Dinah Chapman, Founder of Little Trouble, an online clothing store, shares her story behind the growth of her highly successful business, and how she was able to do it while working full time, pregnant and starting a family.
Dinah always knew she wanted to build something of her own, and has been determined to turn that dream into a reality for as long as she can remember. The biggest challenge she faced in achieving this was balancing her professional career with her personal life all while becoming a new mom. For years, she worked excessively long hours in highly demanding digital marketing roles, which made the idea of being able to dedicate time and space for a brand of her own daunting. However, when Chapman knew the time was right, she trusted her gut and dove head first into creating Little Trouble.
Dinah gave birth to her first son Cash while the business was still in development, and balancing the newborn stage of both a baby and her new company was tough but worth it, she recalls. Chapman had many sleepless nights designing prints, communicating with new vendors and navigating cluster feeding, all of which wouldn’t have been manageable without the help of her husband who she says has supported her every step of the way. As Chapman was building Little Trouble from the ground up, she knew it was a way to create the type of future and lifestyle for her family that she valued.
Little Trouble has been Dinah’s passion project since its founding and despite her full devotion to the company she still notes that the hardest (but most rewarding) job she has is being a mom to her now two-years-old son with another on the way. To avoid burnout, Chapman cherishes the time she spends with her family and uses that time to recharge and remind herself of the why behind the long hours and sleepless nights.
Through her career working in digital marketing and now as an entrepreneur and full time mom, Dinah has formed a deep appreciation for the growing community of working moms who are shifting societies expectations on what we’re capable of accomplishing.
“There’s this societal idea that to be a great mom, you have to give up any other aspirations or goals for yourself to be able to be 100% present for your children. I don’t believe that this is true. How awesome is it to show my kids that Mommy works hard, has her own business, Daddy helps her every step of the way and they can both spend time building memories with us.” says Chapman. “Women are redefining the workforce - a lot of them are mothers, and I would love to find creative ways to work together and continue to shift those societal expectations.”
Chapman aims to continue growing Little Trouble while creating clothes with a purpose, which is to spread joy and happiness through design while capturing the essence of childhood.
“The mission has always been to evoke a sense of love and happiness around childhood and bring smiles to people’s faces,” says Chapman. “Like other categories in fast fashion, we’re used to looking at kids' clothes as disposable since the lifecycle is so short but that has created a quality issue on top of many other things. Every Little Trouble garment is made to be loved and worn well beyond the time frame in which they are outgrown making them perfect for multiple children in the family or as previously loved hand-me-downs for friends.”
Since launching the company in May of 2022, Chapman has already surpassed $800,000 in revenue, which she will use to continue scaling the company. One of Chapman’s future goals as an entrepreneur and for Little Trouble is to launch a nonprofit organization that provides clothing and other essential products to underprivileged children throughout the United States.
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Name:Dinah Chapman
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