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.