I've mentioned before that I've been attending the Business Builder's Bootcamp at the Women's City Club in Pasadena. Our ultimate goal is to write a business plan, which will be accomplished soon. I'm learning how difficult it is to write a plan just for our store alone.
I've also learned that like so many other business traditions today, the form and function of a business plan is changing. Banks and other lenders are so tightly regulated now that most don't even ask for a plan. So inundated with loan requests, the beleagured banks are only looking at financials. Of course if the financials don't meet their (the government's) standards, a loan won't be forthcoming. It's even harder for a start-up company that doesn't have any financials yet. Unless you're bankrolling the new business yourself, the search for funding is almost impossible.
For Scott and I, the situation is worse. Here we are, owners of a piece of a declining and now fragmented icon. Webster's Pharmacy, of which we were once a part of, has been in Scott's family since the early 1920s. You'd think that by our longevity in the community alone, we'd be able to secure funding with no problem. Not so easy to do that now that we're a separate entity. Because of the change in ownership and a new tax identification number, we don't have all those years to fall back on. We do, but......well, you get the idea. No bank loans forthcoming easily for us, either.
So we have to think outside the box if we're going to be successful in convincing someone to invest in us. A regular business plan just won't do....it has to be different. Because I want to include not just our own store, but the entire Webster's complex and the North Lake Business District, I have to sell an idea.....a dream. I need to convey my dream of revitalization to whomever I end up talking to in a powerful enough manner so they'll buy in. I've done the research, studied the demographics and I'm certain that Altadena can support what we'll be proposing.
I thought I'd use this blog as a communication tool when I started it in 2007. It is that, but it's morphed into so much more since its inception...so much so that I plan to use parts of this blog in my business plan. Doing it this way allows me the opportunity to share our plans with you. Both Scott and I want to keep you informed, and involved, in what's happening here at Webster's because we think you deserve to know.
We think that now is the perfect time to make an investment in Altadena's future. Even in this economic downturn when uncertainty is rampant everywhere, we are certain of this. Did you know that Sunset Magazine named Pasadena as the 7th "20 Best Towns Of The Future" article in their March 2010 issue? Citing JPL and Caltech as hotbeds of innovation, they say that young entrepreneurs are not hesitant to try something new, city halls are taking on the environment at a grass-roots level and universities are challenging the old ways of thinking. We agree with them.
In the most recent issue of Los Angeles Magazine, their feature article is "10 Small Town Adventures". The illustration on page 119, by Paul Rogers, depicts 10 towns, including Monrovia, Montrose, Eagle Rock and South Pasadena. The article details all ten towns, their shops and eateries and why people love it there. We think Altadena would fit easily into the ranks of these communities.
We know that people are moving into Pasadena by the hundreds, if not thousands. You can see the builiding that's been going on lately and how crowded Pasadena proper has become. More and more of these people looking to move to Pasadena will be looking at the outlying areas, like Altadena. With real estate prices down, our community is poised to experience growth like it hasn't seen in many years, if ever. That means our business centers ought to be ready for the influx.
If we can push forward successfully, work with County government to address traffic concerns and procure redevelopment funding, we will be at the forefront of this boom. We need this funding to give Altadena what it wants - the preservation of our small town atmosphere within our urban landscape and a forward thinking center of commerce that meets the needs of its people. This is what we belive in and this is what we're striving for. We invite you to join us on our journey and we'll talk some more about our plans next week.
Lori and Scott
