TECH REPAIR is TECH CARE - The Future of an Industry Starts Now! PLUS, A Huge Opportunity is Coming Soon

If you repair, refurbish, or recycle electronics congratulations! You are on the forefront of what is becoming one of the largest industries in the world over the next ten years. Why, you ask? Because everything is becoming computerized (Tech) and it will require someone to take care of it (you) from beginning to end. Allow me to introduce you to the...

Over the last ten years we have seen more and more products rely on computerization to operate which has fundamentally changed the way we take care of these products. This has opened tremendous opportunity for people already have some experience in the repair, reuse, and recycling of this type of products. 

The age of the smartphone ushered in this trend as companies started to look for ways to make their products "smarter" and more "connected" to the world. The smartphone wars over the 20 years have aided these efforts by forcing the size of electronics components to get smaller and cheaper. As they did engineers said, "hey, let's throw a circuit board inside that fridge and see what happens." That was followed by hundreds of start-ups that wanted to create the "internet of Things (IoT)" by computerizing anything they could get their hands on. 

The industry’s new goal? Not a computer on every desk nor a connection between every person, but something grander: a computer inside everything, connecting everyone.

New York Times opinion columnist Farhad Manjoo wrote about it in his brilliant column titled, A Future Where Everything Becomes a Computer Is as Creepy As You Feared in 2018. His column points out that, "Cars, door locks, contact lenses, clothes, toasters, refrigerators, industrial robots, fish tanks, sex toys, light bulbs, toothbrushes, motorcycle helmets — these and other everyday objects are all on the menu for getting 'smart.'”

Let's not stop at "things" but instead look at the evolution of certain products. Appliances are a great example. What used to be a fairly simple product has now become an advanced computerized piece of machinery that includes a touchscreen display. These new appliances are so advanced that it is actually leading to a shortage of repair techs mainly because older techs are retiring rather than learn to work on these newer more advanced systems.

All of this while at the same time there is a huge demand for repair techs because of COVID-19 forcing more people to do more at home. 

What about cars? Or what we'll all be calling EVs very soon. Take a seat inside a Tesla and tell me it doesn't feel like you just plopped down in front of a really big iPad. Couple that with the fact that the internal-combustion engine, that ASE mechanics are used to fixing, is now a much more efficient electric motor leads me to believe that as EVs take more market share repair techs will be retiring in this industry as well.

As more and more things become computers the world will need more and more people to take care of their tech. People that know how to take care of these connected devices that all have a circuit board, display and some kind of O/S. Someone who knows how to get it going, keep it going, and then do something with it when it's done. Know anyone like that?

All of this begs a question -- a really big question in fact:

Who is going to take care of all this tech? 

Who is going to fix it, in or out of warranty? 

What will the reuse market look like?

And what about data destruction and recycling?

You are! Over the last two years I have spent all of my time talking to people in the tech repair industry (aka, consumer electronics, cellphone repair, computer repair, etc.) along with those in the appliance, automotive, IT servicing, resellers, refurbishes and even farm equipment (know a guy who owns a repair shop and maintains his family's farm equipment) repair, refurbishing and recycling industries. I have also talked with, and consulted with, companies that have or will be launching new products. They all have problems answering the above question(s).

There is a huge disconnect between the people who make these products and the people who are trying to take care of them. Much of it is because this industry grew up outside of regular channels and lack the oversight that these OEMs desire, but the other side of that coin is the lack of planning by the OEMs. 

That does not diminish the fact that the two desperately need each other. The OEMs need lots of people to help take care of the products they produce and those looking to profit on those efforts want a bigger slice of the pie. As I have said numerous times in the past those in the tech care industry MUST WORK TOGETHER if they want to succeed. The right to repair movement plays a big role in things but it is not the only thing!

The tech care industry must find a way to work together as a united group. By working together, the industry can solve many of the problems that it faces and provide a united front to the OEMs. Additionally, a united industry can offer lifecycle solutions to new companies that want to launch products on a large scale but don't have the infrastructure to do so.  

There is a lot of opportunity for everyone now, but even more to come...

BIG HUGE OPPORTUNITY COMING... SOON!

If you thought smartphones, tablets, and computer care was a big opportunity wait until you see the "next big thing" rolling down the pike.

The consumer robotics market is currently a $17 billion industry that is expected to grow to a $76 billion industry over the next six years. Personally I think that growth is a conservative number that will be much larger. Add to that the addition of, what I think will be an explosion of commercial robotics market, which makes the overall robotics market a $209 billion industry by 2025 (doubling in size from 2020). That's a lot of growth in a short time period. 

These are devices that in some ways are very similar to smartphones. They are made of circuit boards, plastic, glass, an O/S, and moving parts. Who already knows how to take care of this type of devices? You do!

Fiction often predicts reality. A popular kids show, The Backyardigans, released a DVD called, Robot Repairman in 2009 that many of our children watched over and over and over and over again -- I know my kids did --that inspired them to someday become like the main character Austin, the robot repairman. As those kids grow up and enter the workforce they can help lead this next generation of repair people who learn to take care of the technology of their day by repairing it, refurbishing it, and recycling it so that future generations  can benefit from their hard work. But to accomplish that the tech care industry needs to come together now!

The Tech Care Industry is sitting on the precipice of becoming something big. Those that have toiled in the industry repairing tech, refurbishing it, recycling it are in the best position to help it get there. But if the industry can't find a way to work together then someone else will!

Thanks for the read! 
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The new TECH CARE ASSOCIAITON has launched! Visit the website at: www.TechCareAssociation.org today and join!