Floris Bakker was doing smartphone repairs from his De Pijp apartment in Amsterdam — mostly through Marktplaats listings and word-of-mouth from friends. He earned €600–€800 per month in his spare time while working as a junior UX designer at a startup.
When his startup's funding dried up in 2024, Floris found himself with unexpected free time, a repair skill, and a decision to make.
"I could job-hunt for another UX job at €45K a year," he says. "Or I could test whether my side hustle could become something real."
He signed a lease on a small shopfront near Oud-Zuid — Amsterdam's southern professional district, adjacent to Zuidas, the city's financial hub — and signed up for RepairCoreX.
"My UX background meant I immediately saw how much the software improved the customer experience," he says. "Digital job tickets, automated status updates, professional invoices. For a Dutch customer, this is expected. RepairCoreX made it effortless to deliver."
The First Month
Month 1: €14,200 in revenue. His apartment repairs had earned €800. In a proper location with a professional system, the same skill earned almost 18× more per month.
"Location and presentation change everything," he says. "In De Pijp with no system, I was a guy doing repairs. In Oud-Zuid with RepairCoreX, I was a professional repair service. Same hands. Different environment and documentation."
The Dutch Corporate Market
At month 3, Floris landed his first corporate account — a Zuidas law firm that sent all partner and associate devices to him exclusively. Monthly value: €3,000–€5,000. The firm found him through Google Maps, rated him on professionalism, and committed after he demonstrated his RepairCoreX job tracking and invoicing system to their office manager.
"Dutch corporate buyers evaluate suppliers on systems, not just results," he says. "RepairCoreX is what made me a credible supplier."
Today
Floris earns €10,000–€12,000 per month net. He employs a part-time technician two days per week during his busiest periods. He does not miss the UX job.
"The Dutch repair market is completely aligned with RepairCoreX's value proposition," he says. "Dutch customers want repair, not replacement. They want documentation. They want professional service. It's a perfect fit."
De markt wacht. Begin vandaag.