Laura Goulding is the owner and operator of Little Moments Big Memories, an online shop that specializes in personalized keepsakes. They sell baby books, pregnancy journals, school journals, wedding journals, wedding prints, and more, all created with memories in mind. Little Moments Big Memories has been in business since April 2021 and is based in Grand Valley, ON. However, they ship their products throughout North America. 

The idea for Little Moments Big Memories came from Laura's need to find creative stimulation while she was on maternity leave with her son. Once the early months of the newborn stage passed, she found herself longing for a creative project to tend to and missed the design work she did at her full-time job in Communications. Little Moments Big Memories started as a passion project when Laura created her first baby book. 

After developing more designs, registering the business, and purchasing equipment, Goulding officially launched the business with seven products in an Etsy shop. "Over a year later, we now have five product collections with almost 30 products, as well as our website and blog," she explains. Their products are for people with their families who may use the products themselves or those 50-60 years of age who are looking for unique gifts for their children, grandchildren, and family.

"While our products are unique in their layout and themes, the personalization adds one more layer of creativity and truly separates the products from something you can buy in a big box store. It is truly a niche market and takes gift-giving to the next level," Laura explains. 

Laura's parents were both small business owners. They are an intricate part of her having the confidence to start a new business. "Having the courage to get yourself out there is the hardest part to overcome but growing up in a household where entrepreneurship thrived made the idea of being a small business owner less daunting," Goulding stated. 

Although Laura Goulding can do what she loves, it has not always been easy. Mom's guilt has been challenging for her.

"Regardless of the support you have, there will always be times when your mind runs wild and makes you feel like you aren’t doing enough for your family. These are often the times that feel busy between navigating appointments, multiple orders to fill or a busy day during my full-time job. These days I try to remind myself to take a step back to take a break. As silly as it sounds, my husband will remind me in the wise words of Coco Melon, “When you are not at your best, take a rest.” One of the hardest parts of this is taking that step back but it is true. You need to take time to rest so you can show up for you and your family in the best way possible. This has taken me a LONG time to learn and recognize when I need to do this, instead of doing the ‘push through’ get it done and the change has done wonders for my mental health. When it comes to the business specifically, there is learning every day from product assembly and design techniques to customer service and more. There have been many days where I feel like I am fighting with technology all day, you win some you lose some. While those are the days it feels easier to just give up, I remind myself that, “Nothing worth doing comes easy.” This helps me think big picture and long term about my goals and why I started this business in the first place. I also rephrase things from I “have to” do this, to I “get to” do this. This simple word changes the entire tone and trajectory of the sentence and reminds me to feel optimistic about what I am doing," she expressed.

Laura's biggest challenge in business was the food bank fundraiser. "This food bank fundraiser was not as successful as it was the first year I did it and while we are still going to make a larger donation to the food bank, there was not the uptake I had hoped for compared to 2021. I have taken this opportunity to reflect and learn from the experience as well as remember the positive things that came with it, like the lovely article that was written. You win some, you lose some and that is ok," Goulding explained. 

Laura continued, "Despite all the obstacles she has faced, Laura has accomplished that much more. One of her most meaningful goals has been to be as involved in her local community as possible. In 2021 and 2022 she ran an annual fundraiser for her local food bank selling a digital garden journal that people could purchase online, and all proceeds go to the local food bank."  This year her local newspaper wrote a lovely article about their fundraiser and business (https://www.orangeville.com/community-story/10624247-grand-valley-business-helps-families-learnabout-gardening-food-literacy-through-fundraiser-for-the-orangeville-food-bank). While this product does not fall into the same memories category like Little Moment Big Memories other collections, this product was created with their food bank in mind to support food literacy and education among youth in their community. 

Here at Jay's Intuitive Life Coaching and Inspired Healing, LLC we have a saying that we like to use. "Healing is a journey, not a destination." We asked Laura Goulding if she could give moms who aspire to start the businesses and continue their healing journey any advice, what would it be? She offered this, "The worst they’ll say is no” this is something I live by and is such a strong phrase when it comes to confidence. The word ‘no’ sucks to hear, but do not let it scare you or stop you from asking the questions you need to get to the place you want to be. “No” is just a word, don’t give it the power to control your goals and the confidence you have to pursue them."

If you are interested in Laura's products and services, you can connect with her through their website at www.littlemomentsbigmemories.ca or on Instagram and Facebook. Orders take two business days to assemble, and they offer to ship anywhere in North America. Shipping is free anywhere in Canada.