Business was going well in February for Women Repair Zone founder Bea Lurie, but by March federal officials had declared a national emergency as COVID-19 spread.
Lurie cancelled classes, but soon realized she couldn’t wait for a vaccine to restart her business, which provides auto maintenance + home repair workshops for women, taught by women.
“Then I realized, ‘Oh, this opens a huge opportunity to go national,’” Lurie said.
Offering classes online would mean that women nationwide could participate.
OK, wait, tell me more about Women Repair Zone before we go further.
- Lurie — stunned by the lack of options for women to learn basic mechanical and repair skills — launched it in June 2018.
- As she conceived the business idea, she thought about her own experiences, like her dad saying girls don’t need to know how to do certain tasks.
- That’s a message many women get throughout their lifetime and that makes it difficult to take that first step toward learning, Lurie said.
- But the classes are designed to be unintimidating + supportive, and everyone there is a beginner. Lurie also said, making mistakes is expected and allowed.
- She has plans to start in-person classes again when it’s safe.
Quoteworthy:
“[These] are really important skills. They help you save money. They help women develop confidence … it’s not rocket science. It’s about problem-solving.” — Bea Lurie
Wow. So how did she move the classes online?
Lurie didn’t want to take the business online if she couldn’t do it really well. To have a beneficial class, students need to see from many different angles, among other technical + logistical challenges.
So Lurie — who already had experience as a business owner and leader of Girls Inc. Chattanooga — created training for her instructors on how to deliver an outstanding virtual experience. She also invested in technology + video equipment so customers can see what’s happening in real-time.
Trista took a class. How’d that go?
Trista here, and I loved taking the auto repair class. I won’t lie, I was nervous when I clicked the Zoom link — I went in knowing very little about cars and how they function, but by the end of the class, I felt way more confident. I now know how to check + replenish fluids, where to find the PSI my tires need (it’s different from what your tire says), and what to keep in my trunk in case of an emergency. I seriously cannot recommend this class enough, and I’m looking forward to taking more. 🧰
Love it. How do I get involved?
It’s pretty easy. Click here to see upcoming classes, which cost between $20-40.
