CRS will begin highlighting some of our brightest cell phone repair students/business owners in the industry every month. We are going to kick off the new year with our first “Cellular Repair Shop Of The Month Spotlight” with a company we’ve been servicing for years.
GearVana is a growing mobile device repair business that continues to grow their locations, products and services. Their headquarters is located in Gilbert Az. Frank Smith is the Chief Operating Officer for GearVana. Frank took time out of his busy schedule to sit with us and share some of his knowledge, ideas, and opinion concerning the cell phone repair industry.
Q: So Frank, how and why did you choose the mobile repair industry?
A. I had a business partner and him and I were doing real-estate investing. This was about 5 years ago when things started to crumble in the economy. So one day we looked at each other a decided what we were doing wasn’t working out. So we had to figure out what to do at that point. So my business partner started looking for something different and proposed this opportunity to me and we decided to dive right in.
Q: What was your start up experience like?
A. It was one of those hand trembling type of deals. We put a couple of post on craigslist, posted a few ads, did google places, and things of that nature. We actually started getting phone calls immediately . The second day we started we started doing transactions and making money, and we’ve been making money ever since.
Q:When did you know you had chosen the right industry?
A. When we started documenting procedures and implementing standard operating procedures, things really began to turn around, things got easier and things started clicking. The more we implement procedures the better our employees understand how we do business.
Q:Can you give more insight about the future of the repair industry?
A. I think the repair industry is a very challenging and changing industry. I think the key to success in this industry is to overcome and adapt to the environment, because its constantly changing. If you aren’t ahead of the curve or riding that wave, it can come crashing down on you. So you constantly have to be up to date with new techniques or new procedures, if you don’t, your business can die out. So those are some of the challenges but, these types of devices are getting more and more expensive, so this business will be around as long as you are able to adapt to the changes.
Q:What do you value most about your mobile device business?
A. Making money is the great thing about this business, but what we truly value is we give people alternatives to replacing their device, and we give people a cheaper alternative and that makes customers happy. we are able to solve problems for customers.
Q:How has Cellular Repair School helped your business
A. Cellular Repair School adds value to my business because they help us stay current with the changes that’s constantly happening which helps keep me ahead of the curve and telling me what I’m going to need to run my business. This industry requires change constantly and the vast information Cellular Repair School puts out helps me prepare quickly. If you don’t move and prepare quickly in this industry, you could be in trouble. It’s been a huge help to keep me relevant to whats going on.
Make a customer, not a sale…Katherine Barchetti
— CellularRepairSchool (@cellularrepairs) November 28, 2013
