Chasing Unicorns
Hi All!
So we've been wanting to touch on something we spent a lot of time searching for throughout our journey, but never really got a straight forward answer for nor do we feel is even real at this point or a right answer and maybe after reading this and you've been thinking about pursuing a project of your own you don't feel as lost as we did and if at this point you're still hoping we talk about our horned four legged mythical friends prepare to be disappointed because we haven't been chasing unicorns, we've been chasing the perfect budget. However, we have come to realize that a perfect budget is as imaginary as Unicorns but we continue to chase after it! In this blog we'll touch into the build out, Fitting the space, and keeping the doors open (soon we hope!) so if this is your cup of tea get ready!
When we started Clutch Moto, we had created a rough rendition of what we needed in terms of capitol to get it off the ground (and as of now we've actually done a damn good job of keeping to it), but as always we want whats best for our child and we have to come to reality and realize that some things just aren't realistic. We wont get into exact numbers, but we'll just chat on how we have felt through the process.
We found the location, spent months negotiating our terms, now what? We knew that most of our budget would go towards the build out (at least 30% of it to be exact) and up until now we had been pretty clueless on how to go along hiring a general contractor and all we really had to go on was Fernando's experiences from his past life in construction and we were knee deep in estimates for the build out soooo..... we had a general idea on what we wanted to spend and what we expected to receive in return but just felt overwhelmed.
We had spoken to other coffee shops that have stood before us, and Muse Coffee Co in Lyndhurst, NJ suggested we use local contractors. We wanted to promote small business within the community and what better way to spread the word than by using the same people that live in Bayonne to build excitement for a cool new place. We were very fortunate to come across some great contractors, and just as Muse had described, they have made everything a very easy process. We approved the presented budget and we were off! It has been exactly one month since we began and the shop is unrecognizable at this point. The contractors are moving incredibly fast and we couldn't be happier. That comes to say that there have bee times that we have been presented with situations that we weren't expecting that required some quick alterations to the final numbers but as of now we have done a pretty good job of staying within that budget.
Fitting the space has been interesting because this is the part of the build that you tend to be the most invested it, since what you do will determine the identity of your project and we firmly believe that by this point most people in our shoes have begun to exhaust their budget. That being said, we planned ahead for this and saw this coming so we put a cap in our budget from the get go on what was realistically achievable and what we would consider to be chasing a unicorn into a bottomless pit and a not so bottomless pocket.
We can tell you that there is light at the end of the tunnel and you absolutely do not need that 1975 authentic chesterfield sofa you saw at the vintage market for the low price of your first born child. There are many low cost wholesalers out there that have something similar to what you are looking for that will work with your budget such as Wamazon, Bebay, and maybe even your local flea market that will work with your vision. Who knows, maybe just maybe, if you plan everything right you may just have some wiggle room for that re-purposed barn wood table you saw on your getaway trip to the Catskills.
But in all seriousness, budgeting the fitting of the space is one of the most difficult parts of starting a brick and mortar project because it polishes the identity of the child you have been working so hard to bring to fruition and it is an incredibly agonizing realization to realize that you'll have to settle for 'half baked' due to improper budgeting.
That being said, we are at the final stretch and we are anxious to get things going for everyone. We have a very ambitious first season prepared for all of you and hope that the next submission we make is to usher all of you through our doors and out to the open roads!
Kickstands up momentarily
Kim & Fernando