Get updates by RSS
Update #3: All is not lost!
I realize our project may not be funded through Kickstarter, but I want to let you, the backers, know that we have gone forward with our dream.
Wesley and I have been working hard on side jobs to earn money to put into the coffee house. It's a painfully slow way of raising capital for your dream, but it is still a dream in the making.
So far, we have been able to raise enough, through these side jobs, to get paint, turn on the electricity, and buy start up supplies so we can begin marketing. We went before the city zoning February 13th so they can vote on our plans to convert the coffee house garage into a studio apartment. They voted for it unanimously and even said they encourage mixing commercial and residential.
This will give us an advantage to build a coffee house without going into debt. We will be able to get out of our apartment and save approximately $900/month and apply that to the coffee house.
We have baked hundreds and hundreds of cupcakes since we first posted our Kickstarter project! Now we have a community of people waiting for us to open our doors.
We are going to continue working our side jobs until we have raised $4,000 which will enable us to complete the three things that keeps us from opening to the public. We have to have a 3 section sink installed. We need a parking lot. We need start up supplies that will sustain the business when we first open to the public.
Though we are not able to do everything we wanted to do through the Kickstarter donations, we will still accomplish our dream, just slower.
I hope you will keep up with our project via http://kudzujungle.com/blog/coffeehouse/
Thank you so much for caring about our dream. Were it not for Kickstarter, we would not have "kick started" our dream. We would still just be in the planning, documenting and dreaming it. There comes a point in time when you have to stop planning a project, and just take a leap of faith and implement the plans. We have spent three years planning, and we could easily wait another three before we have enough money to pursue our dreams. What we did instead was to pursue the dream in small chunks. We have a coffee house in the making, and without going into debt.
Wesley is pursuing music, as am I, and I am also pursuing dance. Though I can't afford lessons, there is YouTube, and I can learn enough to get started and pursue that dream in small portions like the coffee house.
Wesley and I appreciate you so much! It encouraged us to keep going and now that the community knows we exist, we have already past the most difficult hurdle in a start up. That is, actually getting started.
Update #2: Groupon is featuring our cupcakes!
It's 4:16 am and Wesley and I just finished the cupcake photo shoot. We started at 7pm last night and we had to make a batch of all six flavors so we could get the photos on our Web site in time for Groupon.
http://ourlittlecoffeehouse.com/2011/12/29/bakery/
Groupon is helping us with our fundraiser by featuring six of our cupcakes. The Knoxville area, according to Groupon, has more than 200,000 subscribers. It's a great way to get word out that a new coffee house is coming to Clinton, TN.
We had fun getting the cupcakes ready for the Groupon event, but it's time to get some sleep! We have to work some more on the renovations tomorrow... or rather...today and get the coffee house ready.
Here's a link to the Groupon deal. I'm not sure how long they leave it active after the deal is closed. They said they would like to feature our cupcakes after their deadline at a later date, so new subscribers in our area can hear about our coffee house.
Update #1: Getting the coffee house ready for inspection
We have a zoning meeting on February 13 at 6 pm with the City of Clinton and we have our task list from the health department of things that have to be done before they can clear us to open.
We're really excited about the progress we're making. Our documentary Web site is almost ready to be launched. We have a contractor lined up to get some of the inspection requirements done for us that we can't do ourselves.
We have customers already! They are waiting for us to open for business, but it's very encouraging to have customers.
Wesley and I have two projects lined up that will give us some capital to work with, which will pay for the 3 section sink we have to have. It will also give us enough money to get the place painted!
3
Backers
$310
pledged of $21,863 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding Unsuccessful
This project reached the deadline without achieving its funding goal on February 20.
Pledge $1 or more Pledge $1 or more
Get 1 pixel on our pixel jungle. (http://kudzujungle.com/index.php/en/2011-11-28-21-40-11/pixel-jungle) 1 pixel for each dollar donated. We will add your name or nickname to the pixel, along with a link to your Facebook page or Web site. Plus we will send you a thank you tweet from Kudzu Jungle. We'll also put up a map in the coffee house and mark your location with a pin...it's a representative of hope and one less mile we have to travel so we can work full time on the documentary and coffee house. (see our intro video so you'll understand the miles)
Pledge $5 or more Pledge $5 or more
Get 5 pixels on our pixel jungle. All the rewards from above. Plus an entry in our Sponsor Director online at kudzujungle.com and a thank you note on our Facebook page.
Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more
Get 10 pixels on our pixel jungle. All the rewards from above, plus a two-pack of our signature cupcakes. Choose from: Tropical Pineapple, Carrot Caramel, Tradional Carrot, Vanilla Whirlwind, Chocolate Torte, Red Velvet or Blue Velvet. And we'll give you a thank you ad on our community pages.
Pledge $20 or more Pledge $20 or more
Get 20 pixels on our pixel jungle. All the rewards from above, plus four more cupcakes (you can get one of each if you like) plus we'll put a thank you ad on Kudzujungle.com in our community section.
Pledge $25 or more Pledge $25 or more
Get 25 pixels on our pixel jungle. All the rewards from above plus we'll give you access to our online documentary videos before they are released to the public.
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
Get 50 pixels on our pixel jungle. All the rewards from above plus we'll send you a pound of our house blend coffee beans and give you a thank you ad on the front page of Kudzujungle.com.
Pledge $100 or more Pledge $100 or more
Get 100 pixels on our pixel jungle. All the rewards from above, plus we will send you a copy of our first printed newspaper with behind the scene photos that are not in the public version of the paper. We will also publish a thank you note to you right in the paper!
Pledge $250 or more Pledge $250 or more
Get 250 pixels on our pixel jungle. All the rewards from above, plus a dozen cupcakes each month for a year. Choose from our signature cupcakes, mix and match them or you can select our Flavor Of The Month, based on seasonal flavors. Since we can't ship cupcakes at this time, if you are unable to visit our coffee house, we'll ship you a batch of cookies instead! Or, if you have a loved one overseas, we will ship to an APO on your behalf. (We have military families so we understand how much packages mean to them!)
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
Get 500 pixels on our pixel jungle. All the rewards from above, plus we will create a special edition of our printed newspaper dedicated to our sponsors at this level or above. You will also be given access to behind the scenes footage of our documentary and planning meetings that will not be made available to the public. We will also feature you in our Grand Opening video. We'll create a video in our green room and feature pictures of you/family/friends, video clips or audio and we'll give you a copy of the DVD. (You'll even get to help write the script and approve the video before it's published if you want to!)
Pledge $1,000 or more Pledge $1,000 or more
Get 1000 pixels on our pixel jungle. All the rewards from above, plus we will make a plaque with your name on it and attach it to one of the bricks on the fireplace in Our Little Coffee House. There is a picture of the fireplace in the intro video.
Project By
Has not connected their Facebook account.
