Help my dream take Flight!
Donation protected
Friends, I need your help. I have an opportunity to be a part of an Entrepreneur Incubator type class, but time is of the essence. Let me explain a bit about what I have been up to.
As many of you know, I have spent the last year and a half dreaming, researching, listening, and learning so that I might be able to do something really big. For decades I have championed inclusion in the church and beyond and often felt like there had to be more that I could do to make the world a better, more inclusive place for everyone, regardless of ability.
Years ago, while working to provide some support for a single Mom who had two children with disabilities, I had a gut wrenching, life changing moment. I had recruited some college students to come to her home on a rotating schedule to help with her son’s rigorous therapy regimens. I was there to meet up with some new volunteers and introduce them to this incredible family. I noticed Mom was tearing up and was clearly upset about something so I pulled her aside to see what was the matter, as the college students were becoming fast friends with her two endearing and adorable sons.
Through tears she said, “What’s going to happen when they grow up and they aren’t cute any more? Are you going to be here to help me?”
My heart sunk and I struggled to find the words to try to bring her some bit of hope. She explained to me that the thing that kept her awake at night was the fear that when her children were grown there wouldn’t be a community to rally around them. That the world would go on spinning, leaving them behind as she aged and struggled to support them.
Over the years as an Inclusion Pastor at a large church I would help create programs and launch events that ultimately would lose momentum as I tried to roll them into long term initiatives meant to bring real community and support to my friends with disabilities. I was discouraged and disheartened as this Mom’s words haunted me for years to come.
Burnt out, I left the ministry and went back into the corporate world, my heart constantly longing to be back in the mix, fighting for inclusion, creating a better world for those I had come to know and love so much.
Then it hit me. What if I built a business that was intentional about creating meaningful jobs for people with disabilities? What if there was a place where they could do work that they LOVE, that challenges them, empowers them, and allows them to support themselves financially while building long term friendships in the community?
That could change everything.
Empowered people flourish, and my friends with disabilities should be encouraged to chase their dreams. I want to create a space for them to shine while the world watches them soar.
And so, “Harmony Fields” was born. Harmony Fields will be a world-class wedding and event venue located in the heart of Nashville, TN with a vision to become the first national boutique hospitality brand built on championing inclusion in the workplace, the community, and beyond.
I have built a team to help me build this dream that has culminated in a solid business plan. I have met with 5/3 Bank in Nashville and was floored when the man told me my plan was one of the best he had ever seen.
I almost cried. I didn’t go to business school and a banker who has been doing this for almost 20 years was impressed with this dream that I am building.
The bank is excited to work with me to finance the full $5 million dollar project (which is miraculous in and of itself), but first I have to raise $1 million (at least) in seed capital.
I have been applying for funding and reaching out to angel investors and venture capital groups for months to no avail. Ironically, my project is “too small” and most of them are excited about tech startups or healthcare companies.
I am a WOMAN trying to launch a “brick and mortar” business. I am the underdog.
In my networking I just found out about a program through the Nashville Entrepreneur Center that allows people like me to gather weekly from January to April to learn, network, and hone our business skills, culminating in a PITCH NIGHT where entrepreneurs (like me, in this case) can pitch to a room full of potential investors. That is huge. I am just one great pitch away from making this dream a reality.
But here’s the catch. The class costs $1450. I applied for the scholarship, but unfortunately didn’t make it. They still think I am a great candidate for the program and encouraged me to try to join them, however I would need to register and pay by January 18.
I lost my job over a year ago, and spent all of 2018 working very hard to identify contract work so that I could also have the ability to travel and meet with people to build the business plan. After a very hard year filled with more “bumps in the road” than I have the energy to count, I have depleted all of my resources. We just accepted an offer on our house and will be using every penny from the sale to pay off as much debt as possible and then we are Nashville bound. We are going to literally live in my sister-in-law’s attic and string together as many side jobs as I can to make sure I can be available to research, reach out to, and meet with investors.
I have put everything I have into this and I am just not able to make this happen with out the help of you, my friends. Over the past year so many of you have prayed for, and encouraged me as I chase this dream down. I may not have “wealthy” friends but I DO have a “wealth OF friends”. I know things are tight for a lot of us, but I am asking for anyone who may have even just a couple of dollars to put toward this dream to help me take the next right step. I am thoroughly out of my comfort zone, but there is no turning back. I’m going for it, and I won’t rest until Harmony Fields is a champion for inclusion in the marketplace and beyond.
Any money raised through this campaign would go toward the fee of the class at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center Preflight Session https://www.eventbrite.com/e/preflight-2019-session-one-tickets-51120555959
Should I some how raise more funds than needed for the course, any additional money would be used toward legal fees for startup, and marketing materials to reach out to investors.
Thank you for cheering me this far…..we’re going to build this thing. I can feel it.
Here’s to changing the world….together!
Harmony
As many of you know, I have spent the last year and a half dreaming, researching, listening, and learning so that I might be able to do something really big. For decades I have championed inclusion in the church and beyond and often felt like there had to be more that I could do to make the world a better, more inclusive place for everyone, regardless of ability.
Years ago, while working to provide some support for a single Mom who had two children with disabilities, I had a gut wrenching, life changing moment. I had recruited some college students to come to her home on a rotating schedule to help with her son’s rigorous therapy regimens. I was there to meet up with some new volunteers and introduce them to this incredible family. I noticed Mom was tearing up and was clearly upset about something so I pulled her aside to see what was the matter, as the college students were becoming fast friends with her two endearing and adorable sons.
Through tears she said, “What’s going to happen when they grow up and they aren’t cute any more? Are you going to be here to help me?”
My heart sunk and I struggled to find the words to try to bring her some bit of hope. She explained to me that the thing that kept her awake at night was the fear that when her children were grown there wouldn’t be a community to rally around them. That the world would go on spinning, leaving them behind as she aged and struggled to support them.
Over the years as an Inclusion Pastor at a large church I would help create programs and launch events that ultimately would lose momentum as I tried to roll them into long term initiatives meant to bring real community and support to my friends with disabilities. I was discouraged and disheartened as this Mom’s words haunted me for years to come.
Burnt out, I left the ministry and went back into the corporate world, my heart constantly longing to be back in the mix, fighting for inclusion, creating a better world for those I had come to know and love so much.
Then it hit me. What if I built a business that was intentional about creating meaningful jobs for people with disabilities? What if there was a place where they could do work that they LOVE, that challenges them, empowers them, and allows them to support themselves financially while building long term friendships in the community?
That could change everything.
Empowered people flourish, and my friends with disabilities should be encouraged to chase their dreams. I want to create a space for them to shine while the world watches them soar.
And so, “Harmony Fields” was born. Harmony Fields will be a world-class wedding and event venue located in the heart of Nashville, TN with a vision to become the first national boutique hospitality brand built on championing inclusion in the workplace, the community, and beyond.
I have built a team to help me build this dream that has culminated in a solid business plan. I have met with 5/3 Bank in Nashville and was floored when the man told me my plan was one of the best he had ever seen.
I almost cried. I didn’t go to business school and a banker who has been doing this for almost 20 years was impressed with this dream that I am building.
The bank is excited to work with me to finance the full $5 million dollar project (which is miraculous in and of itself), but first I have to raise $1 million (at least) in seed capital.
I have been applying for funding and reaching out to angel investors and venture capital groups for months to no avail. Ironically, my project is “too small” and most of them are excited about tech startups or healthcare companies.
I am a WOMAN trying to launch a “brick and mortar” business. I am the underdog.
In my networking I just found out about a program through the Nashville Entrepreneur Center that allows people like me to gather weekly from January to April to learn, network, and hone our business skills, culminating in a PITCH NIGHT where entrepreneurs (like me, in this case) can pitch to a room full of potential investors. That is huge. I am just one great pitch away from making this dream a reality.
But here’s the catch. The class costs $1450. I applied for the scholarship, but unfortunately didn’t make it. They still think I am a great candidate for the program and encouraged me to try to join them, however I would need to register and pay by January 18.
I lost my job over a year ago, and spent all of 2018 working very hard to identify contract work so that I could also have the ability to travel and meet with people to build the business plan. After a very hard year filled with more “bumps in the road” than I have the energy to count, I have depleted all of my resources. We just accepted an offer on our house and will be using every penny from the sale to pay off as much debt as possible and then we are Nashville bound. We are going to literally live in my sister-in-law’s attic and string together as many side jobs as I can to make sure I can be available to research, reach out to, and meet with investors.
I have put everything I have into this and I am just not able to make this happen with out the help of you, my friends. Over the past year so many of you have prayed for, and encouraged me as I chase this dream down. I may not have “wealthy” friends but I DO have a “wealth OF friends”. I know things are tight for a lot of us, but I am asking for anyone who may have even just a couple of dollars to put toward this dream to help me take the next right step. I am thoroughly out of my comfort zone, but there is no turning back. I’m going for it, and I won’t rest until Harmony Fields is a champion for inclusion in the marketplace and beyond.
Any money raised through this campaign would go toward the fee of the class at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center Preflight Session https://www.eventbrite.com/e/preflight-2019-session-one-tickets-51120555959
Should I some how raise more funds than needed for the course, any additional money would be used toward legal fees for startup, and marketing materials to reach out to investors.
Thank you for cheering me this far…..we’re going to build this thing. I can feel it.
Here’s to changing the world….together!
Harmony
Organizer
Harmony Hensley
Organizer
Nashville, TN