Abundant Blessings
Knoxville mom juggles big family, small business
One of Kelly Riggs’ favorite Bible verses is from Ecclesiastes: Time and chance happen to them all. Ironically, time is a commodity she wouldn’t mind having dished out in larger quantities these days.
Between her family businesses, her marriage, her five children and four grandchildren, Riggs is a master juggler. That’s not to say that a few balls don’t get dropped here and there, but she is still the first one to say that she’s been handed life’s blessings in large quantities.
Oh, and did we mention that she also home schools her two youngest children, ages 11 and 13? That’s how most days start, in fact—working with the kids on their school assignments.
By midday, her focus shifts more to business. Riggs and her husband, Danny, have owned the Health Shoppe in Halls for the past 15 years, so she spends afternoons working at the store and helping to build up the other family business—an original line of cosmetics and skincare products they’ve developed called Purely Clear.
Over the past eight years, the Purely Clear brand has grown in popularity and is now sold in stores throughout East Tennessee. And with the imminent release of a television ad for the product, the Riggses are expecting their schedule to get even more hectic.
“It’s hard to juggle everything, but we feel blessed to have our own business,” she says. “The beauty is that I can take the kids with me to the shop if I want.”
That’s just one of many strategies Riggs has developed over the years to balance her work and family lives. Other strategies have included keeping a schedule and teaching the kids early on to start helping out around the house.
Of course, having young children helping out with chores led to yet another coping skill—no more worrying about keeping the house spotless.
“My husband said I could clean for the rest of my life, and all I’d have is a clean house,” she recalls. “So I spend more time with kids, and if someone comes over, they’re not going to see a clean house,” she adds with a chuckle.
Family time is spent visiting with her three grown children and four grandchildren, all of whom live in Knoxville, too. And when they can, she and Danny squeeze in the occasional date night.
“If I had time to do anything I wanted, I’d spend it with my husband,” she says, noting that she expects more time will be freed up as the kids get older. This prompts another favorite quote: “This too shall pass.”
