Will you vote for me?
Today I spent 90% of my time on the telephone gathering e
mail addresses so I could send the link for voting for Caregivers Aide for the
$250,000 grant sponsored by Chase Bank. I
have the grant application completed and in review by my SBA contact before I
actually hit the SUBMIT button.
The terms of the grant state that applicants must receive 250
votes on the Mission: Small Business voting site by June 30, 2012. Voting requires
logging into a Facebook account. So not just ANYONE can vote, only FB members.
If the applicant does not have the 250 votes, their application will not even
be considered. So, considering the
amount I may win, the hours spent gathering votes is well worth the effort.
My main business, besides caring for my husband, is
seamstress. I have been sewing my whole life but hung out my shingle, that is advertised
my business, in 1999 when I came home to be with my husband. While I was still working as a bookkeeper at
my last job I would repair and alter clothing for my coworkers during my lunch
hour. This was when I realized the
potential of using my skills.
When I started sewing at home in 1999 I started a log book
of names, phone numbers and descriptions of the work to be done so I would know
what work was still to be done and just what I had to do. I have 10+ years of logs. I never thought much about those logs other
than their intended use to contact the clothing’s owner when the job was ready
to be picked up. Today I dug out
the books from the last couple years and called all my old
customers asking if they use Facebook and if so, would they vote for me.
I started getting hoarse around 4 pm ,
but what a gratifying day. I called about 100 people, spoke with most, left
messages with others. I received 41
email addresses I will use to send voting information. The others either have no computer, or do not
use Facebook. This does not surprise me. A lot of my customers are
retired and do not need a computer. And Facebook is a lot more complicated than it
seems. Some of these customers I have
not seen or spoke to since I performed their sewing several years ago. But when
I told them who I was and why I was calling they were anxious to help. And some who did not have computers gave me names
of their friends who do use Facebook, friends they would ask to vote for me.
Brendon Burchard, a motivation and high performance trainer, lists three considerations for living a satisfying, productive life:
Have I lived? Have I loved? And have I made a difference in the world, did I matter? While I am not, never have been the fireball
of energy he seems to be, I do believe I can answer all his questions with a satisfying
Yes. Today’s response to my phone calls
to customers that in some cases I met only once a few years ago makes it all
worthwhile. I’ll never get financially
rich from my sewing business (hence trying to start up this second business
that requires a grant) but I’m sure having fun and making some great friends.
Please vote for Caregivers Aide to help us qualify for the grant - please follow
the link below:
The terms of the grant are that I must receive 250 votes on
their voting site by June 30 before
they will even look at my application. To vote you will need to log into a Facebook account.
I will use the grant to purchase materials, labor, and machinery needed
to go forward with a distributor that has expressed interest in my products,
and all the required packaging etc.
Go to “Log in & Support”
When you get to the voting site you will need to scroll down
and type in the company name:
Caregivers Aide, LLC Pennsylvania Auburn
and hit SEARCH. If you have entered the information correctly it will give you my
full address and how many have voted. On the lower right there will be a VOTE
button. Click that button and you are done. You can then share this
with other Facebook users, or just forward this email to anyone you think might
vote for me.
I value and appreciate all your efforts on my behalf.
And please ask your friends, family and co-workers to vote too. The more
votes the better.
Thank you.