Teen starts computer repair business when he can't find a job

By Isir Osman

When Luke Anshur couldn't find a job fixing computers at a big box retail store like Best Buy, he ended up becoming their competitor when he started his own small business. Photo courtesy of Luke Anshur

“I searched up and down and it seemed like no one wanted to hire me for my skills. I didn’t know what to do." -- Luke Anshur, 19

Computer whiz kid Luke Anshur, 19, couldn’t find a job at stores like Best Buy, so he started his own computer repair business.

“I searched up and down and it seemed like no one wanted to hire me for my skills. I didn’t know what to do,” he said.

Anshur, a student at North Hennepin Community College, became interested in computers while taking a computer class as a freshman in high school. As the Minneapolis teen’s knowledge grew, Anshur thought he was skilled enough to find a job fixing computers for a store like Best Buy. He applied there, Circuit City and other businesses for a part-time job, but had no luck finding employment. He applied to his local Best Buy more than once and was rejected each time and by the end of the summer of 2009, Anshur could still not find a job.

“The number of unemployed teens is rising”, according to Joseph McLaughlin, senior research associate at the Center for Labor Market Studies. “The deep recession has eliminated over 8 million jobs nationally. Teens have experienced job cuts and … those newly entering the labor market have faced bleak job prospects due to lack of hiring demand.”

While Anshur was still in the midst of finding a job, he visited his dad’s work. An employee needed help with a crashed computer and Anshur fixed the computer in less than two days. Its owner said he couldn’t afford to pay the amount computer repair stores wanted. But he wanted to pay Anshur. What started as a favor to his father’s co-worker turned into a business in that moment.

After struggling to find a job with a company for so long, Anshur suddenly discovered all the benefits of being your own boss. If he succeeded in the business, he would not have to worry about going to work on time, working shifts or anything even close to that. He would control his own time, work whenever he wanted, and enjoy all the free time left over.

In order to advertise his business, he made flyers and business cards. He put the flyers around his college campus and he gave business cards to students, teachers, families, and so on. Within the first week, he received about six calls. But by the end of the first month or so, the calls stopped coming. Anshur did not know what happened with all the customers.

Anshur thought that his neighborhood and school were running out of people with computers with problems or that his advertising did not get to enough people. He decided to post an advertisement on the websites Craigslist and Facebook. He placed flyers and business cards in small businesses, worship places, charter schools, and many others.

After about a month he received a lot of calls and business seemed to never stop.

“Some research has indicated the urban youth turn to the underground, illegal economy to make money (selling drugs). This is why the problem of teen unemployment should be considered a major public policy problem. When economically disadvantaged teens can’t find work, they often turn to crime and thus damage their futures,” McLaughlin said.

Anshur didn’t turn to selling drugs, of course, but he did turn away from earning money in a traditional way for teens. Instead, he managed to start his own little business using his computer skills.

“It is better than working for someone because I have my own schedule and I work on the computers when I want,” Anshur said, as long as he meets the customer’s needs.