p2p lending at lending club
Help a New Orleans small business expand
Homeownership Verified

Click Here to view this listing on Prosper
Listing Information
Amount: $15,000.00 Status: Withdrawn
Grade: B DTI: 13%
Lender Rate: 10% Borrower: SavvyNOLA
Time Left: Finished State: LA
Funded: 1% Group: Bontemps Roulez!
The Savvy Gourmet is a recreational cooking school, retail cookware store, and catering company located in New Orleans Louisiana.  We originally opened in August of 2005, two weeks before hurricane Katrina devastated the area.  Luckily, we did not sustain much physical damage, yet our whole customer base disappeared over night.  In October 2005, we re-opened as a restaurant serving meals to relief workers and anyone else who happened to be hungry.  We were able to stay afloat until the city began to repopulate, and now hold cooking classes almost every night, in addition to serving lunch, brunch, and operating a full-service catering company.

One of the unique aspects of our business is the look of our 4500 s.f. facility. After fielding the same question "who designed your kitchen?" enough times, we decided to encourage our talented designer, Ed Novak of Artifice Designs, to begin working on the Savvy Kitchen packages.  We learned that the majority of the high end cabinetry available in New Orleans is designed and manufactured outside the state.  We felt that in order to make sure New Orleans is rebuilt to its fullest potential, we need to keep as much of that supply chain within the state.  The timing of this decision to expand our offerings is in part based on the fact that the majority of the $10.2 billion in federal rebuilding dollars are expect to start flowing later this summer or early fall, which means that home owners will finally have the capital they need to rebuild their homes. 

Our New Project:
  • Design and sell "Savvy Kitchen" packages based on the existing theme seen in our demonstration kitchen.  Working with experienced designer and architect Ed Novak of Artifice Builders, we hope to capitalize on both the Savvy brand as well as the beautiful design themes created for our custom demonstration kitchen.  Clients will work directly with Mr. Novak to provide basic kitchen dimensions and a "wish list" of accessories.  Using a 3-D modeling program, Novak will produce a final plan.  Cut sheets for fabrication can be produced directly from the software, and turnaround time can be as short as two weeks.  See a more detailed copy of the business plan narrative: <a href="http://www.savvygourmet.com//PDFs/Savvy_Kitchen_Summary.pdf">www.savvygourmet.com//PDFs/Savvy_Kitchen_Summary.pdf</a>.
  • Capital Needs:  It is estimated that the Savvy Kitchen project will require approximately $30,000 in start-up funding to pay for computer software, hardware, and training.  We will also need to develop marketing collateral to explain the new service to our existing client base.  See list of startup costs at: www.savvygourmet.com/PDFs/Savvy_Kitchen_Startup.pdf. Sales:
  • Price points for Savvy Kitchen packages range from $20K to $70K+.  There will be a full menu of upgrades including counter tops, appliances, woods, hardware etc.  For a more in depth explanation of pricing visit:  <a href="http://www.savvygourmet.com/PDFs/Savvy_Kitchen_Pricepoints.pdf">www.savvygourmet.com/PDFs/Savvy_Kitchen_Pricepoints.pdf</a>.
  • Repayment:  It is estimated that at capacity, we can produce and install four kitchens per month.  Depending on actual revenues, we anticipate being able to repay the initial loan amount well within three years.  For detailed projections visit: <a href="http://www.savvygourmet.com/PDFs/Savvy_Kitchen_Projections.pdf">www.savvygourmet.com/PDFs/Savvy_Kitchen_Projections.pdf</a>.

We are presently seeking one half of the necessary start up capital to fund the Savvy Kitchen project, as we believe this will improve our chances of obtaining funding through prosper.com. Please visit our website at www.savvygourmet.com to learn more about us, and thanks for yo

Borrower's Other Listings
27896 Help a New Orleans small business expand B $15,000 @ 20% Jul 31, 2006 Withdrawn
27971 Help a New Orleans small business expand B $15,000 @ 14% Jul 31, 2006 Loan created
377105 Help a New Orleans small business expand AA $18,800 @ 19% Aug 04, 2008 Expired

 

Discussion For This Listing
View Recently Discussed Listings »

No Comments Found For This Listing

Post A Comment
You must be logged in to post comments on listings. Not yet a member? register here