SHE’s happy to help
SHE’s happy to help
Things you expect to find in an auto body shop: paint, engines, scratches, dents and scrapes.
Something you might not expect to find? A female owner.
After years of working behind the scenes in the auto body business and talking it over with her husband, Alfredo, Norma Arroyo opened Bakersfield Napa Collision Center, formerly known as Anew Auto Body and Paint, in 2004.
Norma, 34, runs the shop, and Alfredo, 31, a driver with Foster Farms, helps after work. The couple have four children ranging in age from 1 1/2 to 13 years old.
“At first, it was a lot of hard work,” said Norma. “We would work long hours, like from 6 a.m. to 1 or 2 a.m. the next day. Many times our children would sleep on the couch here.”
Norma is not alone. In 2006, Bakersfield had 6,979 women-owned businesses.
Ross Griego, who’s a consultant for the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and teaches a weekly class for Mission Community Services Corporation to show las mujeres how to start their own successful businesses, said he isn’t surprised women — especially Latina women — are becoming business owners.
“As Latinos, we have an entrepreneurial spirit,” said Griego. “The women in my class have an ‘I can do it’ attitude.”
On average, Bakersfield Napa Collision Center, which employs six individuals, takes five to eight new assignments per week. Currently, Norma works about nine hours a day.
“Some days, we will get 13 assignments or more than 40 a week,” said Alfredo. “We’ve noticed a consistency of cars coming in, too.”
The Arroyos know they’re in a business where they’re seeing people shortly after they’ve been in an accident, so they try to make sure the customer feels as comfortable as possible.
“Sometimes, people come in here scared. They’ve been in an accident and don’t know what to do next,” said Norma. “Others don’t have insurance.”
“Sometimes they aren’t familiar with the required paperwork, or their insurance is not communicating with them,” added Alfredo.
Although there have been clients who’ve snubbed her for being a woman, Norma doesn’t hold any grudges. Most of the time her customers don’t give a second thought to being helped by a female, she said.
“There have been times people will ask for the owner or want to speak to a male for an estimate,” said Norma. “Some customers like working with me, while others like working with my husband. I just take it as a personality preference.”
The Arroyos live in Wasco, but their business is in Bakersfield. Their children either stay with a relative, or come to the shop after school. Tutors help them with homework.
They’re even learning the business ropes.
“My son knows how to do an estimate,” Norma said, like a proud mamá. “They like it here because we have a computer. Sometimes they don’t want to go home after we close. They say, ‘Mom, Dad, can we stay here a little longer?’”
For Norma and Alfredo, working together is positive.
“It has helped us as a couple. I mean, they’re times when we really hate each other (when we disagree on something), but we’ve learned to work together,” said Alfredo with a laugh.
Bakersfield Napa Collision Center
• Bakersfield Napa Collision Center
• 327-0802
• 4101 Buck Owens Blvd.
• Bakersfield, CA 93308
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