Moniqueca Sims, owner of SSG Appliance AcademyGot her first look at the repair industry of devices while he went out with a man who worked in space. “He worked all the time, seven days a week,” Sims remembers, “so I always went out with him to spend time with him. I saw how easy it was for him to repair those devices, and he was repaired quickly.”
Image Credit: Courtesy of SSG Appliance Academy. Moniqueca Sims.
Sims believes in “working smarter, not harder” and had the idea of hiring technicians to help the man with whom she went with repair calls. She did that, but when he didn’t delay, she finished at her own repair company for devices.
However, when running that company, Sims lost a considerable amount of purchasing parts. Many people she had hired did not really know how to repair devices – and would simply switch from part after a part looking for a fit.
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So Sims took it back into their own hands. She registered for an online course to learn about device repair and started processing jobs herself, and even took her children with him.
“If you solve something, it increases you, every time you do it.”
Nevertheless, Sims knew that there had to be a better way to train and rent technicians for business growth, so again she set off to make it happen: she founded SSG Appliance Academy, which offers practical training sessions about the foundations to have a career in the repair industry of the device, in Atlanta in 2019.
“I saw how device repair was the gift that keeps on giving,” says Sims. “If you go out, when you solve something, it will raise you, every time you do it. It’s not a growl task. It’s a feel-good job.”
When Sims and her daughter went on jobs, she discovered that many of the customers who breathed at home were mothers who breathed a sigh of relief when they realized that they would not be alone with a male employee. Knowing that, and first hand to see what a repair of the trust of trust trust could be, Sims who are committed to bringing more women into the industry.
The total income of the device repair industry achieved an estimated $ 6.3 billion in 2023, but women are less than 3% of the house device repairers, according to data from Consumer affairs.
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Sims decided to collaborate with hiding places to grow the SSG Appliance Academy and offer a viable career path to women there. Although there was a lot of interest, the hiding places did not have the financing to support it. So Sims was approved for subsidies via the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (Wioa).
The financing helps with the program with low incomes, under- or unemployed women and men the program of the SSG Appliance Academy and “turn their lives around,” says Sims.
The classes of SSG Appliance Academy usually register eight to 10 students. The most recent course contained three women. In the past, Sims often had to attend events and convince women to come to class; Now word of mouth helps them to find it yourself, she says.
‘You have to constantly prove yourself [as a woman] In this industry. “
Sims are looking forward to seeing more women benefit from the SSG Appliance Academy, despite the challenges that can come with a woman in space.
‘You have to constantly prove yourself [as a woman] In this industry, and not just for customers, “says Sims.” You have to prove yourself to anyone who works in the industry. “
Sims is also enthusiastic to see more people jumping through the device across the board, and notes that learning a course can help people earn more money than they could get by obtaining a four-year university diploma.
“Equipment repair can really help to change people’s lives,” says the founder.
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“You want to learn your vessel from the inside.”
To other women who are interested in starting their own career or companies in the device repair industry, Sims has simple but essential advice: registering for a program that can help you learn everything you need to know about trade.
“You want to learn your vessel from the inside,” says Sims. “Many technicians on the field now learn at work, so they become partially exchangers because they do not learn how to properly diagnose the devices and solve the problem. So my advice would certainly be to follow a class. It doesn’t have to be my school.”
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Sims notes that there will be enough obstacles along the way, but she encourages everyone who is interested in learning device repair to stay the course – because “it is a very rewarding career and company.”
This article is part of our current Women Entrepreneur® series that emphasizes the stories, challenges and triumphs of running a company as a woman.
Moniqueca Sims, owner of SSG Appliance AcademyGot her first look at the repair industry of devices while he went out with a man who worked in space. “He worked all the time, seven days a week,” Sims remembers, “so I always went out with him to spend time with him. I saw how easy it was for him to repair those devices, and he was repaired quickly.”
Image Credit: Courtesy of SSG Appliance Academy. Moniqueca Sims.
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