Family of 8 scammed

My name is Pauline and I live in Wesley Chapel, FL. I have a current commercial lease on a space in Zephyrhills, FL. I am creating this GoFund Me in hopes of exsposing as well as hopefully assisting me in staying afloat while I try to obtain a refund from a company that is based in Mableton, GA named Beauty Supply Institute also known as BSI. BSI is a company that assists individuals in obtaining a beauty supply store. Their whole motto is taking back the beauty supply industry by assisting mostly black Americans in becoming business owners in a category where we are the main consumers.

I invested $85,000 into BSI in March of 2021 in hopes of owning my own Beauty Supply Store. February 2024 I still have no open store and I am completely maxed out of all my funds. I have to pay a lease on a building that is earning me no income, while maintaining a mortgage, bills, credit card Debt from funding this whole venture! I am completely maxed out of all my money! I had to apply for food stamps and other government assisted programs. I honestly have no idea how we are going to survive the upcoming months. I am terrified of losing my house and losing this location! I

This is a dang shame that a company that heavily promotes wanting to help the black community is doing this! I NEED MY MONEY BACK OR I NEED MY STORE OPENED! I have 6 children that my husband and I are trying to raise right and provide a better lifestyle for. But now all that hard work is going down the drain! We have nothing left and BSI does not give a dang. They are still constantly promoting their business for new potential clients while knowing the hurt, stress and pain that they are causing us. To a family of 8! A family that has young children ranging from 2-13!! This is their future that they are playing with! I have called and pleaded with BSI numerous times and all I get are the same nonanswers stating that their vendors are backed up. It’s been 8 months since I have had my location and I have NO INVENTORY.

Please help me shed light on this horrible company so that we can stop them from hurting other families. As I stated they are still heavily recruiting for more people and yet they still have countless people who still have no store. If you look at their google reviews as well the Better Business Bureau rating you will see all the hurt they are causing (when I initially signed up in 2021 they did not have a bad rating on the BBB or google) Any assistance that anyone can give us to stay afloat during this rough time would greatly be appreciated.