I had four kids in just over four years. My youngest was born at the start of the first COVID lockdown. While my husband worked long hours in construction and manufacturing, I was home with a newborn, an 18-month-old, a three-year-old, and a just-turned-four-year-old. One day, as I was dealing with the clutter of bottles and sippy cups, I had a lightbulb moment. I saw a stack of plastic cups and thought, “Why can’t bottles be like this? They could stack neatly and compactly to save space and be organised.”
So I decided to create a new baby and toddler bottle and embarked on the journey as a solo entrepreneur. Thus, Little Stackers was born.
One of the benefits of doing this on my own is that there’s no one to rush me or minimise the importance of these finer points, and no one to muddy the waters of my vision. This level of care might not be possible if I constantly had to negotiate and compromise with a partner.
But being a solo entrepreneur comes with its own set of challenges. The loneliness can be tough, and the sheer number of roles I have to juggle can be overwhelming. As a solo entrepreneur, I wear many hats – designer, marketer, customer service rep, accountant, and more. And that’s just the business side. Switching between these roles and my responsibilities as a mother is a daily balancing act. From getting the kids to school, sports, and birthday parties, to making Book Week costumes and coordinating family schedules, there’s a constant need to shift gears. It’s exhausting, and sometimes it feels like there’s never enough time to do it all.
When mistakes happen, there’s no one to share the burden or catch an oversight. I’ve faced costly errors in packaging prints due to oversights that might have been avoided with a partner’s input. Such errors are not only financially draining but also a stark reminder of the burdens of solo responsibility. Marketing has also presented its own set of challenges. Investing in marketing partnerships without seeing a return was disheartening, and I often wonder if a partner with expertise in that area could have guided me towards better decisions.
Despite these hurdles, the solitude also brings a unique strength: the ability to trust your vision without compromise. I get to stay true to what I want Little Stackers to be. Over time, I’ve become quite adept at finding strength within myself and making decisions confidently. However, the pressure of knowing that the success or failure of every decision rests solely on my shoulders can be overwhelming.
The rewards are immense. Seeing my products in the warehouse, on store shelves, and being used by happy families feels deeply personal. There’s a unique joy in knowing that I had an idea to make something better, and I made it happen. Every accomplishment, no matter how small, feels incredibly gratifying. Seeing a concept come to life and receiving positive feedback is unparalleled.
