As Good As New Thrift Shop | Application Preview
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General Information
Business Registration Number: 88-2989724
Location: Colona, IL, United States
Length of Operation: 1-5
Number of Employees: 1-10 Employees
Annual Gross Income: Less than $100k
Annual Gross Expense: Less than $100k
Open to Loans: YES
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Funding Usage
I will use the money to purchase property for a storefront. I will be able to implement my additional revenue streams and hire some employees.
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Business Plan
I plan to expand my business to include a live auction revenue stream. I will pair with the Whatnot app platform. This would be a great opportunity to expand my online business by driving auction customers to my website. I, personally, have been in retail and direct sales for over 23 years. I am ready to truely be my own boss. My father is an entrepreneur. He is the owner of his business for more than 45 years and counting. I worked with him from the time I could answer a phone properly. I cleaned, answered phones, took appointments, contacted customers for reminder calls, and have helped him to start a facebook page. I am very familliar with social media, and currently use it to market my website. I have much to learn about the marketing, but I am willing to learn. I know how hard it is to be a sole proprietor business. I feel that I am up for the challenge. I would very much be interested in an investor that would be willing to mentor me in my business. I want to be coached in marketing also. It is ever-changing, so I would love to have an investor that can mentor me in marketing. The motto of my company is "The little thrift shop, with a big heart!" The bigger I am, the more people I can help.
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Self Identified Competition
1) Goodwill They are a national giant in the reselling industry. I have modeled my pricing and stock rotation system after theirs. They rely solely on donations from the public and take anything they are given, and sell it for pennies on the dollar for 100% profit. My shop differs because I also take consignments, and I am selective about my merchandise. 2) Salvation Army They, too, are a national reseller of donations. Much like Goodwill, they sell everything they are given for profit. They use a stock rotation much the same as Goodwill. 3) Plato's Closet This is a smaller reseller and consignor business. They are closer to my store model because they take consignments in addition to donations. Their primary focus is on clothing. They curate each piece of clothing they sell, and they are very specific about what they will accept for sale. They rotate their stock just like a retail store, seasonally. Consigned items that are not sold during a set period of time are donated to a local charity. Their focus is on trending fashion. In my model, curated items must be new or vintage new. Preferably with the tags attached for clothing. Other goods that I will accept are like new condition household items. I also have local artists that renew old furniture to sell at my store. My goal is to upcycle most of the items that I am unable to sell. If they don't meet my criteria for sale on the sales floor or online, I will offer to share them with local upcycling artists. I want to reduce retail waste, by purchasing retail overstock, seasonal closeouts and return pallets from larger retail stores. I also want to upcycle any items possible to keep them from the landfill. And finally, my store will pass items that did not sell, on to a local charity that in turn gives the items away for free. My business model is designed to be minimal retail waste business.
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Contact Applicant
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