We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shawn Blymiller a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Shawn, appreciate you joining us today. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.

I started a nonprofit to support the parents of special needs kids. The Pure Living Family Foundation provides meditation, retreats, and resources to help parents refuel so they have more to give to the special souls that they care for. Many times when a child is diagnosed with autism or other autoimmune chronic illnesses it can be isolating for the parents. Family and friends don’t understand or comprehend the challenge and many times parents feel alone. We are building an amazing community of parents looking for answers for the kids and for themselves. Parents too often burn out chasing answers out of love for their kids. We want to help them create a sustainable process to provide for themselves first so they have more fuel to give. This is not selfish, but necessary to thrive. Check out our website at www.purelivingfamily.com.

Shawn, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

When my son was diagnosed with level 3 autism, which is the highest level and most severe, it was life altering. I began to understand the phrase “Existential Crisis”. When everything you have ever believed about your life is challenged. It is scary and exhausting. I was angry and resentful towards God and it took a while to process how to move forward. My wife started researching everything she could to help our son. I remained in denial for a long time. It took a very tender moment with our neurotypical daughter to encourage me to join in the research. But we learned what “burn-out” is by experiencing it. We learned the hard lesson that you can’t provide for others when you burn out and reach your breaking point and it takes a lot longer to recover. We learned that taking care of yourself first and foremost is paramount and it is not selfish. It is actually the most selfless thing you can do. Being a parent is one of the most challenging and rewarding things we get to experience in this life. Too many parents lose themselves in parenting a child. You can’t do that with a special needs child because you will cripple yourself and you won’t be able to show up for them. I started the nonprofit because I learned through experience that parents are spending all the money they can on helping their child to excel. I felt this inner inspiration to create a public service in this space. After becoming a certified Functional Medicine coach the brand began to take a life of its own.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I first created the business as a traditional LLC to serve the parents of special needs kids. But when I started asking them for money, I felt guilty. Parents of kids with special needs are strapped for time, money and resources. I really want to serve this community so I converted it to a federally recognized 501-C-3. Many times people ask us how they can help with my son Theo. Many have offered to watch Theo so we can have a date night. I love this thought and offering. I encourage you to offer the same to other families with special needs kids. However, these kids are challenging. It is a large load to care for someone who needs constant oversight. Many people want to help families with special needs kids, and we have created a way to help through giving money to our nonprofit.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

We converted the Pure Living Family Foundation to a 501-C-3 in 2022. We ran our first round of fundraising in 2023 over giving Tuesday. Giving Tuesday is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and was started by the United Nations Foundation in 2012. Henry Timms at the 92nd “Y” came up with the idea building off of Cyber Monday. It is a time for people to give to foundations and organizations that they believe in. We were able to raise close to $30,000 to really launch this fun idea.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.purelivingfamily.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/purelivingfamily/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PureLivingFamily/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pure-living-family-foundation
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh-zdWIcxZ8XZpcVuoAPHZg