SBA counselor says I have a very good plan (yeah). Which is an accomplishment because it took many long hours to get it together. HOWEVER, the projections and numbers that I put together was not in a format that a lender might understand quickly. Apparently there is a specific way that banks and lenders read money projects. So now I am adding those worksheets and arranging them. They are so simple stupid, I feel it does not enough information, but I was told that those particular formats will be the deciding factor on getting money from the SBA or any venture capitalist and what keeps folks from getting the maximum monies for their company.
Also that I need to rethink the option of being able to actually PAY ourselves. Interestingly enough lenders want to see your full responsibility which means no salary and that you are on the list to do just about everything and that I should not even think about giving a salary to anyone for at least 3 years! And here I was thinking that I could hook some folks up with a salary to help my professional business along. So we will be contracting out our advisors and marketing professionals.
AND that if there is no mention of assets on the projections there may not be funding...so from somewhere out there we were able to get that thankfully to add to our fiscal necessities! These were also very important factors to those of us with the entrepreneurial spirit to understand that funding your business from the outside takes a bit more than a great researched business plan. You need to have the right format for a quick response and a bit of something to hold your bank account accountable for the lenders to give you the funding. I guess they want to know - How bad do you want it? And in our current economy, money is tight and there better be a damn good reason to squeeze that lemon!
I went to Seattle, Washington back in October and found out that one of our inspirational giants was up for sale this year. I will not mention the name, but this brand is what we looked to when we started this idea.
We wanted to rival them in a way and push buttons on legacy and longevity. We had hoped that one day the papers will read that we are the predisesors to this national and all-be-it global brand. Perhaps this is a silver lining for us? Now that this giant was selling it's business - you never know if the new owners will do it justice - will our brand now be that symbol of greatness due to their depreciation? Time will tell, but it does not wait. But the process of our brand did strike an interest in the potential new buyer, so we will have to see.
We are in more of a hurry to get this along to see our potential this year.
I am looking to start the website and back to tackling that. And no I have not gone to take classes like I mentioned, however I am getting more familiar with what I need to do. I imagine the site going up in about 6-9 months and the collection itself to debut for Spring 2011 - hopefully. My husband wants to run a factory on the property we purchased (which is our asset:)) and be the All American Dreamers! I want to hurry and get it done, which means to outsource. The next 6-9 months will be to determine which is the best way in the long run and which will get funded. The article I wrote on getting the shoes done in the USA sparked some interest but took me to the same path I already knew - not happening here, yet:
So it just may be the selling point to stimulate the economy by developing a plan to produce the shoes here in the USA by building one of the very few footwear factories in this country with a global (cross your fingers) distribution. Making good ole' American shoes. Sounds good to me.
Now that I know there is also the threat of the economic craziness, I am even rethinking price-points.
Or at least we are giving some thought to a more affordable option package to the right customer like Target in regards to the brand's distribution. We do not feel that this price-point customer we are targeting will be broke - but we fully understand that a bunch of them are right now and we don't want to loose out on customer loyalty or a chance to increase our sales. So only time will tell (again) what the economic situation will be in 2011. Although this may not be the most upbeat entry - it is a very serious one and hopefully we can all learn something about time. If I do not finish my numbers in time, this may slip by and not be able to take advantage of launching in 2011. If we do not make a decision on the website building - To Build or NOT to Build - we cannot start our pre-campaign of customer support. If I do not stop writing this blog right now - I cannot do what I just said I would do some 63 words ago...
tg
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