Writing a business plan was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. The process of gathering pertinent information and materials – scratch that – the process of determining what information and material is pertinent to the opening of a retail store, gathering said information and materials, and synthesizing it into an appealing and easily digestible form was the largest physical, mental, and emotional challenge I’ve ever faced. I was actually paralyzed with fear for a month late last year, unable to start work on the plan because I didn’t really know what to do or where to start. In the end, three voices – well, four, really – helped me overcome that fear and get to work. The first voiced belongs to my father, who likes to tell me that “people dumber than you do it every day” whenever I am faced with what I think is an intractable problem. The second and third voices belong to Clay Robinson and Staraya McKinstry, who listened to me air all my fears and misgivings and gave me a much-needed and well-timed pep talk. The last voice belonged to Larry White, the Indiana Small Business Development Center counselor who gave invaluable advice, insight, resources, and feedback.

Now the business plan that I sweated, cried, and lost sleep over is in the hands of the good folks at Key and M&I banks. We’ve been in regular communication with our contact at Key Bank and are getting a warm and fuzzy feeling from her commitment to lending to community-oriented start-ups, women-owned businesses (Amanda is a majority stakeholder in Homespun: Modern Handmade LLC), and businesses on the east side. After our experience with Pecha Kucha 7 and Refresh Everything, it feels like the wind is at our back…but that’s no reason to ease off the accelerator.

In an effort to strengthen the store’s financial position Amanda and I have launched a project on Kickstarter, a community-funding website geared towards creative professionals. It’s really quite cool and there are a number of incredible, ambitious projects like this one that merge self-interest and the public good in a way that we hope Homespun will. If we reach our goal (and credit cards are only charged if a project is 100% funded by its deadline), a large percentage of that money will go to local artists for the manufacture of furniture and fixtures for the shop. You can check out the Homespun Kickstarter profile here if you’re interested.

We’ll find out soon if Homespun will open this summer – if it does, I intend to use this blog not just as a means of promoting and marketing our store but as a means of inspiring aspiring entrepreneurs. There are so many resources available for free or next to nothing and so many talented people to turn to for help or advice that if you want to go into business for yourself, there’s no reason not to. After all, people dumber than you do it every day.