Today we’d like to introduce you to Ariel Wan.
Hi Ariel, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
“The story of Little Break really began with a feeling that almost every modern parent knows all too well: the exhaustion of trying to do it all without a safety net. After experiencing deep burnout in my previous 9-to-5 corporate job, I knew I wanted to build something with a deeper, more tangible purpose. When I got pregnant with my second child, the reality of the childcare crisis hit me like a ton of bricks—I found myself calling my daycare director to lock in a spot before I had even shared the news with most of our family!
I started thinking about remote workers and stay-at-home parents who are constantly torn between pursuing their professional goals and being fully present for their young children. Why did it have to be an either/or choice?
I imagined a ‘third space’ where parents could bring their laptops, get focused work done, and have their little ones playing safely just a few steps away. We piloted the concept in a local game shop before hours, moving furniture and lugging in toys every single day to test the waters. The response was immediate. Today, Little Break has its own bright, sunlit home on Research Park Drive in Ann Arbor. Powered by our nonprofit parent organization, The Mamas Network, we’ve grown into a bustling hub of coworking, childwatch, and parent support groups. We got where we are today because we stopped waiting for a ‘village’ to appear—we built one ourselves.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
“It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, but honestly, the bumps along the way just proved how desperately our community needed this space.
In the beginning, the biggest struggle was pure, unadulterated physical exhaustion. When we were piloting the idea at Upkeep Games before they opened for the day, I was essentially a human moving company. Every single morning, I would haul tons of heavy toys, playpens, and gear into the space, set it all up perfectly for the families, and then pack it all down and reset the store before the afternoon crowd arrived. I was running on passion and caffeine, driven by the knowledge that the parents coming in that morning truly had nowhere else to turn.
Transitioning into our permanent home on Research Park Drive brought a different kind of challenge: navigating the legal and operational uncharted territory of a co-playing, co-working hybrid. Because parents remain on-site to nurse, bottle-feed, or change diapers, we operate beautifully without the astronomical overhead of a traditional daycare license. But pioneering a relatively new model means explaining it to landlords, insurers, and the community from scratch.
The final, daily struggle is carrying the emotional weight of our members. Parents often find us when they are at their absolute breaking point—their nanny called in sick, they have a major career presentation in two hours, and they are drowning in guilt and stress. Helping them lower that stress from a ten to a zero in real-time is incredibly rewarding, but it requires a lot of emotional energy. We’ve had to learn how to guard our own energy so we can continue being the rock-solid village these families need.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
What truly sets us apart, however, is that this entire ecosystem was built on a 20-year career foundation in art, design, marketing, and communications.
My journey began right here at the University of Michigan, where I earned my BFA in Art and Design. Following graduation, I spent two decades working at a high level across photography, graphic design, corporate marketing, and strategic planning. When I set out to solve the modern childcare crisis, I didn’t just approach it as a frustrated parent—I approached it as a veteran designer and creative strategist. Every single aspect of Little Break is a direct manifestation of that 20-year portfolio:
Human Interaction & Spatial Design: My BFA training taught me how humans navigate physical spaces. I didn’t just pick out furniture; I intentionally designed our Research Park Drive location using human interaction principles. The space is mapped so that a parent can experience quiet, distraction-free focus in our work areas, while knowing their child is thriving in a bright, secure, play-based environment just rooms away—close enough for comfort, but structured for deep work.
Brand Identity, Photography & Graphic Design: In the modern nonprofit landscape, a brand has to resonate instantly. I leveraged my background in professional photography and graphic design to craft a visual identity that felt premium, warm, and highly trustworthy from day one. Because I shoot our own photography and manage our entire design output, the brand has an authentic, high-impact aesthetic that allowed us to cut through the noise and instantly connect with our audience.
Corporate Strategy & Campaign Planning: Building an impactful nonprofit completely by myself required heavy operational lifting. I treated the launch of Little Break exactly like the multi-million dollar corporate marketing campaigns I used to direct. I utilized my years of experience in market analysis, audience segmentation, and strategic timeline planning to boot-strap a highly efficient, sustainable business model.
What I Am Most Proud Of:
I am proudest of the fact that I was able to synthesize a lifetime of disparate creative skills into a singular, social-impact mission. I spent 20 years learning how to build brands and scale corporate narratives; applying those exact same corporate tools to build a literal village for local parents has been the most rewarding work of my life.
I’m proud that when parents walk into Little Break, they don’t see a clinical daycare or a cold corporate office. They see a beautifully designed, meticulously planned sanctuary built by someone who understands exactly what a working parent needs to feel inspired, supported, and successful.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
If I could give one piece of advice to founders who are just starting out, it would be this: The problem you are trying to solve today is a now problem, but it might not be the problem a few months from now.
When you are deeply passionate about a mission, it is incredibly easy to get trapped in the weeds of immediate execution. You become hyper-focused on solving the acute, burning fire right in front of you. But true, sustainable impact requires you to lift your head up and look at the horizon. You have to think bigger. Ask yourself: How will this model adapt when the market shifts? What does this look like in a year, or five years, when the immediate environment changes? Build for the future, not just for Tuesday morning.
To do that effectively, you have to talk to more people—and specifically, talk to people who don’t look like you, think like you, or operate in your immediate bubble. When I was building Little Break and The Mamas Network, expanding my circle and listening to a wider net of voices was what allowed me to stress-test my ideas and scale the concept from a scrappy pilot into a lasting nonprofit structure.
Finally, don’t sweat the small stuff. When you are building something from scratch entirely by yourself, every single detail feels like a life-or-death decision for the business. It’s exhausting, and it’s a quick ticket to burnout. I wish I had known earlier on that perfection is the enemy of momentum. The wrong paint color, a delayed shipment, or a minor administrative hiccup won’t tank your vision. As long as your core strategy is sound, your brand identity is strong, and your mission is serving a real human need, the small details will always find a way to work themselves out. Keep your eyes on the big picture.
Pricing:
- $229 5 days a month membership
- $449 12 days a month membership
- $799 21 days a month membership
- $65 drop-in day pass
Contact Info:
- Website: https://LittleBreak.org
- Instagram: Littlebreakcowork
- Facebook: Littlebreakcowork
