The businesswoman Keyla Barros, aged 44, established an automotive aesthetics company with over 180 employees after living in Ireland to work as a cleaner and settle financial debts. Upon returning to Brazil, she inaugurated a business that serves both consumers seeking automotive services and corporate entities in the sector interested in optimizing management and boosting their ventures' performance.
In an interview with g1, Keyla revealed that before going to Europe, she was studying Physical Education at a private university and worked as an intern and referee for handball and basketball in local competitions. In 2003, the businesswoman moved to Ireland with the goal of working and paying off her debts. There, she started her journey in a supermarket, where she progressed within the company.
She recounted: «I was promoted in the same place to merchandise stocker. That's where my trajectory began there, between studying and achieving new challenges within the supermarket itself. I also worked as a bartender and in a pizzeria after work. I worked 15 hours a day».
Keyla mentioned that the experience of managing a restaurant in Anápolis provided her with contact with various influential people who were crucial to her professional ascent. She emphasized: “Through the restaurant, I met several important people in Anápolis because, after all, it's a small town and the surname meant a lot back then. I came from the periphery, so I wasn't known; that opened doors for me and still does today.”
When launching her first car wash, she utilized the contacts made while managing the restaurant, including directors and managers from vehicle dealerships. «I would contact them to have them wash their cars with me, and that's where it all started... In 2011, I bought the first car wash, and in October 2012, I joined Saga Hyundai in Anápolis,» she recalled.
Currently, the company offers automotive aesthetics services, such as technical washing, film application, and paint protection, in addition to product sales, serving both dealerships and private clients. «We are present in more than 30 dealerships in Goiás, DF, and Uberlândia, and we are opening traditional car wash units in Uberlândia and an autonomous washing system in Goiânia,» she informed. Keyla's business is established in four cities in Goiás—Goiânia, Anápolis, Aparecida, and Goianésia—in addition to Brasília (DF) and Uberlândia (MG).
