Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Talena Handley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Talena, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?
This is a weird question in a way, because honestly, I don’t want to be remembered, personally, other than for my generosity and kindness. I do want my business, Girlie Garage, to be remembered for positively impacting millions of lives. I want women to feel confident, which will cause a shift in automotive. Women deserve to have the resources they need, to get their vehicles repaired fairly and honestly. Having your vehicle maintained regularly creates safer and more confident drivers and communities. I want to be an industry leader in creating this shift.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I don’t trust anyone, which is why I went to school to be a mechanic. When my Honda Civic was stolen for the second time, I didn’t trust anyone to put it back together. I also didn’t want to turn to my ex for help. I put myself through automotive school at a local community college because I wanted the knowledge for myself (I never really wanted to graduate and work on a lube rack, or go work as a mechanic for someone else). Instead, I ended up working in racing, and had the opportunity to travel the U.S. and Canada flying out to races. Years later, I ended up back in automotive (falling back on my education), working in parts at Porsche. I worked my way up the food chain there before deciding to go back to school for a Bachelor’s degree in Business.
Girlie Garage was born during Covid. I was bored at home and tinkering on my own vehicles when one of my friends called me. She knew about my automotive background when she told me that she just got her oil changed, and they said that her brakes were metal-to-metal and she needed spark plugs and it was going to cost $2500. She used that vehicle to carry her kids and the shop was using scare tactics to insist that the repairs be performed right away. When she brought her car to me, we inspected her brakes, she needed brake pads, but not rotors. She learned to change them herself (with my oversight), and we also changed her spark plugs. All of that was less than $300 and I realized I needed to be using my skills to help people.
Girlie Garage’s mission is to make women safer and more confident on the road. You do not have to know how to DIY car projects, although learning is an option. It is always a good idea to determine what goes into a repair, as many of them you can do yourself with few to no tools. I do my best to teach those who are up for the challenge, with free resources on YouTube. Honestly, you just need the right language and resources in order to know if someone is honest or if they are full of BS. If you can weed through that, then you can have your car fixed and maintained regularly. Without all the anxiety of visiting mechanics looming over us, we have regular maintenance performed, which makes us safer and therefore, our communities safer.
Girlie Garage won the Woman Owned Business of the Year award from the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce in 2022. This was a big accomplishment to be recognized by the community for the work that is put in every day to make our community safer and more confident on the road.
I also provide automotive consulting, so if you need a second opinion on an autoshop quote, I can provide one for you while you are sitting in the parking lot (or once you’ve made it home). I can also help with buying used cars. There are so many things that became digital with Covid that it’s amazing to realize you have access to professionals all in the palm of your hand (with your phone). Girlie Garage is your automotive ally.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
I think it’s important to be as lean as possible for as long as necessary. There are so many things that you can determine if you have a product/market fit by selling them before you build them. Before you spend your $$ or your time (which is $$) always ask if there are resources that can help solve your problem for free that are reasonable.
I have bootstrapped my business. I started with some basic tools and have purchased other tools I’ve needed along the way. Testing market fit is interesting. There are so many assumptions I have made that have been proved “wrong” that if I had spent money, I would have lost money.
I also use all the resources in my community. I use the local college students for design, marketing, business, legal, and more. They need the life experience, and I have the time to invest in them. There are many business incubators and accelerators to help in understanding business financials and in finding mentorship. I use third party online resources, and lately AI when necessary or useful. Have to keep a scrappy mentality to always be finding ways to make it work regardless of financial speed bumps.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I have had to unlearn and relearn how to communicate with humans. By nature, I have an incredibly direct form of communication, and many people receive that at brash, or rude. I am constantly learning how I operate and therefore how I operate with others in a way to communicate so that it is best received.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.girliegarage.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/girliegarage/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GirlieGarage1/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/girlie-garage/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/girliegarage
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@girliegarage