Taking Care of Business:Cheryl Miller

Last week, I wrote about Kevin Miller, who started his own business (Kevin Miller Financial Services) after a successful 17 year pro hockey career. Kevin isn't the only entrepreneur in the family however. Kevin's wife Cheryl is the co-owner/co-creator of Rock N Go.
In their own words, Rock N Go LLC is a collection of vibrant, hip, musically relevant all-inclusive and mobile products designed to combine teaching with music. Their math products utilize 11 musical genres in their original songs.
Cheryl told me that Rock N Go was actually developed out of frustration with other products. Cheryl said, "I have four daughters and spend a lot of time driving to activities. I decided there had to be a better use of the driving time. I ordered some educational music that my children did not like because it was boring. At the time I was running every day with my business partner Heather Lewis, who is a school teacher and a musician. We discussed the concept on our daily runs until we felt we could create original and fun educational music and workbooks that would fill a unique niche in the marketplace."
I had to ask why both Cheryl and Kevin embarked on new businesses instead of taking it easy after the hectic pace of 17 years of pro hockey. Cheryl said, "We are both excited to pursue our careers. I received a BS at MSU in Engineering Arts and a Masters in Finance and Marketing with emphasis on Entrepreneurship at Washington University in St. Louis. It was difficult to work when we moved so often, so now that we are settled, I can pursue my career again." Rock N Go is off to a great start. The first year, they won two national awards: The National Parenting Center Seal of Approval 2009" and "Creative Child Seal of Excellence 2009".
The great start has encouraged them to expand a bit. They are finishing development of "Major Multiplication" and "Dominate Division", which they would like to launch in the fall. Other topics like spelling, grammar and science are possibilities for future development.
One area which probably won't see expansion is video. Cheryl states, "The concept behind Rock N Go is that children can be educated anywhere with just a cd player or an Ipod." As a kid who grew up on School House Rock, I really like Rock N Go for that reason.
Their music is so good, children will want to play it again and again (and it won't drive adults crazy). It is also versatile. As Cheryl said, "It can be used as an all-inclusive educational package or just as background music."
Combining the pull of a good song with the versatility of the program makes Rock N Go great for improving the education of all children. Cheryl added, "It can also be useful for special needs learning children due to the audio, visual and tactile learning domain approach."
It sounds like they have all bases covered. So what is next for Rock N Go? Cheryl said she'd like Rock N Go to expand nationally and internationally and eventually donate some proceeds to children's foundations.
I encourage everyone to check out the product at www.RockNGoLIve.com. The educational sets are also available at MuseumTour, Amazon and other local stores. The music can also be found on iTunes.
I am grateful to Cheryl and Kevin Miller for sharing their business stories with me. As a long-time fan of the Miller brothers, it was interesting to get to know Kevin and Cheryl a little better. I wish both the best of luck and I am sure both will be successful in their businesses.

Cheryl Miller and Heather Lewis-Late 2000's.
Kevin, Cheryl and the Miller children-Late 2000's.