Small business & geek hub in need
Donation protected
My name is Ashlee, and I'm a friend of the owners. I've been around since the very beginning of their business endeavors, and I'm so very proud of them. They have worked harder than I've ever seen anyone work. This is their dream, and they haven't given up. There were times when I know I might have thrown in the towel, but I'm not as strong and determined as they are. I know the first year of a [brick-and-mortar] business is the hardest, and right now with the economy being as bad as it is (plus being in Tampa, FL), finances have been even more stressful. I offered to create and manage a gofundme for them so they wouldn't have to juggle any additional stress. Please consider giving whatever you can spare! And if you're unable to donate, please share! Thank you!
A NOTE FROM THE SHOP OWNER:
"I honestly don't know how to start this out. But, I'm going to give it a try. My name is Jesse Collins (I go by Arthur). My wife and I started a business back in 2019 called Geek Side. Geek Side focuses on selling anything geeky, nerdy, or dorky. What if your local gaming shop also had a heavy focus on Funko and anime?
Starting from humble beginnings in a local flea market, we nearly lost our business in 2020 early on during the pandemic. We recovered soon after and found a much more suitable home within a larger flea market in our area. For nearly two and a half years, we were there. But, we realized it wasn't optimal for a geek store. We couldn't have tables, or even be open past 4PM.
We decided to dream big and expand into a full brick-and-mortar (physical retail) location. We got it. But, that's around the time we figured out we just flew too close to the sun.
We had investors initially, but slowly they pulled out due to various reasons, like medical emergencies, etc. Taxes and bills and rent started to pile up. At this point, we're in over our heads without any help. We basically did this entirely on our own and we just don't want to lose our business at this point. Everything we've worked toward since 2019 could be gone soon, if we don't have help.
We're bad at asking for help. We're independent. We're ambitious. We were taught to do things on our own. But, we just can't. We didn't even want to do this GoFundMe, no matter how much we know it has the potential to help, but some of our friends insisted."
If you have any questions, concerns, etc please reach out! THANK YOU!! Ashlee
Organizer and beneficiary
Ashlee Ortega
Organizer
Tampa, FL
Jesse Collins
Beneficiary