The Strum Shop Asks for Your Help

Dear friends of The Strum Shop,

Despite my reluctance and discomfort in doing so, I must ask the community for help. When the Strum Shop relocated in 2016 to Vernon Street in Downtown Roseville, we understood that there would be challenges (less parking, customers having difficulty finding us; etc. ) But we did so anyway because we needed a larger space to host our many community events and to increase the number of available lesson studios. The first few years after the move were exceedingly challenging, to say the least. The cost of building permits was triple our expectation, which ate up our operating funds and caused delays in starting construction at the new location to the tune of several months. When we did finally begin renovations, we had a general contractor quit in the middle of the project, pushing our open date back even further, and our building costs through the roof (no pun intended). Once we sorted all of that out, we were informed that our parking lot was going to be torn out and replaced with a parking garage—a nice addition, but that project took two years to complete rather than the projected one year. Consequently, our sales dropped dramatically, about 32 percent, and remained low all the way through 2019.

Then just as we were starting to make headway again, the global pandemic happened. Every aspect of the business was impacted. Sales took another hit, students were not renting instruments for school, we could not provide in-person lessons and we could not schedule any events, recitals, or performances. And the massive increase in freight/shipping charges made acquiring products for resale from manufacturers nearly impossible. I did everything I could to keep our doors open and our teachers and staff employed. We took whatever we could get for inventory, we offered free delivery and put more focus into online sales when customers could not enter the store, we offered lessons online, and we applied for every kind of state and federal assistance available.

We did manage to get through all of these challenges and are looking at 2023 being our best year ever, but we had to take on a good deal of debt in order to get through it. Now, roughly 35 percent of our gross income is going directly toward paying down debt. I’ve been able to manage it so far but barely. Any small hiccup could potentially break us, and now we are facing one.

My wife, Sherrin, who makes Sherrin’s Threads guitar and ukulele straps, has been diagnosed with cancer. Her first surgery was successful, but in a matter of only a few months, her cancer was back and had spread. The doctors are telling us that her cancer is not curable but through treatment, it can be managed. We’ve spent thousands on her medical treatment so far and are still facing significant medical debt as we go forward with her prescribed treatment. Paying both these medical bills, and trying to pay down the business debt has become unsustainable. In truth, it has been unsustainable for some time and is now catching up with us.

My hope is to raise up to $90,000 to pay off the debt accumulated through the pandemic which would reduce monthly debt payment to approximately 10 percent, rather than 35 percent of our gross revenue per month. This would open up a significant amount of cash flow each month that can go towards building up inventory, improving the pay for my employees, setting aside money for an emergency fund, and also helping cover my wife’s medical bills.

From the very beginning, we wanted to be a different kind of music store where members of the community would feel welcome and have an opportunity to gather and make music together. In addition to our well-attended jams, strum-alongs, classes, and workshops, we have approximately 250 wonderful students taking private lessons here, we continue to be the hub for the greater Sacramento ukulele community and have made every effort to support school fundraising and outside community events like Roseville’s Downtown Tuesday Nights and Family Fun Night. It is our desire to continue to be a beacon of goodwill throughout the city of Roseville and surrounding areas, and in order to do so, we are asking for your assistance.

Here are three ways you can help:

We are grateful for every one of you and hope to continue to serve you for years to come.

Sincerely

Daniel Elliott Jr.

The Strum Shop - Roseville