George Fisher of George’s Tech Repairs in Darwin began his business at home by fixing his family and friends mobile devices. With practice, George found that his skills could extend further than his inner circle where he could start servicing his wider community.
Having a steady and reliable full time job for the past several years, George gradually made adjustments and negotiated with his employer to move to a part time capacity, as he began to invest more and more into his own business. With his family having many years of experience running their own businesses, George had the support and guidance to ensure that he took a gradual steps before diving in becoming completely self employed.
In the early days of the business, George found himself making house calls and setting up stalls at markets to help the local area address any issues with their mobile phones and tablets. As things built, George set up his own location where customer’s can now come to him, in addition to also continuing to have presence at markets and doing the odd call out.
Technology for many of us can be a real nightmare and the fact that we rely on it so much means that George is providing a valuable service to others. Working in the technology field, George has challenges of his own when it comes to continuously upskilling himself with the latest devices and methods of repair. He is constantly staying in contact with online tech communities and learning to ensure that he can stay relevant and in constant need for his customers.
Customer service is a big part of George’s success to date. Whether it be after-hours questions, call outs or other above and beyond help, George knows that he needs to take care of each person who chooses to come to him over a competitor in the area. With this approach, George has built loyalty, repeat business and growth. It’s all good news.
As George sets his eyes on the continuous uncertain future of technology, he is not staying married to his original concept of the business. George is constantly keeping up to date with not only changes in the technology world but also customer behaviour and what they will require in the future. Creating a successful business is the focus and George knows that the ways to do that will always continue to change.
To check out George’s Tech Repairs in Darwin, check out the links in the show notes.
What did you get out of this episode? Here’s what I learnt;
1. Is it time to negotiate? – George had been employed for quite a number of years and as he built his repair business, he began to transition away from the stability of his traditional job. Rather than jump ship straight away, George was able to negotiate with his employer to go to a part time capacity. That way he was still contributing, earning a steady income but also opening up his time to be able to focus on and build his own business. If you’re still working for someone else and have plans to start your own business, think about how you can think outside the box and negotiate with your employer. Taking the sacrifice of full time income in exchange for more time to work on your craft could be worth far more than any short term cut of pay you take.
2. Offer services for free – A great way to build your own skills and reputation in the market place is by offering freebies or significant discounts to people. As you are looking to create a name for yourself, build trust and reputation, you are going to have to find ways to incentivise others to use your product/service over others. Naturally you have to be mindful of your financial situation and prepare accordingly, however if you are factoring specific amounts of time and resources to do this in advance it will be manageable and return a lot of benefits.
3. Learn from others mistakes – George spoke about reading the bad reviews from local businesses who might be competing in the same space. This is a great strategy to identify what your point of difference is, in comparison to your competitors. Criticism is valuable where it can provide insight into where the gaps in the market are. Often most pain points stem from basic customer service skills, which of course are easy wins. Through the frustration of other customers, you will be able to see how you can potentially “wow” your own when you connect with them.
4. Stay flexible – George has a great outlook on his business and the industry. He stays up to date with the market and pays attention to not only what the technology giants are doing but also how the customer’s behaviour changes. A sure way to have your business burn out is to stay fixed on your original concept and not evolve as the market changes. In George’s example, the future might bring an unwillingness of customer’s to have their phones fixed due to rising costs. George is keeping a close eye on this and is always keeping back up plans in place, just in case things change too dramatically to keep the business sustainable.
Follow George’s Tech Repairs via Facebook
Location – 36/12 Charlton Court Woolner, Northern Territory 0820