Gülcan Kırk: A car wash and application expert!
Have you ever called a professional from out of town to wash your car? Here is Gülcan Kırk, the woman who makes those kilometers and makes a difference with her work; a car wash and application expert!
“I will do this job and shake Antakya,” she set out, but Antakya is not the only place she has made an impact.
Gülcan Kırk started selling clothes in the market at the age of 10. She wanted to buy what she wanted and make a difference. She left the house saying “I’m going to the library” and started going to the stall in the market; she was already a hardworking student and no one noticed this loophole.
After graduating from high school, she continued her working life in a department store, first as a clerk, then as a store manager and then as a store partner. Her dream was to start her own business and she needed capital.
“I always wanted to make a difference. A woman doing what men do, it’s a great feeling! I made a difference.”
When she gave her car to the car wash and got it back, she was not satisfied with the cleanliness, she said there was a need for someone to do it properly and rolled up her sleeves. She only had enough space to wash two cars when she opened the shop. The people around her gave her three months! Gülcan heard the words “This kokona, a well-groomed woman with long fingernails will wash the cars, it’s not possible”. Now she is in her fifth year in business.
“I broke people’s prejudices. They say women can’t do it; I drove a semi, I drove a truck, I did it all because of this job.”
When she opened her workplace, she advertised her work and customer satisfaction. Those who saw Gülcan on the road, who started to be recognized with the posts on her Instagram account, said “God bless you, we are behind you” and brought their cars to wash the next day. At the end of the first year and a half, with the support of her good work and the posts on her Instagram account, she started to give appointments to customers days later.
“I lost everything I had worked for overnight.”
She was doing her application work such as polishing and coating at night, and on the night of February 6, she was not in her shop by coincidence. She lost her shop with all the equipment in it in the earthquake. She went to Mersin with her 19 cats. She started working in the same business there, but the calls from her customers and her longing for Hatay prevented her from staying away.
“I was walking on the beach in Mersin, how beautiful! But I was not at peace. I said, ‘Gülcan, you should go. You belong there, even if it is ruined. You must do something for it. You can’t leave it because it’s ruined. You can’t throw an item away because it’s broken, you try to fix it.’ We are trying to develop as tradesmen, we are trying to be useful.”
Meeting Mavikalem!
She went back to Hatay. But she had no materials or equipment. A friend of hers showed her MaviKalem’s PPP application and said, “No way, I don’t have that chance,” but with her friend’s insistence, she applied for the project.
“No shop, no equipment, I was zero! Shortly after my application, MaviKalem called me. I was shocked. We had meetings and I was bought materials when I was zero. There were renovations, no plumbing, but my machines arrived. Every morning when I turn on the machine, I pray to you. Thanks to you, I was able to start my business again.”
Slowly she got her business back on its feet. Now she still carries out car wash and application works in Antakya.
“A woman can do anything if she wants to. We women should not have the phrases “I can’t do this, I can’t do that” in our vocabulary, not in mine. I say to my fellow women, ‘Don’t be afraid! Stand up, there is nothing women cannot do.’ Let them do everything they want to do. Don’t look back, do we always look in the rearview mirror when we drive? Yes, we will look back sometimes to check, but our eyes should always be in front.
Women should never be afraid, there is me, there is MaviKalem, they should not be afraid.”
You can find Gülcan Kırk’s works and contact information on her Instagram account: