A Love Letter to Staying Small
This Small Business Saturday, I’ve been reflecting on what it really means to run a small business in a world that seems obsessed with “big.”
Everywhere you turn—podcasts, interviews, business gurus—the message is the same: scale as fast as possible. Grow. Explode. Become the next SKIMS or whatever the buzzy success story of the moment is. The dream, apparently, is to get huge.
But… why?
Why isn’t it enough to simply be excellent?
Why isn’t it enough to create something meaningful, do it well, and keep your integrity intact?
I’ve been running Happy Habitat for going on 15 years now, and the more time passes, the more I’ve come to realize something: staying small can be its own kind of triumph. Actually, it can be a beautiful triumph.
If you’ve built something that supports your family, keeps a roof over your head, doesn’t require mountains of debt, and still lets you wake up excited about the work you do—how is that not success?
We don’t celebrate that enough.
We don’t talk about the businesses that quietly endure for 10, 12, 15 years… the ones without investors, without overnight hype, without pressure to sacrifice their soul for scale. The ones that grow slowly, intentionally, sustainably.
Small isn’t mediocre.
Small isn’t settling.
Small can be the sweet spot.
Small means you still know your customers.
Small means you get to keep your vision yours.
Small means you make choices that feel right instead of chasing endless “more.”
And while big companies often get bigger just for the sake of being big, small businesses get to define success on their own terms. Not by venture capital, not by viral numbers, not by someone else’s scoreboard.
Just by creating a good living rooted in meaning, quality, and connection.
So on this Small Business Saturday, I’m celebrating the small businesses—mine included—that are still here. Still making things with care. Still supporting families. Still proving that “enough” is a perfectly honorable place to be.
And to everyone who has supported Happy Habitat in any way over the years—thank you. You’re part of what makes staying small not just possible, but powerful.
Here’s to small.
Here’s to steady.
Here’s to the kind of success you can actually feel.
Nearly every company’s goal is growing their business. And while there’s nothing wrong with that, I truly appreciate your celebration of excellence over size. You make an amazing product, you love what you do, you know your customers, you are highly respected. I would say you’ve achieved what’s really important; a truly wonderful product run by an entrepreneur who’s enjoying herself. Bravo!
I remember first seeing one of your products in the background of a episode of tiny homes (irony on small) and having to track down the homeowners via Instagram and then buying my first blanket at a little boutique studio in CA.
Thank you for quality you have brought to my life over 15 years… as my grandmother slowly passed from dementia she was never without her mini. She always said it weighed just right…I was sad when it disappeared during her final visit in hospice.
My mother has quilted me out of one of my favorite on my last visit because she said my dad took the one I gave her as an anniversary present.
Finally, my personal opinion is that giving a quality gift that lasts a lifetime is always worth time and effort. Your blankets are my best gift ( when I can afford it) and the milestone adult gift i have given to the 18 year old in my life.
Long comment , short…. thanks for being a source of joy for many years through happenstance and a deliberate focus on quality.
So true, your product reflects your belief in a beautiful and honest world.
This. All of this. Such a beautiful, counter-hustle-culture sentiment. Take my money, HH. 😉
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