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Teaching It, Learning It, Doing It!

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Homeschooling Entrepreneurs

                          . . . that are doing it!

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Meet Yannah Cormier, homeschool ‘mom-preneur’ and her family. Yannah started Mere’ Minerals and is doing what she loves, while continuing to home school her children.

 

Can you tell us a little about your beautiful family and your homeschooling adventures?

I am married to an amazing man named Chris. We have three children who are 15,, 11 and 7. I began homeschooling my daughter, who is my youngest, right after Winter Break last year. She had gotten very ill with mono in November and we decided to give it a trial run while she recuperated. My youngest son, who is my middle child, began asking to be homeschooled in March of last year. We started his homeschool journey this year. I use an eclectic approach with homeschooling my daughter - using Horizons for Math, Bob Jones for Grammar, SpellingCity.com for spelling (which is based off the books she is reading for History), Literature based for History, and she does Science with her older brother off of his curriculum. For my son we strictly use SOS, but will be changing that next year as it hasn't worked as well as we had hoped. Our oldest son isn’t homeschooled, but attends the local high school.

 

You said that SOS didn't work out like you hoped...in what way? Have you found something you like better?

SOS was way too much computer time for my son.  He loves being on the computer, but had a really hard time staying focused and reading all the material on the screen.  I went so far as to print out all lessons, quizzes and tests for him, but none of it helped.  We ended up switching to Beyond Five In A Row for history, science, and language arts.  He is now using Saxon for Math and we are supplementing science with God's Design.  We are starting Easy Grammar as well.  He is really loving this mixture and it is working so much better for us.

Have you ever owned or run a business before?

I have been involved in direct sales off and on for the past 14 years. This was our first business to run.

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Tell us a little about your business

Two and a half years ago, I was involved with a new direct sales company. I fell in love with the products, especially the mineral makeup line. In February, 2007, the company filed for bankruptcy. I went on the search for their suppliers so I could continue to use the same mineral makeup line. As I began researching the suppliers, I soon noticed that they all offered wholesale programs for small businesses. After much prayer and discussion with my husband, we decided that this was the perfect opportunity for our family. We officially launched Mere' Minerals in June, 2007. When we first launched, we were getting all of our products from various suppliers. We are now making 75% of our own products and continue to formulate new products each month.

 

How is it doing now?

Mere' Minerals is doing well. We decided to take it slow, so as not to grow too fast that we couldn't keep up with customer service. We are now carried in one local spa and have begun to open up a sales consultant program.(take note, ladies!-H-E) We are still going slowly, but are picking up the pace.

 

Who helped you start your business (if anyone)? Who in your family is involved and what part do they play?

I was blessed to be given various names of suppliers from another company that was no longer operating. That was the biggest help in starting Mere' Minerals. At this point my husband is in charge of the financial aspect, my daughter loves to help create new colors and the boys, well they know more about makeup they would ever want to know. LOL.

 

Can you give us the history of your ‘start-up’? Timeline from idea to receiving  your first dollar?

We decided in February, 2007, to start a small business providing just a few products for some friends. Our first sale was in April, 2007, while the official launch wasn't until June, 2007.

 

How much money did you begin with?

It cost several thousands of dollars to start the business, all

of which came from our savings account. We decided at the beginning that we would be a debt free company.

 

What online services have you used-that you liked...and didn’t like.

I love OsCommerce as my shopping cart and my web hosting company. My web designer was wonderful and very patient with what I was wanting. We originally started out using Microsoft Office Live for our website. It was great for an informational site, but we weren't impressed with using it as a sales site.

 

How do you schedule your busy day? Any time management tips?

I focus on the homeschooling in the mornings and check emails and orders periodically throughout the day. All orders are filled as they come in. My goal is to get all orders out either the same day or the next day.

 

Time management tips, let's see, I have specific times set up for phone calls with clients and potential clients. It is very important to me to not lose the focus on my children until they have accomplished all of their work that they require assistance with. This is really a business that can be fit around any schedule. I do alot of formulating on the weekends and evenings.

 

Looking back, what would you have different?

I would have hired someone to come in and really promote the business online. I would have done fewer craft fairs and focused more on trade shows.

 

What do you like best about having your own business?

The freedom to do things my way while spending my days with my family.

 

Do you have a website? What service did you use? How long did it take you to get it up and running? Did you do it yourself?

Our current website is www.mere-minerals.com   wpc503614b.png

 

We use MidPhase for our webhosting and OsCommerce for our shopping cart. It took a month to get it up and running with a look I was happy with. I did hire a web designer from our church to design it for us. Our first website was through Microsoft Office Live and was an informational site. I designed that one by myself. It has templates and is very easy to maneuver.

 

What advice would you give other families/individuals looking at starting their own business?

The first and most important thing is to find something that you are passionate about. That will make everything worth it all the ups and downs. Find a good business mentor that will help you work through any issues as well as provide accountability. I believe accountability is one of the best ways to keep your business growing. Whatever you do, enjoy yourself and your family.

 

You said that you suggest having a business mentor- do you

have one, if so, who, and how did you find them?

I have one, unofficially.  LOL.  She also owns a mineral makeup company and I bounce ideas off of her.  She is great at encouraging me in all aspects.

 

I think that’s great advice! As HS-Entrepreneurs, our ‘why’ of having our own business is focused around our family, and if we lose sight of that, it’s good to have someone that’s committed to keeping you on track. Sometimes that’s our husbands, a good friend, or even a hired business coach.

 

Update:

At our last contact, Mere Minerals is growing by leaps and bounds. Wisely, Yannah is working at controlling her rate of growth to maintain the quality and integrity of her company. That might seem crazy to some entrepreneurs that are desperate for growth, but read the story of Entrepreneur Magazine’s 2007 Woman of the Year, Maureen Kelly and the difficult decisions she had to make with Tarte Cosmetics to get to where she is today!

Keep your eye out for this up & coming company, Mere Minerals!

 

With her husband being one of her biggest encouragers and support, Yannah’s business is doing more than just adding to the family’s bank account, she’s modeling solid business principles and the entrepreneurial mindset to her children. Because most adults will tell you that as a child, they caught far more than they were taught!

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