Perhaps the most important accessory that we carry on our person on a daily basis is our cell phone. No longer an item of luxury, it has now become a thing of absolute necessity to us. With the smartphone industry having experienced an explosion in demand in the past decade with forecasts of its proliferation in the near future only getting stronger, it is a prudent idea to want to start a cell phone repair business.
In this blog, we will discuss some of the important steps one must take in order to start a successful mobile phone repair business.
Business model
When starting a mobile repair business, there are two types of business models that you can explore – storefront or mobile. Both of them have their own respective advantages and disadvantages.
A storefront business gives an instant brand identity to the enterprise. It instills trust in the minds of the customers and makes the venture legitimate. It allows to work on multiple repairs at the same time and keep all your inventory in one place. This type of a business model is ideal for those who have a substantial amount of capital to spare and have a healthy risk appetite.
The second type of business model is the mobile repair business. The disadvantage of this model is that you can only work on one project at a time. Having said that, it also allows you to control your own schedule. This type of business generates smaller profit margins and works on the basis of referrals.
It is ideal for building personal relationships with the client and is not capital-intensive.
Location
If you have decided to have a store-front or retail shop, location is of prime importance for the success of your business. Ideally, it should be situated for easy access by a wide cross-section of people who make up your target consumer base. While this is not a very important factor for old and loyal clients who you may have acquired through tedious relationship building, to attract new customers, you have to ensure a good location for your service center. In addition to easy access for your customers, your service center also has to be spacious and economical.
Expertise
Do you possess the know-how to run a cell phone repair business? Depending on your business model, you may be required to perform the repairs yourself or employ professionals who will do it for you. If you are looking to obtain expertise in mobile phone repair work, there are plenty of short-term tutorials online as well as offline workshops where you can hone your skills in exchange for a fee.
Start-up Capital
When starting the business, one of the most important decisions to make is to assess how much money you need to start it all up. While the capital required to start a typical mobile phone repair business is low, you nevertheless have to gauge your exposure before embarking upon the venture.
One vertical of the cost that you will have to incur will have to do with the repair parts. This will depend on the manufacturers, the models of the smartphones and the specific parts that you want to deal in.
The other line of the cost is tools. Again, this will depend mostly upon the types of smartphones and the kinds of repair you want to deal in. Subject to your expertise, you may want to go for a consolidated tool-kit or go for assorted options.
Starting up any business can be a daunting task. Whether you are a cell phone repair service center or a cell phone repair parts supplier, becoming an entrepreneur requires making some tough decisions. Thankfully, taking strategic steps and thinking through before acting can translate into business success within a very short period of time.