Getting a small business loan isn’t always easy. At least, that’s what Darlyng & Co. co-founder and CEO Tara Darnley says. She and her co-founder, Carl Darnley, have some advice for new business owners—and a success story.
They launched their first product in 2014, a popular infant teething mitten called the Yummy Mitt that was inspired by their daughter. Tara Darnley said that despite “skyrocketing” business growth, she ran into road blocks and hurdles when she approached traditional banks to pitch the product.
Most lenders weren’t set up to support a small business like Darlyng & Co., and she needed to find an alternate source of funding to keep up with growing demand. Eventually, she found Amazon Lending, which focuses on a business’ sales performance over its credit history. Four years later, the business has continued to grow in both sales and number of products—and Darnley expects that growth to increase as they plan to go global.
Darlyng & Co.’s success came from a combination of winning products, a focus on customers, and using available tools to suport business growth.
Below are four tips from the Darnleys for new business owners:

Page overview

Understand your marketing and selling channels

1
Understand your marketing and selling channels
2
Give customers a reason to keep coming back
3
Check out the videos on Amazon’s Seller Central dashboard
4
Explore Amazon Lending
1.
Understand your marketing and selling channels

Tara and Carl Darnley knew that if Darlyng & Co. was going to be successful, they needed to reach their customers. Social media platforms like Instagram were just becoming popular, and parents—Darlyng & Co.’s primary audience—were flocking to social media to share pictures of their children. When Tara Darnley got the first prototype of the Yummy Mitt, she posted it to Instagram—and it went viral. So before even selling anything, Darlyng & Co. was able to build a community of customers.

This led to their second challenge: where to sell the Yummy Mitt. The Darnleys initially didn’t sell on Amazon. Then they heard from a buyer who had spent twice what they should have on the product and realized someone was reselling the Yummy Mitt on Amazon. As soon as Darlyng & Co. started selling on Amazon, the company sold out of their product.

2.
Give customers a reason to keep coming back

Carl Darnley said the quality of the Yummy Mitt is so good that many parents use it for their first, second, and third child. That means the Yummy Mitt is a high-quality product but not necessarily one that customers often buy again. “Tara and I basically had to figure out a way to have other products that were reoccurring,” said Carl Darnley.

A photo of Yummy Mitt products such as a teething mitten and shea butter.

They began expanding their product line with items that parents would repeatedly buy. It started with skin care and baby bath soaps, and has since grown to include everything a parent needs for their child, from toys and games to clothing and food. To come up with new product ideas, Tara Darnley said she would ask herself questions like, "What are some of the things that our customers are going through?" Finding answers often involved understanding what parents, like the Darnleys, were facing while raising young children, from teething and eczema to day-to-day duties like feeding and play. The key was considering how those items would impact customers’ lives.

3.
Check out the videos on Amazon’s Seller Central dashboard

Tara Darnley admits she was hesitant when Darlyng & Co. started selling on Amazon because it was a new process. She spent days looking through videos on the Seller Central dashboard, which provides detailed videos for new and existing sellers on how to get started and how to grow a business’ storefront. “There are tons of videos you can use that you would otherwise pay thousands of dollars for,” she said.

Darlyng & Co. also used tools available in Seller Central to grown and protect their business. The Darnleys learned how to run video ads to tell stories about their brand, and they leveraged tools like Amazon Protection that help sellers protect their brand and trademarks.

4.
Explore Amazon Lending

Amazon Lending provides several different loan options depending on a seller’s goals. Darlyng & Co. accepted a Term Loan, which is a non-revolving, lump-sum loan with a specified payback period that’s great for larger projects and long-term growth. “That was our first loan. It came in our bank account in a few hours. It was incredible,” said Tara Darnley.

A photo of Amazon’s Seller Central dashboard  on a laptop device.

Alternatively, a Line of Credit helps eligible sellers request funds as needed, and they only pay interest on what they use. This can be great for supporting unexpected sales spikes and other surprises where working capital can serve as an emergency fund.

Eligible new sellers looking to grow their business with no upfront collateral can take advantage of a Merchant Cash Advance, where repayments are based on actual sales. This means the seller is protected during periods of slow or no sales.

Learn more and check your eligibility at Amazon Lending.