A New Home for Buddha Babe
Donation protected
Hi everyone,
I started Buddha Babe at my dining table in 2014, and by 2019 built it into a thriving e-commerce business with customers and retail partners across the country.
In 2020 I decided to expand the business, opening a brick and mortar location that not only contains a boutique for my products, but also houses our production operations as well as workshop space. We sell not only product that we make in-house, but also carry goods made by other local women. We offer sewing workshops for children, adults and families- both single day and recurring such as our after school sewing club and summer sewing camp.
Location, Location, Location. Everyone knows that in retail, location is everything. The lease on my current space is expiring in May 31, and because sales traffic has been so horrific for the past year I am not financially prepared to move the business to a better location. I’ve struggled for 9+ months to meet overhead costs due to declines in revenue and increases in costs.
Sure, it would be simple to close up the shop and go back online, but my heart is connected to the kids in this community who I’ve been serving for 2.5 years and I’m not ready to give up on the workshop aspect of the business just yet.
In a perfect world, I pick up everything I’ve built and just drop it into a new space. One with great visibility, on an established commercial corridor or in a revitalized district. Keep all three legs of the business (retail, production, workshops) running and the current model intact. That’s my goal, and ultimately what I’m raising funds for.
Another scenario that I could make work is to move the retail leg back online, and move into a more industrial space that houses production and workshops, with little or no need for a commercial corridor. While the actual move costs for this model will be less, I would need to purchase a small passenger van in order to provide transportation options for kids coming from school in order to expand (triple) my community offerings.
All of the funds raised will be applied to the direct costs of paying the remaining lease term in my existing space, security deposit and upfront costs associated with a new space, and any moving costs. I am actively touring new properties and will update the campaign as progress is made towards either scenario, and provide status updates often.
Thank you for your time and consideration, feel free to reach out directly if you have any questions.
Xo,
Tina
www.buddhababe.com
I started Buddha Babe at my dining table in 2014, and by 2019 built it into a thriving e-commerce business with customers and retail partners across the country.
In 2020 I decided to expand the business, opening a brick and mortar location that not only contains a boutique for my products, but also houses our production operations as well as workshop space. We sell not only product that we make in-house, but also carry goods made by other local women. We offer sewing workshops for children, adults and families- both single day and recurring such as our after school sewing club and summer sewing camp.
Location, Location, Location. Everyone knows that in retail, location is everything. The lease on my current space is expiring in May 31, and because sales traffic has been so horrific for the past year I am not financially prepared to move the business to a better location. I’ve struggled for 9+ months to meet overhead costs due to declines in revenue and increases in costs.
Sure, it would be simple to close up the shop and go back online, but my heart is connected to the kids in this community who I’ve been serving for 2.5 years and I’m not ready to give up on the workshop aspect of the business just yet.
In a perfect world, I pick up everything I’ve built and just drop it into a new space. One with great visibility, on an established commercial corridor or in a revitalized district. Keep all three legs of the business (retail, production, workshops) running and the current model intact. That’s my goal, and ultimately what I’m raising funds for.
Another scenario that I could make work is to move the retail leg back online, and move into a more industrial space that houses production and workshops, with little or no need for a commercial corridor. While the actual move costs for this model will be less, I would need to purchase a small passenger van in order to provide transportation options for kids coming from school in order to expand (triple) my community offerings.
All of the funds raised will be applied to the direct costs of paying the remaining lease term in my existing space, security deposit and upfront costs associated with a new space, and any moving costs. I am actively touring new properties and will update the campaign as progress is made towards either scenario, and provide status updates often.
Thank you for your time and consideration, feel free to reach out directly if you have any questions.
Xo,
Tina
www.buddhababe.com
Organizer
Tina Dixon Spence
Organizer
Philadelphia, PA