I have always had a very caring nature. I was a nursing major in college before switching to education, and then spent many years as a special-needs educator. After having the first two of my three children, I left my teaching position to be a stay-at-home mom, and then as the three of them got a little older I began thinking about going back to work.

Two years ago I was contacted by friends of my husband who had already finished their due diligence on Lice Clinics of America and wanted to invest but wanted an operations partner. The two guys with the capital are extremely bright and sophisticated–Berkeley grads, experience at the top of their respective fields, including as one of the top executives in a publicly traded company–and they brought a lice-treatment business opportunity to me! It sounds funny now, but I remember my first reaction when they told me about it was, “that sounds really weird, but I’ll try it.”

I started out slow–I was a technician in their first clinic–but in short order I was absolutely hooked. I know I really make a difference every day. I love kids and families, so helping them every day through LCA has been very rewarding. After our first clinic I invested in the partnership and now am an owner and the operating partner. We now have three clinics and are looking to expand further in California and Nevada.

In addition to the satisfaction I get from the clients, I get just as much or more from my team. I have been fortunate to attract like-minded employees who love the job as much as I do. We really are a team and a family of our own making.

My advice to anyone considering it is to not be shy about it because its head lice. Almost everyone has a head-lice story, or knows someone that does. But it carries such an unnecessary stigma. Don’t let that stop you. Jump in and join a great network!