Applied Coral Technologies
From The Begining
by Alan Lowe on 05/04/11
Hello and welcome to our world.
As I progress through the maze of starting a business that few people have heard of and even fewer understand, I thought it would be fun and maybe even enlightening to share the experience. The business is a coral farm but I believe that any business that is somewhat outside the box would follow a similar path. I have had a few partners come and go as I stumble along trying to find the best road to navigate and sometimes I find a road sign pointing me in a direction that I hadn’t dreamed of but made perfect sense. Most of the time however, I use my PIGPS (Personal Internal GPS aka gut feeling) to help me stay the course.
I have a full business plan written and a full set of financials. I have experience and a proven methodology. I have supporters and go getters on my team. I have existing markets and a supply chain in place. I have property lined up and everything looks good…. But… I need money to make it all happen, about $1.5 million to be exact. Credit scores are an issue as it is with almost everyone caught by the current economic woes. I have been to the SBA and to a half a dozen banks. I have spoken to several successful business execs and to venture capitalists. I just haven’t been able to turn over the right rock yet.
As with anything or anyone that runs outside the box, you make good friends and an equal amount of enemies. There are numerous articles not written by me that tout the successes I have had with coral reef restoration in the past and there is one or two articles that spout dribble, inaccurate facts and innuendoes in an attempt to derail the progress. Of the dozens of positives that should guide people’s due diligence, I find myself diligently trying to educate people enough that they themselves can see the forrest through the trees.
So I have decided to take you on this journey with me if you care to follow. Who knows, maybe you will find a sign post to help you too.
There are a few things I know for sure.
1) A website is a must nowadays and you can put a lot out there with a nice site.
2) Social networking is a big deal. You can get in front of literally thousands if not millions of people in a way never before possible.
3) You have to know your shtufff. It’s ok not to know an answer to a tough question here and there but you better know most of the answers and you absolutely must be upfront about the answers you don’t know. There are people that will check your answers and if you tried to BS then your done before you ever got out of the gate.
4) Have a clear and concise plan. There will be changes on the way but you have to have some type of direction that you can show people.
5) Get to know who you will be dealing with. Government officials, planing and zoning boards, the businesses next to yours, landlords and so on. This makes it easier when you walk in later and need something.
6) If fences make good neighbors then contract make good business sense. Everyone needs and idea of what is expected so that when something happens and something always happens, you don’t waste a lot of time with the excuses and the “I didn’t know that was my responsibility” time wasting. With a clear plan and your team knowing what is expected of them you can navigate easier and more efficiently.
Ok I have blabbed on long enough. Bank appointments are coming up soon and I will fill you in as I go. Hope you check back in a few days!
