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San Francisco-based catering service Swell Little Donuts makes events like weddings, baby showers, and graduation parties sweeter with fresh, made-to-order donuts. Founder and first-time mobile business owner Sarah-Dawn Smith turned to PayPal to make invoicing and payments fast and easy. Even on the go.
A love of donuts. A desire to spread positivity. And a mini-donut machine at the state fair in Alaska. These unexpected ingredients came together to inspire the start of Swell Little Donuts. After years of “dreaming, planning, research, and eating donuts,” Sarah-Dawn made her dream come true. Then she had to figure out how to get paid.
Watch now to hear Sarah-Dawn share her inspiring entrepreneurial journey:
When Sarah-Dawn started Swell Little Donuts in 2016, she had never done anything like it before. On top of making donuts and finding customers, she had to learn how to run a business—which included setting up a payment system.
She needed an efficient and reliable way for customers to pay. “As a small business owner, and not having a background in business,” Sarah-Dawn shared, “I had to figure out how to take payments, and how to do invoicing, and how I was going to structure my business.”
The first-time entrepreneur needed a secure payment system. One that would help customers trust her mobile start-up. Just as important were on-the-go functionality, automated features like payment reminders, and integration with established accounting software.
“I went with PayPal because I needed to use a product that has invoicing,” Sarah-Dawn explained. “And I was already familiar with PayPal.”
With its easy-to-use interface, PayPal Invoicing helps Sarah-Dawn create, send, and track professional invoices quickly. From anywhere. Customers can pay instantly. Even if they don’t have a PayPal account. And 77% of paid PayPal invoices are paid within one day of sending the invoice.
Sarah-Dawn discussed her journey as a first-time business owner, overcoming challenges with the help of solutions like PayPal Invoicing.
Here are three tips Sarah-Dawn shared for owners of growing businesses.
PayPal Invoicing lets you customize invoices to your needs and accept payments globally. Share invoices via email, SMS, messaging apps, social media, or even a QR code for in-person payments. Track and manage payments. And do it all on the go, from anywhere you do business.
Whether Sarah-Dawn’s testing new flavors in her kitchen or baking joy into an on-site customer event, PayPal Invoicing gives her the tools and support she needs to get growing. And get paid. Wherever she works.
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