telling her, âI wanted to start a business making natural ... her dream began to take shape, Carrie realized this was
Carrie Langevin: A natural entrepreneur The door opens and a rugged man steps in, inhales deeply and smiles, “I just came in for a breath of fresh air.” It’s easy to understand why. The store is fresh with the aromas of cedar balsam, sweet grass and blueberries. It’s a far cry from the pre-spring décor of Edmonton. With its dusty roads and grey foliage, everything in the city seems to be laden with the sand and salt that winter has scattered through the city. Store owner Carrie Langevin smiles and chats with her friend, before he reluctantly leaves the small sanctuary. A pot of herbal tea steeps in the back, and as the door closes, a breeze of clean mint rushes forward to join the other aromas. This is a typical day at Mother Earth Essentials.
Carrie Langevin is a born entrepreneur. She’s smart, determined and has an incredible ability to connect with people. Above all Carrie follows her heart, and that takes courage. For most of her life, Carrie wasn’t clear what she wanted to do. Or at least, she wasn’t listening to what her heart was telling her, “I wanted to start a business making natural medicinal products but I thought I would fail.” And so she tucked her dreams away, and the years went by. But things started to change while Carrie was teaching at Amiskwaciy Academy, a school in Edmonton that serves aboriginal youth in the junior to senior high school levels. Carrie explains that she sparked her entrepreneurial spirit back to life by leading sales activities with the students. One day, she took her students to see a garden behind the school and it was then that she realized her dream literally lay at her feet. “I took them to this medicinal garden, which wasn’t being utilized. I could see their excitement when they recognized the plants, and it was amazing to see that. I mean these were some really tough kids who wore their caps backwards and related more to the rap culture than their own.” Carrie says the students had shown little regard for their Aboriginal roots, but their interest in the garden was a glimmer of hope. She planted the garden and taught them to make things from the plants, such as bath salts and teas, which they proudly took home. The results were so encouraging that she was inspired to start her own business. As her dream began to take shape, Carrie realized this was also an opportunity to help change people’s perceptions about Aboriginal people “I thought: This is it – this is how we can start breaking down the stereotypes and showcase the beauty of this culture.”
Today, each product at Mother Earth Essentials has a story card attached to it, to help explain more about the ingredients and Aboriginal culture. “I want people to say wow, this is a really great thing, it’s a positive thing; it’s a beautiful thing.”
When it comes to advice about starting a business, Carrie is quick to say: “Listen to your heart, be yourself and make each day a story worth telling”. Days like the one when she went to the Stoney Nakoda Resort and Casino. It was a blustery day and she’d been driving since the crack of dawn. By the time she arrived, she was tired, frazzled and anxious. None of which was very appealing to her client. “I went flying in there in my yoga pants and a brown bag of samples, and out comes the manager in a business suit, and I thought, uh-oh.” Despite the rocky start, Carrie stayed grounded and the meeting was a success. “I just took that moment to be me, and everything went amazingly well.” It’s her personable approach that makes her so likeable and convincing, even to a den of dragons. In December of 2010, Carrie and her husband Darrell appeared under the fiery hot lights of a TV studio to make a business pitch to such beasts; the ever so savvy business stars of Dragon’s Den. Their products, story and kind hearts, melted the steely business demeanour of the fierce dragons. They respected the couple’s hard work and recognized that they had raised a home grown business to a point that it was ready to meet new opportunities. Although there was no investment offer, the dragons made an offer of a loan and some personal marketing support. It was a fantastic public endorsement of their product and a generous credibility boost for Mother Earth Essentials. The good news story has continued since then, with strong sales and a growing clientele base. This year, Carrie also earned the Aboriginal Woman Entrepreneur of Distinction award from the Alberta Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Mother Earth Essentials was sought out to be featured in a scene from the television series Blackstone, which is filmed in Edmonton and airs on APTN. Perhaps most importantly, Carrie has not lost her passion to promote and preserve traditional Aboriginal culture. To further this, she is moving the store to a new location that has the room to hold Culture Camps, where she will provide traditional activities and Cree lessons. Carrie hopes the positive stories and beauty of the Aboriginal culture will flow like a river, spreading to new places and helping to change the conversation about Aboriginal people. It only seems natural that she will succeed. To learn more about Mother Earth Essentials, visit http://www.motherearthessentials.ca/ To see Carrie and Darrell in action on Dragons Den, go to: http://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/2010/12/episode-10-1.html. Increasing Aboriginal participation in the province’s economy is a priority for the Government of Alberta. To learn more about Aboriginal Economic Partnerships, visit http://www.aboriginal.alberta.ca/509.cfm
