Alan Campos

Alan Campos, 23 Founder, chief executive iRepair Central Santa Clarita, Northridge Repair services for iPhones, iPods and iPads. Founded: 2010 Employees: 5 Financials: Grown from $20,000 annual revenue to a projected $100,000 this year What makes your company unusual? Getting your iPhone or other personal electronic devices repaired is still a new concept. We also donate $5 for every cracked screen we repair to the Santa Clarita Valley Food Pantry at our Santa Clarita location. At our Northridge store, before opening our doors we donated $1,000 to a CSUN scholarship that we created. What led you to start your own company?  My phone broke while I was a junior in high school and to replace the entire device was going to cost me over $200. I simply did some research online and stumbled upon “how to” repair videos on YouTube. I ordered the tools and parts online and decided to fix my phone. Where did you get the financing? My first job was working as a server at a restaurant across from my high school. I started at the age of 16 and by the age of 18 I was a manager. The initial investment I made was $200 which I took out of my savings.  What were the biggest challenges? Spreading the word about my service. I used all the social media platforms because there was no cost and I was able to reach such a large population. What was the most important lesson you learned? I was at first afraid to take the risk of having customers and working on their expensive devices. I soon realized the worst that could happen was that it would fail. How many hours a day do you work? I work over 50 hours a week. I have five employees that are scheduled to work both locations, but I love to go in and get my hands dirty. What is the biggest advantage of being young? Having the energy to work from 8 a.m. to midnight and still not be tired. Also, not having big responsibilities such as having kids to take care of. Could you ever be an employee? If my business were to fail tomorrow morning I would start a new business. I would not stop until I created a profitable business that I enjoyed. What advice would you give to other Millennials who may want to start their own business? Don’t be afraid to take risks! The worst that can happen is that it doesn’t work. So what? There is always another day to try something else. – Elliot Golan