1-2-3-4 Go! needs help to survive & thrive.

I started 1-2-3-4 Go! back in 2008 in a 160sq foot shop with my record collection, some second hand fixtures and a lot of help from my friend Kim. 2008 was a very difficult year to start a new business but with the support of our community the shop persevered to eventually expand into the first vinyl focused store with a strictly  all ages venue in it in Oakland and starting in 2015 a second location in San Francisco. None of that was done with help from a bank (because they wouldn't lend to us) or large financial backing. It was all thanks to you and in no small part a patchwork of high interest credit cards.



It has been my absolute pleasure to be behind the neighborhood record shop here on 40th. I've spent most of my adult life working in shops just like this one and to realize the dream of owning my own has been a singular highlight of my life. I've made sure to pay a living wage because I believe in it. I care about my employees and I wish I could give them all what they truly deserve because without them this ship doesn't move at all. Not that I wasn't aware before but working alone in the shop with the doors closed for a month has made it overwhelmingly obvious. This shop just doesn't exist without the people working in it or the community supporting it.



I am awaiting news from the SBA about the EIDL and as yet we have no guarantee of what we'll get if anything at all. This has put the immediate future of the shop in a certain amount of jeopardy. I've been able to gather what I can through mail order to keep us afloat while we wait. However the EIDL, if we get it, is going to be a loan that saddles the business with even more debt in what is sure to be a down economy going forward. The losses we are incurring now aren't being forgiven. They're simply being added to the load. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to survive this but I want to do it in a way that doesn't cause it to collapse a year or two down the road.



It's with great difficulty I come here today to ask for help from our community who is at the same time suffering along with us. I'm asking for $75k to keep us going during what is certain to be a rocky rest of the year as our community and country rebound. We need help to restock the shops once we are open again, make some improvements, retain our current staff and ideally hire additional help as we were already working with a skeletal crew.

Whether we meet the goal  or not I want to thank all of you for the last 12 years of support. None of this would have been possible with out you. I'm hoping for at least 12 more. Stay safe and thank you for everything.