We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Meredith Coleman Mcgee a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Meredith Coleman thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the story of how you went from this being just an idea to making it into something real.

Going from Business Idea to Execution:

I launched my oldest existing business, Typing Solutions Résumés & Etc, 22 years ago on January 3, 2003. I owned a convenience store from 1988 to 1994. I worked in the non-profit section from 1994 to 2002. During that time, I was laid off in 1998 after my late husband William E. McGee Jr. and I purchased a new home, and I was laid off again after I purchased a new car.

After two layoffs in just four years, I told my former co-worker Myra Bryant I planned to start a business. She said, “Meredith if you plan to start a business you should start a writing service because that’s what you’re good at.”

I immediately liked Myra’s idea because I had published the company newsletter, assisted with grants, business reports, etc., and I was a contributing writer for The Jackson Advocate newspaper. I discussed my idea with my family.

When we returned home, I heard about the Small Business Development Center at Jackson State University. I started attending the sessions. My business counselor was Larry Ward. He was impressed that I wrote my business plan narrative so quickly. I launched my new business the following January from my home office. Within months of my launch, I was obtaining typing customers from a library flyer and Larry Ward started sending me clients who needed someone to write their business plan narratives. Mr. Ward prepared business plan financials for business clients; but he and the other counselors did not write the narratives. 

Launching a home-based business proved less risky than operating a store front. Business trends have shifted over the years. More people own computers and have Wi-Fi access at home these days. So, fewer people need manuscripts, letters, and papers typed. Eventually, I added printing services. However, online printing has become a new trend. When Mr. Ward stopped working at the Center, business plan writing declined. However, I obtain word of mouth referrals for business services. I have an online presence too. Thankfully, resumes, cover letters, and professional writing are still demanded. 

My second business, Meredith Etc, which is a small press, grew out of a manuscript typing referral. Willa Womack, the owner of Classic Printing in the Historic Farish Street District gave me a typing job referral which turned into a four-year writing assignment. That writing and research assignment turned into my first book Married to Sin, a memoir about Darlene D. Collier. 

In 2011, I wrote query letters and book proposals and submitted the documents to mid-sized university presses. After we received the sixth letter of rejection, Mrs. Collier suggested we form a publishing company. My response was “Publishing Company?” I drafted the partnership agreement, obtained our EIN, and our sales tax information. Mrs. Darlene and I started Mose Dantzler Press in 2011. The brother of a friend of mine Mily Trevino Sauceda translated “Married to Sin” into Spanish “Casada Al Pecado.” However, after I acquired two manuscripts, Mrs. Darlene did not want to publish the manuscripts. So, I launched a new company – Meredith Etc. 

I dreamed of becoming a published author when I was 24 years old. I purchased how to books which teach aspiring authors how to write query letters and how to get an agent, etc. I had never in my wildest dreams considered that I would become a book publisher, But here I am. I am an acquisition editor and a book publisher. I have produced 38 books by 22 authors. Two books are forthcoming, bringing the book count to 40 and adding another author: 23 to the catalogue. 

The idea for my two main businesses was not my idea. Well, business should become profitable, Although, it was not my idea to start my two most important business ventures, I started. I stayed on the course, and I love what I do. 

Over the years, I was able to put my own ideas into practice. For example, I had the idea of creating a family savings club in 1996. In August of 1997, that idea became Heirs United Investment Club. This business was launched with 11 family members and one family friend. I purchased “Starting and Running a Profitable Investment Club in 1997. Then, I drafted the partnership agreement and my Uncle Arthur Claudell Meredith, and I set up the bookkeeping system and prepared the general partnership taxes. 

I also had an idea to create a new book market for local authors. Six authors embraced that idea. In 2018, we launched the Jackson Book Festival. I initiated the Jackson Book Festival Poetry Contest which I have kept going. So far, I have hosted 12 Jackson Book Festival Poetry Contest providing a space for novus writing including dozens of youth writers. I chair Community Library Mississippi, which is the mother company of the Jackson Book Festival, the Learning Tree Book Club, a speaking series, reading fairs, and the annual Holiday Book Festival which includes a Spelling Bee.

A business idea is a dream. Dreams come true. Business plans have operations. Operations include budgets, products, services, personnel, management, risk factors, and break-even analysis. When all is considered, a business is launched. 

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Meredith Coleman McGee’s works, brands, and services: 

Meredith Coleman McGee is a résumé writer, a poet, book publisher, acquisition editor, book collector, literacy advocate, and a lecturer. She is the author of six full-length and seven children’s books. She is a book publisher, who has produced 38 books by 22 authors. Lastly, she chairs a non-profit, Community Library Mississippi. 

First, as a professional writer, she solves various client needs. If one needs a handwritten manuscript typed, she can type it. She drafts book proposals for clients seeking to submit manuscripts to mid-sized or large publishing houses. She types deeds, wills, and other legal documents ‘as is.’ 

She updates résumés, curriculum vitas, and writes entry level résumés from scratch for clients with trade and college degrees who are entering the job market. 

As an acquisition editor of a small publishing house, McGee acquires manuscripts and guide authors into their book launch and the marketing process. 

As an author and poet, she presents her works via book readings and book talks to the public at libraries, book fairs, festivals, and vendor expos. Her books are historically charged and entertaining; while other works enlighten as well as educate readers. 

As a writing coach, McGee provides writing instruction and helps writers improve their writing skills.

As the chair of Community Library Mississippi, she hosts virtual monthly book club meetings, organizes the Jackson Book Festival, the Jackson Book Festival Poetry Contest, the speaking series, reading fairs, the Holiday Book Festival, and more. She manages family-friendly stages for intellectuals and writers of all ages.

“I am proud that I took the time to learn and to grow professionally. I have been self-taught on many levels through self-study. When we started Heirs United Investment Club, I was financially illiterate. Over the years, I developed financial trainings and train the membership,” McGee declared.

McGee is also proud to have written “James Meredith: Warrior and the America that created him,” a biography of her famous Uncle James H. Meredith, who broke the Jim Crow long-term standing  which provided Blacks from pursuing higher learning opportunities by attending the University of Mississippi, September 30, 1962. The biography is her biggest work. It is classified a textbook and is in the international marketplace. She is also proud to have written a biography “Billie Holiday: Jazz Singer” on Billie Holiday, who became the defining voice in jazz at age 18 in 1933. Lastly, she is proud to mentor youth poets and writers. 

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

When I launched my typing and résumé service, I already had a home office equipped with a computer, printer, fax machine, and a desk. In addition, I had a bookshelf full of business and writing resources.

I started small with limited capital. I added equipment such as a commercial printer, a business card cutter, a commercial stapler for programs, and a paper cutter as my client base grew and as discretionary funds become available.

The book inventory is stocked based on supply and demand. The company has promotional stands, display stands, tablecloths, carts, etc.

Community Library Mississippi also has promotional products like display stands, apparel, coffee mugs.

Each entity has webpages, social media sites, virtual event pages, and logos.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The goals and mission driving my creative journey:

I became a published author at age 48. This was a brand-new field. One of my key professional goals is making a living solely from my writing skills. I have found niche markets from serving as a newspaper contributing writer to becoming the writing coach for instructors at the Emerge Training Center in Long Beach, Mississippi.

Secondly, my goal is to increase the market share of my 13 books and for the 38 titles housed by Meredith Etc.
Thirdly, having the experiences of Black writers, female writers, and unknown authors available and valued by readers from all levels of society who live in all corners of the world will be icing on the cake.

Lastly, the mission of Community Library Mississippi is to create community library spaces which are technically reading rooms and spaces controlled by local parents and grandparents to promote literacy and learning spaces for neighborhood residents.

In 1490, every Moorish household in Spain maintained a personal library. The church facilitated libraries and learning in the 19th century. Mississippi Writer Ida B. Well-Barnett (1862-1931) maintained a community library and social programs from her home on the south side of Chicago.

Space does not have to be grand in scale to inspire, to spur progress, or to be impactful. Meredith Etc published two books in 2013. To go from two to 40 in 12 years is progress. To have books downloaded in Japan monthly is impactful. A poetry contest that goes from a stage for exploration into a full career is inspiration at its finest. How about that?

Contact Info:

• Website: www.meredithetc.com; www.typingsolutions.biz
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meredithetcdotcom/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meredith.mcgee.31/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredith-mcgee-76aa8b4/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/meredithetc
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MeredithCMcGeeAUTHOR
• Other: https://www.facebook.com/Meredithetc; https://www.facebook.com/community.library.ms; https://www.facebook.com/jacksonbookfestival; https://www.facebook.com/biojames.h.meredith

Image Credits

Meredith in white shirt seated at her kitchen table autographing book at Billie Holiday: Jazz Singer book release party Jan. 2024.
Meredith holding book at the podium Eudora Welty Library, Author Event, Jackson, MS in 2013
Meredith standing beside a male signing book at table in the church dining hall of Farish St. Baptist Church, Jackson, MS Feb. 2024
Meredith posing by Billie Holiday: Jazz Singer book display at Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Metairie, LA in July 2024
Meredith Coleman McGee standing by car in her yard in a Juneteenth dress June 2023.
Student, Martha L.V. Pavon, holding painting she drew of the James Meredith: Warrior and the America that created him book and presented to Meredith Coleman McGee in black suit at O’Bannon H.S. in Greenville, Mississippi Feb. 2014
Meredith arms stretched outward in front of sign announcing her speech at Church in Melbourne, FL Sept. 2014
BernNadette Stanis, aka Thelma, Good Times, and Meredith Coleman McGee July 2024 at Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS
Meredith Coleman McGee, holding “Nashida: Visits the Smith Robertson Museum” and youth at the Mississippi State Capital, Jackson, MS, Jan. 2024
Profile picture of Meredith Coleman McGee in the Mendenhall Public Library in front of the bookshelf 2023.