Kristina Boyd makes elegant Victorian-style greeting cards as a side business in her north-side home.
People
loved them, but doing the work by hand took too long to be worth it.
She needed a sophisticated printer that could work with cardstock.
“We
reached a point where I thought if I don’t get funded, I’m just going
to stop,” she said. “I’m not getting the kind of sales that I felt was
worth my time. I’m at the point of the cycle where I needed more cards
and more variety.”
Her business is called K.B. Boyd Cards and she has a site on craft website Etsy.
Money is tight at the Boyd home. She stays home during the day with
her two small children and works evenings and on weekends, trading
day-care chores with her husband. She didn’t think a bank would back her
for the $450 she needed and didn’t want to put it on a credit card.
Classic business problem, new-fangled solution.
She
turned to Kickstarter, the five-year-old crowdfunding website, to get
the money. She raised it within 30 days and the printer is coming.
“It turned out really well,” she said. “I reached my mark and got some excess for supplies.”
Kickstarter
is one of the most prominent crowdfunding sites. There are tons of
them, a quick search for crowdfunding will turn up dozens.
Crowdfunding
is an Internet innovation in which people can list their projects on a
website to attract funding from a large group of people. There are many
such websites, which make their money from keeping a percentage of the
contributions. Their rules and what they fund are each a little
different.
There are two quite different models of crowdfunding:
the donation model and the investment model. In the first, people
contribute money because they like the project and receive token rewards
such as CDs or T-shirts. These sites often have a kind of a feel-good
atmosphere and lean heavily toward artistic efforts such as movies,
music and artwork.
The second model is websites that feel like a
lot more like traditional business fundraising, trading money now for
debt or equity, but these sites are still working their way toward a
solid legal ground, as the federal government writes rules out how to
regulate sites that would attract unsophisticated investors.
Brandon
Michael Ellis, a music, religion and business student at Friends
University, sought $1,000 through Kickstarter in 2013 to pay for some of
the production of a CD of his music.
He describes the music as
pop/rock with a Christian influence, with songs about love, faith and
loss. He calls them “snapshots of my life.”
He reached his goal in 10 days and wound up with $1,785. “The Journey” was released this spring.
He was very positive about his experience with crowdfunding, but it takes a good bit of work.
“I
definitely had to push,” he said, “posting something on some social
media outlet daily, the video or a link or something. That is the key to
the success. And it helps you connect to your fans.”
Kickstarter
took 5 percent, plus Amazon, which processed the transactions, took
more. He said they took 10 percent off the final contribution.
It
doesn’t always work, though. Kickstarter, which requires that projects
reach their target to get the money, says that only 42 percent make it.
Amy
Young has made artisan soaps and lotions from scratch at her Wichita
home under the name Foam on the Range for six years and full time for
the last three.
In 2012, she successfully raised $2,500 in her first go round through Indiegogo.
“There
are millions of ways out there to raise money, but not many of them are
available to those with tiny businesses,” she said.
She tried
again this year, asking for $10,000 for capital equipment she needed,
but didn’t make it. Indiegogo does allow the crowdfund seekers to keep
most of the money even if they don’t hit their goal.
She said she
ran into limitations of the platform: much, if not most, of the money
comes from family and friends, and friends of friends. Some of them will
give once, but not again.
And, she said, she’s not great at getting out and hustling her wares and her fundraising campaign.
“But, I’m pleased with my experience and that things like the Indiegogo exist,” she said.
Daniel Hesting of Wichita is a little less generous.
He
is seeking $5,000 to fund development of a small power turbine. He’s
done a lot of work, receiving two patents and building several
prototypes. For his pitch, he made a video and wrote a long narrative
about the product.
He is still in the middle of his campaign – it expires Sept. 29 – but so far has attracted just one contributor, for $100.
Contacted
this week, he seemed a little discouraged with his experience. Part of
the issue, he said, is that the product might not appeal to the people
who come to Kickstarter, the kind of people who tend to get excited by
artistic projects or electronics or computer games.
He also said that maybe he needed to have his product look a little more polished, to package it better for non-engineers.
He said he did get one contact out of the deal that was promising.
“I’m not going to say it’s a bad experience,” he said. “You get out of it basically what you put into it.”
Susan
Solovic, a St. Louis-based author and speaker on small business,
entrepreneurism and technology, echoes every bit of advice given by
those small business crowdfunding seekers.
Crowdfunding seekers
have to realize the products don’t sell themselves, she said. They have
to sell it and it’s hard work if it’s done right.
Much of the work
is done before the campaign even begins, she said. People seeking money
need to market themselves and their business, let their friends and
family know, let their customers know. About half of funding comes from
the extended circle of people who know the entrepreneur.
“It
really does depend on the entrepreneur to sell the idea and sell the
benefits and get people excited. It helps if people are strong on social
media.”
Crowdfunding, at least the variety that relies on
donations, certainly won’t replace traditional business funding. It’s
too fickle and too focused on the fun and artistic. What it does best,
Solovic said, is help small- or first-time businesses.
But there a
number of benefits of a successful campaign are several, she said. The
business owner doesn’t give up any equity or take on any debt. And the
process can really build up your network of customers and professional
acquaintances, and teach several good lessons in online marketing.
“I
think it’s for any start-up business that doesn’t have a history or a
track record,” she said. “They may have a great idea, but the
traditional funding sources are nervous about that kind of risk.”
Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/news/business/article2189743.html#storylink=cpy
Money is tight at the Boyd home. She stays home during the day with
her two small children and works evenings and on weekends, trading
day-care chores with her husband. She didn’t think a bank would back her
for the $450 she needed and didn’t want to put it on a credit card.
Classic business problem, new-fangled solution.
She
turned to Kickstarter, the five-year-old crowdfunding website, to get
the money. She raised it within 30 days and the printer is coming.
“It turned out really well,” she said. “I reached my mark and got some excess for supplies.”
Kickstarter
is one of the most prominent crowdfunding sites. There are tons of
them, a quick search for crowdfunding will turn up dozens.
Crowdfunding
is an Internet innovation in which people can list their projects on a
website to attract funding from a large group of people. There are many
such websites, which make their money from keeping a percentage of the
contributions. Their rules and what they fund are each a little
different.
There are two quite different models of crowdfunding:
the donation model and the investment model. In the first, people
contribute money because they like the project and receive token rewards
such as CDs or T-shirts. These sites often have a kind of a feel-good
atmosphere and lean heavily toward artistic efforts such as movies,
music and artwork.
The second model is websites that feel like a
lot more like traditional business fundraising, trading money now for
debt or equity, but these sites are still working their way toward a
solid legal ground, as the federal government writes rules out how to
regulate sites that would attract unsophisticated investors.
Experience
Brandon
Michael Ellis, a music, religion and business student at Friends
University, sought $1,000 through Kickstarter in 2013 to pay for some of
the production of a CD of his music.
He describes the music as
pop/rock with a Christian influence, with songs about love, faith and
loss. He calls them “snapshots of my life.”
He reached his goal in 10 days and wound up with $1,785. “The Journey” was released this spring.
He was very positive about his experience with crowdfunding, but it takes a good bit of work.
“I
definitely had to push,” he said, “posting something on some social
media outlet daily, the video or a link or something. That is the key to
the success. And it helps you connect to your fans.”
Kickstarter
took 5 percent, plus Amazon, which processed the transactions, took
more. He said they took 10 percent off the final contribution.
It
doesn’t always work, though. Kickstarter, which requires that projects
reach their target to get the money, says that only 42 percent make it.
Amy
Young has made artisan soaps and lotions from scratch at her Wichita
home under the name Foam on the Range for six years and full time for
the last three.
In 2012, she successfully raised $2,500 in her first go round through Indiegogo.
“There
are millions of ways out there to raise money, but not many of them are
available to those with tiny businesses,” she said.
She tried
again this year, asking for $10,000 for capital equipment she needed,
but didn’t make it. Indiegogo does allow the crowdfund seekers to keep
most of the money even if they don’t hit their goal.
She said she
ran into limitations of the platform: much, if not most, of the money
comes from family and friends, and friends of friends. Some of them will
give once, but not again.
And, she said, she’s not great at getting out and hustling her wares and her fundraising campaign.
“But, I’m pleased with my experience and that things like the Indiegogo exist,” she said.
Daniel Hesting of Wichita is a little less generous.
He
is seeking $5,000 to fund development of a small power turbine. He’s
done a lot of work, receiving two patents and building several
prototypes. For his pitch, he made a video and wrote a long narrative
about the product.
He is still in the middle of his campaign – it expires Sept. 29 – but so far has attracted just one contributor, for $100.
Contacted
this week, he seemed a little discouraged with his experience. Part of
the issue, he said, is that the product might not appeal to the people
who come to Kickstarter, the kind of people who tend to get excited by
artistic projects or electronics or computer games.
He also said that maybe he needed to have his product look a little more polished, to package it better for non-engineers.
He said he did get one contact out of the deal that was promising.
“I’m not going to say it’s a bad experience,” he said. “You get out of it basically what you put into it.”
Tips
Susan
Solovic, a St. Louis-based author and speaker on small business,
entrepreneurism and technology, echoes every bit of advice given by
those small business crowdfunding seekers.
Crowdfunding seekers
have to realize the products don’t sell themselves, she said. They have
to sell it and it’s hard work if it’s done right.
Much of the work
is done before the campaign even begins, she said. People seeking money
need to market themselves and their business, let their friends and
family know, let their customers know. About half of funding comes from
the extended circle of people who know the entrepreneur.
“It
really does depend on the entrepreneur to sell the idea and sell the
benefits and get people excited. It helps if people are strong on social
media.”
Crowdfunding, at least the variety that relies on
donations, certainly won’t replace traditional business funding. It’s
too fickle and too focused on the fun and artistic. What it does best,
Solovic said, is help small- or first-time businesses.
But there a
number of benefits of a successful campaign are several, she said. The
business owner doesn’t give up any equity or take on any debt. And the
process can really build up your network of customers and professional
acquaintances, and teach several good lessons in online marketing.
“I
think it’s for any start-up business that doesn’t have a history or a
track record,” she said. “They may have a great idea, but the
traditional funding sources are nervous about that kind of risk.”
Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/news/business/article2189743.html#storylink=cpy
Money is tight at the Boyd home. She stays home during the day with
her two small children and works evenings and on weekends, trading
day-care chores with her husband. She didn’t think a bank would back her
for the $450 she needed and didn’t want to put it on a credit card.
Classic business problem, new-fangled solution.
She
turned to Kickstarter, the five-year-old crowdfunding website, to get
the money. She raised it within 30 days and the printer is coming.
“It turned out really well,” she said. “I reached my mark and got some excess for supplies.”
Kickstarter
is one of the most prominent crowdfunding sites. There are tons of
them, a quick search for crowdfunding will turn up dozens.
Crowdfunding
is an Internet innovation in which people can list their projects on a
website to attract funding from a large group of people. There are many
such websites, which make their money from keeping a percentage of the
contributions. Their rules and what they fund are each a little
different.
There are two quite different models of crowdfunding:
the donation model and the investment model. In the first, people
contribute money because they like the project and receive token rewards
such as CDs or T-shirts. These sites often have a kind of a feel-good
atmosphere and lean heavily toward artistic efforts such as movies,
music and artwork.
The second model is websites that feel like a
lot more like traditional business fundraising, trading money now for
debt or equity, but these sites are still working their way toward a
solid legal ground, as the federal government writes rules out how to
regulate sites that would attract unsophisticated investors.
Experience
Brandon
Michael Ellis, a music, religion and business student at Friends
University, sought $1,000 through Kickstarter in 2013 to pay for some of
the production of a CD of his music.
He describes the music as
pop/rock with a Christian influence, with songs about love, faith and
loss. He calls them “snapshots of my life.”
He reached his goal in 10 days and wound up with $1,785. “The Journey” was released this spring.
He was very positive about his experience with crowdfunding, but it takes a good bit of work.
“I
definitely had to push,” he said, “posting something on some social
media outlet daily, the video or a link or something. That is the key to
the success. And it helps you connect to your fans.”
Kickstarter
took 5 percent, plus Amazon, which processed the transactions, took
more. He said they took 10 percent off the final contribution.
It
doesn’t always work, though. Kickstarter, which requires that projects
reach their target to get the money, says that only 42 percent make it.
Amy
Young has made artisan soaps and lotions from scratch at her Wichita
home under the name Foam on the Range for six years and full time for
the last three.
In 2012, she successfully raised $2,500 in her first go round through Indiegogo.
“There
are millions of ways out there to raise money, but not many of them are
available to those with tiny businesses,” she said.
She tried
again this year, asking for $10,000 for capital equipment she needed,
but didn’t make it. Indiegogo does allow the crowdfund seekers to keep
most of the money even if they don’t hit their goal.
She said she
ran into limitations of the platform: much, if not most, of the money
comes from family and friends, and friends of friends. Some of them will
give once, but not again.
And, she said, she’s not great at getting out and hustling her wares and her fundraising campaign.
“But, I’m pleased with my experience and that things like the Indiegogo exist,” she said.
Daniel Hesting of Wichita is a little less generous.
He
is seeking $5,000 to fund development of a small power turbine. He’s
done a lot of work, receiving two patents and building several
prototypes. For his pitch, he made a video and wrote a long narrative
about the product.
He is still in the middle of his campaign – it expires Sept. 29 – but so far has attracted just one contributor, for $100.
Contacted
this week, he seemed a little discouraged with his experience. Part of
the issue, he said, is that the product might not appeal to the people
who come to Kickstarter, the kind of people who tend to get excited by
artistic projects or electronics or computer games.
He also said that maybe he needed to have his product look a little more polished, to package it better for non-engineers.
He said he did get one contact out of the deal that was promising.
“I’m not going to say it’s a bad experience,” he said. “You get out of it basically what you put into it.”
Tips
Susan
Solovic, a St. Louis-based author and speaker on small business,
entrepreneurism and technology, echoes every bit of advice given by
those small business crowdfunding seekers.
Crowdfunding seekers
have to realize the products don’t sell themselves, she said. They have
to sell it and it’s hard work if it’s done right.
Much of the work
is done before the campaign even begins, she said. People seeking money
need to market themselves and their business, let their friends and
family know, let their customers know. About half of funding comes from
the extended circle of people who know the entrepreneur.
“It
really does depend on the entrepreneur to sell the idea and sell the
benefits and get people excited. It helps if people are strong on social
media.”
Crowdfunding, at least the variety that relies on
donations, certainly won’t replace traditional business funding. It’s
too fickle and too focused on the fun and artistic. What it does best,
Solovic said, is help small- or first-time businesses.
But there a
number of benefits of a successful campaign are several, she said. The
business owner doesn’t give up any equity or take on any debt. And the
process can really build up your network of customers and professional
acquaintances, and teach several good lessons in online marketing.
“I
think it’s for any start-up business that doesn’t have a history or a
track record,” she said. “They may have a great idea, but the
traditional funding sources are nervous about that kind of risk.”
Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/news/business/article2189743.html#storylink=cpy
Money is tight at the Boyd home. She stays home during the day with
her two small children and works evenings and on weekends, trading
day-care chores with her husband. She didn’t think a bank would back her
for the $450 she needed and didn’t want to put it on a credit card.
Classic business problem, new-fangled solution.
She
turned to Kickstarter, the five-year-old crowdfunding website, to get
the money. She raised it within 30 days and the printer is coming.
“It turned out really well,” she said. “I reached my mark and got some excess for supplies.”
Kickstarter
is one of the most prominent crowdfunding sites. There are tons of
them, a quick search for crowdfunding will turn up dozens.
Crowdfunding
is an Internet innovation in which people can list their projects on a
website to attract funding from a large group of people. There are many
such websites, which make their money from keeping a percentage of the
contributions. Their rules and what they fund are each a little
different.
There are two quite different models of crowdfunding:
the donation model and the investment model. In the first, people
contribute money because they like the project and receive token rewards
such as CDs or T-shirts. These sites often have a kind of a feel-good
atmosphere and lean heavily toward artistic efforts such as movies,
music and artwork.
The second model is websites that feel like a
lot more like traditional business fundraising, trading money now for
debt or equity, but these sites are still working their way toward a
solid legal ground, as the federal government writes rules out how to
regulate sites that would attract unsophisticated investors.
Experience
Brandon
Michael Ellis, a music, religion and business student at Friends
University, sought $1,000 through Kickstarter in 2013 to pay for some of
the production of a CD of his music.
He describes the music as
pop/rock with a Christian influence, with songs about love, faith and
loss. He calls them “snapshots of my life.”
He reached his goal in 10 days and wound up with $1,785. “The Journey” was released this spring.
He was very positive about his experience with crowdfunding, but it takes a good bit of work.
“I
definitely had to push,” he said, “posting something on some social
media outlet daily, the video or a link or something. That is the key to
the success. And it helps you connect to your fans.”
Kickstarter
took 5 percent, plus Amazon, which processed the transactions, took
more. He said they took 10 percent off the final contribution.
It
doesn’t always work, though. Kickstarter, which requires that projects
reach their target to get the money, says that only 42 percent make it.
Amy
Young has made artisan soaps and lotions from scratch at her Wichita
home under the name Foam on the Range for six years and full time for
the last three.
In 2012, she successfully raised $2,500 in her first go round through Indiegogo.
“There
are millions of ways out there to raise money, but not many of them are
available to those with tiny businesses,” she said.
She tried
again this year, asking for $10,000 for capital equipment she needed,
but didn’t make it. Indiegogo does allow the crowdfund seekers to keep
most of the money even if they don’t hit their goal.
She said she
ran into limitations of the platform: much, if not most, of the money
comes from family and friends, and friends of friends. Some of them will
give once, but not again.
And, she said, she’s not great at getting out and hustling her wares and her fundraising campaign.
“But, I’m pleased with my experience and that things like the Indiegogo exist,” she said.
Daniel Hesting of Wichita is a little less generous.
He
is seeking $5,000 to fund development of a small power turbine. He’s
done a lot of work, receiving two patents and building several
prototypes. For his pitch, he made a video and wrote a long narrative
about the product.
He is still in the middle of his campaign – it expires Sept. 29 – but so far has attracted just one contributor, for $100.
Contacted
this week, he seemed a little discouraged with his experience. Part of
the issue, he said, is that the product might not appeal to the people
who come to Kickstarter, the kind of people who tend to get excited by
artistic projects or electronics or computer games.
He also said that maybe he needed to have his product look a little more polished, to package it better for non-engineers.
He said he did get one contact out of the deal that was promising.
“I’m not going to say it’s a bad experience,” he said. “You get out of it basically what you put into it.”
Tips
Susan
Solovic, a St. Louis-based author and speaker on small business,
entrepreneurism and technology, echoes every bit of advice given by
those small business crowdfunding seekers.
Crowdfunding seekers
have to realize the products don’t sell themselves, she said. They have
to sell it and it’s hard work if it’s done right.
Much of the work
is done before the campaign even begins, she said. People seeking money
need to market themselves and their business, let their friends and
family know, let their customers know. About half of funding comes from
the extended circle of people who know the entrepreneur.
“It
really does depend on the entrepreneur to sell the idea and sell the
benefits and get people excited. It helps if people are strong on social
media.”
Crowdfunding, at least the variety that relies on
donations, certainly won’t replace traditional business funding. It’s
too fickle and too focused on the fun and artistic. What it does best,
Solovic said, is help small- or first-time businesses.
But there a
number of benefits of a successful campaign are several, she said. The
business owner doesn’t give up any equity or take on any debt. And the
process can really build up your network of customers and professional
acquaintances, and teach several good lessons in online marketing.
“I
think it’s for any start-up business that doesn’t have a history or a
track record,” she said. “They may have a great idea, but the
traditional funding sources are nervous about that kind of risk.”
Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/news/business/article2189743.html#storylink=cpy