plans through third-party service providers. As the technology surrounding our lives increases, as it is sure to, there will be more avenues to explore and include in your business plan.

Day-to-Day and Growth

What happens during a typical day at a cell phone repair business?

Since most cell phone repair shops and businesses make the majority of their money from the repairs performed on cell phones and similar devices, this is where the majority of the time is spent. There is also time allotted for ordering new supplies, planning advertising and marketing plans, returning customer phone calls and e-mails and cleaning and organizing the shop.

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful cell phone repair business?

Fortunately for entrepreneurs looking to make cell phone repair a successful business venture, there is very little overhead or start-up cost involved. The skills needed for performing the repairs are also fairly manageable to learn and execute, as well. If you have a knack for working with your hands, especially on smaller or delicate items, you will be well-suited for this profession. If you also have experience or knowledge with small business management, you will equally have an advantage for this career. The last piece of the puzzle becomes communicating with customers and making sure their cell phones and devices are repaired and returned to them in a timely manner.

What is the growth potential for a cell phone repair business?

Cell phones are very popular and useful items for most people. They are fast becoming a necessity for most, no matter where you reside. We manage both our business and personal lives with these pint-sized technical powerhouses. When one breaks or is no longer working properly, many individuals find themselves in a situation in which they must quickly find a replacement.

But, not every person has the money or access to pick up a new phone or device, when there’s trouble with their current one. Because of this new dynamic, repairing a cell phone becomes another necessity for remaining connected and able to navigate the web, make calls, send and receive emails, texts, etc. Repairing a cell phone, then, becomes the best option for many, both economically and location-wise. And, with cell phone sales continuing to skyrocket, there will be many more devices requiring repairs in the coming days, months, and years. The cell phone repair business is poised to become one of the larger facets of the technology industry, with even more individuals opting for a repair, especially as the price of cell phones continues to skyrocket, as well.

What are some insider tips for jump starting a cell phone repair business?

Since this business thrives on customer recognition and your repair and service reputation, its important to make sure you’re sharing success stories and connecting customers with your website, webpage, or logo and business name. Social media can be quite helpful, and we detail how to achieve recognition and return customers in the marketing and promotion section below.

You also want to make sure you have a strong relationship with your parts supplier. Your ability to repair and return devices to customers in a timely manner requires you to have the replacement materials shipped quickly, if not already on hand

How and when to build a team

Part of the draw of this business is that it can be operated by one or two people for a very long time. Your business will have to be extremely successful and isolated from other competitors in order to think about having a team of repair people working for you. You may want to have one other person in the front of the shop to greet and qualify customer needs, as your business grows. This will help you to focus on the repairs and making sure the customers are reunited with their devices as soon as possible. It would be ideal to have a partner who can do both, so either of you can handle front of house, as well as repairs, in order to maximize your effectiveness.

Part 2 - Is a Cell Phone Repair business the right fit for you?

Part 3 - Action plan to launch your Cell Phone Repair business in 90 days