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Tameika Lewis’ son had eczema, and nothing was helping. As an expert makeup artist, Lewis knew that good products were the foundation for healthy skin.
Drawing on her Barbadian mother’s dedication to natural remedies, BklynBarSoap was born.
As a self-described “spitfire entrepreneur,” Lewis’ attention is on every element: product formulations, package design, marketing, sales, operations. “When you’re starting a business, it’s not as glamorous as it may seem,” Lewis notes. “It’s difficult. You’re trying to wear 10 to 15 to 20 different hats.”
Fortunately, she has found the inspiration—and the tools—to keep moving forward.
Here’s how Lewis keeps BklynBarSoap bubbling, and how she uses PayPal Open to keep shoppers happy both online and in-person.
Building a trusting community is a big part of BklynBarSoap’s mission. Lewis builds trust with customers over a common understanding of skin issues, and a commitment to clean, natural ingredients.
Lewis also builds trust within her entrepreneur community by supporting fellow small businesses on social media. Through candid conversations with her peers, Lewis uses her social media platform to share about her business challenges and successes.
“It doesn’t hurt me to help another business owner out and put them in a better position,” Lewis shares, “because together, we can go far.”
When it came to setting up her online store, Lewis focused on making it easy for shoppers to purchase her products. PayPal Checkout was the natural choice, because, as Lewis says, “Who doesn’t have a PayPal account?”
PayPal Checkout remains an important resource for BklynBarSoap. Having the PayPal logo at checkout instills confidence in shoppers and can increase average order value (AOV) by 30% compared to non-PayPal transactions.1
Like many businesses, BklynBarSoap makes sales both online and offline. Along with PayPal Checkout, Lewis needed functional, simple tools for in-person purchases.
Lewis relies on PayPal Point of Sale as her point-of-sale solution, using both Tap to Pay and the PayPal Reader. She uses the PayPal Reader at larger markets and corporate events where she has a dedicated checkout space and is expecting a higher volume of transactions. “The PayPal Reader ensures a smooth process, especially when customers prefer inserting or swiping their cards,” emphasized Lewis.
Lewis can also accept payments using Tap to Pay through the PayPal Point of Sale app on her phone. Tap to Pay is Lewis’s go-to for pop ups, smaller vendor spaces, and on- the-go transactions when she needs to be mobile and quick. “It’s perfect for times when I’m moving around and making sales in a more fluid, personal way, like networking events or intimate shopping experiences,” said Lewis.
PayPal Point of Sale also allows Lewis to accept Venmo, which offers her customers even flexibility when checking out. “There’s a feature in PayPal Point of Sale where it’s connected to Venmo. So, all I have to do is show my barcode, they tap, and it automatically takes it. Customers are always impressed.”
Accepting Venmo not only widens her access to younger shoppers, but its social aspect also means more people see BklynBarSoap in friends’ transaction feeds. “You see who you pay, you get to comment on it. You can see exchanges between other people. It’s just a trusted, and more fun, and lighter app versus others.”
PayPal empowers Lewis when it comes to placing her products in local shops. When BklynBarSoap receives large orders, Lewis can tap into her PayPal Working Capital2 loan funds to begin fulfilling them: buying ingredients, packaging, and shipping components. “I’ve got a little room to breathe without having to worry,” she says.
On the same dashboard where she tracks sales and inventory, she can apply for a PayPal Working Capital loan with amounts ranging from $1,000 to $200,000 (and up to $300,000 for repeat borrowers).2 These loans with flexible repayments allow Lewis to scale quickly to meet demand.
Lewis also uses PayPal’s Invoicing solution to help with larger orders. On her dashboard, there’s a guided, intuitive process to turn estimates into invoices, track payment status, and schedule payment reminders.
Lewis likes that she can add BklynBarSoap branding to her invoices for a professional touch. And PayPal’s Invoicing solution speeds up her reimbursements. In fact, 77% of PayPal invoices are paid within one day of sending.3
Lewis loves that her customers interact with two brands they trust: BklynBarSoap with its foundation of clean, natural ingredients, and PayPal with its powerhouse of robust, secure payment options.
PayPal has made it easy for BklynBarSoap to share high- quality skincare with the world. “PayPal has always been there,” Lewis asserts, “It just creates a lot of options.”
Each option is a chance to expand her reach. Her products are carried in local shops across the Northeast. And a chance run-in with a Norwegian shop-owner vacationing in New York led to her products going international. After negotiating an agreement, Lewis invoiced him through
PayPal, and “The money came through so fast, even when he landed in Norway.”.
With sales, inventory tracking, loans, reporting and more, all in one place, PayPal simplifies Lewis’ business and puts goals well within reach. Seeing a comprehensive overview of her business has allowed her to expand BklynBarSoap’s product line to include scrubs, masks, and body oils, even clean laundry detergents and apparel.
For Lewis, PayPal Open is so much more than payments, it’s about powering growth.
To take BklynBarSoap to the next level, Lewis is hiring and creating college internships to help with marketing. She’s putting some of her PayPal Working Capital to use on branding and paid ads to increase visibility. “We’re going to expand our team a little bit and upgrade the brand and the packaging, so we can be in more stores nationwide.”
Continuing to expand and sustain her small business community. Providing skin nourishment and healing with the cleanest ingredients. These make her world go ’round.
As Lewis says, “Women run and feed the economy, especially in the small business sector. We kick complete *** when it comes to that.”
When we asked Lewis what advice she would give to someone interested in starting their own business, she was quick to reply, “Why not you? People do it every day. If you possess the discipline to just start and just keep going, everything will be successful.”
Explore how PayPal helps BklynBarSoap raise the bar for natural skincare by downloading the case study here.
In partnership with three expert business owners, the PayPal Bootcamp includes practical checklists and a short video loaded with tips to help take your business to the next level.
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