Hello Everybody! Thank you for taking the time and effort to view my Crowd Funding page, it is TRULY appreciated. Let me tell you a bit more about myself… My name is Rachel and I am a 24 year old near graduate student from Camberley, Surrey. For many years, I have always wanted to run my own business and since becoming an adult, I have grasped an interest in the bar industry. You may think to yourself, “well most young people are interested in bars and nightlife”, but let me tell you one thing: my area, Camberley, although being a prosperous and upcoming large town, lacks that “oomph” which many locals seek. I am proposing to erect a new cocktail and wine bar in the Camberley area, to provide the residents and locals with a new and alternative venue to enjoy and request that you kindly help me to raise the £20,000 needed to secure a business bank loan required, in order to fund my business and also give Camberley the spark it so needs! I am not solely relying on Crowd Funder to raise finances, as I also have savings of my own and have requested other methods of raising funds such as government business start up schemes, however, it would be a great help if the community and residents from other local areas could help fund this project, with a prospect that everybody can see flourish (real community spirit).
After conducting market research for almost a year in the forms of surveys and multiple posts on social media, I have gained enough confidence from qualitative and quantitative data to announce that I truly believe that there is a gap in the market for a cocktail/wine bar to be erected in Camberley, Surrey. Camberley Town is an upcoming, thriving town in terms of business prospects and population. In the last few years, it has undergone major renovation projects such as construction of a new cinema, restaurants, shops and business warehouses and serves over 252, 937 people in the Blackwater Valley, which composes of Camberley and it’s surrounding urban areas (2011 census1). However, Camberley does not currently have a cocktail or wine bar speciality currently, and respectively only has public houses and one night club, which is aimed at those 18-21 years old.
My research has shown compelling popularity for my business venture, mainly based on feedback from online surveys, which were completely anonymous. Of those surveyed, 93% of participants were aged 21 years old or over and 92% of these participants either agreed or strongly agreed that Camberley would benefit from a new cocktail/wine bar. 95% of all participants either agreed or strongly agreed that there was currently no bar or nightlife venue which catered the needs for a mixed variety of ages. Considering that 64% of Blackwater Valley is aged from 18-65, it could be assumed, from the survey, that over 100,000 are not being catered for, regarding entertainment and drinking outlets.
I am a very spiritual person and I am deeply intrigued by how the world works and theories surrounding nature and science. I have decided to call my cocktail bar ‘Chakra Lounge’ based on the traditional healing ideologies of the seven chakras. It creates connotations of peace and healing and that is exactly how I’d like the atmosphere and of my cocktail bar to be; a santuary of peace. The interior design would be based on oriental patterns with high end stools and cushions, creating a truly warm atmosphere. As well as creating an extensive cocktail menu that no other place in Camberley provides, I’d ideally like to provide a venue for live music and DJ’s on selected nights to also provide it with the ‘fun’, that Camberley so desperately needs.
If you kindly donate any amount of money towards my business venture, it will be going towards a deposit needed for a business loan from my bank, as I currently have no property to act as security for my loan. My bank has offered me a LTV loan at a ratio of 70:30, which translates as, if I can provide 30% of my total loan by outside resources, such as savings, donations, government loans, then they are willing to provide me with the remaining 70%. I am looking at a loan for around £100,000 give or take, based on the business plan I have created.
Rachel
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