Help Houston's Hot Sauce Shop
Donation protected
iBurn has been Houston's favorite locally owned and operated hot sauce shop and spicy store for almost 7 years. We've been through our ups and downs, but no downturn we've ever experienced has been as disastrous as this pandemic.
From April to July we've seen 4 months in a row where our sales were the lowest they've been since our grand opening in 2013, and July was the worst of them. Our survival so far has been thanks to our loyal customers (who have supported us regardless of the situation we're all facing) and our landlords (who have deferred our rent since April). Our landlords (a wonderful senior couple) have gone above and beyond with their kindness and understanding, and we will never be able to thank them enough. If it wasn't for them we'd already be either online only or out of business. However we can't ask them to defer our rent forever. We need to try to get going in a positive direction. That's why we're launching this GoFundMe.
We want to be completely transparent about the condition of the business currently in the hopes that our customers, fans and friends would be willing to help us survive until life moves forward to the new normal. To start, applications have been filed for all the assistance that is available to us. We've only received paycheck protection (PPP). Unfortunately, it was only available for full-time employees (which we only have one), so there wasn't much and it didn't last long. In addition, applications have been filed for an emergency disaster loan through the SBA (Small Business Administration) and a small business grant through Harris County. We haven't gotten final decisions from either yet, but we hope to by the end of August. We also applied for a Hurricane Harvey recovery small business grant, and we hope to hear something about that later this year.
If you can help us reach our goal by the end of August, then you deserve to know how the funds will be utilized. Obviously rent will be a priority, we will need to upgrade our website as well since the company that we used to build it originally just filed for bankruptcy. We've already started the process of moving the site to a new platform, which will help us to be able to better protect our customers. We just need help moving over the data and launching it quickly. The remainder of the funds will go to other small businesses to help replenish our inventory. We will NOT use the funds for payroll or compensation of any kind. In addition, we will commit that if we receive any of the assistance we applied for from the government, that we will use it to pay our small business vendors. This business has always been about supporting other small businesses, and we hope this pandemic won't stop us from continuing that mission.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration. If you're able to donate any amount it would be such a blessing. We're eternally grateful for your past support, and we hope to continue to be Houston's "Store for all things spicy!" for years to come.
From April to July we've seen 4 months in a row where our sales were the lowest they've been since our grand opening in 2013, and July was the worst of them. Our survival so far has been thanks to our loyal customers (who have supported us regardless of the situation we're all facing) and our landlords (who have deferred our rent since April). Our landlords (a wonderful senior couple) have gone above and beyond with their kindness and understanding, and we will never be able to thank them enough. If it wasn't for them we'd already be either online only or out of business. However we can't ask them to defer our rent forever. We need to try to get going in a positive direction. That's why we're launching this GoFundMe.
We want to be completely transparent about the condition of the business currently in the hopes that our customers, fans and friends would be willing to help us survive until life moves forward to the new normal. To start, applications have been filed for all the assistance that is available to us. We've only received paycheck protection (PPP). Unfortunately, it was only available for full-time employees (which we only have one), so there wasn't much and it didn't last long. In addition, applications have been filed for an emergency disaster loan through the SBA (Small Business Administration) and a small business grant through Harris County. We haven't gotten final decisions from either yet, but we hope to by the end of August. We also applied for a Hurricane Harvey recovery small business grant, and we hope to hear something about that later this year.
If you can help us reach our goal by the end of August, then you deserve to know how the funds will be utilized. Obviously rent will be a priority, we will need to upgrade our website as well since the company that we used to build it originally just filed for bankruptcy. We've already started the process of moving the site to a new platform, which will help us to be able to better protect our customers. We just need help moving over the data and launching it quickly. The remainder of the funds will go to other small businesses to help replenish our inventory. We will NOT use the funds for payroll or compensation of any kind. In addition, we will commit that if we receive any of the assistance we applied for from the government, that we will use it to pay our small business vendors. This business has always been about supporting other small businesses, and we hope this pandemic won't stop us from continuing that mission.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration. If you're able to donate any amount it would be such a blessing. We're eternally grateful for your past support, and we hope to continue to be Houston's "Store for all things spicy!" for years to come.
Organizer
James Hot Sauce Boss
Organizer
Houston, TX