Business with Purpose Podcast EP 104: Kelly Parker Smith, Hello World Paper

Business with Purpose Podcast EP 104: Kelly Parker Smith, Hello World Paper

You may be one type of person. You may be the type of person who, you are currently working in a job and you have that side hustle that you really enjoy, but it just kind of supplements whatever you do for a living right now, and you’re happy where you are. Or, you might be the person who is currently working a job and you have that side hustle, but you have a bigger dream, and you are pushing towards that bigger dream, and you just want that bigger dream to come true, and you are just paralyze. Maybe it’s by fear, or by second guessing your talents or yourself, and you’re just not quite there yet. You’re not quite at the point where you feel like you can take that leap, to pursue that dream full time. At what point do you think you’ll be ready? At what point do you feel like, ‘yes, this is the time, this is the day that I’m going to take my dream full-time, I’m going to turn my side hustle, into my main hustle,’?

My guest this week is Kelly Parker Smith. She is the Founder of Hello World Paper Company. She is a rubber stamp designer, and manufacturer, who lives just outside of St. Louis in Belleville, Illinois with her husband, three boys, and rescue kitten Katniss. She has grown her shop, Hello World Paper Company, with the idea that great products become even better when paired with top notch customer service, a little surprise and delight, and of course the perfect packaging. But here’s why I loved Kelly’s story so much: she had a dream, and she set out with a goal to build a school with Pencils of Promise, a school through her business. Today we’re going to dive into her business, and her purpose behind her business, which is building this school and providing education for other kids.

ON GIVING BACK FROM THE BEGINNING

From Kelly’s own wedding gifts, to her very first client’s charity of choice, giving back has been a foundation of Kelly’s business from the very beginning. However, it was her career as a teacher that truly sparked her love for providing education to all children. Hello Paper Company has pledged to build a school with Pencils of Promise, donating a percentage of profits every month.

ON BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR FULL TIME

Kelly talks the difficulties of balancing a full time career, while having such a passion for her side hustle. Taking a leap of faith in making her business full-time allowed her to make more time for her family, while also making an impact. However, becoming an entrepreneur did not come without sacrifice, hard work, and a lot of faith in the vision for her company.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”“A lot of people nowadays are feeling more freedom to say, you know what, I might make less money but think about the life that I will be living.” @helloworldpaper” quote=”“A lot of people nowadays are feeling more freedom to say, you know what, I might make less money but think about the life that I will be living.” @helloworldpaper”]

ON CREATING QUALITY OF LIFE

Sometimes it’s worth sacrificing a higher paying salary to have better quality of life. Kelly talks the importance of examining your happiness and well-being to decide if your career path is truly benefitting you. Investing in others to bring onto your team, others who may do certain tasks better than yourself, not only frees up space in your day, but also in your mind.

ON BUILDING A SCHOOL WITH PENCILS OF PROMISE

Pencils of Promise is an organization that builds, and staffs schools, in third world countries. Hello World Paper Company has pledged to raise $35,000 to build and staff a full school. Kelly talks about her passion for Pencils of Promise and how children in these countries are craving the education that we often take for granted.

About Kelly Smith, Founder of Purpose Generation:

Kelly Parker Smith is a rubber stamp designer and manufacturer living just outside St. Louis in Belleville, IL with her husband, her three boys and their rescue kitten Katniss. You can also find Kelly co-hosting the Creative Biz Rebellion podcast where she and Caroline Hull show other product based business owners how to build, maintain, and grow a profitable product based business through their podcast and online courses.   Kelly has been interviewed on The Strategy Hour, All Up In Your Lady Business, Positively Creative and more. Hello World Paper Co products have been featured in Town & Country, Southern Weddings, and Saint Louis Magazine.

CONNECT WITH KELLY

 

 

 

Special thanks to CAUSEBOX for sponsoring this week’s Business with Purpose podcast. Use coupon code MOLLY for $15 off!

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