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.