The five most lucrative industries for small businesses

Jillian Edwards didn't know much about cars when she decided to buy Braeside Automotive two years ago but she knew how hard it was to find a good mechanic.

"After a long tedious divorce I eventually got half a house and I thought I'd be better off putting it into a business," she says. "My eldest daughter was an apprentice mechanic for a place that wasn't great and I thought I could do it better."

Edwards teamed up with friend and business partner Cathy Wood to buy the car repair centre in Melbourne's south east and set about trying to offer an alternative for women who Edwards says are sick of being ripped off by mechanics.

"We do it with honesty and integrity," Edwards says. "We don't do anything without a customer's approval, we quote it up and let them know what needs to be done and why it needs to be done in normal terms not in a mechanic’s terms. We give them a price and they might approve or say 'Not this time'. When customers come to pick their car up, if the brake pads are really low we will show them how low it is, so they leave feeling more empowered." Read more

Cara Waters - Brisbane Times - 24 Apr 2018