Nothing like a few unexpected bends in the road to shock you into finding your way home. Sometimes there’s a subtle change of direction, but if you are like LaurieAnn Campbell, changing gears is more radical.

Recently, she was a thriving business woman in bustling Oakville, heavily active in her city, and president of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce. One day she woke up and found she’d bought an auto repair shop in teeny-tiny Stirling, Ontario (just outside of Belleville), was studying to be a mechanic herself, and had a bunch of goats and a donkey.

The signs were there
Of course, that’s not quite how it went. There are always small signs along the way, even if we aren’t paying attention. LaurieAnn always loved cars—she collected toy cars as a kid—but she loved dolls, too.

Later, she spent nearly two decades in marketing and finance, and those transferable skills gave her leverage to run whatever kind of business she wanted. Most recently, she sold cars and worked as a service advisor for a top company in Oakville. “I was told once that when you work around cars, it’s hard to get out!” she says happily.

Following an exhausting divorce, LaurieAnn wanted some solitude and time away from the city. She really enjoyed working in the auto industry. “I realized I really wanted to own my own garage!” It was serendipitous then that the Stirling garage was up for sale. At 45, LaurieAnn is eager to become a mechanic herself, a process that will take a couple of years. In the meantime, she heads the garage and learns as much as she can.

Easing in as the outsider
It’s idyllic, really—clucking chickens, sprawling green fields, a storybook barn…and Molloy’s Auto Repair. Still, there are daily challenges for a woman outsider.

LaurieAnn wanted her customers to feel comfortable with her, and she knows small town residents don’t generally like change, so one of the first things she did was introduce herself straight up via the town paper. She told everyone right off the bat that the garage had changed hands but that she was keeping the name and the team, helping set the locals at ease.

Adjusting to a “man’s world” and a small town has not been as difficult as one might expect. She does get the odd comment about being a woman in the industry, but nothing she can’t handle. “After all,” she says, “About 50% of my customers are female!”

Importantly, “I believe in working together, men and women,” she says, “for we each have our strengths.” Acknowledging these strengths is key to helping the guys adjust to their new boss.

Fuelled by a desire to learn
LaurieAnn knows they’re showing her the ropes: “My mechanics inspire me because every day I come in and I watch them committed to their work, and to making this all happen. They treat me with respect and we work great as a team. Everything we do here is for our collective benefit. And I love their honesty. It was really important to me to have an auto shop that is honest.” (Molloy’s motto is “Honesty IS our policy.”) LaurieAnn says of her team, “They are also enthusiastic teachers as I pursue auto mechanics courses.”

In the garage and in a new small town “you want to blend in,” she says. Outside of the shop, it’s also important to show others how much you want to be a part of the community, regardless of your work or gender. “I don’t feel the stigma much... I’m a member of the Rotary Club here. You have to start by meeting your neighbours.”

About half a year into her new life, LaurieAnn says she loves the solitude of Stirling and doesn’t miss city life one bit. She loves learning about hobby farming, and most of all, loves being a grease monkey! “I’ve got my steel toe shoes, my uniform, and I’m going to get my hands dirtier,” she says.

It’s worlds away from administration and finance work—sort of. LaurieAnn says those skills have come in handy, but she gets to muck around all day getting greasy instead of suffocating in an office.

Success on her terms
To her, this is what it’s all about. Success is: “wanting to go to work everyday, feeling secure and confident in what you are doing, and being happy…at the end of the day, I want to make sure my employees are paid and able to compensate them further for their efforts and hard work, that the bills are paid… I’m not wanting for much. I love all my animals in the barn, and considering I was brought up in the city, it amazes me how much I absolutely love the combination of business and country life. Everyone needs a good balance in their life. I've finally found mine.”