BROWNTOWN - Browntown native Becky Boss has spent almost two decades learning the trade of painting and repairing vehicles.
A year ago, Boss decided to bring her skills back home to the Browntown area and fulfilled her dream of owning her own shop. Boss graduated Madison Area Technical College in 1999 with a technical diploma in auto collision repair and refinishing. Since then, she's been employed in Madison working on vehicles.
She has encountered some roadblocks as a female in a field dominated by males.
"Working with men was a real challenge," Boss said. "It hasn't been an easy road."
But she was able to find mentors to help overcome the gender obstacles. Boss said she was lucky to not only learn the necessary steps to work on collision repairs and damaged vehicles but also gain useful tips for dealing with paints and dents. Much of her experience came through trial and error, she said.
Boss didn't start out with a dream to paint cars for a living. At first, she
pursued schooling for physical therapy, but the wait for a clinical program
was too long. A self-described "tomboy" who grew up on a farm dealing with
tractors, Boss decided to switch cars instead.
Now 41, she works in rural Cadiz in her own garage and she keeps plenty busy. She works 12- to 16-hour days fixing dents and creating custom paint jobs. She's also a part-time mail carrier in Monroe and helps her brother on his nearby farm.
But it's worth it to her. Smoothing out silver spots on a white pickup truck, she handles her equipment with ease, slowly pulling the dent outward before sanding down the coarse material in preparation for her favorite brand of paint to cover the marks on the door.
"I always wanted my own shop," Boss said. "I wanted it so I could do things right."
Boss lamented the state of some of the businesses where she has worked, with technicians rushing jobs or telling customers certain dents could not be repaired. She has had customers who have asked whether or not a panel could be saved rather than replaced - when Boss tells them it can be repaired, they've told her stories of other shops reporting the parts could not be saved and then quoting a price beyond what they could afford.
"A lot of people budget their money, and I try to be fair to them," Boss said.
She added that she's not willing to cut corners, even if suggested by the customers.
People will approach Boss for work with paint she considers subpar or materials she cannot be sure will work properly, and she has had to tell them as much. With her reputation on the line and not much free time, she said it is important to stick with the best quality.
"Working at other places has given me a bit of a backbone," Boss said.
A year ago, Boss decided to bring her skills back home to the Browntown area and fulfilled her dream of owning her own shop. Boss graduated Madison Area Technical College in 1999 with a technical diploma in auto collision repair and refinishing. Since then, she's been employed in Madison working on vehicles.
She has encountered some roadblocks as a female in a field dominated by males.
"Working with men was a real challenge," Boss said. "It hasn't been an easy road."
But she was able to find mentors to help overcome the gender obstacles. Boss said she was lucky to not only learn the necessary steps to work on collision repairs and damaged vehicles but also gain useful tips for dealing with paints and dents. Much of her experience came through trial and error, she said.
Boss didn't start out with a dream to paint cars for a living. At first, she
pursued schooling for physical therapy, but the wait for a clinical program
was too long. A self-described "tomboy" who grew up on a farm dealing with
tractors, Boss decided to switch cars instead.
Now 41, she works in rural Cadiz in her own garage and she keeps plenty busy. She works 12- to 16-hour days fixing dents and creating custom paint jobs. She's also a part-time mail carrier in Monroe and helps her brother on his nearby farm.
But it's worth it to her. Smoothing out silver spots on a white pickup truck, she handles her equipment with ease, slowly pulling the dent outward before sanding down the coarse material in preparation for her favorite brand of paint to cover the marks on the door.
"I always wanted my own shop," Boss said. "I wanted it so I could do things right."
Boss lamented the state of some of the businesses where she has worked, with technicians rushing jobs or telling customers certain dents could not be repaired. She has had customers who have asked whether or not a panel could be saved rather than replaced - when Boss tells them it can be repaired, they've told her stories of other shops reporting the parts could not be saved and then quoting a price beyond what they could afford.
"A lot of people budget their money, and I try to be fair to them," Boss said.
She added that she's not willing to cut corners, even if suggested by the customers.
People will approach Boss for work with paint she considers subpar or materials she cannot be sure will work properly, and she has had to tell them as much. With her reputation on the line and not much free time, she said it is important to stick with the best quality.
"Working at other places has given me a bit of a backbone," Boss said.