BAGSTITUTE | Application Preview
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General Information
Business Registration Number: 273-94-7093
Location: Prior Lake, MN, United States
Length of Operation: 1-5
Number of Employees: 1-10 Employees
Annual Gross Income: Less than $100k
Annual Gross Expense: Less than $100k
Open to Loans: NO
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Funding Usage
If I was awarded the grant, I would like to use it to get my business off the ground by: $500 for advertisement through search engines such as Google and through various SNS channels, magazines and medias $200 for material cost, $200 for upgrading and maintaining website by consulting a professional, $100 for miscellaneous expenses (legal, book keeping, insurance etc). (The above dollar amounts are for monthly estimated cost.)
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Business Plan
How do you plan to grow your business in the next 5 years? For the next couple of years, I would like to spread an awareness about furoshiki, how multifunctional and versatile this square piece of fabric is, and how it can be a solution for most unexpected problems. To achieve that, I’d like to advertise heavily online, offer workshops and attend vender fairs. Your grant would help me achieve these goals. Once I establish the steady cash flow (hopefully within 2 years), I’d like to further expand my business by (1) mass-producing or importing furoshiki, (2) write a book about furoshiki and having it published, (3) collaborating with retailers. Furoshiki is a wonderful product and a concept but few people in U.S. are aware of its existence. It is underappreciated thus poses an unquantifiable opportunity and potential. Younger people are relatively more environmentally conscientious, and they are becoming the major workforce and purchasing demographic. Furoshiki can appeal to those who want to reduce waste and help better the environment.
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Self Identified Competition
https://shikiwrap.com/ https://keikofuroshiki.com/ https://www.raptgiftwrap.com/ There are some businesses that sell furoshiki, but they mainly promote it as an alternative to wrapping paper. But how often do you give a gift? And would you be willing to give away your furoshiki along with the gift? It is less likely to catch on as people see less value in using furoshiki instead of wrapping paper. BAGSTITUTE would like to promote furoshiki more as an alternative to plastic shopping bags. More and more municipalities are banning use of disposable plastic bags, and more stores are charging money to dispense these them. Many people are bringing their own shopping bags to stores, but they are bulky and cumbersome, and accumulate debris on the bottom and not very sanitary. Furoshiki takes very little space when folded so it easily fits in a bag or a pocket, it can accommodate things in various shapes and sizes, and it opens flat and has no bottom or corners, and easy to keep clean (my products are machine washable). I want more people in U.S. to know about furoshiki, how wonderful and useful it is, and make “bagstituting” a trend.
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Contact Applicant
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