If you’ve got the guts to begin your own eCommerce journey, that already says a lot about you. You’ve got great ideas, passion, and the motivation to get stuff done. But there’s always a teeny, tiny bit of insecurity floating around your head—Will I make it?
Well, here are six eCommerce shops that started small and made it BIG. Let them serve as motivation that your dreams can take off.
6 eCommerce Success Stories To Light Your Fire
1. Tattly
Tattly is a totally rad company that started because one mom was sick of putting mediocre temporary tattoos on her kids. She took matters into her own hands and hit up a dozen world-renowned artists to design some really cool temporary tattoos for both kids and adults. Starting with just a few designs in 2011, Tattlys are now sold in over 1000 stores in over 40 countries. Talk about success!
2. Chalkd
Love the chalkboard look but lack the creativity and talent to make your own? Chalked is a cool online store that makes chalkboards for you—really awesome ones, I might add. Whether you’re looking for a chalkboard for your home or your business, Chalkd has exactly what you need and will happily customize a project for you. Since debuting their business, they’ve done work for some pretty big companies like Coca-Cola, Nestle, Crossfit Gym, AT&T, and more.
3. Bushwick Kitchen
Who would have thought that a little hot sauce could make such a big profit? Two friends combined two simple ingredients, honey and chili peppers, and sold $170k worth of product in 10 months. Bushwick Kitchen is all about believing in the unexpected and it’s a good thing—their pioneering product, Bees Knees Spicy Honey, continues to be a best-seller. For a little inspiration, you can read all about their startup journey here.
4. Greetabl
Like most good ideas, Greetabl started by seeing a need and then filling it. When a card just isn’t enough, and flowers are just too expensive, Greetabl is an online shop where you can send the most delightful little boxes of special gifts to friends and loved ones. In 2013, friends Joe and Zoe merged their backgrounds in business and design to bring the world their lovely, little, personalized packages. Who doesn’t love fun mail?
5. Jeni’s
If you’re lucky, you’ve tasted Jeni’s splendid ice creams that use whole ingredients from grass-pastured cows rather than synthetic flavors. Perhaps you’ve ogled the various flavors like Atlantic Beach Pie, Gooey Butter Cake, or Birch & Marshmallow. Ladies and gentlemen, Jeni's ice creams are as unique as they get, and you can have them shipped right to your door for a $13 flat rate. Their story is great and their fellowship model is pretty darn cool. Plus, they have a pint of the month club! Note: These are the best gifts to send to friends. The last one I sent was to my friend who was pregnant. She thought she was in heaven. Her husband was pretty happy, too, with the gift of choice.
6. Pixie Faire
Want to hear how one couple is making $600k per year selling mostly digital products? Pixie Faire is an online store that caters to doll lovers. You can buy high-quality dolls for around $60-$110. But their biggest seller by far is digital doll clothing patterns. Customers can instantly download a variety of doll clothing patterns, as well as take online courses on design, sewing, and crafting. It’s pretty brilliant, actually. Husband and wife, Jason and Cinnamon, report a revenue of $50,000 per month with their shop Pixie Faire and over 1.5 million patterns that have been downloaded.
I'm going to throw in a #6.5 here because you may have heard this story. Two little girls sold over 100k in 9 months. These were my daughters. They sold scarves to moms and teens. They were tired of big, huge, thick scarves so they wanted something trendy and fun. It's pretty cool that tweenagers can rock this e-commerce world too! Their site is iscarf2.
So you see, it can happen! With a good idea and a lot of perseverance, your success story is right around the corner. I know you can do it too!
