SUMMERDALE, Ala. — Watching the way her dad treated customers at his auto parts store while growing up and her own teaching experience has proved to be a winning combination in making Teacher’s Gear, a parent-teacher supply store, owned by Jan Houser, a thriving success.

Starting off in a small building at the Summerdale Flea Market in 1998, Houser was “just getting my feet wet” and found the location to be a great place to start out and by the fourth or fifth year of business had established a steady client base and was experiencing growing pains.

So, in 2003, Houser moved to a bigger building just a few miles down the road but still on Highway 59 in Summerdale where she has managed to create a friendly environment for parents and teachers who come in search of a myriad of school supplies and resources

“I don’t want to be a Walmart or a Target. I want to keep the ‘mom and pop’ charm of a small store and get to know my customers and what their needs are. Try to help them the best I can,” Houser said.

This notion for a parent-teacher store was born out of Houser’s own frustration at not being able to find what she needed for her own classroom while teaching Middle School Math/Science at Saint Benedict’s Catholic School in Elberta for seven years.

“I would go to Walmart, but most of the time they wouldn’t have the supplies or specialty items I needed to help my students learn better and I would end up having to do something different and it got to be very frustrating, so I decided to open my own store and carry all the things I could never find,” Houser commented.

Born and raised in Atmore, Houser received her B.S. degree in math education from the University of South Alabama in 1988 and after teaching in Conechuh County for a year, moved to Baldwin County with her husband, Morty, and children Grant and Aaron.

And so with her teaching experience and business skills learned from her dad, Houser embarked on a journey that has proved to be very successful. Her store, with its’ bright yellow walls and motivating posters hanging from the walls, make customers feel at home the moment they walk in the door.

“My store is more than just customers coming in and looking around. I want to get to know them on a personal level and try to find out what their needs are and meet them. I want to treat them like family. I see my role as trying to pass along information and find special things for them. Be a listening ear for them,” Houser said.

Because there is a healthy mix of parents and teachers who come in, Houser refers to it as a “parent-teacher” store and she prides herself on being able to help parents figure out what kind of project materials they need or what would make homework easier.

And in the same vien, her own teaching experience has been useful in helping teachers find just the right resources for their classrooms. Houser goes the extra mile by knowing her customers by name and making sure they feel like they’ve been helped and satisfied with their merchandise.

“I am so thankful to my customers for keeping me in business and want to do everything I can to keep them coming back. I don’t measure success by money or how many degrees you have but in how I have been able to help someone in need. Feeling like a part of the community and being a part of something bigger. I consider this business my ministry, my way of giving back,” Houser commented.

Another facet of Teacher’s Gear is the homeschool community. Houser said this is a fast growing market and does her part in promoting it by consigning homeschool materials out of her store. “There are four homeschool groups in the county and two of them I know have 100-plus families involved, but I’m sure there are more I don’t know about.”

One of the reasons Houser gives for the growth of home schooling are families being more mobile and moving around a lot. “This is very advantageous for these families and gives more structure at home.”

Another reason may be medical or special needs in nature and a home environment would be more conducive to the needs of the child or family, Houser said, and also because of the multicultural society we live in today, there are many religious issues that would entice a family to homeschool their children.

Houser is also employing the use of technology in promoting her business with a Facebook page. “I am trying to keep in touch with my clients and provide links to various resources and product pages for them. I am also considering couponing options and flyers on the internet. Trying to do my part to be more environmentally friendly.”

For more info on Teacher’s Gear, contact Jan at (251) 989-2122.