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NOVA Driving’s Turnaround 

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By Migdalis Perez, Negocios Now-

Coronavirus’ impact on small businesses forced Mayra Khan to park her cars, but it didn’t slow her down at all. 

The CEO of NOVA Driving School quickly revved up the engine of creativity and launched a temporary business model that is giving the COVID-19 a run: online driving classes with live instructors.

“In Illinois we were the first in our industry, to offer live classes on the web with classroom teachers. We also put materials and tests online for all students to register immediately. We did it in a matter of one day and that is what has saved us,” acknowledges the executive.

Khan recalls that when the coronavirus epidemic began, her first thought was, “Now what do we do?” Because, logically, they were forced to close. “We had to park our 27 cars; cars that were rolling. And we also had to watch over the health of our instructors and teachers. ”

So, respecting the preventive guidelines of social distancing, “we sanitized all of our locations and closed them up; we took telephones and computers home and, began to work on the telephone, the Internet, e-mails… All of this was implemented immediately because we could not stop our business either .”

With 39 employees on its payroll, NOVA Driving School now offers driving classes through webinars for both adults and teens. “For teenagers, we are doing the courses required by the state of Illinois, and we are also offering online courses which upon completion qualify drivers for discounts on insurance.”

Considering that her business depends on the Secretary of State for driving licenses, Khan points out that, when the Department of Motor Vehicles opens, NOVA will be fully occupied with people who have already passed their courses. 

When that time comes, she adds, “We are going to have to look for alternatives or make a division in our cars between the driver and the teacher. We have to come up with a way, maybe masks like doctors’ for teachers to wear. And the students are going to have to come with masks because I don’t think they are going to find a cure for the virus right now. ”

The businesswoman of Ecuadorian origin, who recently obtained a loan from the Paycheck Protection Program, concludes that they are already buying masks and gloves for when they return to regular classes, so the instructors “will be able to do their job,” not without stopping to “wash their hands. and clean everything with bleach, because from now on, that is going to be our new normal until they find a vaccine. ”