By Lindsay Theken

For the last dozen years, I have been a stay at home mom to two beautiful girls. Hands down, it has been the best job in the world--one I feel honored to have. For many years, this job was all-consuming. But when my girls began elementary school, I started having more time in life to myself. I always knew when that moment arrived, I wanted to be able to start contributing to my family’s financial well-being. The trouble is…what in the world does someone who’s been out of the working world for a decade do?? Prior to having kids, I worked in the Hydrology Department for the U.S. Geological Survey. This was a wonderful career, but it’s definitely not something I want to go back to. I wanted to find a part-time career, where I could create my own schedule, being available for my kids during off-school hours. A job like that seemed like a dream in the traditional workplace, so I figured the solution was to create my own job. The trouble was, I had absolutely no background in business. So, I decided to give myself a business crash course.

Luckily, the world we live in today makes this fairly easy, with the amount of information readily available to us. I got my hands on some great books about the basics of business, podcasts, online courses, etc. One day, I was listening to a business podcast about manufacturing goods overseas and online businesses. I decided I wanted to do something along these lines. Of course, the next step was figuring out what to manufacture. I love headbands, and I wasn't able to find the perfect headband in the marketplace.

Soon after coming to this decision, I got to work creating HeadPeace. This required a lot of research, since I had never done anything like this in my life. I did know my first step was finding someone to make them for me. I immediately began researching manufacturers overseas. I wasn’t too excited about working with the companies I discovered for a couple of reasons: broken English and unknown factory conditions. It simply didn’t sit well with me, not knowing how these factories operated and how they treated their employees. Not to say they weren’t great companies, I just wanted a more personal connection.

I am a firm believer of divine “coincidences.” A few days later, I was at a local gymnastics center, watching my little one in class. I had never seen the lady sitting next to me, so I introduced myself. I asked her if she was new to the area and she proceeded to tell me her family was back in Colorado visiting their family. Corban, Katrina and their kids live in Nepal and own a textile manufacturing company, called Purnaa. It was meant to be. I had them over, sat in our living room, and talked about product design.

Purnaa’s mission is to empower individuals and communities to become whole and complete, free from the enslaving cycle of poverty. They do this by creating job opportunities for those whose marginalized status in society prevents them from getting work elsewhere. As a social enterprise, they make this mission their top priority, re-investing our profits to further Purnaa's social impact. Each day, in everything they do, they work towards their goal of creating ethical, dignified, and meaningful jobs for those in need.

Raising kind, smart loving children is hands down one of the most important jobs in the world, and that definitely makes a difference in the lives of my girls and those who surround them. My passion for caring for these amazing little humans gave me the drive to help others outside of my family as well. Change and starting new things can definitely be scary, but passion can create power to fuel your soul. There is a world of opportunity out there, and with a little passion and motivation, amazing things can be created.

I’ve always considered myself to be a good person, but this is the first time I can actually say I am making a difference in the world. I absolutely cannot imagine what these women have been through, and it warms my heart to know places like Purnaa are out there helping them out—and I am very, very honored to be a part of that.

Check out HeadPeace at headpeaceheadbands.com.