Business Profile: Smart Fix Phone Repair, Mahopac
By Tiffany Jansen
Nick Young has been tinkering with electronics for as long as he can remember.
“I’ve always liked seeing how everything works,” he says. After a while, he starte building computers for himself, “just as a hobby.”
So it seemed only fitting for the 23-year-old Cortlandt resident to turn fixing everything from iPhones to computers into a business.
Though Smart Fix Phone Repair only officially opened a few weeks ago, Young has been repairing electronics in Putnam County for some time. It all started when his own iPhone broke. After taking the device to a couple different repair shops and suffering major sticker shock, he decided to do the repairs himself.
He was able to fix the phone quite easily thanks to his technical background (Young’s also logged in more than 30 credit hours studying computer science at Westchester Community College), and for a fraction of what they would have charged him at a repair shop.
“No one wants to pay hundreds of dollars to get their phone fixed,” Young says. “And people shouldn’t have to pay three times what the parts cost to get the job done.”
It struck him that he could offer repairs at a third of what his competitors were charging and still make good money. He decided to put his schooling on hold and began doing repairs out of his home and from the gas stations and park-n-rides where he also bought phones to use for parts.
Word of Young’s technical prowess and fair prices spread, eventually reaching Lou Maiello, owner of THEXTRACHANGE in Mahopac. Maiello thought his clients might be interested in Young’s services and contacted Young to offer him a space in the buy/sell/trade/consign shop.
“We first spoke in November of last year and kept in touch in December,” said Young. “I started moving everything in in January and officially opened in February.”
So far, business has been good. Besides posts on local buy/sell pages on Facebook, Smart Fix Phone Repair doesn’t have an online presence yet. Though Young makes a point of setting out business cards wherever he can, new customers are hearing about his business almost exclusively by word of mouth. “My mom even sends me customers,” he says. “She works at a salon and tells her clients about me if they mention needing repairs.”
“I get a lot of customers who had repairs done elsewhere and paid a lot more, but it wasn’t done right,” Young continues. “I just want people to know that it can be done right the first time and at a much better price than what major retailers offer.”
He hopes to someday expand Smart Fix Phone Repair and eventually grow it into a franchise. Until then, if your iPad, iPhone, computer, or game console needs fixing, head to THEXTRACHANGE on Route 6 and ask for Nick Young. Smart Fix Phone Repair is located at 369 Route 6 in Mahopac, NY inside THEXTRACHANGE. Drop by the shop or call Nick Young at 845-520-0672.
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