Help Hemlock Mountain Outdoors Grow
Donation protected
Hi, my name is Kurt Zitzelman and as you may, or may not know, I am the owner of Hemlock Mountain Outdoors. The idea for HMO started around a campfire almost six years ago, and since then I have worked on honing my skills and growing the brand. Now, I am at a point where I need to grow and can see the avenues to do so. Of course with my impeccable timing this arises at one of the worst possible times for a small business to try growing, especially a business that up until now has followed the “made to order” and custom order format. Not a lot of investors willing to bank on that. That brings me here, I don’t usually ask for help… it actually makes me very uncomfortable. But I’m looking for people who might be willing to invest in my little business. I’m not talking about much and that’s actually part of the problem finding investors oddly enough... if you're not asking for millions or you don't actually need the money, they aren't interested. Here are some of my goals.
- I would like to shift from strictly “made to order” to having gear ready made, eliminating the need for lead time which is one of my biggest hurdles. This requires more materials in stock than I currently keep. Custom orders would benefit from this as well. Production times would decrease if I had the materials on hand to cover most custom work. I’ve already set up several manufacturer direct accounts eliminating the middle man for some of these materials. A bigger space would be great, but I can still do this in my current place. It's just going to be cramped... more cramped.
- Having the materials on hand would also allow me to offer some of those materials to DIYers/makers looking for another option in the fairly slim outdoors DIY materials market.
- I am also working on securing access to locally based manufacturing which would be fantastic and would A) Help keep jobs locally. B) Decrease the amount of materials I would need to keep here. C) Decrease the time I would spend making gear, aside from custom orders, allowing me to spend more time promoting Hemlock Mountain Outdoors presence - further growing the brand and supporting point A.
All of this takes more than the made to order model allows. So, if you, or someone you know (feel free to share this) might be interested in helping out a small business looking to grow, it would mean the world to me. I've been growing this business from the first stitch and I am excited to see how far this can grow. Regardless, thank you for taking the time to read this and have great day. Below are some example of what I make,
Kurt
Organizer
Kurt Zitzelman
Organizer
Olyphant, PA
