Hello welcome to my space.
I’m you are here. in this post i will be sharing a little about my journey.
My name is Marie Esther Teme , originally from Cameroon, I move to Vermont in July 2018.
I’m an entrepreneur. Green Vision Cleansing is the name of my first business. Green Vision Cleansing was created in December 20219. Green Vision Cleansing is a 100% green cleaning business designed for families who value eco-friendly cleaning and are looking for someone to support their busy family with a regular cleaning schedule. The uniqueness of Green Vision Cleansing is that , I makes my own cleaning solutions that my team and I use at our clients’ houses.
The cleaning solutions are made with pure essential oils, which have been proven to kill bacteria in addition to offering therapeutic and purifying results in the home.
My education background is a little diverse. I earned a bachelor degree in bilingual studies (English and French), an MBA in international management, and a certification in project management by the PMI and lastly I have earned a certificate in business plan writing at Women Small Business Program offered by Mercy Connections.
Facing the giant (fear)
I have always wanted to start my own business, but I never imagined myself running a cleaning business; and here I am in Vermont cleaning.
Before embracing the idea of starting a green cleaning business I faced a lot of inner battles.
I was preoccupied by what my family would say. They were expecting me to work as a manager in a multinational company, or as a project manager somewhere. As any African family would expect after spending money on their child to get educated. The pattern is usually to study hard to be the best and tomorrow you will get a good job. A good job is not only one that pays well but also one that gives a kind of prestige.
I battled with the idea for several weeks, the more I thought about it the more I prayed against it. Until the day I decided to give it a try. I started doing some research in the cleaning industry in the United States. All of a sudden I fell in love with the green cleaning niche. I was convinced that is the right thing to do.
Besides my inner battles, I also had to face my family and friends. I remember one day when I told my aunt, one of the documents I was waiting for came out. Her reply was “ that’s nice now you can get a decent job.” I told her I’m not looking for a decent job,” I’m growing my cleaning business”. Of course she was disappointed but when I make up my mind for something I can not be discouraged.
Everybody thought I was crazy, how in the world someone with an MBA and a global certification in project management becomes a cleaner. but I didn’t care. I had my vision and I knew what I was doing. Today Green Vision Cleansing is employing 10 full time people.
In August 2021 thanks to my business and my contribution in the community I was awarded Vermont Rising Start by the Vermont Business Magazine.
In 2020 I was awarded Emerging leader of the year 2020 by the eWomen Foundation.
Emerging leader Award Ceremony 2022
Vermont Rising start Award class of 2021
My Vision
Growing up, I always said “I will be a big woman and change some things in the world”. I want to dedicate my life to helping orphaned children. That is why I want to build an orphanage and a school to help orphaned children develop their god-given talent and turn them into businesses. I realized as an orphan myself, I did not have some privileges and I felt like life isn’t fair. But as I matured I learned that we can be whoever we want to be with or without our parents. And this is my message to the orphaned children. Our parents give us life but they don’t determine our destinies. So even if they are not here we can still accomplish our purpose.
Mercy Connections my angel
The biggest challenge that I had after having the conviction that I’m going to create my cleaning company was that I did not know the environment. Back then I had been in the US and in Vermont only for a year. So I had no mastery of my environment . I first discovered SCORE and I was lucky to find a mentor in Burlington. David Mount, He was very welcoming and available to help me. We used to have 1 hour of work once a week. I will come share with him my strategies and ideas then he will tell me what can work here and what can not work. and gives some ideas based on his experience.
One Friday on my research I found Mercy Connections. I read everything on their website. about the Women Small Business Program. And it was exactly what I needed. I emailed them and the next Monday I got a reply from Lisa, the former Director of the WSBP. She gave me all the information I needed. And I was planning to save some money and enroll in the program in fall 2019.
Unfortunately, despite my hard work and determination I still couldn’t pay for the program.
When the time came for the class to start , Lisa emailed me, informing me that the program was starting. Am I still interested? I told her I was interested but I don’t have the money to pay for the program. She told me to go to their location for the interview. I when I presented my business idea. She liked the concept but I could not pay for the program. That day she told me Mercy Connections will offer me a partial scholarship and I will choose a payment plan that fits me to pay the other half. WOW !!!!! For me that was a sign that God is really with me in this adventure. I started attending class very excited.
A few weeks later I went to Lisa’s office to know how and when I can start paying, she told me not to worry about the payment Mercy Connections is giving me a full scholarship. I was like “nooo”. I was happy and saw again that it was a sign that God is with, and all my prayers are being answered. Everything changed on my business that day. My connection with Mercy Connection was just what I needed.
Mercy Connection played a significant role in my journey as a business owner in Vermont. Besides the market research, all the technical knowledge and the good business practices, I learned through the program I got what I needed the most: the understanding of the system and the CONNECTIONS.
No matter how great your product or service is, if nobody knows and trusts you, you cannot sell. And from my personal observation, people in Vermont buy what their friends buy. The referral marketing works best in Vermont more than anything else. Mercy Connection to me, was an opened door to the Burlington and Vermont community.
Being at Mercy everyone was helping me, the instructors and the other women that were taking the same class advised me to join Facebook groups where I can share about my business, they will suggest some networking meetings, like the Vermont Womenpreneurs. I will go to coffee time to meet new people and share about my business. making great connections with other women.
The more I connected with people the more my network was growing. Mercy Connections really planted the seed, and that seed was watered by me, and it grew until today we can see the fruits. Mercy Connections trusted in my vision and my determination when there was not even a sign of success in me. I had nothing when I started my business, the only thing I had was a heart full of faith and passion for my vision.
I remember my first official job; I did not have anything, not even a mop. I cut one of my towels and was using it to scrub the floor. I didn’t even have the pure essential oils. That day I had $50. I bought some paper towels, a synthetic oil, and flowers for my customers. At Green Vision Cleansing first time customers get flowers. That job paid $250.
I was very happy to see the name Green Vision Cleansing written on a check. I was excited. When I was going home, I felt like flying. And that was the beginning of a story full of challenges, determination, and hope.