PayPal Stories Archive

Today, we’re celebrating National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day and the 28 million small businesses across the U.S. Small businesses are a critical and growing part of the American economy, accounting for 54 percent of all U.S. sales and 55 percent of all jobs, according to the U.S. Small Business Association.

 

At PayPal, we’re proud to work with millions of businesses around the world, many of which are small businesses -- the backbone of our economy. But as many small business owners will tell you, starting, building and scaling a small business takes hard work, persistence and comes with many surprises. We spoke with some of the amazing small businesses we work with to find out what was the top thing they didn’t realize before starting their business, and how they solved for them.

 

 

“When I started The Music Zoo 22 years ago, I had a dream that I would be playing and teaching guitar and selling beautiful new and vintage guitars around the world. But I quickly realized that I was spending more time learning everything from marketing and finance to accounting and even light construction. As a small business owner just getting started, you really have to become a jack of all trades. I learned how to do things that I didn’t even realize I would need to know, and learned them really quickly. It’s important to go into starting a business with the realization that, at least early on, you’ll have to do a lot of learning. Nothing could have prepared me for this. Two decades later, we now have various departments for all the roles I use to hold.” -- Tommy Colletti, The Music Zoo.

 

 

"Before I launched Peanut Butter Americano I thought we had it all; great branding, great products and a value proposition everyone could get on board with. The first month we went to market I realized I was wrong. It was an absolute struggle. We were missing something more important than all of the things I thought mattered. We had no social currency. People didn't know if they could trust us, especially with their credit cards, because they had no idea who we were! The solution? Tying our name to more established groups that did have social currency by building strategic partnerships. We started working closely with groups like … PayPal who people already trusted. All of a sudden the ‘who are you?’ turned into ‘Oh, you work with them!? Here you go, SWIPE.’ Building strategic partnerships is one of the most important things you can do as an independent business." -- Jeff Malkoon, Peanut Butter Americano.

 

 

“The one road block that surprised me when beginning my business was the amount of time needed to establish and create the brand in itself. The colors, the feel and the words you use when talking about it.  The who and what you are as a company are essential to not only your customers but your overall success. In today’s socially driven society people connect with the imagery and the fast pace text of a headline. To solve it – beyond being innovative and unique – you must dive deep into what you are trying to accomplish and sell, but most importantly who you are as a business owner and the image you want to portray. Be bold and don’t cut corners on what your customers will see as their first impression and everyday identity.” -- Tamra Andress, Yootoo.

 

 

“When we first launched our business, we didn’t realize that fitting into traditional distribution channels would require us to make fundamental changes to the production and pricing structures we had conceptualized. After a couple years of trying to accommodate industry standards, we stopped trying to fit in and decided to stand out. Flipping the script on how decor products usually come to market via the traditional showroom system, we struck out on our own by working with clients directly, and both our profits and sense of fulfillment increased. Getting positive feedback from clients can’t be measured the same way as profit margins.” -- Josh Young, Detroit Wallpaper, Co.

 

 

“Before I started my bakery business, I didn't realize that there is much more to it than just baking and selling. There is an entirely separate aspect of the business that I didn't have a clue how to deal with including taxes, permits, inspections and hiring employees. This part of it is just as time consuming as producing products, I was a bit overwhelmed at first because I was doing everything myself, but as my business started growing and flourishing I decided to hire a team of professionals (accountants and attorneys) who handled these things. If I knew then what I know now, I would've avoided a lot of headaches and fines. I've gained tons of knowledge since I first started baking cupcakes in my kitchen 8 years ago. I now run a very successful full service bakery cafe and frozen yogurt shop that I feel has been so successful because I am able to focus of the operation itself instead of pushing papers in my office all day.” -- Monique Cortes, Founder, Sassy Sweets

 

 

“The most important thing I didn’t know when I started a business was that technology would not only change the way I do business, but it would almost dictate the way I do business. In my business, technology has encouraged me to do everything from communicating with clients via Skype and text messages all day to using live streaming to develop a virtual conference. If I didn’t keep up with all of the changing trends, I would be out of business. According to my PayPal activity report, 75 percent of my sales come from international clients*. I believe that's only possible because of the technology tools I use daily.” -- Genia Stevens, Belwah Media.

 

 

“I didn't realize starting a business would be like having a third (fourth and fifth!) child. I imagined receiving a couple of orders per day and packing them at night while my children were in bed. Truth is, the early days in business are like raising a newborn. It keeps you up until all hours of the night and requires constant attention and nurturing. But over the past 18 months I've found my groove and life is getting easier. We joined Shopify, started using Xero for our accounting software and recruited a small team of helpers.” -- Lucy Nourse, Little Letter Lights Co.

 

*Results pertain to one business and may not be indicative of results that every business will achieve.