Darkside Delights | Application Preview
Darkside Delights is seeking government grant funding to enhance its business operations and inventory. The funds will be utilized for purchasing materials such as wax, dyes, acids, molds for soap and bath bombs, and better equipment for printing custom clothing. Additionally, funding will support shipping materials and marketing strategies to reach a broader customer base, alongside improving logistics for local marketplaces.
Over the next five years, the business plans to expand its product offerings and shipping locations, aiming to provide customers with a wider variety of customizable soaps, candles, bath bombs, and clothing. The ultimate goal is to open a physical store to complement the existing online presence.
The applicant, a dedicated young teacher pursuing a Doctorate, expresses a strong passion for creating these products, despite lacking familial support. They believe their skills in craftsmanship, coupled with a commitment to adapting to customer feedback, position them well in the competitive market of handmade goods.
In terms of competition, they cite local businesses like Hyck.co, Candles Inc, and Wicks NOLA Candle Company, noting that these competitors differ significantly in their offerings and market strategies. Darkside Delights distinguishes itself through its unique product designs, which include horror-themed candles, skin-beneficial soaps, and eye-catching clothing featuring original artwork inspired by horror culture and local superstitions. This distinctiveness allows the business to cater to a niche market that appreciates the unusual and creative.
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General Information
Business Registration Number: 87-2928153
Location: NEW ORLEANS, LA, United States
Length of Operation: 1
Number of Employees:
Annual Gross Income:
Annual Gross Expense:
Open to Loans: YES
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Funding Usage
I would use the funds to purchase more materials to broaden my inventory; more wax, burners (currently just using my gas stove and several double-boilers), dyes, soap powders, acids, molds for the soap and bath bombs, a better machine to print custom clothing (currently using press-on heat machines), shipping materials, marketing plans to reach more customers, and materials for transporting the products to local marketplaces.
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Business Plan
In the next 5 years, I plan to use the grant money to expand my inventory as well as shipping locations. I hope to add more products and variations to give customers a choice for their customization of soaps, candles, bath bombs, and clothing. My dream is to one day have a store, not just an online shopping site. I am a young teacher. I have worked hard through college, and I am still in college, working on my Doctorate. I do not have family that supports me and I never have. Education is what I do, but making things like these products is what I am passionate about. Although I feel like I am an exemplary teacher, I feel like I am excellent creator. I will push and expand my wants to meet customer's needs, I will accept criticism and grow from it, and I will do what I need to do to be the best I can be in candle-making, producing soaps, and manufacturing custom-made clothing.
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Self Identified Competition
Hyck.co-This is a custom clothing shop, primarily targeted to country-living, but the following on social media enhances the image of the company, turning profits and engaging customers. Candles Inc-A local business near New Orleans, uses high-quality scents and waxes that are difficult to afford as a starting-out business owner. Wicks NOLA Candle Company-offers custom-made waxes and melts, similar to mine, but has a store front. What makes me different is that I produce candles in a horror/graphically designed style with dark humor. My candles can be elegant in glass or tin containers, but most of my inventory is skull candles (and soaps and bath bombs), bleeding skull candles, candles whose wicks change colors as they burn, severed hand candles, glow-in-the-dark candles, soaps that exfoliate and benefit the skin, bath bombs that change color as they fizz through the water, clothing with drawings and lettering I personally create with a sketchpad and convert to an online graphic that is inspired by horror figures, cult classics, New Orleans superstitions such as voodoo. I make things that are strange and unique, products that I do not see elsewhere.
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Contact Applicant
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