Entrepreneur Jessica Klassen explains how she started her business in October 2020, called Ripple Boxes. These boxes were created to help people in the community feel seen, loved, and valued. The boxes are a way to cast ripples of hope and light within the community. As a Christian, Jessica hopes to create a prevention of people feeling hopeless, discouraged, and alone. Through sending gifts and intentional interactions, God's light can be spread. The entrepreneur believes that although they can't change the entire world by themselves, they can be a light to the people around them. To become an entrepreneur, she had to find her identity in God and invest in her own health so she could invest in her children and business. She emphasizes the importance of self-care for mothers, so they don't feel like they have to give to everyone else with nothing left for themselves.

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0:00:00

Conversation with Jessica Klassen, Founder of Ripple Boxes

0:02:05

"Creating Ripples of Hope"

0:03:36

Belonging and Being Fully Known by God

0:08:40

Exploring Identity and Self-Care

0:10:10

Conversation on Finding Identity in God and Establishing a Family Rhythm

0:14:18

Conversation on Amplifying Motherhood Through Business Ownership

0:15:50

Exploring the Upcoming Box "Known"

0:19:25

Casting Ripples of Hope and Light

@morethan.mompodcast (Instagram)

Sam

You. Alright.

Jessica

And welcome to another episode of the More Than Mom podcast. I'm your host Samantha Cook and I have a really special guest today. Her name is Jessica Clawson. She is the owner of Ripple Boxes and she's just going to take a couple minutes to introduce herself and we can't wait to get into this conversation today. So tell us about a little bit about yourself Jessica.

Sam

Hi guys, I'm Jessica Clawson. I am a mom of two wonderful boy who are ten and seven. So running around crazy and just loving life. I'm also the wife of Paramedic Firefighter and we live in Spokane, Washington. And as she said, I'm a founder of Ripple boxes. Awesome.

Jessica

And one of the big topics that we cover on here is not only being a mom to these wonderful children, but also the other roles that we wear in our lives. And so talk to me a little bit Jessica, about how you moved from motherhood and into the ripple boxes.

Sam

So we were starting to look at, we were a single income family trying to live off of my husband's, Paramedic Firefighter, but I love and adore my children and I needed an outside avenue, an outside being able to do something more. I got stuck for a long time in the rut of I'm just mom. That was my only identity and God really worked on my heart that no, my boys are a beautiful and wonderful gift and they're only part of my identity and part of what he's called me and asked me to do. So I then went to him and said, okay Lord, I love encouraging people, I love helping people.

Sam

We are looking to try to get some more income for our family. What does that look like? These are what I have, what do you want me to do with it? And he started bringing the idea of these ripple boxes to mind and so that's how I kind of got started with business. I never expected to be an entrepreneur, but it was something that just kept coming up over and over and I was like, okay. So I finally took a step of faith in October is when I actually launched the Ripple Boxes.

Jessica

Awesome. And explain to us a little bit what those ripple boxes are and what are they for.

Sam

So I've noticed, especially because of COVID more and more people are feeling lonely. More and more people are feeling discouraged and feeling very hopeless. So my boxes are unlike most boxes of subscription boxes. They're actually ones that you intentionally give away. So it's an encouraging, a Christian encouraging gift box actually that you can give to those in your community, remind them that they are seen, loved and valued and just casting ripples of hope and light into the people around you.

Jessica

Awesome. And so what does that mean to you as a Christian to cast that ripple out? Like, what does that ripple effect not only mean for you, but what you hope to create in your community.

Sam

I hope to create almost a prevention of a lot of people feeling that hopelessness and feeling discouraged and feeling alone. I hope that as we join together and are intentional with our interactions with others, sending gifts, reminding people that they are seen and valued and loved, that we are casting ripples where we're actually as I interact with one person, I'm intentional with one person that's reminding them that they're valuable and then they continue that with other people as well. So I'm spreading God's light. I'm not changing the entire world because I can't just me by myself, but I can be light to the people around me. And as I do that, they can then be light to other people.

Jessica

Yeah, absolutely. I think that's a huge thing in any role that we're in, whether that be our children as an entrepreneur, our customers, our family, our friends, things like that, that's a huge thing. Especially in my world. I never want anybody feeling bad from having an interaction with me.

Sam

I always want them to carry that.

Jessica

Good feeling from having an interaction with me as well. And I think that plays a huge role. And one of the roles that both you and I wear is that we are both Christians. And what that role actually? What does that mean to you? What's our purpose in that?

Sam

God said that people will know that we are his disciples through our love and as we love other people, we are spreading that. As I spend time with God, I can then share his love for me and others through my understanding of who he is. And then helping people realize the same that they are truly, completely known by God and completely loved by God. Not I have to do more, I have to be more. It's actually who they are as a child of God that they are deeply known and truly loved. And so just helping to spread that and remind people of that I think will help with the despair and loneliness and the struggle that people are feeling like I'm not enough.

Jessica

Yeah, I feel like a lot of people feel that way, especially in the last couple of years. And something definitely I struggled with tremendously in the last couple of years as well. You become a new mom that's already kind of just like an isolating position, but then a new mom through COVID. I'm sure there are lots of women out there who felt very much that way because there's just a lot of unknowns. I mean, even when we live a life full of faith sometimes there is some fear in that because we don't know we don't know what God has orchestrated that we can't see yet.

Jessica

Talk to me a little bit about I'm sure you've been through that too, is like feeling that hope or that hopelessness of how do we take that, walk that out. And what does that mean, to be, like, fully know, go from hopeless despair to being fully known by God.

Sam

Especially as a mom? I also had a lot of health issues for a long time, so I was just a mom. And then with my health and my health issues, I was even more isolated, where I stopped hanging out with people, period. I stopped spending time with anyone because all I had the energy for was to keep my children alive.

Jessica

Yeah.

Sam

Because of the stuff that I was going through. If my children are alive and I'm not causing damage to them, that's a win. That's a great day.

Jessica

Yeah.

Sam

At one point, I told my husband, even if I can do three things today, my kids have brushed their teeth, they've eaten, and I've gotten dressed. Win. Some days I didn't even get dressed. It was just normal pajamas. And to go from that, I remember asking my husband at one point, I said, how is this glorifying, God? He said, Because it's not you doing, it's being. And when I started to understand who God is and who he says we are and truly sit in that, because I had no other choice in those moments but to truly sit in that space.

Sam

There's a lot of freedom. There's a lot of, wow, God, you know me, like 100%. There's nothing hidden from you, and yet you love me more than anyone possibly could. That brings you out of that hopelessness, because I'm not trying to strive. I'm not trying to be I'm not trying to do more and be mom and be superwoman and do all of these things. It's that acceptance and then that belonging. You truly belong, and you are truly accepted and loved for who you are.

Sam

Then you start to walk forward in confidence of, like, my son was trying to be mean the other day, and he's like, mom, you don't love me. And at first, for a moment, it hurt because I was like, I do love you, but that comment really hurt. And my oldest looked at me and said, mom, is that true? Is that who God says you are? And I just loved because he refocused, and it's like, no, that's not true, and that's not who God says I am. And so I could literally shake that off and continue to walk in who God said I was. So it's freeing. And the idea of belonging, that's where we then can show our light, because as we stand in that, we walk in that and show that freedom. People look at you, then go something's different.

Sam

Even when circumstances are super hard, they look at you and go, what's different? How are you walking through this and still shining light?

Jessica

Exactly. And, I mean, clearly, you just painted a huge picture of you were like, wow, if I get three things done today, that's a huge win to obviously being an entrepreneur. I mean, incredible, mom, because, wow, that's a huge statement from a child, because you have to realize what a big win that was, because those statements don't just come out of saying them once or twice. That's a repetitive thing.

Jessica

And that's stewarding your child, well, that was incredible. And so talk to me a little bit about how you went from I got three things done today to being an entrepreneur and obviously your life being very different.

Sam

Part of it was going through the journey of finding my identity in God. The other part was the freedom and the permission to get my body healthy. Because as I got my body healthy, I could invest in my children more and I can invest in business. I can invest in relationships. So I think sometimes as moms, we go, okay, I got to give to everybody else and there's nothing left. And I'm not necessarily saying just me with the self care. There's sometimes the me centric, oh, well, I'm just going to swing the other pendulum and only take care of me and then everybody else falls flat.

Sam

It's finding my identity in God and being reminded of how much he loves me and that I'm a temple, that my body is a temple and I actually have to take care of it. So taking care of my body as I'm being led by the Holy Spirit, eating well, working out, doing all of those things and making sure that I'm getting the help I needed with all of the health issues I had has made me so much more available to love on my family.

Sam

And from there say, I'm now confident in who God's made me. How can I share that with others? And that's how these ripple boxes got started.

Jessica

Awesome, man.

Sam

That's such a huge one.

Jessica

And I think a lot of times, like you said, we tend to go from one extreme to the other because it's like, oh, I haven't taken a shower in two weeks to Mom's, got to go do this by you, all, that kind of thing. I think there's a huge, I hate to say, like, balance, because let's be honest, balance is not a thing. It's just your day. Well, and it's like, okay, hey, while you're at school, I'm going to do XYZ.

Jessica

So that way I have this time to take care of me. So that way when you get home, I'm ready to go to your soccer games or whatever it is that you guys do.

Sam

I've learned more of a rhythm.

Jessica

I've learned that's the word is a rhythm.

Sam

So my youngest son apparently told my mother in law, yeah, mom never takes a shower. I'm like, that's not true, actually, because my rhythm is I have a devotion before they go to school, and then when they get up, I'm there and I'm happy and engaging. I send them to school and then I come home and work out and take a shower. Well, he never sees me do that because I take a shower after he goes to school, but he's like, yeah, mom never takes a shower.

Sam

That's not true. So it's learning a rhythm, but two, my husband is a paramedic firefighter, so he works for 48 hours straight, and then he comes home and he has four days off. Well, the first day, he needs to sleep all day.

Jessica

Exactly.

Sam

Because he hasn't slept in 48 hours. And then after that, I found if I work from the moment I drop my boys off after I've had my workout until about two, and then I have an hour where I have a date time with him during the day, that means he and I can be a lot more engaging to our children when they come home. So we've found a rhythm that works for our family. I've learned time blocking is a great thing because my brain goes into a billion different directions. So I put 15 minutes and I put a timer.

Sam

15 minutes I'm working on this task. 15 minutes I'm working on this task. And then when my children come home, my computer gets shut down and I spend the time with my children. Granted, if they're going to watch a show or have screen time, then I'm like, great, I'm going to work during this time because I don't need to be watching something, but I can work while they're doing that. So I've just found a good rhythm for our family of what it looks like to do all the things.

Jessica

0:13:39

Jessica

I love that he thought you didn't take a shower. That's hilarious. Because they see what you do. Seriously, your kids pay attention to what you do even when you're not realizing it. And so when we're stewarding our businesses well, doing this while they're like, oh, hey, mom has spent all day getting ready to spend time with me. And so all the great things that you do in that time only amplify your motherhood. So it seems like your business has really not only been a blessing to your family, but also has amplified you guys as a family, too.

Jessica

Yeah.

Sam

And I would encourage Moms to include your kids in, like, if you're doing a business, include your kids in it. So I have my oldest now, thinks he's a partner of Ripple Boxes.

Jessica

Awesome.

Sam

And my youngest will come up with random boxes. He came up to me yesterday with this tiny little box. He's like, mom, we can make this into, like, a mini, mini ripple box. They want to be part of it, too. So asking them to help make decisions, asking them to go to the mailbox with you, asking whatever it is, give them tasks that they can have ownership in, hey, I was part of making an impact, too, and that means a lot as well.

Jessica

Yeah, that ownership is a huge thing, and you'll hear it throughout my other shows. I talk about our core values, and it's honor, ownership, unity, servant leadership, and excellence. And so that ownership is such a huge thing to me. It's always just taking extremely good care of whatever God has tasked you with, because if we don't own those things or give our kids those ownership opportunities, they don't build that muscle.

Jessica

And just like I was saying earlier, that phrase, it doesn't come through that one time. That comes through repetitive opportunity for them.

Sam

And if they don't ever have that ownership opportunities, then when they become an adult, they're like, wait, what am I supposed to do with this? I've never had to practice it.

Jessica

Yeah, you're setting them up for huge success, not only as your children, but hopefully entrepreneurs one day. And it seems like they're very excited about helping you come up with new ideas. So why don't you tell me about your upcoming box? Because I know that was a really passion. I was like, your face just lit up when you said that or when.

Sam

I said that, so that was awesome.

Jessica

So, yeah, talk to me about your new box that's coming up.

Sam

The new box launches July 15, but preorders will start June 5, actually, or June 7. And so Preorders are coming up. If you guys are interested in learning more, I have a link you can join to stay in the loop with all of that. But the next box that's coming out is known. I'm realizing even in the Christian community and outside of the Christian community, there's a lot of people who are struggling with their identity and struggling with self worth or feeling valuable in any way.

Sam

So this box is known, and it is you are truly and truly known and fully loved. You are completely, wholly known, which can feel very scary, but you're also deeply loved in the same time in the same moment, and that in and of itself can be very freeing. I've talked with a number of people recently who, when I express that that's the theme coming up, they're just like it's almost a sigh of, I'm known and loved in the same moment. I don't have to do more. I don't have to be more. I don't have to just who I am is fully known and completely loved. So I'm excited about it. It'll be really neat. And with my ripple boxes, there's four ripples to each box. The first is obviously us giving blesses us as we give to other people. As we bless other people. It actually blesses us in return.

Sam

The second is obviously the person receiving the box you're making their day. So this could be someone you've been on your heart for a while, someone you've been praying for, someone who's struggling with something, especially right now, struggling with identity or depression or any of those things. The third ripple is actually there's something in every box to bless somebody else as you're in those moments of struggle, if you can get your head up, even for just a moment to look around at other people, it actually helps you come further out of where you're at and out of that space.

Sam

So one of those tips or tools in one of my boxes is a thank you coin and it's just a wooden coin that says thank you. And then it comes in a little package and the little phrase thing on there says, thank you so much for all you do. I know it can go unnoticed, but I see you and I appreciate you. Feel free to keep this coin or pass it along to someone else. So this is something you would give to. The example I use is someone who cleans bathrooms at Walmart or a very thankless job and you go up to them and I see you and I thank you for what you do and you can walk away. It's as simple as that.

Sam

Or another tool is a pre stamped card that you can write and just say, hey, I'm thinking of you, or coffee that you can share with somebody else, or scripture that you can share with someone. So there's always something. The third ripple always has something to be able to encourage another person. Then the fourth ripple is everything in my boxes are from small businesses. One of the things in every box is from women coming from marginalized, rough, challenging backgrounds.

Sam

So it's women who were rescued from sex trafficking, refugees, widows, orphans, women coming out of extreme poverty or unable to have certain jobs because they're women. And so we are really, truly casting those ripples of hope and light with every single box.

Jessica

Wow, that's amazing. That just gave me chills listening to all that. Because one, it's not just like this is for me to feel that way, but this is for also me to take that and give that impact. That's the thing, is when we sit there and it's an amazing thing to have a relationship with Jesus, but at the same time it's like, how many people are we sharing that love with on a daily basis? Probably not as often as we think we are.

Jessica

That just sets the stage. It gives you the opportunities right there to take that and then as you start to do it once or twice, then it starts to become something you do and ultimately changing the ripples of our society and things like that.

Sam

Absolutely.

Jessica

All right, Jessica, so tell us where we can find you so we can get connected with you and your ripple.

Sam

Boxes so you can find me@www.rippleboxes.com. There will also be in the show notes. I will make sure that Samantha has a link directly to add you guys to my newsletter so you guys can stay up to date with all of the information. I also have a podcast called the Connected Faith Podcast exploring the ripples that we cast. So I will make sure that you guys have all the information through the show notes, facebook, Instagram, all of that as well.

Sam

Awesome.

Jessica

Well, we're so glad everybody listened in today. We love amazing conversations like these of people being more than mom in such extraordinary ways that are impacting everything that we do. So thank you, Jessica, so much for your time today, and we'll see you guys on the next episode. Bye.