Moniqueca Sims, proprietor of SSG Equipment Academy, bought her first glimpse into the equipment restore business whereas courting a person who labored within the house. “He labored on a regular basis, seven days per week,” Sims remembers, “so I used to exit with him simply to spend time with him. I noticed how simple it was for him to restore these home equipment, and he was repairing them shortly.”Picture Credit score: Courtesy of SSG Equipment Academy. Moniqueca Sims.
Sims believes in “working smarter, not tougher” and had the concept to rent technicians to assist the person she was courting with restore calls. She did, however when he did not decelerate, she ended up along with her personal equipment restore firm.Nevertheless, in working that enterprise, Sims misplaced a big sum of money buying components. Many individuals she employed did not really know easy methods to restore home equipment — and would simply change out half after half looking for a match.
Associated: After Experiencing the ‘Lack of Range’ in Tech, This Software program Engineer Began a Enterprise That is Altering Lives: ‘Folks Are Waking Up’So Sims took issues into her personal fingers once more. She enrolled in a web-based course to find out about equipment restore and began dealing with jobs herself, even taking her youngsters alongside generally.”Whenever you repair one thing, it boosts you up, each time you do it.”Nonetheless, Sims knew there needed to be a greater method to prepare and rent technicians for enterprise development, so as soon as extra she got down to make it occur: She based SSG Equipment Academy, which supplies hands-on coaching programs on the basics to have a profession within the equipment restore business, in Atlanta in 2019.
“ I noticed how equipment restore was the present that retains on giving,” Sims says. “Whenever you exit, if you repair one thing, it boosts you up, each time you do it. It is not a grunt job. It is a feel-good job.”When Sims went out on jobs along with her daughter, she discovered that lots of the purchasers have been stay-at-home mothers who breathed a sigh of reduction after they realized they would not be alone with a male employee. Understanding that, and seeing firsthand what a confidence booster equipment restore may very well be, Sims dedicated to bringing extra girls into the business.The whole equipment restore business income reached an estimated $6.3 billion in 2023, but girls make up lower than 3% of residence equipment repairers, in line with information from ConsumerAffairs.Associated: Raised By an Immigrant Single Mother, She Skilled ‘Tradition Shock’ Working at Goldman Sachs. This is What She Needs You to Know About ‘Black Capitalism.’
Sims determined to accomplice with shelters to develop SSG Equipment Academy and supply a viable profession path to the ladies there. Though there was loads of curiosity, the shelters did not have the funding to again it. So Sims bought authorised for grants by the Workforce Innovation and Alternative Act (WIOA).The funding helps low-income, under- or unemployed ladies and men full SSG Equipment Academy’s program and “flip their life round,” Sims says.SSG Equipment Academy’s courses sometimes enroll eight to 10 college students. The latest course had three girls in it. Previously, Sims typically needed to attend occasions and persuade girls to come back to the category; now, word-of-mouth helps them discover it themselves, she says.” You continually need to show your self [as a woman] on this business.”Sims seems ahead to seeing much more girls benefit from SSG Equipment Academy, regardless of the challenges that may include being a girl within the house.” You continually need to show your self [as a woman] on this business, and never simply to the shoppers,” Sims says. “It’s important to show your self to everyone that works within the business.”Sims can also be excited to see extra individuals throughout the board bounce into the equipment restore business, noting that studying a commerce can assist individuals make more cash than they may by incomes a four-year faculty diploma.”Equipment restore can actually assist change individuals’s lives,” the founder says.Associated: This Black Founder Stayed True to His Triple ‘Win’ Technique to Construct a $1 Billion Enterprise”You need to be taught your craft from the within out.”To different girls eager about beginning their very own careers or companies within the equipment restore business, Sims has some easy however important recommendation: Enroll in a program that may enable you to be taught all it’s essential to know concerning the commerce.”You need to be taught your craft from the within out,” Sims says. “A variety of technicians within the discipline now be taught on the job, in order that they change into part-changers as a result of they do not learn to diagnose and troubleshoot the home equipment correctly. So my recommendation would undoubtedly be to take a category. It would not need to be my faculty — any faculty.”
Associated: I Interviewed 5 Entrepreneurs Producing As much as $20 Million in Income a 12 months — And They All Have the Similar Remorse About Beginning Their BusinessSims notes that there shall be loads of obstacles alongside the best way, however she encourages anybody eager about studying equipment restore to remain the course — as a result of “it is a very rewarding profession and enterprise.”This text is a part of our ongoing Girls Entrepreneur® collection highlighting the tales, challenges and triumphs of working a enterprise as a girl.
Moniqueca Sims, proprietor of SSG Equipment Academy, bought her first glimpse into the equipment restore business whereas courting a person who labored within the house. “He labored on a regular basis, seven days per week,” Sims remembers, “so I used to exit with him simply to spend time with him. I noticed how simple it was for him to restore these home equipment, and he was repairing them shortly.”Picture Credit score: Courtesy of SSG Equipment Academy. Moniqueca Sims.
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