NOW Spa needs help w balloon pymnt
Donation protected
Hi all. Due to unforseen circumstances, making a successful go at my business after losing my job over a year ago, I am unable to utilize the current banking system because of my self-employed status. I have a balloon payment due December 1, less than 3 weeks away. I will stop taking donations on November 30. For anyone who is able to donate to my cause, I invite you to please come in to the NOW Spa for free sauna or steam sessions.
I'm embarrased to have to ask for help because there are so many other people in more dire straits than I am, but I feel I'm stuck and forced to try all avenues. I know its a lot of money to ask for, and I don't expect to get it all, but my hope is that whatever amount is raised before the due date will be that much less I'll have to scrape and beg the bank for. So, please, only give if you can afford it. We all have different attitudes around money. I am not ill or maimed, just stuck in a situation I hadn't expected to be in.
Three years ago I had an incredible opportunity to buy a building in downtown Juneau that had been beautifully renovated by a violin maker, in which I could have a massage studio/spa business downstairs and live upstairs in the apartment. I had a stable full-time day job with the City of Juneau and have been doing therapeutic massage on the side, renting studio spaces, since first certified in 1999. This would be a perfect set-up for my post-retirement job when I would be able to pursue my avocation, massage and bodywork!
And things worked out! The sellers helped it work out by offering to loan me enough to cover the large down-payment, with a 3 year payoff date.
During the 3 years I have created a pretty nice spa environment. Following the high-quality craftsmanship of the luthier builder, I added walls and installed mahogany sliding doors, sponge-painted the walls, and decorated to create a relaxing atmosphere. I named it the Northern Oasis Wellness Spa, nicknamed the NOW Spa website, and offer therapeutic massage, far-infrared saunas, steam-ozone saunas, and collaborate with a local naturopathic doctor hosting seasonal community detox cleanses. The vision has developed to include a group of adjacent houses that would be improved and properties combined into a beautiful Alaskan oasis. But that is down the road and might be pie-in-the-sky if I can't get across this hurdle.
In general, I feel it has been quite successful. Especially since, 16 months ago, during budget cuts, someone decided my position with the city wasn't necessary so my job was "eliminated"!! It was unexpected, but I rolled with the punches and went into full-time spa mode. I have been able to maintain and build the business and make all payments on time. I had no fears that I wouldn't be able to transfer the 3 year balloon payment into my current debt load, utilizing equity I'd accrued and a consistent payment history. The loan officer at the credit union sounded confident as well. And now I am told the numbers don't work because I'm self-employed! They need to see stability in the last two years tax returns and more cash flow!!! Try as they might, they can't work my numbers in their formula and they can't stretch things to make it work!
So now the CLOCK IS TICKING. The $80,000 balloon payment is due December 1. They said I have until the 10th to pay it off. Again, I will stop the campaign on November 30 and be thankful for every dollar.
I have tried everything I can think of in the banking system, talked to multiple banks and bank officers. Despite the fact that I consistenty receive bank mailers with offers for mortgage and equity refinancing, small business loans and lines of credit -- they don't work if you are self-employed!!! These offers don't work if you really need it!! I have called all the "people of means" I know to ask for loans with interest, checked into various group loan models, and, in the end, this GOFUNDME model seems to be the best way to request monetary help.
So if you are a friend and/or if you've ever had a good massage with me :-), if you can afford it, I'd appreciate a little help so I can follow the art project the spa has become - and keep building it into a really cool healing space - in the most beautiful place on earth.
Thank you with all my heart. Joanie
I'm embarrased to have to ask for help because there are so many other people in more dire straits than I am, but I feel I'm stuck and forced to try all avenues. I know its a lot of money to ask for, and I don't expect to get it all, but my hope is that whatever amount is raised before the due date will be that much less I'll have to scrape and beg the bank for. So, please, only give if you can afford it. We all have different attitudes around money. I am not ill or maimed, just stuck in a situation I hadn't expected to be in.
Three years ago I had an incredible opportunity to buy a building in downtown Juneau that had been beautifully renovated by a violin maker, in which I could have a massage studio/spa business downstairs and live upstairs in the apartment. I had a stable full-time day job with the City of Juneau and have been doing therapeutic massage on the side, renting studio spaces, since first certified in 1999. This would be a perfect set-up for my post-retirement job when I would be able to pursue my avocation, massage and bodywork!
And things worked out! The sellers helped it work out by offering to loan me enough to cover the large down-payment, with a 3 year payoff date.
During the 3 years I have created a pretty nice spa environment. Following the high-quality craftsmanship of the luthier builder, I added walls and installed mahogany sliding doors, sponge-painted the walls, and decorated to create a relaxing atmosphere. I named it the Northern Oasis Wellness Spa, nicknamed the NOW Spa website, and offer therapeutic massage, far-infrared saunas, steam-ozone saunas, and collaborate with a local naturopathic doctor hosting seasonal community detox cleanses. The vision has developed to include a group of adjacent houses that would be improved and properties combined into a beautiful Alaskan oasis. But that is down the road and might be pie-in-the-sky if I can't get across this hurdle.
In general, I feel it has been quite successful. Especially since, 16 months ago, during budget cuts, someone decided my position with the city wasn't necessary so my job was "eliminated"!! It was unexpected, but I rolled with the punches and went into full-time spa mode. I have been able to maintain and build the business and make all payments on time. I had no fears that I wouldn't be able to transfer the 3 year balloon payment into my current debt load, utilizing equity I'd accrued and a consistent payment history. The loan officer at the credit union sounded confident as well. And now I am told the numbers don't work because I'm self-employed! They need to see stability in the last two years tax returns and more cash flow!!! Try as they might, they can't work my numbers in their formula and they can't stretch things to make it work!
So now the CLOCK IS TICKING. The $80,000 balloon payment is due December 1. They said I have until the 10th to pay it off. Again, I will stop the campaign on November 30 and be thankful for every dollar.
I have tried everything I can think of in the banking system, talked to multiple banks and bank officers. Despite the fact that I consistenty receive bank mailers with offers for mortgage and equity refinancing, small business loans and lines of credit -- they don't work if you are self-employed!!! These offers don't work if you really need it!! I have called all the "people of means" I know to ask for loans with interest, checked into various group loan models, and, in the end, this GOFUNDME model seems to be the best way to request monetary help.
So if you are a friend and/or if you've ever had a good massage with me :-), if you can afford it, I'd appreciate a little help so I can follow the art project the spa has become - and keep building it into a really cool healing space - in the most beautiful place on earth.
Thank you with all my heart. Joanie
Organizer
Joanie Waller
Organizer
Juneau, AK