I am sitting at the second Caribou Coffee of the day across from a lady in a leather chair eating stretchy grilled cheese.\u00a0 I had to evacuate the last Caribou because I was embarrassed by the tears and breakdown I was having there while accompanied by my friend and colleague, Erin.\u00a0 We scooped up my things and got me to my car where I cried and laughed and cried some more.<\/p>\n
The long and short of it was that I received feedback from MANY places today about the campaign.\u00a0 And I don’t know if it was there before, but today it was LOUD and clear and consistent.\u00a0 It just kept coming in many forms.\u00a0 Some nice, some not-so-nice.\u00a0 So I am writing this blog to address one of those things and will continue to address more in the coming days.<\/p>\n
I can understand why it would seem preposterous for a for-profit business to use this sort of campaign for “handouts” and that was never my intention.\u00a0 Allow me to explain how this all came about.<\/p>\n
Last summer I made a trip to Chicago where I had a conversation with a former customer from my Starbucks days.\u00a0 I told him about my idea to start a coffee and ice cream shop in River Falls (at that point that is as much as the product mix had evolved) and he told me that he wanted to be an investor with a 30% stake.\u00a0 He said that he knew how I ran businesses and was involved in my community from watching the work I did at Starbucks and that it would be successful.\u00a0 Little did he know that 30% is *exactly* the number that banks want to see when financing a small business.\u00a0 My investor also said that I needed to act fast and get a business plan done so it could open within 6 months.\u00a0 We even threw a few numbers around that told me he meant business.\u00a0 I promptly returned to River Falls and started working with the Pierce County Economic Development Corporation, River Falls Chamber of Commerce, and the Small Business Development Center on the plan.\u00a0 Long story short, I headed back to Chicago in November with my business plan in tow to seal the deal.<\/p>\n
*sigh*<\/p>\n
We met on a Monday afternoon for lunch across the street from my former Starbucks store in Palatine.\u00a0 I gave him everything and brought out my laptop to show him pictures of the proposed storefront and other “inspirations”.\u00a0 He looked at me with weary eyes and said “Sarah, I just found out that my business partner from another venture has been stealing from me.\u00a0 I can’t do it.\u00a0 I am sorry.\u00a0 It’s not that I see anything wrong here.\u00a0 It all looks great.\u00a0 I know I told you I could do it, but I can’t.”<\/p>\n
I got back to River Falls and started working with many friends on brainstorming ideas to fund the business.\u00a0 We spoke of microloans, investors, being a co-op, and other ideas.\u00a0 I had piles of library books on the subject.\u00a0 And I was getting frustrated with the “banking system” just like everyone else.\u00a0 Somewhere along the way my friend Maikol asked me “Have you heard of crowdsourcing?”\u00a0 I hadn’t and I mentioned it noncommittally in brainstorm sessions with other friends.\u00a0 Then I got acquainted with Adrienne in Portland, OR through some mutual friends and it wasn’t long before I learned that she is a consultant for these types of campaigns.\u00a0 *shrug*\u00a0 The rest is history AND the story isn’t over.<\/p>\n
So I start the campaign two weeks ago.\u00a0 I was naive to think that people would open their wallets to throw dough in my direction.\u00a0 For those of you who did, I am humbled that you were able to see my heart in what I am trying to create with it.\u00a0 But my idealistic vision didn’t quite happen as I envisioned it.\u00a0 I just thought that everyone would take the time to read the copy of the campaign and would be so excited by the possibility of making a small town more alive and that they would feel all of the romance that I feel for River Falls- the river, the artists, the cookie factory, the university, and Main Street.\u00a0 And Wisconsin- the cheese, beer, and farmers.\u00a0 It became clear relatively fast that this was going to take a lot of conversations for $1 or $3 to hit the goal.\u00a0 AND, I thought (and still think) “How cool would it be to have a business start in such an impossible way… for the people of the community to rise up and take action and do something that could be a trigger for other cool businesses to come to town and give residents, businesses, and students alike a reason to really patronize Main Street?” \u00a0 I pictured a Lifetime Original Movie.\u00a0 Why couldn’t River Falls be *that* town?\u00a0 All it takes is one person to be the tipping point.\u00a0 One domino to start the rest to fall, right?\u00a0 Well that remains to be seen.\u00a0 And with that being said,\u00a0 I also started using the campaign website and all of the other online\u00a0 tools to start talking to investors and personal lenders.\u00a0 And that is where I am at.\u00a0 So far I have several interested investors and other potential lenders that I am working with.\u00a0 Two lenders have stepped forward and given me checks written out to WeatherVane Creamery.\u00a0 The rest is in the works and I am committed that it ALL be wrapped up by February 23rd.<\/p>\n
I’d be remiss if I didn’t take this opportunity to tell you about what that looks like in case you or your friends would find yourself in a position to be an investor or lender.\u00a0 Here it is- if you are interested in being an investor, that is a very special conversation.\u00a0 Please contact me and we can have that conversation.\u00a0 If you are interested in becoming a lender to WeatherVane Creamery for a sum of over $1000, what is involved is\u00a0 a promissory note where we agree to an annual interest rate up to 10%.\u00a0 WeatherVane Creamery will start paying the sum off in three years of the date on the note and also will have the option to pay it off sooner.\u00a0 That’s how it works.<\/p>\n
Thank you for your support.\u00a0 The indiegogo site is TOTALLY important to this process.\u00a0 Those funders as individuals are JUST AS IMPORTANT to *any* big time investor or lender to me.\u00a0 They are the ones who give from their hearts and want to be a part of the fun and adventure.\u00a0 They are putting in their votes and have a voice.\u00a0 I love you all.\u00a0 The ride isn’t over yet.\u00a0 There are surprises and magic around every corner.\u00a0 Stay tuned!<\/p>\n
640 youtube views, $1620 indiegogo, 52 indiegogo funders, 1462 indiegogo views, 48 indiegogo favorites, 130 fb fans, $2,000 private loans, $3,620 total funded<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I am sitting at the second Caribou Coffee of the day across from a lady in a leather chair eating stretchy grilled cheese.\u00a0 I had to evacuate the last Caribou because I was embarrassed by the tears and breakdown I … Continue reading