Capital/ Budget : 10,000+
It is estimated that over ¾ of Kenya’s population has mobile phone handsets. The number is set to rise due to the increase in new phone models that has seen the price per handset go down. All phones across the world have a lifespan after which they start developing problems. This has seen phone repair services gain popularity in Kenya and other African countries.
Many people are not aware that Kenya is among the first African countries to pioneer nobile phone repair. People were accustomed to buying a new handset once it got spoilt (which is still the case with first and second world countries). Thanks to Kenyan great IT minds, mobile phones started to get repaired for some problems and other African countries followed suit. In short, Kenya was a pioneer in this sector.
Starting a phone repair business does not require much capital. In fact, you can even start this business with as little as Kshs 10,000 and grow it to be a big phone repair service provider in the city or your locality. All this said and done, its time you learn how you can start a phone repair business.
What you need
Skills
Even with the growing demand for phone repairs, there are no specific set colleges that offer phone repair courses. New mobile phone companies have tried facilitating small scale trainings in this field but mostly to their benefit. You will need to acquire skill for this task and this will see you part with around Kshs 1,000 or more to learn these skills from a technician.
Learning phone repair skills can take between 4 hours to a couple of days depending with how fast you grasp lessons being offered by the technician. having electrical engineering knowledge will be an added advantage and will make the classes lighter for you.
In order to succeed in this business, you have to be keen on every small detail when it comes to repairing a handset and thus being attentive to lessons will be of great benefit. You can ask the technician to allow you try the lessons hands-on to see if you understand what you are being taught. Mobile phones are delicate gadgets that need your full concentration so take time to study and understand everything.
Equipments
Phone repairing business does not require much equipment to start. Most of the tools are affordable and can be bought in town. Below is a list of tools you will need to buy;
| Soldering paste | 200 |
| Soldering gun | 500 |
| Re-work station | 6,000 |
| Tool kit | 500 |
These almost summarize all the work equipments necessary for a start-up. What matters greatly is you have repair skills.
Furniture
This refers to a chair and a table. You can also add a bench or more plastic chairs where your clients can sit and wait as you work on their phones. It should costs you between Kshs 1,000 – 2,000.
Premises
Once you have all the necessary equipments plus furniture, you will need to find a place to set your new business. You can have the business located anywhere, even in your estate. But for good returns, set your business somewhere there is plenty of traffic like a market place or a bus stop.
Setting up your phone repair business in the city means you will encounter great competition since the number of repair shops is many. However, your business can flourish on the outskirts where people find it hard to travel to the city just to get their phones repaired. Identify a spot that you know you will not need to spend heavily on advertising your phone repair business. Let the place be near a road with a sign post to indicate where you are located. A shop can cost between Kshs 3,000 – 5,000 rent.
License
You probably don’t want to find yourself in trouble with the law so getting a license or business permit from the county government will see you run an uninterrupted business stress free.
Is that all?
That’s about everything you will need to start. The only thing remaining is for you to perform good work on your customer’s phones. However, phone repair technicians happen to be among the hardest technicians to be trusted. You will have to work hard to prove you are honest and trustable to your clients.
Honesty is the key to success in this kind of business. Be true in your dealings and let your clients trust you. You should also be frank with them on matters concerning their phones. Do not attempt to repair something you know can’t be repaired since you might end up damaging the phone even further. Remember, phones are delicate gadgets that need extra care.
To avoid getting into trouble with phone owners, try repairing the phones in their presence as much as you can. Some customers are very misunderstanding and stressful. You also need high level of patience to deal with such people. If a phone needs specialized repair, always bring it to expert phone technicians in the city to handle them. Some phones might need computerized repair which you can get from the city.
As long as you are keen and attentive, you can learn great things from an expert technician which will help you start your phone repair business at a minimal cost. Another way of learning new skills is by searching the internet on how to repair different phone models.
Don’t forget to be honest in your dealings with your customer.
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