For mother-turned-entrepreneur Kirsten Davidson, her business, like her children, is growing steadily.

Little and Loved Ones is the name of the business venture started by mother Grimsby which buys and sells children’s clothing.

In early January, the company was announced as the winner of the St. Catharines Enterprise Center Starter Company Plus grant.

Davidson’s business began in July when she began looking for ways to not only buy children’s clothes from those who didn’t need them, but also sell them to those who did.

She said when the opportunity arose in the fall to participate in the program, she knew it was “either now or never.”

As part of the program, she took courses in business management and social media marketing, wrote a future business plan, and ultimately pitched her business to a panel of judges.

“Kind of like ‘Dragons’ Den’, but not as scary,” she joked.

Little and Loved Ones is one of nine companies to win the $5,000 grant. Davidson is expected to use the funds to implement her business plan and will need to provide receipts to the business center showing she has done so.

Launching a business in a pandemic, Davidson said she made sure to try to make her business as operational as possible by focusing on an online presence as well as doing free and hassle-free pickup and drop-off. contact if needed.

According to Davidson, 10% of all sales are also donated to various charities in Niagara West.

“I really feel like the community right now in particular, we all need to come together and support each other and that’s just one of the ways I want my business to impact the community,” he said. she declared.

She said she hopes to operate her business full-time when her children are older and will also work outside the markets. Eventually, she hopes to own a storefront – currently her business is almost exclusively online, except for the storage and shipping she does from her home.

For stay-at-home moms like her who want to start their own business, Davidson said the key is to “take the baby steps now and do what you can to put that foundation in place for yourself.”

She said it was important for mothers, who have different families and responsibilities, to use the time they have wisely, but also not to rush. Instead, set it up so that in the future, when their children are older and have more time, they can transition into their jobs.

His advice to all entrepreneurs, parents or not; “Seize the opportunity to do what you can, when the opportunity presents itself. It was the most important thing I learned,” she said.