Crowdfunding Adventure!

Hello my lovelies, and welcome to my blog once again. Today I'm going to chat a little bit about the progress of my business and the avenues in which I intend to grow and cultivate success.

So recently I have been working VERY hard with The Prince's Trust, The New Enterprise Allowance, and Natwest in trying to get as up to date on business knowledge as I possibly can.

With the NEA I've successfully submitted my business plan and financial forecast which has been approved- this means my business is viable! I'm going to be allowed to trade soon, so watch this space for more updates especially regarding a launch date.

Another incredibly helpful guide has been The Princes Trust, who have diligently put me through business enterprise classes to make sure I know what I'm doing when I do start trading. Without this course, I definitely would not be as prepared as I am today, and I'm so thankful to the team behind PT for all the help and guidance I continue to receive.

One thing that has been incredibly useful, and for my other female entrepreneurs, is Natwest's Back Her Business scheme. This program has allowed me to start up my own crowdfunding page with the aim of raising funds to support my start-up costs. Being an artist isn't cheap, and selling artwork is even more expensive, but to make my dream come true I'm willing to put in the blood, sweat and tears needed to achieve my goal. To start up I need a good quality printer, high-quality paper to print on, ink, paints, canvases, packaging materials, postage money, and so much more that hardly even scratches the surface of start-up costs. I want to do this right, and I'm putting my heart and soul into it.

So when faced with a start-up cost of around £600, I started to panic. That was until a very lovely friend told me how she started up her business. Natwest! She told me about the scheme that backs female business owners and recommended I give it a go. So here I am! Approved for the scheme, and with a LIVE fundraiser to hopefully raise the funds needed for my start-up costs.

This isn't just a fundraiser, however. I also intend to reward those that donate. For those of you that donate £20, I will be providing a reward pack of two of my favourite prints and several stickers from my shop. For a £50 pledge, I will provide two prints of YOUR choice as well as a few goodies from my stock. I want to thank each and every one of you for the support and love and support I have received over the past few months, and continue to drown under!

If you would like to pledge to my startup, then please click here for more information on how to donate.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I wouldn't be able to do this without you lovely people.

Em x