We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kylon Jarreau a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kylon, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
So back in 2015 I was 15 years old, and a freshman at New Tech Academy @Wayne high school here in Fort Wayne, IN. The iPhone 6 was the latest iPhone out and I had it. My mother got it for me as a gift, and maybe about a month after getting it I broke it. I remember us being at my aunt’s house, and when I went to get out of the car my phone was on my lap. The moment I stood up I heard my phone smack the ground. Of course, face first, luckily my mom had already gone inside so she did not know the phone was broken. I did not want to tell her about the incident because she had just bought the phone, and I did not want to cost her any more money. So, my first thoughts were to try and figure out how to fix the screen, I wanted to know if it was simple enough for me to maybe fix it on my own. I looked up on YouTube “iPhone 6 screen replacement”, and after watching the video a couple times I felt like it was something I could pull off. I figured I try to fix it myself since it is already broken, it can’t get any worse than this. If I can’t fix it myself, then I just tell my mom and let her know its broken. My next steps were to figure out how I could receive screen, I looked on amazon and lucky I found a screen for around $20-$30 bucks. At the time I had just started working my first job as a bus boy at a seafood restaurant called “Paul’s on Main St”. I just got my own bank account and new debit card so I could order a screen.
Once I received the screen, I followed the video step by step and ended up fixing my own phone screen. From there I had a friend of mine ask me if I could fix his screen. At first, I was hesitant because when I broke my phone, the lcd damage did not allow me to still use the phone. It was completely blacked out. My friend’s phone was still functional, the glass was cracked but you could still us the phone. In my situation it was a situation where I felt like I couldn’t make it any worse, in this situation I felt like there was something I could mess up and I was responsible for someone else’s device. He trusted me based off of the work I did on my phone so i took on the challenge. I didn’t charge him anything but i did make him pay for his parts, and after that repair it went well. Things grew word of mouth and from there I kind of became the phone repair guy around my school.
I spent the next 3 years doing mainly iPhone repairs for people around my school and local people my age around the city. By my senior year of high school my reputation grew alongside Apple and all their new releases. At that time, around 2018 the latest iPhone out was the iPhone XS Max. At my school, we have a big senior business project that is every year. The objective was for us to create a business and present it to business leaders of a non-profit organization called “Believe in A Dream” for the chance to win money towards actually starting the business. Apart of the class was learning how to create a business name, business logo, business statement, a slogan for the business, and a product. A repair business was the perfect option, and by the end of this project I was one of the winners that the organization granted money to. From there I took the money and did my first wholesale purchase for screens and from that point forward I took the business seriously.
Kylon, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
For me and how I got into this business is very sacred to me because my father and grandfathers are very hands on guys. My father works as a technician with different companies helping rewire and troubleshoot machinery. Growing up I watched him and my grandfather both work on houses, my grandfather owns a construction company so they both are handy man. My other grandfather is a car mechanic and is also a very handy man. So, I feel like it runs in my family, I also do have experience with home improvement and some electrical experience as well. I spent about 6 months with a company called “Power Home Solar” traveling and installing solar panels on homes. I was duel trained with roofing, and groundwork(electrical). So, I have a very deep passion for customer service, honest & quality work, and good business. With my father and both grandfathers being handy man I feel like I am an extension of all of them, but the modern version in the tech field. I actually love what I do, & with technology constantly evolving there will always be a demand for problem solvers such as myself. With my business (Iscreen Repair of Fort Wayne) we offer quality (hardware & software) repairs on various devices such as cellphones, tablets, laptops, gaming consoles, & more. We offer very affordable prices with quality parts & same day services. We really hang my hat on not having repeat customers due to lack of quality. That is due to how transparent we are with my clients when it comes to the difference in each replacement part. We make sure they understand all options given and allow them to make the choice that best fits them and their situation. Ultimately, our main objective is to get our clients tech back up and working in reasonable time with quality parts to ensure durability in each repair.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
In the repair field it is important to make a good first impression on your client because that makes them comfortable & confident in your work. With that, they will happily be a return customer & will gladly refer friends & family to your business. Outside of social media marketing, word of mouth is my #1 source of new clients & that is why It is so important to take care of each client the best you can. Even in the event of devices being unrepairable I always try and leave my client with some type of diagnoses and some helpful information on how to move forward. That way, you always leave the clients with something, rather it be a repaired device or new information to better understand the device and why it’s not working.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
The biggest thing that helped me build good reputation in my market is again, me being so transparent with my clients. Always breaking down everything and giving all options making sure that they can choose the option that best fits their situation, my prices are affordable, and the work is very fundamental & durable. Even when things go wrong, I am always open/transparent, with effective communication & offer solutions for my clients. My clients trust me, they trust my word, they trust my work, they trust me with their devices and I take that very seriously.
Contact Info:
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- Twitter: https://x.com/newnormal_3/status/1547635278843498496?s=43
- Other: BEST CONTACT
EMAIL: @[email protected]
Image Credits
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