Meet Emma Lawler | Small Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Emma Lawler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emma, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I’ve always been a person who doodles and decorates. In school you have to have a backpack, right? So I covered mine with glitter spray and cut letters out of a magazine, and taped it over the label to spell my name. Everything had to be custom, and everything had to be cute. As an adult, I was the same way. At my 9-5 all my meeting notes were doodled on and lettered perfectly. I was encouraged by a coworker over and over again to get my little designs out there. In this day and age we all turn our hobbies into side hustles, so after scouring over Etsy to see what everyone else was doing, I noticed something was missing. There weren’t any well designed car air fresheners that were also low cost. I decided that’s where I need to start, and the rest is history!

What should our readers know about your business?
All of the products I design and sell are totally unique. I’ve spend a lot of time doing product research, and I’ve found most small online shops sell the same thing, but with different variations. I went to the business school of Google, so the hardest part is learning as I go. I learned don’t buy a website until you’ve registered your LLC because sometimes the name you want isn’t available! What I want people to know about Little em is that it’s a shop full of Little things that can brighten your day. No, you need your car to smell like a fabulous spa, but why not?

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Wow, this question would have been easier to answer pre-pandemic! But first stop, Pappa Geno’s! They make the BEST cheese fries in the city! I love walking around Memorial Park with my pooch. She loves to play fetch so we make it a priority. Another thing I love about Houston is all the breweries, but favorite one to go to is Southern Star. For lunch, I’d take you to Nick’s Place. It’s an old sports bar vibe, but the food is excellent. As for nighttime activities, Truck Yard is the place to be. I love how open it is and the ferris wheel is super cute. To end the night, we stop at House of Pies for dessert!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Big shoutout to my family and my customers! Without my family’s support I would have never started Little em in the first place. It’s risky to quit your job to pursue your small business dreams, but they’ve been supportive since day one. My Dad was my first order! He even asked for it to be hand delivered so I didn’t have to use any shipping supplies on him. I’m also motivated by my other customers (not just the ones related to me). They are the ones that keep the shop alive, and challenge me to come up with more products for them to enjoy.

Website: littleemshop.com
Instagram: instagram.com/littleemshop/
Twitter: twitter.com/littleemtweets
Facebook: facebook.com/LittleEmBook/
Other: etsy.com/shop/LittleEmShops