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3 Replies Last post: Oct 22, 2008 6:07 PM by LUCKIEST

Seeking further ideas for a new socially conscious business

Nov 3, 2008 3:42 PM

Click to view Happyhour's profile Professional Happyhour 4 posts since
Nov 1, 2008
Hello everyone,

Let me first say that I'm glad I came across this forum. I've already been reading some of the articles and forums and have found these to be very informative.

I am seeking further funding for a new business I am in the process of developing. The organization I am starting is called Happy Hour Sports (HHS). Its basically a charity driven, (mostly young professional) adult co-rec sports organization designed to bring people together using sports while benefitting various philanthropic causes. Its also designed as a way to meet and stay in touch with new people and get involved in various volunteer opportunities.

I have a business plan, have met with members of SCORE (SBA), market research and have done most of the necessary planning things such as getting a Fed Tax ID. Originally, I sold my truck as a way to obtain start-up capital and used a portion to pay for a professional website. I was planning on using the leftover for other expenses however I had a death in the family about a month ago and had to spend pretty much the rest of what I had for funeral expenses. At this point, I'm looking for a relatively small amount of funding to take care of other expenses such as lawyer fees, facility rentals, marketing material, insurance etc. Ideally, I'd like to get funding in the amount of $9k although I could potentially get by with a lesser amount of about $6k. The website, which is/was the focal point of my startup capital has been completed (although I have not gone live yet). I've already generated a great deal of interest and have some teams lined up. My personal credit isn't paticularly great which I'm finding out is a severe hindrance to gaining funds. I co-founded something loosely similar about 7 years ago (I'm no longer a part of) that is still in operation and is currently doing very well so I have the necessary experience.

I'd be looking for something that is relatively short term...probably 1-2 depending on the terms. I'm extremely confident that this would be a very successful (both financially and socially) enterprise and everyone I have spoken to (including the SCORE volunteers) and have expressed the same sentiment.

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions I'd be very grateful. I'd also be happy to go into further detail with anyone interested.

Thanks in advance...
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Click to view DomainDiva's profile Mogul DomainDiva 1,732 posts since
Oct 10, 2007
1. Re: Seeking further ideas for a new socially conscious business Nov 3, 2008 4:12 PM
in response to: Happyhour
Hi and welcome to the forum.

Not to rain on the parade here, but reading the name 'happy hour sports' conjures up some incredibly interesting mental images. Could you please elaborate a bit more on the concept? Are we having philanthropic events at a happy hour with cocktails and other assorted beverages and cheese and crackers?

You may want to contact IntechSpecial on the baord he does a lot of work for volunteer organizations for your website.
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Click to view Happyhour's profile Professional Happyhour 4 posts since
Nov 1, 2008
2. Re: Seeking further ideas for a new socially conscious business Nov 5, 2008 11:55 AM
in response to: DomainDiva
Hi DomainDiva,
Lol...yes, people seem to get a kick out of the name. As for the concept itself I'd be happy to email you about how it works in further detail. I'd just prefer not to post it on the message board.

Thanks for yor response...
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Click to view DomainDiva's profile Mogul DomainDiva 1,732 posts since
Oct 10, 2007
3. Re: Seeking further ideas for a new socially conscious business Nov 5, 2008 2:50 PM
in response to: Happyhour
If you are seeking ideas but don't wish to share publicly even the what of the business how then can we help you?
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Click to view Happyhour's profile Professional Happyhour 4 posts since
Nov 1, 2008
4. Re: Seeking further funding for socially conscious business Nov 6, 2008 8:44 PM
in response to: DomainDiva
Hello DomainDiva,
Fair enough...ok, so here goes. Basically, Happy Hour Sports would be an adult, co-rec socially business. HHS would organize and operate co-rec leagues covering sports like softball, flag football, dodgeball ,etc. Before the season starts each team would select a charity that they would essentially be playing for. At the end of the season, rather then receive trophies or something like that, that team would would have a portion of their prize pool donated to the charity of their choice in their name.
There's another element to it. Personally, I've played in many different sports and one thing tends to be true...people like to go out for some food and some drinks after playing their games. Where the happy hour sports comes in would be in us having agreements with selected bars/restaurants where that establishment would agree to give a portion (about 20%) of the income generated from our members to charity. There would also be additional donations given in the name of teams based on fun, cool things like "Best Team Name" or "Best Partying Team." Luckily, where I live there are quite a few young twenty and thrity somethings that tend to go out. Then there would be various volunteer opportunites as well as ski trips, whitewater rafting trips, etc.

There's more to it but that's basically it in a nutshell. More or less, I think a lot of people would be interested in something like this. Having fun while at the same time feeling that their playing for something worthwhile.
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