Despite being in the pharmacy business on his own for a relatively short time Mr. Cecil Mitchell is bent on establishing himself as a pioneer and innovator in the field.

The dream that Mitchell is already beginning to realize is far removed from the ordinary long-faced impersonal attendant behind a counter stolidly dispensing drugs.

THE TWO HAVE BECOME ONE IN MARRIAGE AND BUSINESS

Mitchell’s Health and Wellness Store is located at the Excel Plaza at Grand Anse St, George’s and the very aura upon entering the premises is one of professionalism and friendliness.

When you get closer to Cecil Mitchell and learn more about him you will however find out the reason for the welcoming air evident at his place of business.

In an intimate interview with the Barnacle, the young man said with full confidence and certainty, “we provide the best service on the island. We make our customers feel very comfortable and relaxed.” Is that not how we all want to feel when we go to do business anywhere, especially a pharmacy?

He said that he and his staff go to any lengths to acquire whatever medication or product the customer is looking for. As a result 90% of his customers are repeat customers. They come back because of the service that they get. Cecil deals with his customers on a personal basis, establishes a relationship with them and tries to make them feel like family. Welcome to the Mitchell’s Wellness family.

But I agree with you if you say well service “ain’t worth Jack” without a good product to offer. And I will respond that the variety and quality of items at Mitchell’s Wellness is right on par with the quality of the service.

Mitchell is at pains to well research every product before bringing it in and keeps a close check on expiry date and makes sure products are stored at the required temperatures.

In the year since he struck out on his own the youthful businessman admits that he has learned a lot both personally and in terms of his business.

He pointed out that people are becoming more aware of their health and are shopping for more healthy products and looking for the niche where they can get these products besides the regular pharmaceuticals.

He therefore provides these health conscious shoppers with herbal products, vitamins, bodybuilding formulae, weight loss formulae, colon cleansers and many other health products.

WITH MOM AT HIS SIDE, CECIL GETS ADDED SUPPORT.

He knew he was now unsheltered, he was out there on his own now although he had worked at an established pharmacy for a number of years.

It was up to Cecil to succeed or fail. He had no internal backing or support, nobody else to lean on, it was all Cecil Mitchell and if anything went wrong he had to right it himself.

Cecil realized from that day that he had to begin creating an identity for Mitchell’s Health and Wellness Store and promote a new brand on the market, selling a new company to the people.

He recognized that he had to bring in more of the products that the people wanted and were asking for. He had to get up to date with the new pharmaceutical and herbal products on the market.

The necessity to stay on top of what he is doing in order to do it right keeps Cecil extremely busy.
He told us “right now there is no time for rest. I work around the clock.” Cecil’s work begins early in the morning when he sees about his accounts, management matters, bills etc. Then he goes to work and begins to see customers from 9am where he is kept busy the entire day until 8pm.

After that the conscientious pharmacist needs to make time for his research and ordering to the point where he said, rubbing his stubbled cheeks and laughing, he sometimes does not have time for a haircut and shave. Not that he is complaining. Cecil said the pay off is seeing the benefits of his hard work and diligence and feeling happy to know that he is helping people.

EVERYONE GETS GOOD ADVICE ON HEALTH AND FITNESS FROM CECIL.

Cecil resents none of this because according to him although making money is important, the money he makes is not proportionate to the amount of work he puts out or the feeling he gets from going out of his way to satisfy a customer’s need. He said “that’s the excitement, I am very happy to be able to satisfy customers”.

Not in his character to be boastful or puffed up Cecil hastens to point out that it is not by his efforts only that he has reached thus far and is making such waves in the pharmacy sector.

He said his wife has stood right beside him despite being busy herself. She is his number one advisor, confidante and supporter. Although behind the scenes she is very much involved in the business. Cecil does not think someone can run a successful business without the support of a good wife.

His mother has also been with him from the very beginning even before he took over the business. He said she herself works almost around the clock and as mother brings a level of mature stability to the environment.

Then there is his brother Cedric Mitchell of Mitchell’s Pharmacy who was the originator of Mitchell’s Health and Wellness Store under the umbrella of Mitchell’s Pharmacy. Cecil credits Cedric with nurturing him saying that he followed in his big brother’s footsteps as a young man and learned quite a lot in the process. “Without Cedric’s help I would not have been as successful as I am.”

Other aspects of his personal development he attributes to the Grenada Boys’ Secondary School and the words of the school song along with his stint of work at the Grenada Electricity Services in the accounts department.

Cecil Mitchell describes himself as a simple, humble, driven individual who really enjoys being of service and helping people, someone who always tries to be happy and contented.

His wife describes him as a dedicated person who loves to help people in whatever ways he can and learns as much as he can in order to improve the service he offers his customers. Consistency there right?

She sees herself as having a responsibility to help and support her husband in whatever way she can and will volunteer even if she is not asked.

Mrs. Mitchell recognizes a lot of potential in her husband’s business and thinks that Cecil’s knowledge, his boundless eagerness to learn more and the level of service that he provides will prove a winning combination.

Her own vision for the company, her husband and his support staff is to grow, expand and achieve their objectives.
She has known Cecil long before they were married and always admired his drive, commitment, ambition and optimism but more than those qualities she admired how much he cared for people and goes out of his way to help them.

Cecil has his vision of the future as well and has already started to realize some of the dreams.
His aim is to take the company Caribbean wide but for the time being will promote health and wellness throughout the island of Grenada. He has his sights on new branches but has just expanded his services to go into healthy smoothies along with nuts and grains including flax seeds and flax seed products which have real proven health benefits.

Diabetics are not left out of his consideration as Mitchell’s Wellness has a range of products for them like chocolate, candies, snacks, chips and drinks.

Cecil recently acquired more space and the main reason is to provide a better service, making a more comfortable shopping environment and also expand into more health based products like the nuts and the grains which are becoming more and more popular.

If you find Mitchell’s health and Wellness Center a bit futuristic that is because it has a manager who is a visionary, who is knowledgeable of the present needs of his customers and able to anticipate future needs of a developing society.