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Two entrepreneurs opened Wireless Zone in Dover Mall in early October, providing local residents with another option for Verizon cell phones and other wireless devices.
Business partners Jonathan Stuart and Ezequiel Francisco survived the yearlong rigorous screening that Wireless Zone requires of its franchise owners, not to mention Verizon Wireless.
New England-based Wireless Zone is the nation's largest wireless retail franchisor, exclusively offering Verizon Wireless products and services.
Wireless Zone is a separate company from Verizon; they have a symbiotic relationship.
Stuart and Francisco sought approval from the from Wireless Zone and Verizon Wireless executives, and after a year, they were granted a franchise, Stuart said.
It helped tremendously that Stuart and Francisco brought extensive experience in the cell phone and wireless field to the table. Stuart has been in the wireless field since he was 18 – a total of nine years with just about every carrier including the former Cellular One, Sprint, Nextel and Verizon. Francisco, also in his 20s, also has about seven years experience with Verizon.
Before they opened their Wireless Zone store in the Dover Mall, they worked at a Verizon retailer in New York and became friends.
“We brainstormed about what we wanted to do with our lives and where we wanted to go,” Stuart said. “Instead of working for somebody else, we wanted to own our own store. And here we are a year later.
“It’s what I love to do,” Stuart said. “You get to keep up with the new technology. Phones have become a commodity … like electricity and gas for your car. People can’t live without them. It’s a great business to be in.”
Wireless Zone has opened 200 locations over the past two years and are quickly expanding in the state, said Wireless Zone spokeswoman Emily Driscoll, of No Limit Media Consulting.
For anyone looking to open a business in this economy, Stuart urged people to make sure they getting into the right business at the right time.
“As you’ve seen electronics stores closing, supermarkets closing, car dealerships
closing, you’ve got to get into an industry that’s on the way up, not on the way down,” he said. “We’re lucky that the wireless industry is always on the cutting edge and always evolving. It’s not just cell phones anymore; it’s tablets such as iPads, Internet, video calling.”
Wireless Zone faces stiff competition with another Verizon Wireless shop already in the Dover Mall, as well as AT&T, T-Mobile, HyTek Wireless, We R Wireless and Radio Shack, not to mention a Verizon corporate store adjacent to the mall.
It’s a roll of the dice to be sure, Stuart said. But, the competition creates better deals for the customer, he said.
“We don’t worry so much about AT&T and T-Mobile. We worry about our other Verizon competition and Best Buy and Radio Shack, which both offer Verizon. You’ve got to know what you’re doing.”
Two entrepreneurs opened Wireless Zone in Dover Mall in early October, providing local residents with another option for Verizon cell phones and other wireless devices.
Business partners Jonathan Stuart and Ezequiel Francisco survived the yearlong rigorous screening that Wireless Zone requires of its franchise owners, not to mention Verizon Wireless.
New England-based Wireless Zone is the nation's largest wireless retail franchisor, exclusively offering Verizon Wireless products and services.
Wireless Zone is a separate company from Verizon; they have a symbiotic relationship.
Stuart and Francisco sought approval from the from Wireless Zone and Verizon Wireless executives, and after a year, they were granted a franchise, Stuart said.
It helped tremendously that Stuart and Francisco brought extensive experience in the cell phone and wireless field to the table. Stuart has been in the wireless field since he was 18 – a total of nine years with just about every carrier including the former Cellular One, Sprint, Nextel and Verizon. Francisco, also in his 20s, also has about seven years experience with Verizon.
Before they opened their Wireless Zone store in the Dover Mall, they worked at a Verizon retailer in New York and became friends.
“We brainstormed about what we wanted to do with our lives and where we wanted to go,” Stuart said. “Instead of working for somebody else, we wanted to own our own store. And here we are a year later.
“It’s what I love to do,” Stuart said. “You get to keep up with the new technology. Phones have become a commodity … like electricity and gas for your car. People can’t live without them. It’s a great business to be in.”
Wireless Zone has opened 200 locations over the past two years and are quickly expanding in the state, said Wireless Zone spokeswoman Emily Driscoll, of No Limit Media Consulting.
For anyone looking to open a business in this economy, Stuart urged people to make sure they getting into the right business at the right time.
“As you’ve seen electronics stores closing, supermarkets closing, car dealerships
closing, you’ve got to get into an industry that’s on the way up, not on the way down,” he said. “We’re lucky that the wireless industry is always on the cutting edge and always evolving. It’s not just cell phones anymore; it’s tablets such as iPads, Internet, video calling.”
Wireless Zone faces stiff competition with another Verizon Wireless shop already in the Dover Mall, as well as AT&T, T-Mobile, HyTek Wireless, We R Wireless and Radio Shack, not to mention a Verizon corporate store adjacent to the mall.
It’s a roll of the dice to be sure, Stuart said. But, the competition creates better deals for the customer, he said.
“We don’t worry so much about AT&T and T-Mobile. We worry about our other Verizon competition and Best Buy and Radio Shack, which both offer Verizon. You’ve got to know what you’re doing.”
