Startup for Mountain Phoenix Acupuncture llc.

Since sometime around 2006, my dream has been to be an acupuncturist.  In the last 5 years, my dream has been refined: in the interest of serving my community and the people in my life who I believe can most benefit from TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), it is my goal to open a sliding scale private practice clinic.    I believe this will create the greatest benefit for my community to bring education and healing to people who may not normally have access to acupuncture and TCM services. 
While I believe in the community model, I feel there is a greater benefit to the patient to have a private practice appointment, where they work one-on-one with a single practitioner and have space and time to process their treatment, receive dietary and lifestyle counseling, and can be treated in the privacy of a closed treatment room by the same practitioner for multiple treatments.  The costs of education, licensure, and malpractice insurance, paired with the challenges of insurance billing often inflate the costs of private practice acupuncture (as with other areas of wellness and health care).  It is my belief that I can make a living at this, and provide care & service to the people in my life who it would be the most benefit to.  
I have now successfully completed my board exams and am just awaiting the appropriate paperwork to get through the licensure process with the state to become a licensed acupuncturist.  
 
Most small businesses that fail struggle because they do not have appropriate startup capital to get off the ground.  Because I want this business to thrive, I am asking the individuals in my community to help me get this off the ground.  Startup funds will be used for opening operational costs, such as: Sheets, heat lamps, tables, first and last month's rent, needles and other operational supplies, PDA credits toward license renewal, the completion of my herbal certification (which I will pursue post-licensure), and malpractice insurance (required for licensure in Colorado) as well as office furniture and incidental operating costs.  It is my intention to begin practice as soon as humanly possible following my licensure and approval by the state.  While I could apply for a small business loan, I am hoping not to begin my practice in any greater debt than my student loans have created.  
 
I am overjoyed to be stepping into the next phase of this journey with all of you, and I appreciate your support so much.  This is a dream decades in the making, and it is an honor to have the opportunity to share it with my community and the people who have inspired me to keep moving forward.