-I love being a woman. I mean, it's pretty kick ass.
I can wear my red heels and still get my hands dirty.
Women - we're capable of all these things.
We can still be feminine and still be sexy and wear make up.
There's nothing wrong with that.
I'm a mechanic and I'm an entrepreneur, and I'm an engineer.
I can be all these things. I don't have to be one or the other.
Yeah, what's next? What cars up next? Lets do work.
I'm Patrice Banks and I'm auto mechanic that caters to women.
I'm also an engineer and an entrepreneur.
I started Girls Auto Clinic so I could educate and empower women through their cars.
I was raised by a single mother.
We actually didn't even have a car growing up.
The first person to get a car was me when I was 16. I worked 3 jobs.
Growing up, I loved math. I loved solving problems.
Things were chaotic at home and I was the one that was always trying to make things perfect.
I had a really tough childhood. I did not stand out.
I was chubby, I was quiet, I suffered from abuse as a child but I was always smart and
I was always different and that protected me in a way until I was able to really
have enough confidence to really step out on my own.
Then I was the first person to go to college to be an engineer.
That's kinda where my career started.
I've always been interested in women in nontraditional roles.
They trying to get a job in?
Even as an engineer, I didn't know anything about my car.
I was an auto-airhead and that means minimum service to my car.
I always feared going in to the mechanic.
I had that anxiety that has to do with the car - that cultural stereotype with women.
So I decided since I couldn't find a mechanic,
I couldn't find resources, that I was gonna create them.
I am empowered women and I wanted to educate myself so I
started looking for resources so I could learn.
I googled female mechanic.
The first thing that pops up is girls in bikinis next to the cars looking hot.
I thought that was crazy because I also learned that women are the
number one customer in the automotive industry.
We spend more money than men on our cars, we buy more cars than men,
we take our cars in for repairs more.
And that's when a bell went off for me because here we have
your number one customer and there is no representation of her in the industry.
So yeah, I went to school for two years for automotive technology.
And while I was in school I started building this company.
I was gonna educate women, I was gonna empower women, it just started to unfold.
So SHECANIC, which I love, is my name for all my car-savvy ladies.
They're feeling good about themselves, they're feeling
more confident as a driver and when talking to a mechanic.
I have a definition for it which is really a woman who goes from yes I can to yes I did.
Today, you're gonna learn all about your car,
so you can be a more confident driver and this is a real workshop
so you're gonna learn a lot of information here.
I started Girls Auto Clinic in 2013, officially
What I wanted to do was educate women so I was doing that through car care workshops.
You wanna make sure that if you need rotors
that you get both your pads and your rotors replaced.
Don't put new pads on a worn rotor like this.
Women leave saying “wow this is amazing, I feel so much better.
I feel more confident.” They learn how to talk to a mechanic,
they learn why they need maintenance on their car, when they need it.
Everything that I wish I would've known,
now that I'm a mechanic I'm like - this is what you need to know.
You wanna get it square on this valve. Push it on hard like - psh.
-When I put this in there it said 30.
-Its at 31-2. So you're a little bit low.
Let's make history.
It's a really crazy time for Girls Auto Clinic right now,
because I'm getting ready to sign a sale of agreement for the first property I'm buying.
Like this is real - ah! I can't believe this.
I wanna open a full-service auto repair center that's
going to cater to women. I wanna hire female mechanics
and the best part - there's gonna be a nail salon
there so you can get your nails done while you're waiting for your car.
I've got the bank and interior designers and contractors coming
out so we can be open - hopefully - the summer of 2016.
And that's super ambitious, but I'm an ambitious persons.
Guys ready? So this is gonna be the nail salon, here we go!
-I SAY YES! -I love the ceiling too!
-There's so much character. -I'm so excited about this.
Sometimes I feel guilty about not taking time for myself cause
I'm not working on Girls Auto Clinic.
I think I'm not gonna get everything done!
But that goes away, because you realize the work never goes away
and you start to realize your sanity and those breaks are just as important.
And that guilt can eat away at you which is not good if you're trying to run a business.
It's powerful to be a part of a movement that's creating change.
It can be scary, but you belong to something.
So now the next time you go, you're gonna know how to replace your filter.
I'm blessed. It gives me a good feeling to be able to help women.
I really feel like that's my purpose in life.
I grew up with a single mom, so I've always had this desire burning
in me to be able to help and empower women.
It's crazy that it took me 30 years to find it,
but this is my destiny, I'm here for this - for sure.