A pair of entrepreneurs have taken charge of their fortunes by investing £30,000 in a shop in Norwich in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

Tom Williams and Olly Lord have opened Smart Tech Repairs in Castle Meadow choosing to go it alone instead of relying on their former employers.

“Everyone thought we were a bit mad, and it has been hugely stressful setting up a shop in the middle of the pandemic,” said Mr Williams. “We’ve had people telling us we’re opening up only to fail – which isn’t exactly helpful.

MORE: Personal Finance: How should I invest my £35,000?

“But Olly was working for another repairs business and I was in property and had my hours reduced. We’d been talking for a while about trying to do it ourselves and when lockdown happened we decided it was time to take the plunge and take matters into our own hands.

“We invested about £30,000 into the site and stock and we haven’t had a day off since we opened just under a month ago. We started fixing up phones from home and did about 60 before we opened. We hoped to have doubles that by now but it is a little bit slower than expected,” Mr Williams said.

He added that the aim of the shop was to provide a high level of quality and service.

“We fitted the store out to look like an Apple shop instead of it having loads of plastic everywhere. We are also a bit more expensive than other places but we’ve decided to stock the best screens and give them lifetime guarantees. We’re also offering a second screen at half price if you drop it and crack it within a year,” he said.

“We’re actually making a loss if that does happen but we want to make a name for our business as being a more premium offering and one where you pay a bit more in the first instance but it lasts you so much longer.”

The pair are currently open seven days a week.