Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather MacGraine.
Hi Heather, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My family had a terrible time getting notaries to come out during the pandemic for my grandmother’s end of life care. After everything opened up again, and after she passed, in 2023 my partner mentioned he also has this problem of setting appointments with mobile notaries who never show up. As a disabled mom with a medically complicated kid, my life is run by our schedule of doctors appointments. But I thought, I can answer a phone, make an appointment, show up to it, check ID, assess consent, and sign my name. This is my opportunity to make a little extra money between doctor visits and be the change I want to see in the world.
Never one to tiptoe in, I found myself serving my community in a wider variety of ways. Simple wedding license signings and I-9 verification are the same skills, in the end! As long as I was selling my skills I could sell digital templates to other notaries who aren’t as artistically included with their marketing. And of course, I became a fierce advocate of making notary services accessible to seniors and disabled people who struggle to access services that won’t come to them. That’s why the motto for On My Way Michigan is: We meet you where you are.
Dedication to community and adherence to legal standards caught the eye of the Michigan Notary Association, who asked me to join the board in 2025 as the secretary. Always happy to support work in education and my communities I accepted.
In the meantime, my child started their journey with oral appliances and braces. I went to type out the instructions so we could reference them, but the next thing I knew I had created an entire cartoon character with fairy lore and rhyming rules to delight and enchant my child. I figured a little magic and storytelling would help us make the process less arduous. I mentioned it to a couple friends who told me they wish they had just such a resource when their kids were going through braces or just for general toothbrushing support. Thus, the Tooth Fairy Agency was born. DIY printable templates, community support, and now a subscription service so folks who don’t have the time or skills to customize letters from their own personal tooth fairy can sign up for someone else to do the design work for them, and simply print out their letters to deliver the magic at home.
Between everything else I may only have 5-10 hours a week I can dedicate to these endeavors. But I’m making my own little corner of the universe a little brighter. And that brings me joy.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Funding limitations made for a rocky road. As did grief in the end, because the person who inspired me to do this work is no longer with us. Depression and anxiety are not easy dragons to tame and frequently rear their heads telling me I’m not good enough, not smart enough, that what I have to contribute isn’t valuable. I am grateful for my partners and friends who assure me that my brain is lying to me, and I have much to offer. However it’s when others see it that it’s really started to sink in. It’s clear my skills are appreciated, as am I for simply being myself.
Chronic pain can wreak havoc on my ability to work at any given time. I have to be careful not to overcommit myself. It’s been a struggle to make sure I’m accommodating my needs better than any employer ever could, even though that’s the point of working for myself. Working from home is the solution so I’ve focused a lot of my business online and offering remote online notarizations to those I would otherwise have to send to another notary. But when I DO have to send clients to someone else, I’m grateful the Michigan Notary Association is there for me to find someone to refer to who I know will give the same top quality service I would myself.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’ve really started to build a reputation for being an LGBTQIA+-friendly notary & affordable wedding officiant. I think most people are aware that there’s very few queer-friendly professional officiants, and even fewer who are actually part of the community. But no one thinks about notary services until they need us. Trans folks are often denied service if their IDs and documents don’t all match up due to transitioning, which is even more frustrating when what they need their signature notarized on is something to fix the discrepancy between their name and their old records. One benefit of an openly queer notary is that even if I Don ‘t already know the person to accept their ID as being personally known to me, it’s very likely we have a mutual friend who can be their credible witness. What a wonderful and unexpected benefit of living my life out and proud!
Of course, serving seniors and disabled folks is at the core of my mission and I never forget that. I call those services Senior & Disabled Notary Care because I want to communicate that I DO care. That it’s not just about signing some papers; those papers so often represent a desire to care for their loved ones after they’ve passed away, or to ensure their own care is managed while they’re still alive and thriving. Seniors have their own challenges to notary services, notably expired IDs, outdated photos, and things like changing signatures as our bodies naturally age or after an injury. One that so many don’t expect is the simple fact that the older we get, the slower our brains work; this can come across as or even mask an inability to competently consent, as can any amount of hearing loss and early stages of dementia or alzheimers. These issues and more can make access to notary services difficult if the notary is not prepared, confident in their ability to assess the signer and manage any family who may be attending the appointment, and especially if that notary is not calmly patient. Senior Notary Care doesn’t cost more than other notary services. It just takes a little more time, which I am happy to provide because I am careful not to overbook myself.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I couldn’t possibly thank everyone who has cheered me on and supported me through this process, but I’m going to highlight a few: My wonderful partners have been instrumental in starting my business in their own ways. One I already mentioned, who helped me see the need for my services. One named my business from the shower! One made my logo while she was bored at work one day, which ended up being exactly the push I needed to launch with enthusiasm.
Leslie Hocker and Debbie Lowery, co-presidents of the Michigan Notary Association, were highly instrumental in my growth as a notary. The MINA education is focused on the law in Michigan, where so many notary classes are trying to be everything to everybody which unfortunately often results in bad advice. We’ve never formalized it but I’ve referred to both as my mentors over the last two years and I am eternally grateful for their wisdom and even moreso, their encouragement to question everything and understand. Not many people have tolerated my highly inquisitive nature over the years so it’s refreshing to meet people who embrace it.
I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shoutout to Christine Haley at Your Tech Sage. We met through a MINA vendor meeting but it felt like kismet how she showed up in my life at the exact right moment to solve a problem I had only just committed to solving. She’s been a huge help with getting my entire business tech setup honed in so I can actually give the quality of customer service I demand from myself and my businesses. I couldn’t have moved forward as well as I have without her help.
Pricing:
- $10 per notarization
- $20 or less travel fee within Ypsilanti
- $40 or less travel fee for Ann Arbor and surrounding areas
- $69 marriage license signing, free travel within Ypsilanti
- $150 short & sweet elopement style ceremony, free travel in Ypsilanti
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.onmywaymichigan.com/ and https://www.toothfairy.agency/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmywaymichigan and https://www.instagram.com/toothfairyagency
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyWayMichigan and https://www.facebook.com/toothfairyagency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-way-michigan/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/on-my-way-michigan-ypsilanti
- Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/toothfairyagency
