The Cell Phone Repair Shop

The journey began with a bulky Nokia 5190, as Tim Navarro, with no professional tools or experience, dismantled and reconstructed his first phone. Today, two decades later, he is the proud owner of The Cell Phone Repair Shop, located in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and has repaired countless phones in his time. Piled up in a jewelry case at the front of his shop are years' worth of shattered iPhone screens that he has replaced. Tim uses the display case to send a message,. “I am one small store here and this isn’t even a fraction of the phones I’ve repaired. Imagine the waste we create when we just throw electronics away. This is a good representation of that.” 

While Las Cruces is renowned for its Hatch green chilies, to Tim, it’s home. Born and raised in this small town in New Mexico, Tim's family still resides there. His initial venture was a family business, which he established with his brother, Chris. They launched their first store to take advantage of the chance to be the first providers of Sprint service in their area. It was during that time, Tim fixed the screen on his Nokia 5190 and realized that he could have a more stable and purposeful services career by repairing and providing affordable phones to his community. He received a screwdriver from a friend, which he used to fix phones until it was worn down to a nub. As the screwdriver became small, his business grew. Tim subsequently renamed the business as The Cellphone Repair Shop and expanded it to four locations.

Tim fell in love with the banker who cashed his deposits every night at Wells Fargo. They are now married with four children together. After having two young children with his wife, he scaled back his business to the one store he owns today. He has future plans to open another store and says he really uses Certified Cell as a tool to grow his business. “I can’t speak highly enough about Certified Cell. The product is superb, and I have never had any issues. All of my customers have been happy,” says Tim. The most meaningful part of Tim's partnership with Certified Cell is being able to add to inventory without burning cash and the 30-day warranty.

For Tim, this is more than just business; it's his way of giving back to his community and his attempt to preserve the earth. “Let’s try to reuse and recycle to keep it green.”