Amigo Mobility International - Healthcare: eLibrary

Turning Passion Into a Business
Friendly Wheels, Issue 20

From teaching at a rehab center to singing at an international choral festival in Israel to opening her own business - Amigo owner Mimi Hiller hasn't let anything in life slow her down.

After a car accident in 1978, Mimi was barely able to walk, but she says "There is a way to do anything you want to do, you just have to try."

Cookbooks Plus opened in 2004 when Mimi decided to turn her passion of collecting cookbooks into a business. When first starting out, she just sold cookbooks, but soon grew to sell a variety of books for home and family, such as gardening, crafts, art, photography, pets, home improvement/decorating, collectibles & history, plus a large variety of nifty kitchen tools.

Located near the corner of Main and Market Streets in Old Town Newhall (24267 Main Street), Santa Clarita, Calif., Mimi also has a Web site for her store, www.CookbooksPlus.com, where anyone anywhere in the world can shop.

She works at the store full time, with the help of Barbara Contreras, who has worked with her since the first few months of the store's opening.

For people who are interested in starting their own business, Mimi says "Just do whatever it is that is required to make your business a success. Make sure that you can do everything that is required or have someone that is reliable that can help you. Think outside your disability and your customers will, too."

Mimi and her husband JB moved to California in 1984, and arrived in Los Angeles during the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Olympics. Before relocating to California, Mimi and her husband lived in Maryland where she taught at a state rehab center that handled many different types of disabilities.

While Mimi was teaching at the rehab center, one of her students had an Amigo that she tried. She liked it so much, she bought one and became an Amigo owner for the first time in 1983.

"I learned so much from my students while teaching. People always wanted to try out my Amigo, and one time one of my students asked if he could try my Amigo - the only problem was that this man was blind! I let him try the Amigo anyway.

"I learned that if you can't laugh at yourself, if you can't shrug off the pity, then other people won't be able to shrug it off either. We made light of things, being that the kids had all different kinds of disabilities, they learned to help each other and work together. You have to ask for help, and that is OK. It was a beautiful world in that classroom."

Currently on her second Amigo, Mimi says "My Amigo goes with me wherever I go, even to different countries. In 1992, I was singing with a choir as part of an international choral festival. I made all of my preparations ahead of time. I went to my local dealer and rented a special converter for the battery charger. The first time I used it in Israel, we plugged it in and smoke started to pour out of it. We were running all over to find someone to help me. Finally, we found a tiny hole-in-the-wall store in the middle of Jerusalem, and the problem was fixed. A tip for travelers: If you contact the embassy, most of them will send you information about getting around with disabilities. Another tip - make sure you have the right type of converter!"

Mimi's family has always been supportive of her endeavors and were her biggest cheerleaders when she opened Cookbooks Plus. Her husband is also a singer. They met as music teachers while teaching at the same school in Baltimore. He sings with the Jewish LA Zimriyah Chorale in L.A. Mimi has been singing with the Santa Clarita Master Chorale since 1999. They have three grown children- Adam, Jennifer and April.

"I love my Amigo, and when I ride around in it, people always come up and say that would be a nice way to get around, or that it looks like fun. They never say that to a regular wheelchair user."

After Mimi Hiller was hit by a car in 1978, her life changed dramatically. But Mimi says "I took a day to cry and feel sorry for myself, then I spent the rest of my life living in spite of it."

Mimi has done more than live with it - she has been thriving.