9 Small Business Success Stories
Every now and then, we hear about a small business making history and becoming a successful enterprise that everyone wants a piece of. A successful small business owner always gives credit to determination, dedication, and a strategic approach to capitalize on opportunities.
However, there is more when it comes to small business success stories. In this post, you will learn about the success stories of some known brands that were once small enterprises. So, let’s dive right in.
9 Small Business Success Stories to Know
There is a never-ending list of small businesses making it big in the corporate sector. Here are nine of the most relevant brands in today’s world.
1. Mosquito Squad
If you are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur, pest control is going to be the last business on your mind. However, Damien Sanchez saw an opportunity in the niche and started DC Mosquito Squad in Washington D.C. The demand for the business was high, leaving Damien struggling to track all business leads in the city.
For efficient management and a revenue boost, Sanchez automated his company’s sales, marketing, and other operations through a software solution. This allowed efficient leads and data tracking. Additionally, DC Mosquito Squad managed to onboard a team faster, scale the business, and gather repeat customers via email.
2. Getty Images
Who knew you could earn money by taking a picture from your camera or phone and uploading it on an online image portal? Whenever you are on a web page with images, you would likely see a stamp of Getty images at the bottom.
Stock photos have always been in demand. However, there was no way to reserve the copyright images online. The co-founder Mark Getty, along with Jonathan Klein, saw this gap and started a platform to license the images.
Nowadays, Getty Images offer unique, creative, and exclusive visual content worldwide. The company has more than 415 million assets. These include award-winning imagery, multimedia, videos, music, and premium digital content.
All the founders had to do was identify the fragmented niche and benefit from it. Sometimes, all you need is a bit of research and digitalization to turn a small business into a success story.
3. GooRoo
GooRoo is an educational technology company operating on a subscription-based model. Scott Lee started this company to inspire young students to discover their talent via virtual learning. The business solution draws upon his personal experiences of high school tutorship and managing Korean students under mentors.
Now, GooRoo has over 1000 tutors in the city of New York alone, while more are in training across the US. According to reports, GooRoo generated $7.2 million in revenue so far.
4. Night Owl
Arlete Turturro graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology and earned her degree in merchandising. She also holds a real estate license. However, she didn’t work in either industry and chose to own a cleaning business known as Night Owl.
From commercial cleaning to providing party attendants and 24-hours emergency services, the company offers a wide range of cleaning services. Turturro won a “Woman of the Year” award for her business in 2004.
5. Red Rabbit
Rhys Powell started Red Rabbit in 2005 and the company provides free nutritious meals to school children nationwide since then. The founder expanded his company from catering services and penetrated the charitable cause and education sector as well.
Powell was a computer science student but decided to take the entrepreneurial route to provide healthy meals to school children in New York. He knew that the National School Lunch Program in the US would reimburse every school $3 per meal. Therefore, all Powell did was prove that he could provide a healthy meal for less than $3 per child. This foresight and attention to detail got his business a win-win scenario and made Red Rabbit a multi-million dollar brand today.
6. Spark Vision
Marybeth Hyland started Spark Vision with an aim to help other businesses in the market create and maintain an inclusive and collaborative work culture. The company specializes in millennial engagement and currently offers corporate workshops to help organizations foster connections and collaboration amongst their employees.
Hyland leverages her daily survival strategies to motivate herself and succeed in business. She draws from her past experiences and uses them to connect with everyone she works with. According to Spark Vision’s website, Marybeth Hyland believes that her experiences are why she has learned to be a successful entrepreneur by pushing herself to improve.
7. The Body Shop
Anita Roddick started a cosmetic company in Brighton, England, in the mid-90s. The company had 15 products, and she had no experience or training on how to run a business. However, today the Body Shop is not just a small business but a globally recognized brand with a presence in more than 90 countries with more than 3000 outlets.
A big reason for Body Shop’s success was Anita’s personal experience with cosmetics and her ethics. Being an avid traveler, Anita had a chance to meet women from various cultures around the world. This exposure gave her the knowledge about how women around the world use reusable and natural products for body care and cleanliness.
The Body Shop gained popularity, especially during the time when consumers started to boycott cosmetics containing harmful chemicals. This is where Anita’s business started resonating with the target audience, and the business has never looked back. The company reported more than 300 million in revenue in 2021.
8. The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post was co-founded by Arianna Huffington as she redefined the content for Gen Z and Millennials. This was started by designing stories you can share on social media.
Arianna Huffington realized these posts could work for news, entertainment, and politics. This allowed the creation of shorter posts and increased the chances of content going viral. Hence, The Huffington Post transformed media journalism via aggregating popular content.
Soon, the brand won customers’ trust for the quality of the content. At one point, The Huffington Post was generating approximately 100 million unique users per month.
9. Zoom
Eric Yuan, an ex-Cisco engineer, started Zoom almost a decade ago. Fast forward to 2022, it is one of the most popular video calling software used in high schools as well as by Silicon Valley giants. As the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world, families, friends, and businesses needed a way to talk to each other, and Zoom presented itself as the best option available on the market at the right time.
While COVID-19 may have given a push to the popularity of Zoom, this video calling company was already flourishing due to a rapid shift towards mobile devices. According to Statista, 54.4% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. That is one reason why Zoom has experienced a more than 1000% increase in its quarterly revenue since 2019.
Creating Your Own Small Business Success Story
If you are an aspiring entrepreneur or a small business owner, look closely within your niche. Do you see a gap? All it takes is a little bit of research, the opportunity to create demand, and the use of the right technology to make your own small business success story.
