By Kaili Brooks • Photos by Susan Ayer
As a mother, entrepreneur, and community figure, Molly Ging provides local families with what they need most—support, and the best baby gear available. We sat down to chat about motherhood, philosophy, Ann Arbor, and the tenuous future of small businesses.
Kaili Brooks: Tell us the story of how The Little Seedling began. Did you always want to be a business owner?
Molly Ging: It’s a story I’ve told a million times, but I think it’s a good one. I got pregnant with my first kiddo 22 years ago and planned on being a stay-at-home mom, and we planned on cloth diapering. When I was pregnant, I went to the phonebook to look up the diaper service in the area and was shocked to learn that there wasn’t one. My mom cloth-diapered us. I never liked how disposable diapers felt, but I felt like I had no choice since there was nothing available. I was on a parenting message board one day and a woman told me I could do it at home on my own. I thought ‘that’s crazy,’ but I started doing some research and spent the first six weeks of my son’s life trying out different diapers. I thought it was crazy that there wasn’t a place in Ann Arbor to buy cloth diapers, so when I was six weeks postpartum, I turned to my husband and said ‘honey, I’m going to start a business tomorrow.’ It just snowballed. I started with a small purchase of 24 diapers, but eventually I became known in playgroups as ‘the diaper lady.’ It was never intended to be what it is now. Moms came and shopped in my basement and eventually we added slings and toys. It’s always been about responding to the community’s needs and wants.
Kaili Brooks: Where does the name The Little Seedling come from?
Molly Ging: So, it’s less interesting than you think—it was something that was available. Originally it was Tree City Diapers, since we live in Ann Arbor. After my son Daniel was born, we moved out of the house and into a small store. The business kept exploding, but people would say things like ‘I’ve heard of you, but we don’t cloth diaper.’ At that point we were carrying toys and diapers. We needed to change the name but didn’t want to be too specific. I settled on The Little Seedling, singular, though people call us Little Seedlings all the time.
Kaili Brooks: What’s your philosophy on motherhood? How has that impacted your business?
Molly Ging: I would say that the mother I ended up being is not the mother I expected to be. There were all sorts of things I judged other mothers on before pre-parenthood, but I did a lot of the things I didn’t think I was going to do. My motherhood was in the blossoming of the internet and the beginning of the mommy wars and the judgement that comes with that. My philosophy has always been what works for me is important to me, and what you do in your own home is your business. I will never push what I believe on somebody else. If you want help learning how I did it, I’m happy to help. There’s a balance. Find what works for you and find support in that; if you offer support, do it in a way that’s non-judgmental. I’ve been in the thick of it, I get it. With my staff, the first question I ask in an interview is if they’re comfortable with families of all types. You have to be comfortable working with every kind of family; we don’t subscribe to any particular parenting style. I have wooden toys and plastic toys. We try to keep everything available, accessible, and judgment free.
Kaili Brooks: What support or services do you provide beyond products?
Molly Ging: Sometimes I struggle with my position in a capitalist culture as someone who makes a living selling products. I could mark things up to make more of a profit but choose not to; I will refuse to sell you more than you need! If you want to come in and buy 20 carriers that’s your decision, but I try to make sure families only leave with quality over quantity. As a business you get approached all the time for donations. I have some money I allocate to things I find important in the community. Any money I donate goes to the surrounding community, title-one public schools, and organizations that support underserved children first. The inequity in Ann Arbor schools is near criminal. I donate as much as I can toward the Hikone Afterschool Program (a free childcare program for underserved youth) since their funding has been absolutely obliterated. I let our employees bring their kids to work; daycare is unaffordable in this town. I never wanted to be separated from my children when they were young, so I let them bring their kiddos for as long as they need.
Kaili Brooks: Have you noticed any changes in the culture of motherhood over the years of owning your business?
Molly Ging: 100%. The fact that we don’t carry cloth diapers anymore is one. When I first started being a mother, the culture was attachment parenting. We wore our kids in slings, my firstborn nursed until over two, he slept in bed with me, we fed whole foods. I’ve seen everything go in waves. It shifted very much in the opposite direction; put your baby in a stroller, in their own room very early, cry it out. It was totally not my philosophy. Slings and carriers stopped selling, but now people are asking for them again. It’s shifting back into a modified, balanced attachment parenting style. I wonder what philosophy my kids will adopt with their children; it’s so interesting to watch the trends cycle through, and I suspect our parents felt the same way.
Kaili Brooks: What are your shoot-for-the stars goals for your business? What does the future hold?
Molly Ging: I can’t do this forever: I work every day. Running your own business is not for the faint of heart. I’d love to be in business long enough for my children to become a part of it. It would be nice to see it continued. I know it will come to an end at some point. Up until this year we knew what to expect, but we’ve been thrown for an absolute curveball this year. Things that were expensive before are ridiculously expensive due to tariffs. This year is going to be a major testing point for the baby and toy industry. I’ve come up with a thousand other stores I’d love to open, but I’m realistic about what I have in me. I want to continue the work we are doing in a way that makes my soul happy, makes some money, and serves the community in the way it needs to be served. It’s not super aspirational, but it’s realistic. I’m more of a simple girl, I’m not here to be Bezos. I’m here to run a good business and be proud of it.
The Little Seedling is located at 2465 W. Stadium Blvd, Ann Arbor, MI 48103. The store operates from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. For more information call (734) 418-2392. To shop the store’s complete selection from home, visit thelittleseedling.com.
