Being transparent as a business. We need help!

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Hello this is Alex, owner of Timmins Fitness Alternatives Centre for Unforgettable Experiences. In the last 5 month of being open, I hope you’ve had a chance to come explore and benefit from everything we have to offer.

As a business in our community, we want to be transparent and that sometimes means a bit of vulnerability. I have a very hard time asking for help but lately I'm not on the ball as much as I would like to be and I do know I want to avoid burnout with everything weighing over my head. This place has turned into so much more than initially intended, we've touched so many lives and I need to fight for its survival.

In order to open with all the renovations needed to retrofit the space, the specialized equipment and rigging for each individual program we offer and the few major surprises we didn't account for when it came to capacity requirements, I did need to take out a bit of extra funding. For those that don't know it is just me, no partner in the business here. What I did not account for is that the private lender that aided me, how agressive they would be and the turmoil I would be in since opening.

A little more transparency for you to really understand my situation. Since November 2021, I have paid $1800 every single day to this agressive lender. If you do the math ($9000/week or $36000 per month), you might understand the hustle that I have been through. Things are getting tight and this is why I need to reach out ($20682 remains to fully pay off the lender.

Your support in this business has allowed me to survive up to this point and I am SO thankful! It's also pushed me to continue to push myself with my creative offerings. Of course not all offerings will sell like hotcakes, that's part of the business and the game. So for some of you, this may explain why we have pushed PA Days throughout the year already out there and summer camps are up for payment plan ahead of time. We have our Holiday bookings that are up for Halloween and Christmas time right now. We appreciate your understanding on this, we're just trying to get up and over that hump.

As I mention this I do want to say that the business has done remarkably well and the support from the community is so continuous and there is no major sign of decline. To remain transparent in 5 months of being open we have grossed a little over $200 000 in sales which is incredible for a recreational establishment. This being said we still have our initial costs (renovations, engineering, new heat & air system, apparatuses, safety equipment, rigs/structures, code upgrades, adding 5 toilets), which some have been paid and some still being paid off. Like any other business we have our daily expenses (lease, utilities, insurance, staff wages, internet, cleaning services, affiliate dues) and none of this considers the high payment that we make every single day to the aggressive lender.

As I mentioned I have a very hard time asking for help and would even have a hard time accepting it for nothing. As I ponder on my dilemma, I thought - who would miss this place? I'm lucky that I believe a long list does come to mind as we've had so many in the last 5 months walk through our doors. Both young and old benefiting from the experiences. But then I thought to myself - what about those who never got the chance to walk through our doors? Or more specifically those for financial reasons? So I look at our situation as an opportunity to allow more people; who may never step through our doors, get the chance to benefit from what we can offer. Because they may be the ones who need it the most.

By clearing the remaining balance to the agressive lender ($20,682.89),we can continue to offer the high quality that we have been. We are crowdfunding to relieve the pressure that is putting our business at risk and in exchange trying to do some real good. We are working with social service members in our community to get us in touch with low income household families and those that border the poverty line. We want to offer free days for underprivileged youth who might not ever get the chance to enter our facility due to financial limitations. . The grand sum total of your donations with the crowdfunding, would allow us to free up that block and time in our schedule. We would personally give up our time as staff which would allow us to offer a year's worth of free days for these youth and we would connect directly through the social service associations.

We’ve had 5 months to show Timmins why we matter to them and we hope that is enough to seek the help we need.