Pick…Click…We’re There! Revolutionizing the way you decorate for any wedding or upscale party.
Short Summary
A housewife who has grown a wedding planning business from her basement to this new and exciting venture- the stuff of movies right?! I think so! After ten years of wedding planning and designing decor and six years of professional event planning – I’ve finally found a way to automate the most popular side of my business – decorations! With The Decor Patrol and my patent pending all in one concept – I will revolutionize the way you and many many others choose wedding and upscale party decor! How so – via an online store that sells the COMPLETE decor package, not some tablecloths here, a centerpiece or balloon there, but a complete packaged look! No more driving from store to store, scouring the internet and ordering things that aren’t exactly what you want, or setting appointments with consultants only to find they are way out of your budget! Don’t you hate that?! My seamless, e-commerce site allows you, the customer, to choose from a variety of stunning styles and looks, in a easy user friendly environment, anytime of day or night, all in the budget YOU want to spend!! As a part of the purchase price – my team sets up and tears down the package you purchased! Simple and stress free right?! Now you get my tag line – “Pick…Click…We’re There!”
So you may be asking – “how do you know if this business will make money Trina”? My answer is – from experience! The number one complaint I get in my wedding planning business is “why don’t all the wedding and party decoration boards and magazine give you the price on what it costs to purchase the things you see on their pages or boards?” Well from a business perspective – they aren’t going to price themselves out of the market so they continue to hook onlookers with beautiful images only to have them find out, once they meet with a professional, that the look they have dreamed about for so long will cost over $70,000! Yes – you read that right! My solution is to be up front with the shopper and get them the most beautiful decor in their real world budget! The best part is NO ONE is currently doing that – NO ONE! That’s how I know this was a vision given to me and one that I must protect fiercely! I am literally creating a new process and the exciting part for you is…you can be a part of bringing this vision to reality!!! Amazing right!?!? So, enough about how much I love how huge and convenient this is going to be, (well it already is taking flight from word of mouth and my website hasn’t even launched yet!) – the following are some details you may be wondering about…
What We Need & What You Get
Breaking it down:
What I need and what this campaign is asking for is the highlighted $3549 for the e-commerce website – see number 3. But in an effort to be transparent – I listed everything I actually need to get the business fully up and running. Your contributions are significant to help this “entrepreneurial housewife” – me – make this dream a reality – well make it a reality quicker! I’ve already starting getting customers as of April 2016!
Here are the 3 main reasons I’m asking for silent contributions via this site:
- Even though I have a good credit score and have been able to use cash to get started on the initial steps of starting The Decor Patrol (logo design, registration with the state, website design, etc) – I am unable to qualify for traditional loans or micro loans that I need to really get traction. Because I do not have a steady paycheck or any paycheck for that matter, (don’t get me started on that – housewives should be paid!) I don’t look good on paper as a business counselor once told me..ugh! Anyway, my husband and I have agreed not to affect the household budget, if possible, but we do believe building this business is possible it will just take some “creative financing” and continued use of any profit I’m making with the wedding planning side of the biz currently.
- ANY amount you decide to contribute will be greatly appreciated and recognized via a “thank you to my angels” plaque I am designing for my website. For those that contribute $150 or more, I have added some cool perks so check them out!
- In the following bullet points – I have included a breakdown of where any and all monies will go less the 5% fee that Indiegogo charges for hosting my campaign. Since my online store will be just as real as a traditional brick and mortar – the expenses and initial investments are not that different.
- $1000.00 to start the process to patent and trademark The Decor Patrol name, The Decor Patrol process, the website domain name, the logo, the tag line, the content of the website and the logo colors. It’s $325 to submit an application to the US Patent office and several hundred dollars more as the process evolves. Once I go live – I already know competition will follow quickly so I need to protect my investment asap.
- $10,000 for cargo van with interior outfitting and logo design on outside
- $3549 for a professional designed and monthly hosted e-commerce website by Happy Medium Designs of St. Louis Missouri. Currently – I am hosting with Squarespace and am using a templated site for a nominal fee of $35/month.
- $5000 for marketing materials, specifically, tri-fold color brochures, business cards, product stickers/labels, post cards for direct mail campaign, mail campaign fees ( I will continue to use vistaprint for the most competitive pricing since I have been a customer with them for close to 12 years now), bridal magazine and newspaper ads (upscale party customers still seek high end newspapers for the who’s who of hosting parties and I want my ads right next to those columns), 2 bridal show entry fees for the upcoming fall bridal shows (they are generally $700-900 just for entry as a vendor), embroidered shirts and logo t-shirts ( my logo is now my brand so I will have appareal to match), 1 list purchase and 1 email campaign (this will easily take up $1700 of the $5000 budgeted for this bucket but is extremely necessary).
- $1 to purchase a warehouse through LRA Improved properties. It’s basically a condemned commercial or industrial building in the city of STL sold for cheap through STL city government and available to the public. For details check out: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departmen…
- $20,000 to show worthiness to upgrade the LRA property in a timely manner, acquire necessary permits and insurances, utilities, and plumbing. So basically, I want enough money to get the building open, usuable, and able to store my inventory safe and dry. Then, as revenue begins to come, I will do a full remodel.
- $5450 for inventory and professional photography sessions. Currently – I am using stock images on the website to represent the styles and looks I offer. I will need to construct my looks and have them photographed so that I own the image and can copyright the intellectual property.
Lastly – If the total amount is not collected in this campaign – any an all monies will be used as stated above. Proof of use of the funds will be easy for you to track and ultimately see how your dollars added to our dollars are at work.
The Impact
Your contribution makes the following impact by:
- Helping jump start a minority, women owned business in the metro STL area which adds that much more diversity to the STL economic landscape.
- Contributing to a vision that was not designed by me but given as a gift from God literally! I had absolutely no idea I was even interested in the wedding business or creating stunning decor until the vision was put right before my eyes. In fact – I had no idea I knew how to build things and use various tools and medium until these things were put right before my eyes! I still marvel at that and take comfort that I’m in the right place at the right time doing what has been given to me.
- I plan to hire as the company grows and ultimately franchise the concept as it is easily scale-able. The wedding and party industry is a recession proof, billion dollar industry so there are unlimited customers I can market to in an unlimited number of cities. No matter what the economic climate – people will always get married, they will always have parties, and they will always want to make them looks as nice as their budget allows. The Decor Patrol has an answer for every one of those points.
Risks & Challenges
Yes – everything to this point has been peaches and cream but as with any business there is risk. In my business plan – I have accounted for those risks associated with this industry and can provide a solution to overcome those obstacles.
- My main competitive advantage is that I offer the ability to have customers choose decor that is within their budget so whatever they want to spend dictates what services they will get from The Decor Patrol. I work on a fair market mark-up so I will still make money on each transaction no matter what the budget is.
- Investing money right back into the business, namely marketing will be key for the first 3 years as my brand grows. I plan on the “McDonald’s” approach meaning I will be visible in as many advertising mediums as possible, as often as possible, on an ongoing basis. McDonald’s has yet to stop running ads right?
Other Ways You Can Help
Some people just can’t contribute, but that doesn’t mean they can’t help, I get that so:
- May I please ask you to get the word out and make some noise about The Decor Patrol – especially if you have seen and experienced my previous work?
- May I please ask that you use the Indiegogo share tools, your social media outlets, circulating my brochures, sending out my website link, recommending me to your company, school, church, organization, group, etc?
- May I please ask you to invite me to as many networking groups, luncheons, seminars, etc so I can speak about this awesome concept?
I want to thank you for any consideration to my asks and above all thank you for contributing to making this dream a reality!
You are awesome!