About Breaking and Building

Breaking and Building was born on a whim—a place to collect, process, and publish experiences from 13+ years in the trenches of running a cell phone and electronics repair business.

This isn’t theory. It’s what actually happened when ego met reality, when employees stole, when competitors lied, when franchisees failed, and when hard decisions had to be made with incomplete information and real money on the line.

About Dawn

Dawn Heller started iDropped in 2012 with bootstrap financing and a technical background most repair shop owners don’t have—25+ years including nine years running IT and advertising departments before going all-in on repair. She built it from a single Nanticoke storefront into a multi-state operation with corporate locations in Dickson City and Edwardsville, PA, and partner locations in Knoxville, TN and Stroudsburg, PA.

She’s the only person who went from franchisee to acquiring her own franchisor, giving her a perspective on both sides of that relationship nobody else can claim.

Dawn’s superpower isn’t just technical skill or operational systems (though she’s built both). It’s pattern recognition—reading market shifts, team dynamics, and competitive threats before they become problems. She listens to what customers actually say, watches what employees actually do, and responds to what the data actually shows, not what she wishes it showed.

The expensive lessons? She’s already paid for them. The Grit Scripts are here so you don’t have to.

Combines deep technical expertise—gained through direct training with industry leaders—with 25+ years of business acumen developed across IT, marketing, and operations management. Recognized as a “Woman of Power” by regional media and featured in national publications including The Huffington Post and Entrepreneur.com for innovative approaches to operational excellence and business development.

Core competencies include multi-unit operations management; sourcing, developing and retaining talent as both technicians and professionals, opportunity assessment and execution, strategic growth planning, and customer experience enhancement. Proven track record of opening new locations in a month or less—consistently on budget and on time. Brings rare dual perspective as both a former franchisee and franchisor in the tech repair industry, offering unique insights into scalable operations and sustainable business models.