Fellow student has business fixing tech gadgets

BY Blake Echt

David Luong’s desire to find out how things worked led to his own smart phone and tablet repair business, which he plans to enlarge when he goes to college.

I have a friend named David Luong who many people consider to be a tech wizard. David is extremely fun to hang around; he says some really ridiculous things that often make you stop and wonder if the foundations of your own thoughts have just been rattled (which is a good thing because he always keeps you on your toes).

David also knows how to take a joke and is the subject of several running gags within our group. There is one thing that David holds that none of us do, and that is a business.

David’s business is more of a hobby, but when there’s some unknown problem with your phone or tablet, David is top notch. He has the uncanny ability to fix practically anything wrong with a large array of devices – from iPods to iPads to the newest and most intricate of smart phones. So one day in our biology class, I told David I was going to interview him for my article; to which he shrugged and said, “Sure.”

The first question I asked him is a very natural starting point: how did this hobby of yours start? I got this goofy smile and Mr. Luong replied, “My curiosity when I was a kid made me want to know how things worked and why. So I used to take them apart and have to figure out how to put them back together again; which led to fixing phones.”
This curiosity became a profit-making machine when he realized that his friends went to him for phone help. It did cost him money to fix phones as he had to order parts; and so, if he had to spend money, why not make some money from doing something he absolutely loved? He knew that he could fix phones faster and much cheaper than most people; meaning he not only knew he would get business easily, but that he could help each customer individually.
I was impressed by this business sense, so I asked David how the general process goes, from getting the phone to delivering it.

He answered, “First, I get a call or a text from a customer; then they tell me what they need fixed and I give them a price and time frame for the repair. If the customer agrees, I order the part, which takes two to three days. Then the customer gives me their phone, and the repair takes about an hour to an hour and a half to fix.”

It’s a very simple process, with David admitting the most common phones he’s fixed are iPhones (which he says are the easiest), boasting that there has not been a phone worthy of a challenge for him.

At this point, I couldn’t believe David wasn’t making a joke and didn’t cause my brain to grind to a halt in his normal David-esque ways. So I had to go a little deeper into his mindset.
I looked him straight in the eye and told him, “I don’t believe your little fiction about not being able to find a worthy phone repair challenge; there has to be something you find hard.”

What a fool I was made that day, with David answering, “Phones that are harder to fix just need a lot more time, dedication and concentration. It isn’t really about skill largely, like a lot of people think, but more about discipline, focus and patience that a person has to give.”

I was cornered and had no way to beat David in this mind game, so I retreated. “Well, the obvious benefit is the money. So what else can you say this business has helped you with?” I was given a laundry list of skills, such as hand-eye coordination, the ability to deconstruct phones and other equipment physically and mentally, a working concept of how every little piece contributes to the whole, and to always think on his feet.

He told me me that, especially in regards to business, he’s had to learn to get his name out there and for people to know him; which in turn allows him to become friends with many of his customers and provide a very personal service and further refine his repair and social skills.

I thought the bell was about to ring, so I had to ask a final question to this rising entrepreneur: “What’s next?”
He answered, “I plan on doing the same thing in college, but on a bigger scale. That or planning my schedule to work for a cellphone repair company during college. In college, I plan on studying computer science so I can learn to code and how our world works behind the scenes.”

So our biology lesson went over our heads that entire period, and I had learned something amazing about David Luong, the kid who fixes phones. I asked him for some parting words, and I feel like his inspiration pants were snug that day when he said, “I think the aspect of doing something new and foreign is frightening, but as long as you have the passion and dedication to do it, then there’s nothing stopping you from your goal.”

Blake Echt

Turns out only half the period was done, and the worksheet in front of us was blank. So we put our brains together, knocked out those questions, and went along with our usual banter, though I think I truly appreciated David more from that day onward.