Let’s say you’re a new mom, guardian to your teenage sister, and Hurricane Helene just destroyed your home in Tampa. And all this happened only a few years after a car accident that left you in the ICU.

Most people would not choose that moment to build a business.

Whitney Dueñas Richardson did it anyway.

Today, Global Sprouts ships cultural education subscription boxes to families across the United States. At $39.99 per month, each box introduces children ages 2-6 to a different country through hands-on crafts, stories, language learning, and recipes. The boxes are created in partnership with Cultural Ambassadors from each featured country, ensuring authenticity that competitors can’t replicate by Googling.

But Global Sprouts didn’t start in a warehouse or with venture capital. It started at Whitney’s kitchen table, born from a simple realization: she couldn’t find educational materials to teach her daughter about her CHamoru heritage from Guam.

This is the story of how adversity, cultural identity, and corporate marketing experience all came together in the form of a subscription box business.

An Island Most Americans Didn’t Know Exists

Whitney’s journey to entrepreneurship begins with geography—specifically, an island in the western Pacific that most Americans have never heard of.

“I am from the island of Guam, part Dutch, and moved to the States in 2013, where very few people knew what or where Guam was,” Whitney explains. “I quickly became ‘Whit from Guam’ because people were fascinated by this island they didn’t know existed.”

That fascination would become foundational to her business years later. But first came the realization that sparked everything.

“When I had my daughter two years ago, I found that very few educational resources taught about my culture,” she says. “As I was scrambling to put together cultural activities for her to learn about her heritage, I realized that there had to be other moms out there like me. Moms who want to teach their child about the world but can’t find resources that teach about the people and children of other countries.”

The gap in the market was obvious once Whitney started looking. Plenty of educational materials existed for teaching ABCs and 123s. STEM boxes were everywhere.

But authentic, age-appropriate materials for teaching young children about global cultures? Almost nothing. Just…crickets.

“Global Sprouts was born at my kitchen table because I want parents, grandparents, and caretakers to have access to materials to raise the next generation to be empathetic and accepting of other cultures,” Whitney says.

The personal motivation ran deeper than a business opportunity. Whitney wanted her daughter to grow up knowing all three parts of her identity.

“When I worked in corporate marketing, I loved the creativity and strategy, but after having my daughter, it shifted,” she explains. “I wanted her to grow up knowing who she is, CHamoru, Dutch, and American, and to love that about herself from the very beginning.”

From Marketer to Founder

Before Global Sprouts, Whitney spent years in corporate marketing at Ferguson Enterprises, a major distributor of plumbing supplies and building materials. That experience would prove essential for how she built her subscription box business.

“My marketing experience at Ferguson taught me to dominate local markets first, then follow the breadcrumbs,” Whitney says. “We started in Tampa, expanded into major Texas cities, and plan to grow from larger markets into smaller ones as we scale.”

But the more valuable lesson from Ferguson wasn’t about geography. Rather, it was about who to sell to first.

“It’s actually very similar,” Whitney explains when comparing Ferguson’s B2B approach to Global Sprouts’ strategy. “At Ferguson, our focus was on building relationships with businesses first, contractors, builders, designers, so when homeowners needed products, they already trusted and asked for us by name. With Global Sprouts, we take that same ‘community first’ approach by connecting with schools, teachers, and educational programs. When children experience our kits in the classroom, they go home excited to share them with their parents. In both cases, it’s about building credibility and trust with the community that influences the end consumer. Paid media simply amplifies what we’ve already built through real connections.”

This B2B2C approach—selling to businesses who then influence consumers—is sophisticated for a subscription box startup. But Whitney’s corporate background gave her the playbook.

The transition from corporate marketing to founder wasn’t just about applying skills, though. It was about purpose.

“It goes back to how I started looking for ways to teach her about her heritage and the world around her, but there just weren’t many authentic, hands-on resources for young children,” Whitney says.

“That gap sparked the idea for Global Sprouts. I realized if I wanted my daughter to grow up proud of her roots and curious about others, other parents probably did too. So I left the corporate world to build something that would help families everywhere raise globally minded, empathetic children.”

ICU, Hurricane Helene, and Building Anyway

The path from idea to execution wasn’t smooth. Whitney faced adversities that would have stopped most entrepreneurs before they started.

“The biggest adversities in my life became the foundation for everything I’ve built,” Whitney says. “Years ago, a car accident left me in the ICU and completely changed my perspective. It made me realize I had been living on autopilot and pushed me to start creating with intention.”

After recovering, Whitney opened and sold a fitness studio. Then came the challenge of balancing multiple roles simultaneously.

“Later, I opened and sold a fitness studio, was a new mom and became guardian to my teenage sister, and rebuilt after Hurricane Helene destroyed our home,” she explains.

Hurricane Helene hit Florida’s Gulf Coast in September 2024 as a Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph winds. While the storm made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region, the Tampa Bay area experienced a devastating storm surge of 6-8 feet and widespread destruction. Over 1,000 people had to be rescued in the Tampa Bay area alone, to say nothing of the flooding as far inland western Northern Carolina.

For Whitney, Hurricane Helene didn’t just damage property. It destroyed her home while she was building a business.

“Each season taught me resilience, creativity, and empathy, which are the qualities that ultimately shaped Global Sprouts,” Whitney says.

That resilience shows in how she approaches the business itself. Global Sprouts isn’t built on the assumption that everything will go perfectly. It’s built by someone who knows how to rebuild when disaster strikes.

Authenticity Can’t Be Made with Google

In the crowded subscription box market, authenticity is Global Sprouts’ competitive moat. And Whitney protects that moat through the Cultural Ambassador Program.

“Authenticity is at the heart of everything we do,” Whitney says. “From the start, I knew Global Sprouts couldn’t just rely on online research or assumptions and we needed real voices and real experiences behind every kit. That’s why we created our Cultural Ambassador Program, partnering directly with people from each country we feature. They help choose the crafts, review storylines, and share traditions, language, and everyday details that make the experience genuine. We compensate them for their time and creativity, because it’s a true collaboration, not extraction.”

This approach costs more than having someone research countries online and create generic activities. But it creates something competitors can’t replicate.

“You can recreate the idea, but not the relationships or perspective behind it,” Whitney explains. “Our Cultural Ambassadors share lived experiences you can’t Google, and I approach every kit as both a founder and a mom, always asking, ‘Would I want my daughter to learn this?’ That mix of authenticity and intention is what makes Global Sprouts impossible to duplicate.”

The program ensures that each box goes beyond stereotypes and surface-level facts. When a box features Japan, it’s co-created with someone from Japan. When it features Costa Rica, it’s built with input from someone who actually lives that culture.

Whitney experienced this need personally during her travels, and it’s why this process is so much a linchpin to Global Sprouts. She says, “when I was traveling to all these countries, I was drawn to the small towns that aren’t tourist hotspots. My family traveled to Samara, Guanacaste in Costa Rica earlier this year and it was so fulfilling to visit local restaurants, watch my daughter play with local children on the playground, and hear stories from the people living there. That was a beautiful experience that furthered my thinking that everyone needs to be able to learn about the world around them, especially children!”

Those authentic experiences, not just guidebook summaries, are what Global Sprouts aims to deliver in every box.

Community Came First, Then Paid Media Second

Whitney’s Ferguson background shaped not just her B2B2C strategy but her entire marketing philosophy.

“It’s definitely a crowded space, but that just means you have to be intentional about standing for something real,” Whitney says about the subscription box market. “Most children’s boxes focus on entertainment or STEM learning, while Global Sprouts is rooted in culture, empathy, and connection. They are authentically created with our ambassadors so parents see the difference immediately.”

But even the most authentic product needs a go-to-market strategy. Whitney’s approach prioritizes community building over paid advertising.

“From a marketing standpoint, it goes back to community first, paid media second,” she explains. “We start local with schools and libraries so families can experience Global Sprouts firsthand before ever seeing an ad. That’s where my marketing background comes in: we build genuine awareness and trust through storytelling, then scale through targeted paid media and social proof. It’s a long game, but it creates customers who stay.”

This approach flips the typical startup playbook. Instead of buying Facebook ads to acquire customers quickly, Global Sprouts invests in partnerships with schools and libraries. Children experience the boxes in educational settings, then go home excited to tell their parents.

The result is customers who come pre-sold on the product because they’ve seen it work with their own children.

It’s slower than blasting paid ads. But it’s more sustainable and creates better unit economics over time.

Why Focus on Kids Aged 2-6?

“We focus on ages 2–6 because those early years are when curiosity and identity start to take root,” Whitney says. “Children at that stage are naturally open-minded and eager to explore, so it’s the perfect time to introduce them to different cultures. Our content is designed with that developmental window in mind and mindful of short attention spans, the benefits of sensory learning, etc. Every activity is simple enough for little hands but meaningful enough to spark connection, helping parents lay the foundation for cultural awareness that grows with their child.”

The boxes are designed around what Whitney calls “FAFO parenting”—giving children space to experience natural consequences and learn through exploration.

“FAFO parenting is about giving children space to experience natural consequences and learn through exploration which aligns perfectly with Global Sprouts,” she explains. “Our kits are designed to let children take the lead by trying, creating, sometimes making mistakes, and discovering what works along the way. It’s not about perfect crafts or memorizing facts but nurturing curiosity and problem-solving. When children are trusted to ‘find out’ for themselves they grow more confident and connected to the world around them.”

This philosophy resonates with parents tired of perfectionism and structured activities. The crafts in Global Sprouts boxes aren’t meant to look Instagram-perfect. They’re meant to be explored, experimented with, and yes, sometimes done “wrong.”

The age range also makes business sense. After mastering ages 2-6, Whitney has room to expand.

“In the next 3–5 years, our goal is to expand Global Sprouts to reach more age groups and represent even more of the world,” she says. The company is already testing interest in boxes for children ages 7 and older.

Representation Has To Be Felt, Not Just Seen

“Representation is built into every Global Sprouts kit,” she says. “We co-create each one with Cultural Ambassadors from that country to ensure the stories, crafts, and recipes reflect real life and not stereotypes. Families have shared that their children light up when they recognize a tradition or language from their own heritage, and others love that their children are learning about cultures beyond their own. That feedback reminds us that representation isn’t just seen but felt.”

One of the countries featured in Global Sprouts is Guam, allowing Whitney to share her own CHamoru heritage with other families. It’s the box she wished existed when her daughter was born.

This dual impact—children seeing their own culture represented while other children learn about it—is what makes the Cultural Ambassador Program essential. Without authentic voices, the boxes would just be another form of cultural tourism. But it’s with the collaboration with ambassadors that they become windows into lived experiences.

The Next 3-5 Years

Whitney launched Global Sprouts with 12 countries featured across different boxes. But the vision is much larger.

“We launched with 12 countries, but our vision is to grow to over 30, giving families a truly global learning experience,” she says. “We’re also developing new activities and resources for older children to continue building empathy and cultural understanding as they grow.”

The expansion isn’t just about more countries. It’s about reaching more children at different developmental stages. The company has already started gauging interest in boxes for ages 7 and older, recognizing that cultural education doesn’t stop at age 6.

But regardless of how many countries or age ranges Global Sprouts eventually covers, the foundation remains the same: authentic voices, hands-on learning, and materials that help children understand the world beyond their own experience.

“I wanted her to grow up knowing who she is, CHamoru, Dutch, and American, and to love that about herself from the very beginning,” Whitney says of her daughter. That personal mission became Global Sprouts’ broader purpose—helping every child know who they are while being curious about everyone else.

You can explore Global Sprouts’ full collection at globalsprouts.com or start a monthly subscription to bring the world to your doorstep.

Key Takeaways

Did you read this piece looking for tips on how to grow your own business? Here are some things that stood out to me.

Don’t wait for perfect conditions to start building.

Whitney went through a lot in her life, including a serious car accident, taking guardianship of her teenage sister, and losing her home to Hurricane Helene. And she credits these conditions with teaching her resilience, creativity, and empathy.

Deep knowledge requires compensation.

The Cultural Ambassador Program pays people for their time and expertise. It’s collaboration, not extraction. This creates a competitive moat competitors can’t replicate by Googling.

Corporate experience translates to startups.

Ferguson’s B2B2C model—build trust with influencers (contractors) who influence end buyers (homeowners)—applies directly to Global Sprouts’ school-first, parent-second approach. Your corporate skills might be more transferable than you think.

Start local.

For Whitney, she started reaching out to schools and libraries. She let families experience products firsthand. Then once she saw how things went, it was only then that she would amplify with paid media.

Subscription boxes are crowded. Stand for something real.

Entertainment and STEM are everywhere. Culture, empathy, and connection are rare. When the market is crowded, narrow your focus and own it completely, as Whitney did by doubling down on cultural authenticity through Global Sprouts.

You work a full-time 9-to-5 and rush home to eat dinner. Then you work until midnight blending essential oils, hand-bottling products, applying labels, and packing orders.

On weekends, you do more of the same. And on top of all that, you’re burning 8 to 10 hours every month just managing sales tax across 20+ states.

That was Jessica Rich’s life for months while building Bona Dea Naturals, her natural feminine health brand. Today, she’s sold over 150,000 bottles worldwide and earned more than 8,000 five-star reviews on Amazon. But the journey from chronic health struggles to a thriving women’s wellness business wasn’t glamorous. It was grueling, uncertain, and required her to push through moments when most people would have quit.

This is the story of how one woman turned her personal pain into a science-backed solution that’s helped thousands of women. And it’s also a story of how she’s challenging the stigma that all too often surrounds women’s intimate health.

Jessica Started By Solving Her Own Problem

Jessica Rich dealt with a lot of women’s health issues before building Bona Dea—the sort that seemed constant and awfully difficult to resolve. And she is refreshingly forthright and honest about this on the about page of Bona Dea.

As time went on, Jessica found herself distressed by how traditional pharmaceutical treatments kept failing her. She was tired of temporary fixes to recurring infections and wanted something that actually worked. And she wanted this to be done ideally without relying on constant medication.

That’s when she started researching essential oils and their antifungal and antibacterial properties. What began as curiosity quickly turned into deep research. “It felt like going down a rabbit hole,” Jessica says, “pulling late nights combing through medical journals and university studies about essential oils with antifungal and antibacterial properties.”

Here’s the thing: Jessica didn’t have a background in medicine or science. She’d worked in education and nonprofits. Sorting through dense, complex research text took serious effort. But what surprised her most was “how much research already existed, but how little of it had made its way into practical, accessible products for women.”

There was a clear gap between what science showed could help and what was actually being sold.

After months of trial and error, Jessica formulated a recipe that worked better than she imagined. She made her first homemade spray and shared it with friends who were struggling with the same recurring infections she’d dealt with for years. They experienced real relief, just like she had. They urged her to try selling it.

When Jessica made her very first Etsy sale, something clicked. “It hit me: this wasn’t just a personal fix. It was a solution other women had been desperately searching for too.”

In March 2016, Bona Dea Naturals was born.

The Grueling Reality of Scaling Solo

Those early days were a blur of long nights and relentless hustle. Jessica was still working her full-time job. A typical day looked like this: work 9 to 5, come home, eat dinner quickly, then spend the rest of the evening blending, bottling, labeling, and packing orders until late at night. Weekends were more of the same.

She was doing everything herself. Bookkeeping. Shipping. Customer service. Sales tax management. Advertising. Inventory tracking. All of it.

Jessica kept trying to make things more efficient. She went from hand-pouring to acquiring a small machine that would exactly fill each bottle with 2oz of product. She’d been placing each label on each bottle by hand, so she bought a label machine that made the job quicker and more consistent.

But she still couldn’t keep up.

She was managing sales tax across 20+ states where Amazon had inventory placed through FBA. That alone was eating up 8 to 10 hours every month. Every state seemed to have different rules, and it was overwhelming.

And as if that’s not enough, there was also a creeping sense of imposter syndrome.

The tipping point came when she was consistently spending more time on the business than on her actual job—and still couldn’t keep up with demand. She realized she either had to scale differently or burn out completely.

What kept her going during those exhausting months? The reviews. The stories women shared about finally finding relief after years of failed treatments. “That’s when I realized my private struggle could become something bigger—a business with the potential to help thousands,” Jessica says.

But something had to give.

From Kitchen to Contract Manufacturer

Moving from her kitchen to working with a contract manufacturer was the biggest and scariest leap Jessica took.

“I was terrified of losing control,” she says, “of handing my formula over to someone else and worrying it wouldn’t come out the same.” She also had no idea how to navigate purchase orders, freight terms, or minimum order quantities. It was a completely new world.

What Jessica learned is that “manufacturers aren’t just vendors, they’re partners.” Choosing the right one was critical. It forced her to think about her business in a more professional, scalable way.

The moment that shifted her mindset wasn’t abstract—it was physical. “Honestly, receiving the first pallets of my product from a manufacturer instead of seeing rows of bottles lined up in my kitchen made it real for me,” Jessica says. “That physical shift made me see the business as something much bigger than just a ‘side hustle.'”

For other founders dealing with imposter syndrome, Jessica offers this advice: “Don’t wait for someone else to validate you. Growth doesn’t always feel glamorous, but if customers keep coming back and your product works, you’re already the real deal.”

That transition from handmade to contract manufacturing unlocked everything. It gave Jessica the capacity to actually scale. And shortly after, she invested in automation software to handle multi-state sales tax compliance. That was a game-changer. It freed her to focus on growth instead of drowning in spreadsheets.

Mastering Amazon (And Learning Its Dark Side)

In the early years, Amazon felt like a golden ticket. Jessica’s products gained traction fast. Orders poured in. The numbers validated her passion and her product.

But over time, she learned how fragile that success could be.

Without warning or clear explanation, Amazon would remove listings—products she had poured months of research and development into. She’d be left scrambling to navigate vague policies and opaque support channels. Each takedown meant thousands in lost revenue and weeks, sometimes months, of uncertainty. And as the only employee of her company, she bore the full weight of those disruptions alone.

“The pivot came after realizing how fragile my Amazon-dependent business really was,” Jessica says. “One policy change could wipe out months of work and revenue overnight.”

Still, Amazon taught her invaluable lessons. Here are the three most critical things she learned about succeeding on the platform:

Reviews are everything.

“Even a tiny bump in rating can mean a 20–25% swing in sales,” Jessica explains. Customer feedback wasn’t just social proof—it directly impacted her revenue.

Never rely on Amazon alone.

It’s unpredictable. Policy changes, listing removals, and algorithm shifts can tank your business overnight. “Build your own channels and stability outside the platform,” she advises.

Master PPC ads.

Once you understand how to run Amazon advertising campaigns effectively, you gain far more control over your success.

Despite the challenges, Amazon remains a significant revenue driver for Bona Dea Naturals. But Jessica knew she needed to diversify. She couldn’t let one platform hold all the power.

Breaking Taboos & Marketing Feminine Health in a Censored World

Marketing women’s health products means constantly walking a tightrope between honesty and censorship.

So in that spirit, let’s speak very plainly.

Platforms flag words like “vagina” or “menopause” as inappropriate. That forces brands to use vague euphemisms. “Which is not only frustrating but medically irresponsible,” Jessica says.

Think about that for a second. Medical terms—accurate, clinical language that describes human anatomy and health conditions—get censored. It pushes legitimate healthcare conversations into the “adult” category, as if discussing your own body is somehow inappropriate.

Jessica refuses to play that game. Bona Dea Naturals stays authentic by “insisting on accurate language, fighting against mislabeling that pushes healthcare into the ‘adult’ category, and reminding women they deserve clear, stigma-free information.”

As she puts it: “Breaking taboos starts with saying the words out loud—and refusing to let algorithms dictate our conversations about health.”

The strategy has worked. Jessica has built deep trust with her community by being honest, responsive, and personally engaging with customers—even when the feedback is tough. She’s transparent about ingredients, product limitations, and the challenges of working in women’s health.

The most common customer feedback she receives? Some version of “this finally gave me my life back.”

Women share stories about finally finding relief after years of failed treatments. That level of vulnerability shaped how Jessica approaches everything. “I don’t chase trends,” she says. “I look for gaps where women are underserved and where science-backed natural solutions can make a real impact.”

As conversations around periods, menopause, and hormonal health have become less taboo, women feel more empowered to share their own experiences. That’s why Bona Dea Naturals’ reviews are so open and detailed. Jessica created a space where women don’t have to whisper about their health.

From a Single Product to a Women-Owned Marketplace

Two major realizations led Jessica to pivot Bona Dea Naturals from a single-product brand to a curated marketplace of women-owned wellness brands.

First, she saw how fragile her Amazon-dependent business really was. One policy change could wipe out months of work and revenue overnight.

Second, her customers were asking for natural solutions she couldn’t create alone. They trusted her judgment and wanted more options that aligned with the same values—science-backed, transparent, and effective.

Jessica realized that many small businesses focus on specific feminine issues but often lack the resources to provide a comprehensive catalog of products. She set out to curate the very best from ethically responsible, women-owned businesses that emphasize natural ingredients and nontraditional healing methods.

Her selection philosophy? “I view it like building a library: every product has to serve a purpose, fill a gap, and align with the overall mission of empowering women’s health.”

The Bona Dea Naturals marketplace now features products addressing often-overlooked issues: PCOS, endometriosis, hormonal balance, UTIs, incontinence, low libido, vaginal dryness, perimenopause, postpartum concerns, and menstrual health.

It’s a way to give women more options while creating “a more sustainable, community-driven business.”

Two years into this shift, Jessica’s online store is growing steadily. Customer engagement is deeper and more meaningful. While Amazon sales still account for the majority of her revenue, she’s steadily reducing her dependency and building something more sustainable: a brand that reflects her values and empowers a broader community.

A Decade of Lessons Learned

After nearly a decade of running Bona Dea Naturals, Jessica has strong opinions about what it really takes to succeed.

“If I had to give just one piece of advice, it would be this: resilience is everything,” she says. “After nearly a decade of running my business, I’ve realized that success doesn’t necessarily come down to having the best idea, the most funding, or even the perfect strategy. It comes down to your ability to keep going when things get hard—and they will get hard.”

There will be moments where you feel completely overwhelmed, like you don’t know what you’re doing, or like the next hurdle might be the one that breaks you. “And that’s exactly the moment when most people quit. That’s why so many businesses don’t make it—because it got too hard, and they decided they were done.”

But the ones who succeed? They push through. They figure it out. They fight for it.

Jessica admits that one of her biggest early weaknesses was taking everything personally. Because the business was so personal—born out of her own struggles—it felt like an extension of who she was. She took every negative review personally, resisted outside advice, and felt like she had to do everything herself because no one else could possibly understand it the way she did.

She’s still working on that. But she’s learned to separate herself from the business just enough to make better decisions.

On the product side, Jessica has always been adamant about balancing “natural” positioning with real efficacy. “I lead with results,” she says. “Yes, the ingredients are natural, but they’re also science-backed.”

She’s invested in clinical testing, like RIPT trials, to prove safety. And ultimately, thousands of detailed reviews speak louder than marketing ever could.

“Natural doesn’t mean ‘less effective’—it means effective without unnecessary chemicals.”

What’s Next For Bona Dea?

Today, Bona Dea Naturals has sold over 150,000 bottles worldwide. The brand has earned more than 8,000 five-star reviews on Amazon. What started as a desperate search for personal relief has turned into a thriving business helping thousands of women.

But Jessica’s vision goes beyond sales numbers.

“My vision is to build Bona Dea Naturals into the go-to destination for natural women’s wellness—not just a product brand, but a marketplace and community,” she says.

More broadly, she wants to help normalize the conversation around intimate health. “So that women no longer have to whisper about yeast infections or hormonal imbalances,” Jessica explains. “If we can replace stigma with science, honesty, and empowerment, we’ll have changed not just the marketplace, but the culture.”

It’s an ambitious goal. But if anyone can do it, it’s someone who spent months combing through medical journals with no science background, hand-bottled hundreds of units while working full-time, and refused to let Amazon’s algorithm or platform policies dictate how she talks about women’s health.

You can follow Bona Dea Naturals on Instagram or shop the full collection on their website and Etsy.

Key Takeaways

Did you read this piece looking for tips on how to grow your own business? Here are some things that stood out to me.

Start with your own pain point.

The best products often solve problems you’ve experienced yourself. Your authenticity shows through, and you understand your customer better than anyone else could.

Science-backed doesn’t mean pharmaceutical.

Invest in research and testing to prove natural ingredients work. Jessica spent months reviewing medical studies before formulating her first product, and she continues to invest in clinical testing like RIPT trials.

Don’t rely on a single sales channel.

Amazon taught Jessica that platform dependency is dangerous. One policy change, one listing removal, and your revenue can disappear overnight. Diversify early, build your own channels, and create stability outside any single platform.

Master the operational basics.

Tools and automation free you to focus on growth. For Jessica, investing in sales tax automation software was a game-changer that gave her back 8-10 hours every month. This ended up being time she could spend building the business instead of drowning in compliance.

Be clear in your messaging.

Women’s health is taboo and a lot of brands are tempted to use euphemisms for medical terms. But Jessica’s audience wanted (and needed and, frankly, deserved) accurate language. For Jessica, it was important to remind women they deserve clear, stigma-free information about their own bodies.

Resilience beats funding.

Most businesses fail because founders quit when it gets hard, not because they lacked resources. Success comes down to your ability to keep going when you feel overwhelmed, uncertain, or like the next hurdle might break you.

Build partnerships, not dependencies.

Whether it’s manufacturers or platforms, choose partners who align with your mission. Jessica learned that manufacturers aren’t just vendors. They’re partners in building something sustainable and scalable.

Getting started in eCommerce can be tricky. Even with all the wonderful eCommerce software like Shopify and WooCommerce, it still takes hours of setup even if you’re tech-savvy. What if you just want to start selling online without all the hassle?

Thankfully, PayPal has a very user-friendly option for entrepreneurs with a single product to sell. The idea is simple: you set up a PayPal Business Account and then you add PayPal Buy buttons to your website.

Seriously, that’s it! The configuration couldn’t be simpler and it’s a great stopgap to use before your business is large enough to justify setting up something more permanent, like a Shopify store.

So without any more preamble, let’s talk about how you can add PayPal Buy buttons to your website.

1. Create a PayPal Business account.

Before you can follow any of the steps in this guide, you will need to set up a PayPal Business Account. You can do that by going here and following all the prompts.

2. Log into your PayPal account and click Business Tools.

After you’ve set up your PayPal Business Account and logged in, you will see a home page like the one above. Click on Business Tools to proceed.

3. Scroll down and click Online Checkout.

 

4. Click Get Started.

5. Click Set up Pay Links and Buttons.

At this point, please note that you have a lot of options for integrating PayPal onto your store. When you click on Set up Pay Links and Buttons, you will have a chance to configure buttons for different products in different styles. At the end of the process, you will receive an HTML code which you will paste into your website.

If you are using a major platform like WooCommerce or Shopify, you may want to check Connect to an ecommerce platform and follow the steps provided by Shopify. If you’re custom-coding your site, Have a custom-built site is probably the better option.

If you don’t have a website and you simply need a very easy page for payments, click Accept payments without a site in the No website? No problem section.

The rest of this guide will talk about what happens when you click Set up Pay Links and Buttons.

6. Select Payment Buttons.

When you click Payment Buttons, you will have a chance to setup a payment button for different products or services in a style of your choosing. If you don’t have a website, you might prefer the Payment link & QR code option instead.

In the steps to follow, we will assume you click Payment Buttons.

7. Enter product details and customize buttons and thank you page.

To create and customize your button, there are several fields you can fill out.

• Item Name and Description: Enter an item name and an optional item description.
• Price: Set a price, which can either be “one set price” or “customer set price” which allows customers to set their own price (appropriate for tipping or situations where partial payment is acceptable.
• Quantity: You can also optionally set Quantity to allow customers to buy multiple items at a time up to a maximum limit.
• Images: You are able to add up to five images associated with your item.
• Button Labels: You can choose optionally to label your buttons, choosing between available text options such as “PayPal”, “Buy Now”, or “Checkout”.
• Customer Note: Tell customers what details you need like “Delivery Instructions.” You can even require customers to enter a note.
• Product ID: Include your product identifiers or SKU numbers.
• Variants: Let customers know if your product or service is available in up to 3 variations like color, size, type, etc. (You are able to adjust price per variant.)
• Inventory: This lets PayPal keep track of your items and variants.

When you click the Checkout tab, there are additional fields.

• Shipping Address: Enable to collect shipping address at checkout.
• Shipping Fees: Enable to set shipping fee for this item, including free shipping.
• Taxes: Enable to set the tax rate for this item.

Finally, on the Confirmation tab, you have one option.

• Auto-return URL: Choose a URL to let customers automatically return to your site after checkout.

8. Click Build It.

 

Once you have configured all button options to your satisfaction, click on Build It to generate the code you will insert on your website.

9. Add the button to your website.

When you’re done, you will have the ability to add the button to your website in a few ways:

• Payment Link: Simply copy and paste the payment link and send by email, text, or social media.
• QR Code: Gives customers a scannable link that will take them to your payment page.
• Stacked Buttons: Copy the HTML or React snippet and paste to your website. (Shows multiple buttons including “PayPal” and “Checkout”).
• Single Button: Copy the HTML or React snippet and paste to your website. (Shows just one checkout button).

Final Thoughts

There you go! Adding a PayPal button to your website is one of the fastest ways to start selling items online.

Remember: if you need help storing and shipping items once they start selling, Fulfillrite can help. We provide order fulfillment for businesses like yours. You can request a quote to learn more.

Sending 100+ orders a month?

Once PayPal buttons turn into real volume, packing and shipping starts eating your days.

If that’s where you’re headed, reach out now to find out what it costs to have someone handle that for you.

No commitment unless you like what you see.

The Company
Level 99 is a board game publishing company owned and operated by Brad Talton. Some of their more popular games include BattleCON, Pixel Tactics, Millennium Blades, Argent: the Consortium, and Empyreal: Spells & Steam. Once launched on Kickstarter, the games are also available to buy online as well as at select retail outlets.

The Challenge
Brad has been using Kickstarter since its early days, all the way back in 2011. He has built his business from the ground up and has raised $3,185,142 through 22 campaigns reaching over 39,000 backers.

Up until 2015, Brad was shipping his Kickstarter campaigns out of his garage. He would gather some friends together, order some pizzas, and get everything shipped out. It was still very time-consuming and expensive, although he and his friends had a good time.

The Solution
Brad reached out to Fulfillrite for help shipping his 2015 Kickstarter campaign, Pixel Tactics Deluxe. He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to scale his business by shipping from his garage and relying on temp work forever!

Our sales team helped him to streamline his operations and save money on postage. This freed up David to spend his time growing the business and doing creative work. No longer did he have to worry about in-house fulfillment.

The Results
In the end, Fulfillrite took care of order fulfillment on behalf of Brad. This simplified his operations and allowed him to spend his newfound time growing the business and doing creative work. Level 99 is now a full-time job for Brad as well as five others, and has a comfortable office in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Since he started working with Fulfillrite, Brad has seen continued success on Kickstarter, with every single campaign since 2015 funding successfully and often very quickly. Fulfillrite has shipped at least 37,000 packages on Brad’s behalf as of 2021, and we expect that figure to keep climbing!

I’ve been very impressed with our fulfillment service in New Jersey, Fulfillrite. They’ve managed to ship out our past three campaigns (Pixel Tactics Deluxe, Millennium Blades, and EXCEED) without any incident in the USA.
Brad Talton, Stonemaier Games, 2016

THE COMPANY
Creative Beast is a small business that sells realistic, built-to-scale dinosaur action figures made by owner-operator, David Silva. Creative Beast uses the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter and the pledge management system BackerKit to launch each new line of action figures. Once launched, the dinosaurs are also available to buy online as well as at select retail outlets.

THE CHALLENGE
After seven years of honing his product, David launched Beasts of the Mesozoic: Raptor Series on Kickstarter. He went on to raise over $713,287 between Kickstarter and BackerKit, and needed to quickly ship orders to over 5,000 backers.

While David suspected there was a market for his action figures, the success was much greater than he expected. He knew that it would be time-consuming and impractical to store and fulfill the rewards himself. After all, his goal was to spend more time doing what he loves – creating the dinosaur action figures that he always wished existed.

THE SOLUTION
Prior to his campaign launching, David reached out to Fulfillrite to get a shipping solution in place. He was prompted to do so after considerable research on Google. His goal was to find a qualified fulfillment team with trustworthy customer service and a human touch.

Our sales team helped him understand the ins and outs of fulfillment before the campaign was even launched. After the Kickstarter campaign rocketed to success, Fulfillrite shipped out over 5,000 rewards on David’s behalf in 2018. Similarly, during the toughest part of the pandemic in December 2020, Fulfillrite fulfilled his second similarly successful campaign – Beasts of the Mesozoic: Ceratopsian Series.

Over the last few years, Fulfillrite has also managed eCommerce orders for both Beasts of the Mesozoic series, which together are upwards of 300 per month, even when sales are slow.

THE RESULTS
All in all, Fulfillrite has helped David to streamline, systemize, and simplify his business operations, allowing David to focus on doing the creative work he loves.

David went on to launch another successful campaign for Beasts of the Mesozoic: Ceratopsian Series, which raised over $650,000 (and counting) between Kickstarter and BackerKit. Fulfillrite fulfilled this campaign as well.

Whether dealing with massive amounts of orders all at once, or a slow steady drip of eCommerce orders, Fulfillrite has been able to handle David’s fulfillment needs. In 2020 alone, David’s revenue doubled. All the while, David still has time to create, which he has used to further hone his craft.

We had well over 5,000 packages to ship between the Kickstarter and the pre-order campaign [in 2018]. Even with all the work of running a Kickstarter, it was a very positive experience! – David Silva, Owner, Creative Beast

David has been working with Fulfillrite for over five years now.

THE COMPANY
Calamityware is a graphic-designer owned e-commerce company that sells products with (often humorous) designs drawn from the owner’s personal sketchbook. Calamityware uses the crowd-funding platform Kickstarter as the basis of every product they sell, using the platform to test the demand for each product idea before initiating a production run. They’ve had over 60 successful Kickstarter projects to date. After each Kickstarter campaign, any surplus products are made available on his website, www.calamityware.com.

THE CHALLENGE
When Don Moyer first started his business, he was relying on the manufacturer of their products for fulfillment. “That was a bad idea,” he says. “They were not good at doing both.” In addition, the company was starting to produce new products made by other manufacturers, which further complicated fulfillment.

They knew they needed a more efficient, streamlined process. They had been emailing spreadsheets filled with order details once a week to their manufacturers, who had limited shipping options available. It often took days for orders to be shipped out. “We knew we needed to find a dedicated fulfillment partner,” says Don.

THE SOLUTION
Don found Fulfillrite through referrals from the Shopify community. “After our first conversation with Fulfillrite, we realized immediately how much they could help us.” Fulfillrite synced to Calamity’s Shopify store, which allowed for orders to be fulfilled within hours after payments were processed. “All of this really allowed our company to grow in ways we would not have been able to grow before,” says Don.

While speed and efficiency are what first drew Calamityware to Fulfillrite, Fulfillrite’s technology was a major factor in their decision to stay. “Early on, there would often be times when I wished the portal would do something it didn’t do, and within months they would add a new feature that was better than what I could have imagined. At this point, the portal works so well and has such amazing reporting, including shipping transactions and inventory levels, I can’t imagine what could be better.”

Another major factor was Fulfillrite’s commitment to personalized service and affordable, transparent pricing. “They treat my business like it’s a number one priority,” says Don. “Fulfillrite is very clear about their policies and fees and makes it easy for you to pay only what you need to pay based on the size of your business. It’s a very scalable system.”

THE RESULTS
Now that Fulfillrite has vastly streamlined, systemized, and simplified Calamityware’s fulfillment process, the company is able to sell a variety of products made by various manufacturers out of a variety of materials in a variety of different packaging—all with the same fast, reliable shipping.

“We often have 50 to 100 orders per day, and Fulfillrite is quick to fulfill all of these orders timely. Sometimes we even have 1000 Kickstarter rewards, and they can get them shipped out all in one day. Our ability to ship so quickly really impresses our customers and makes us look good. Fulfillrite really treats their customers well, and if I’m being treated well, it means my customers are treated well, and they keep coming back for more. And that’s a win-win for everyone.”

—Don Moyer, Owner, Calamityware
CalamityWare is a graphic-designer owned e-commerce company that sells products with (often humorous) designs drawn from the owner’s personal sketchbook. They use Kickstarter as the basis of every product they sell, using the platform to test the demand for each product idea before initiating a production run.

In this video, we talk with Lynnette Kelley, the CEO of Calamityware. She’s been working with Fulfillrite for order fulfillment for over 10 years.

The transcript that follows is her story and her words:

It really is amazing to see how Fulfillrite has been able to scale with our business.

Back in 2014, Don Moyer, our designer and one of our owners, would post his drawings on Flickr. People would comment, “You should put this on a product.”

That suggestion turned into his first Kickstarter project—a blue willow porcelain dinner plate with a drawing of flying monkeys on it.

(And how many Kickstarters have you guys run?)

Now we’re on our 71st, I think. Yeah, a lot.

But it all started with just one plate. The factory that was making them was here in Pennsylvania, and they had the ability to ship for us. I mean, they could do it, but they weren’t really equipped for it. That’s when we realized we needed a better solution.

We found Fulfillrite through the Shopify App Store. That integration was key. A customer places an order, Shopify processes the payment, and I don’t even have to press a button—it just happens. Instantly, the order gets sent to Fulfillrite’s system, where it enters the queue and gets shipped out the same day.

We’ve been lucky enough to visit Fulfillrite and tour the warehouse. Every time we go, it’s just such a phenomenal business. Everything is so streamlined—it’s super impressive. The fact that you can get orders out the same day is huge. It really is huge.

It makes a difference with customers, and I think it’s part of what keeps them coming back. We’ve grown, but we still have a really good relationship with Fulfillrite, and we’re still really, really happy.