AmourPrints, a million-dollar company that sells unique, custom-canvas wall decor, got its start in the unlikeliest of ways: a shy 17-year-old young woman summoned up enough courage to make a balloon-animal for children at a restaurant. “Isn’t it strange sometimes how what seems like a totally unrelated event leads you to where you are today?” AmourPrints’ founder, Kirstie Rickert, asks. “If I had chickened out, I would have been fired from my new job, and who knows where I would be today.” The story of how Kirstie used what she learned in that moment she overcame her shyness will have you rooting for her and wondering if your own moment of courage is upon your doorstep, too.
Kirstie says that for years, she had trouble talking to people, and it plagued her all throughout high school. “Accepting that job at the restaurant was God’s way of nudging me in the right direction,” she says. “I needed that moment to understand that I had a choice: I could remain in my self-imposed box or choose to step out of it. Once I did, I realized something completely unexpected: I liked talking to people! Believing otherwise had kept me from living life to its fullest, and I started wondering what else I could do.”
Becoming an entrepreneur would eventually follow. “Picture this,” Kristie says, smiling at the memory. “It was 2012. I had no money to speak of, and I sure didn’t have the fancy business degree that so many other people had. Yet, hey, I was ready to start a business!”
Kirstie laughs, but it’s clear that while she lacked a few things people traditionally consider necessary for entrepreneurship, she had a few others: drive, ambition, and sheer guts. AmourPrints was started, and Kirstie got to work building what would become a multimillion-dollar business.
Kirstie reached two milestones when she started her Etsy shop in 2013 and then made her first sale. “Both were incredible,” says Kirstie. “I eventually dropped out of college to do this full time, and so did my fiance because it became our dream to run our own successful business. It was a real adventure for both of us.”
Etsy became troublesome, taking down their shop multiple times without basis following their first successful year. “After trying to contact Etsy about my shop takedown and getting nowhere, we decided to move to a different platform,” Kirstie says.
Shopify offered more potential for growth and was a lot less limiting. “We began automating each process and worked to understand what we were doing. It was not easy, but we finally felt that we were getting the hang of things. Shopify certainly was not easy like Etsy because you had to do everything from the ground up. While Etsy did most of the work for you as a seller, Shopify was simply your template. I had to learn web design dev, SEO, staff management, ads, and much more. Despite these obstacles, during our first year, we were able to make $50K. My fiance focused on the designs and production while I did everything from A to Z. Our second year, we brought in $100K,” Kirstie states.
Despite the hard work and sales, Kirstie and her fiance were still battling the opposing opinions and comments from those in their inner circle regarding their business endeavors. “Our families would often express their concern for our decision to drop out of college. They feared we were making a terrible choice and suggested many alternate occupations, which we refused to do,” she explained. Shortly after the two got married, they had a sign of good faith when their business had its first big month and they could miraculously live on their own. During their first months as a married couple, they put even more into their business. By the next year, they were able to buy their first home, and Kirstie and her husband had their daughter, who is now 4 years old.
During 2019, AmourPrints faced a do-or-die moment, and Kirstie and her husband were forced to make a life-changing decision. “We were losing thousands of dollars each month, but something was telling me not to give up, to instead push through. This later turned out to be one of our wisest decisions regarding our business,” Kirstie tearfully explained.
2020 dealt AmourPrints another blow when COVID hit, and businesses all around the world faced uncertainty. Kirstie and her husband didn’t know if their business would survive, but Kirstie determinedly pushed through once again. She began researching how to increase store visibility and implemented more effective business strategies. “I upgraded to Shopify Plus and took a risk and invested all of our money. Last year, in 2024, we somehow miraculously made $3.6 million, and this year we are on track to double our earnings,” Kirstie says, beaming. “I have worked so hard, and I give God the credit for helping me through this. Our families are proud of us and now understand why we didn’t give up.”
Staying the course would allow AmourPrints to reach $4 million in sales in only four years. “That has given us the ability to help other people,” Kirstie says. “My husband and I believe that as Christians, we must be good stewards of the money God gives us. After praying over how to use it, we decided to donate a percentage of our sales to World Vision. Global homelessness really weighs on our hearts, so by donating to World Vision, we can help to fight it.”
Kirstie pauses, reflecting on the sequence of events that led her to where she, her husband, and AmourPrints are today. “I don’t think I will ever get over how God uses everything to bring us along,” she says. “He knows exactly where we’re going, and He wastes nothing. I am the person I am today because I decided I would simply speak to people. Stepping onto a different path will always take your life in an unexpected yet amazing direction.”
