This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
From Burlington, Vermont, today we've got Aisha on the line. Aisha has crafted a niche for herself with a soap making business. She's making soap, lots of people in Vermont making soap. It's kind of a soap making headquarters of North America. Not the only one, but definitely one of them.
However, recent personal challenges have thrown a wrench in her operations. So she started making some money and then it's not going so well, trying to figure out what to do next. And specifically, she's considering crowdfunding as a lifeline. Okay, so here's where it gets interesting. Can you set up a GoFundMe as a fundraiser for your business?
Like people use GoFundMe for all kinds of personal fundraisers. Often when there's a hardship, could be something else as well. However, is it a business fundraising tool? At least most of the time it's not, but could you do that? Let's talk about it.
Can I start a GoFundMe for my business? Welcome to Sida Soul School, by the way. My name's Chris Guillebeau. Excited to bring you today's episode. Got a quick shout out to our sponsor and then we'll hear the detailed question.
[Music]
Hey, it's Aisha from Burlington, Vermont. I've been running an artisanal soap making business for a couple of years now, but it hasn't really taken off. With some recent challenges in my personal life, funding operations has become tough. I thought about starting a GoFundMe to support my business. Is this a good idea or a terrible one?
Either way, do you have any other creative ideas? - Aisha, thank you for the message. Sorry to hear about the recent challenges. Let's talk about the use of GoFundMe for a similar platform for raising business funds, okay? Most of the time, it's kind of known for personal causes, those hardships I mentioned or emergencies, but some businesses have utilized it, especially during also a hardship, like a tough time, like a pandemic or something that has fundamentally changed their business.
They wanna kind of get back going, maybe in a different way to rebuild or reopen a store. So it is technically possible. Some people have done it. But first of all, transparency is key. Potential donors really want to know exactly where their money's going, how it's gonna help your business.
And also, I think this is something for you to think about. How does it help you in the long term? What will you use that money for that will ensure the business will be more sustainable or more profitable six months from now, 12 months from now, and so on? And if you have a good answer, great. But if you're not sure, then I think maybe a better solution might be to look more at the fundamentals of the business.
And say, okay, what can we do besides crowdfunding in this way? How can we get the business back on its feet? Not just some funding that I don't have a great use for. So when I think of the fundamentals, I think, how is the soap or any other products? How are they being sold now?
Could you expand further online? Could you expand locally? Are there some workshops that could be done? Could you do pre-sales? Could you do a subscription model?
Could you collaborate with local businesses to create exclusive sense or have your soaps included in gift baskets, hotel rooms, B&Bs? Vermont is big on that. I just think before you start at GoFundMe, let's think about what you actually need and how any money raised could help it, the business be more sustainable 'cause that's what you really want. You don't just want an influx of cash. You want the business to be sustainable.
And if you don't see a path for that sustainability, then you have a choice, which is, first of all, you could just accept that this is a hobby. That's okay, that's fine. But if it's really important to you to have a money-making side hustle that can really change your life financially, then you might need a different side hustle. So maybe the best solution is to actually look away from the current business. I'll leave those options with you.
Hopefully one of them sits well, one of them gives you an idea on what to do next. But of course, I'm cheering you on, cheering on all of our listeners out there doing all kinds of creative things. For 2,451 days, we've been making the podcast and I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to keep being here, keep sharing ideas and stories. So let me know how I'm doing.
Let me know your questions, your ideas, sidehustleschool.com/questions. New episode comes out every day. And that's all for now. My name's Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the "Onward Project."
