An Ice Cream Dream

Hello world,

My name is Emily Godfrey, a small town girl from Vancouver Island, B.C. First and foremost, I want to thank you kindly for being here and taking the time to read my story; you’re time and interest is tremendously appreciated. Now, before I delve into the reasons behind my need for crowdfunding, I would like to tell you a little bit about myself as a person. I like to consider myself to be a “Jill of all trades.” I love cooking, pastel painting, knitting, reading, writing, cycling, playing volleyball, bowling, swimming, and spending quality time with my family, friends, and pets. I am good at strategy games like chess, I have willpower to go running three times a week, I am an academically oriented person - my favourite subjects are biology and math, but ultimately - my favourite thing to do outside of school and everything else, is work. My father always chalks it up to my Jewish blood, and my mother always credits the meaning behind the name “Emily”, which is industrious; in any case, I have always had an interest for money and making money. Between the ages of six and twelve, almost every day of my summer holidays were spent running lemonade stands, yard sales, and going door-to-door looking for yard-work to do for my neighbors. Since the glory days of my childhood, I’ve done all sorts of work. At the age of twelve I worked as a bilingual waitress at a restaurant called Las Palmas in Cozumel, Mexico where I lived with my mom for six months following her divorce. After coming back to Canada, I spent my days babysitting, dog sitting, and house cleaning. Following my grade nine school year I worked at the famous goats-on-the-roof Old Country Market restaurant in Coombs while maintaining a job at a garden nursery. Since then I’ve moved on to ice cream scooping, math tutoring for younger grades, a youth research project for mental health presentations in high schools, and recreation and parks summer camp leading. I’ve also done my fair share of volunteer work in the community and in my school, and will continue to address new volunteer projects as my senior high school year approaches. This year has been one of my most ambitious years yet; I was able to experience a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel to Ottawa through the Adventures in Citizenship Program sponsored by the Rotary Club of Ottawa and my local Rotary Club, and I also partook in the Qualicum Beach Fire Boot Camp, which recently inspired me to apply for a junior firefighter position at my local fire hall.



Ever since I was a little girl, my passion for health has been unwavering. Every Valentine’s day I was the single kid in my elementary class who gave my candy away because I didn’t want to hurt my pancreas. Biology has always been my favourite subject in school, and - I know this doesn’t amount to much, but - no one is a bigger fan of Grey’s Anatomy than I am. Sincerely speaking, I want to help people, and more specifically, I want to become a doctor. The role a doctor takes when he performs his job reflects both self-confidence and humility at the same time. A doctor must be strong and professional, responsible and composed. A good doctor will also humor young children by making them feel special and their world feel magical; they will wear scrubs to endure discomforts such as vomit, feces and blood, and a good doctor will patiently communicate an elaborate procedure to a patient without conveying the notion of pretentiousness or belittlement at their lack of understanding. A good doctor will recognize that their professional title has value, but they will not let pride get to their head, for they won’t lose sight of humility. This is the kind of doctor that I aspire to become.


With my future career in mind, I have decided that there must be a better way to finance my educational future than to worry about whether or not I will get enough scholarships and to dive deep into student debt with distressing loans. I decided that it was time to take matters into my own hands and do something about the problem. While I am still at the very early stages of my business, I have strong and strategical plans to accomplish my goals. I feel that a mobile ice cream venue would thrive in my community, especially near lakes, parks and beaches where everybody goes to relax over the summer holidays. Ice cream is a very popular choice for people who come to the Island for their holidays; I know this because I am currently employed as an ice cream scooper. This brings me to my next point: I have a very strong aptitude for this line of work because I know everything there is to know about a business in ice cream - precisely Island Farms ice cream: temperatures, costs, ingredients off by heart for forty different flavours, cleaning procedures, how to appeal to customers and engage in small talk, and most importantly, I have developed a very beautiful, clean scoop. If I get to brag about anything in my life, I will brag about my 98% GPA and my perfect ice cream cones. Last of all, passion for a business is key. Without passion in a work environment, it is simply a soul-sucking job. If there’s one thing I learned from the keynote speaker during the Adventures in Citizenship Program, it’s that. And frankly, I do love scooping ice cream! So there we go.


Now, let’s talk business. I am very aware of my age in this whole rigmarole. Actually, my age is part of the reason I am here, asking for your help. See, for conventional business loans and grants, a person is expected to be over the age of 18. Clearly, l am not. I have scoured the entire internet for Canadian grant and loan opportunities that accept a co-signer role from a business partner who is above the age of 18. So, when I finally found a single company that excused my age in the presence of a co-partner who is above 18 years old, it was extremely discouraging to find out that they required an upfront payment of $589 to access their software for grant and loan information. This money did not secure any form of likelihood of receiving grants and loans, it was simply for me to access information about what might be out there. I am not that desperate, and I will wait till I am 18 years old before I pay $589 to a company for such a reason. Long story short, I am simply unable to finance my business at my young age through traditional loans and grants. This factor of course, isn’t enough to stop me from trying new ways, such as through crowdfunding.


Put rather bluntly, I need money for my business. Initial costs to start-up my business are estimated to be somewhere between $50,000 and just upwards of $70,000. I set my campaign goal at $50,000 as to not discourage support, but the truth is, there really are a lot of costs involved. I will need to purchase a Volkswagen minibus in good working condition with good parts beforehand (confirmed by a mechanic), then I will need to gut the inside and hire a plumber and electrician to work together to install a working plumbing system and electrical system to code. Vinyl flooring will be put in as well as walls. The small “kitchen” will need a 3-bay stainless steel dishwashing sink system built in and connected to the water system, as well as a small stainless steel handwashing sink, in order to pass health inspections. Commercial ice cream freezers, capable of holding up to 40 tubs of 11.4 litre ice cream will be installed, as well as counters to hold the cash register, mini fridge, cones, bowls, spoons, etcetera. I will need a good generator to connect with and power the electrical system, and a propane tank or gas to fuel the generator. There will definitely be costs associated with renovating the roof of the minibus into a high top roof, similar to the one seen in my campaign photo. I think that an awning will give my minibus a nice touch, but I will decide later depending on funds. I will need to buy and put money towards all of these things, as well as the costs of permits, inspections, licenses, marketing, outside decorating, insurance, initial inventory costs of ice cream, and ice cream related supplies including scoops, thermometer, spoons, bowls, cones, serviettes, paper towel and serviette dispensers, garbage cans, storage containers, etcetera.


I have been researching and making phone calls and organizing business plans for quite some time now, and I think it is time to start raising money to make my business come alive. My goal is to have raised enough money to buy a decent Volkswagen minivan by this November, and to start renovation preparation over the winter so that I can undergo and finish full renovations in the early spring. By late April I hope to have finished the renovation process, and begin filling out correct business forms, undergoing inspections, and getting permits and licenses. By late June of 2018 I expect to have my everything ready for business! If you, or anyone you know is interested in helping out a young but ambitious entrepreneur from Vancouver Island, Canada start a small ice cream business, I will be so ecstatic. It will feel great to know that there are people who care and want to make a difference in my life. I can sincerely promise that any funding I get to start this business will not go to waste, and that I will be completely responsible with the money. I will make very wise choices and use the money for good, and maybe one day, I will be able to afford to give back to the world in a similar way so that someone else can create their dream future, too.


Once again, thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this. I may not know you, but I am awfully grateful to you for your time and any contributions you are able to make. Thank you.


Below are some visual ideas of what I plan to build for my business. 



Here is a video I found on YouTube that best represents similar renovations that my future vehicle will be undergoing in order to be ready for business.