Help Art’s Motorcycle Shop Open Doors
Donation protected
Swallowing all pride and humbly asking for support. Sadly, we’ve been through some financial hardships over the years and want so badly to get back to work! It’s hard to call it work since we love what we do.
- HOW IT STARTED WITH MOTORCYCLES: Art lost his job at the railroad in September 2016. We weren’t sure how to move forward since all he knew was Army and Railroading. We decided to jump in with everything we had for Art to attend school at Universal Technical Institute, Motorcycle Mechanic Institute in Orlando, Florida. We used every penny we had to our name. We withdrew all our retirement, life savings, and I worked two full-time jobs for 18 months for him to attend school. He also worked while attending school. Art graduated in March 2018. He had perfect attendance and received recognition for multiple academic awards, including the Top Tech Award. With the grace of God, we did it.
- AFTER GRATUATION: Art managed a shop in New Ellenton, SC. He ran it for five years with a dream to become a partner or own a shop in the future. He was blessed to work on a few motorcycles at Orange County Choppers in New York when they needed him.
- THE FOLLOWING LED TO US TO ASK FOR SUPPORT: An opportunity was presented to us by a customer to become partners and open a shop together. We decided to dive in and give it a try. We thought our dream of owning a shop had finally come true. Almost five months, we gave our all to getting the building ready to open for business. Again, we found ourselves depleting our savings to survive. Our biggest mistake was not getting things in writing with the other two partners before we left the previous shop. Lesson learned for sure! The doors finally opened August 1st and on August 15th we were told we wouldn’t be partners; we could continue to work as contract laborers. Sadly, we were devastated and left that shop on August 17th. A week later, we find out they stopped payment on our last paycheck.
- WHAT NEXT: We want to get back to our passion, which is working on motorcycles, for our community, friends, and fellow riders. We know how expensive it is to maintain a motorcycle, so we offer excellent quality service at reasonable prices. Having a mechanic you can trust is a must!
We have located a building and are currently in negotiations with the purchase. We hope to open the doors as soon as possible. We have most of the things we need, We are asking for assistance with other up-front costs, insurance, equipment, supplies, signage, marketing, and more.
- HOW FUNDS WOULD BE USED:
$70,000 = 20% Down
$ 2,886 = Loan Origination Fee
$ 2,500 = Appraisal Fee
$ 250 = Environmental Fee
$ 1,000 = Attorney Fee
$ 9,000 = Insurance
$ 1,500 = Harley Davidson Service Manuals - Annual Subscription
$ 595 = Digital Wrench Software
$ 3,975 = Motorcycle Lift (each)
$ 3,019 = Tire Changer with Assist Arm
$ 2,862 = Wheel Balancer
$ 7,500 = Vendor Buy-in
$20,000 = Merchandise, Signage, Utility Deposits, Accountant, Unexpected Expenses, Internet, etc.
Art and I are incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished in the last five years. We want very much to continue serving our customers we love so very, very much.
For all donations made, we will immortalize your name on our “Wall of Gratitude”. Your generosity will forever be remembered and celebrated within the heart of our motorcycle shop.
Your financial donation of any amount would be truly and profoundly appreciated. Every single cent donated will be entirely invested in opening and operating Art’s Motorcycle Shop. Your support means the world to us, and together we can get the shop up and running. Whether you can contribute financially or help us spread the word, your involvement will make a difference.
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"No raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or returns on investment are offered in exchange for any donations made to this GoFundMe"
Organizer
Elizabeth Robinson
Organizer
New Ellenton, SC