Self-support successes: ‘I’m not a quitter’
| Friday, Jul 24 2009 06:55 PM
Last Updated Friday, Jul 24 2009 06:55 PM
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Felix Adamo / The Californian Thirteen year old Cameryn Beaman,left, gets help with her math from tutor Natalie Bernardin.
Her mom was skeptical, but Natalie Bernardin’s dad knew she could handle starting her own business.
Father and daughter had worked together at his landscaping business when she was growing up. “I pretty much ran the office,” she said.
That experience provided some confidence when earlier this year Bernardin found herself, new diploma in hand, unable to find a teaching job. So she started StartSmart Tutoring, offering positive reinforcement-heavy lessons to students kindergarten through college. Bernardin’s plucky attitude is carrying her through the slow summer, as are Avon sales on the side.
Even as she continues to look for a regular teaching job, Bernardin plans to keep up the tutoring business. She said it has made her proud of herself.
“Even in this down economy I’m surviving,” she said. “I’m not a quitter.”
