Take Out Grocery

The journey (part 6)

The vicious cycle

I had tried everything within my power to avoid getting funded by an investor, because I knew that in doing so they would likely want me to compromise on the foundation that my business plan was built on. A foundation of not only providing a high ranking grocery delivery service to my clients, but also ensuring that the majority of the delivery fees went directly to the company’s drivers and call center employees. It took approximately one year for the plan to be completed and this was done so with the assistance of my advisor. With my business plan in hand, I began to approach various investors, and to no surprise, the division of funds did not sit well with a single investor I met. My strategy, based on economy of scale, did not make any logical sense to them and they found it to not be worth their time. That is unless I could come back to them with proof that a set amount of deliveries were being completed on any given day. Meeting after meeting, I ran into the same brick wall. The reaction I received from investors baffled me. They viewed my approach as almost comical and I simply could not understand why, especially when you take in consideration that a country like China practically stole the whole economy from the United States of America (a country that once had the greatest economy in the world), with these exact same economy of scale tactics. Perhaps I could have done whatever it took to reach the requested target to get the investment but the results would have been something I could not compromise on. Not only would I loose the majority of my shares but I would also loose any say concerning how my employees were paid, which I am certain would have been cut to minimum wage for a larger profit. Not only would that be a disservice to myself and my future employees, clients would also loose out as the services provided to them would have been downgraded for a more attractive bottom line (greater savings). The other option of course would have been to approach these investors when the company began operating at full capacity, and this would have allowed for me to have more say in the negotiation process. But of course for that to happen, funding was needed for promotion and employees. Being someone else’s puppet was out of the question.In addition, financial gain was not my sole purpose for getting in business. Changing the way business was conducted for the better was equally as important, especially after witnessing and experiencing the lack of value and respect shown to the everyday worker.Only a free man could bring about this change. Being the uncompromising man that I am, I have been stuck in this vicious cycle ever since.

Campaign launch date set for this Saturday May the 7th.

Payment can be made via any major

• credit or debit card with a Visa, MasterCard, or American Express logo

Please donate whatever you can and remember that more important than the amount donated is the amount of different donors. For the more people who choose to donate, there is a higher probability of being showcased on the front page of the website. This will allow us to reach even more people with our campaign efforts; people across the globe. Please visit www.gofundme.com for more info.

Stay tune for the next piece of the journey and the the official crowdfunding link .

• Images from left to right : business plan , receipt for plan creation

The journey( part 4)

** 7 **


Spiritual: The CREATOR is the one who created 7 Heavens (sūrat l-ṭalāq)

Physical: Earth's Atmospheric 7 layers: 1.Troposphere 2.Tropopause 3. Stratosphere 4.Ozone Layer 5.Mesosphere 6. Ionosphere (Aurora) 7. Exosphere

Spiritual: Indeed the hell fire is the dwelling place of them all. It has 7 gates and within each gate there is an appropriate punishment for each inhabitant…" (Hijr: 44)

Physical : Inner earth 7 layers: 1. Crust 2. Lithosphere 3. Upper Mantle 4. Astenoshpere ("sic") 5. Lower Mantle 6. Outer Core 7. Inner Core

Spritual: The 7 (Seven) Days of Creation (Genesis 1:1-3:24)

Physical: The 7 elements of earth: 1.Earth 2.Water 3.Fire 4.Air 5.Space 6.Metal 7.Wood

Superstitious : 7 days of bad luck / 7 days of good luck

Facts : 7 years shared with demons / 7 years shared with angels

Announcement : On this Sunday, May first , the 7th day of the week, 7 days after my first Facebook journey post, 7 years after my first Take Out Grocery order; I hereby announce the official GoFundMe campaign launch date set for this coming Saturday, May the 7th.

Donations are payable via:
• Any major credit or debit card with a Visa, MasterCard, or American Express logo

Please donate whatever you can and remember that more important than the amount donated is the amount of different donors. For the more people who choose to donate, there is a higher probability of being showcased on the front page of the website. This will allow us to reach even more people with our campaign efforts; people across the globe. Please visit www.gofundme.com for more info.

Note: The official link to access the Take Out Grocery campaign will be posted on the 7th

*Images : Atmospheric 7 layers, inner earth 7 layers , circle 7 logo

-Stay tune for the next piece of the journey and the link to the GoFundMe campaign page.

Journey (part 3)

THE UNION

Spending hours constantly walking from block to block to cover 45 buildings/week had begun to take its toll on me. Especially in the mist of the coldest winter I had experienced to date. I noticed that there was 3 other flyers consistently found on the information boards of just about every building I went to. Back at the cave, the thought of unifying all 4 of us to get the job done crossed my mind. If successful I could cut the amount of time spent putting those flyers up by 4, while increasing the number of buildings we covered to 60/week . The benefits would be that each one of us would only have to cover just 15 buildings/week but in addition to putting up our flyers we would also put up the ones of the 3 other members. Each one of us would have a particular section of Scarborough to cover, the dead line would be every Sunday and each member would have to post the address and main intersection of the buildings they covered on a page I created specifically for the task. The reasoning behind this was so that we could always go verify whether or not they were doing their part. For the sake of competitiveness, I also set a rule to remove any flyers in those laundry rooms that were in direct competition with any of our businesses. So if you are reading this post and had flyers disappearing weekly during that time, I am partly to blame. I apologize for that but the marketing budget was tight, nothing personal it was just business. I decided to name the organization The Union and organized a meeting with everyone enlisted on the flyers. The meeting proved to be successful and everyone welcomed the plan. The strategy paid off with an increase in calls for each party involved and soon after, I had my first day ever with 4 orders placed in a single day. To keep up with the increase I forwarded the business calls to my cellphone and carried a second registration/order book with me everywhere I went. This allowed me to take calls while on the road. Things were starting to look good and the future was looking bright. Little did I know though, that there was still a lonnnggg bumpy road, full of dead ends, still awaiting me. Little did I know….

*Images From left to right : 3 out of the 4 flyers from original union member including myself, line sheet that I wrote my building address on before posting them on the page, original map of Scarborough used to delegate each member's territories and front/back agreement I drafted for each member with steps for Facebook entry and completed sections.

Stay tune for the next chapter of the journey and the announcement of the official crowdfunding launch date .

- Please remember to like and share page with friends and family

The Journey (part 2)

LET THE GAME BEGIN:



Located on the east side of the city, Scarborough was the jurisdiction I choose to operate my business until further expansion became possible. It was the place I called home since returning to the city and the place I lived before my departure at the age of 6. The early marketing strategy I implemented was simple. Put the business flyers and cards on the information boards inside the laundry rooms of various apartment complexes . My goal was to cover 45 buildings per week. At night was my preference to get this job done because it was easier to access the buildings. Gaining access to the laundry rooms of the high-rises located on the Southside of Scarborough was an easy task. Getting out of the complexes and away from particular areas in one piece was what concerned me more. Once it came to the Northside, access was far more difficult and it was fairly common for me to wait up to 40 min in the front lobby or by the laundry room until someone was able to give me access. Nevertheless, after a month of consistency in my tactics, the calls began coming in and after another month my first order was placed. While the company was in the beginning stages and the policies and procedures were being drafted, the initial charge was $10. I made it a point to frame a $5 bill from my very first order as a memento of a vision turned reality (see image bellow). A second order soon followed and so on. My initial analysis proved to be right; a demand for the services did indeed exist.

*Picture bellow from left to right: Framed bill from first order, registration form and order receipt



Stay tuned for the next chapter of the journey and the announcement of the official crowdfunding launch date.

PREFACE

Long before the vision of Take Out Grocery and before the physical manifestation of the vision, before the crowd funding campaign and before the page, there was Savanna Medical. And what exactly was Savanna Medical? It was a company that me and my associate set up, which sold accessible bath and shower chairs to those in need, such as elders or those with physical disabilities. Two and a half years we spent working on that project. Following a sufficient amount ground work, we got into various trade shows and our product was even showcased throughout the province at MEDIchair(medical home equipment store) store locations. The product can be viewed below via the YouTube link for those who wish to do:

http://youtu.be/kuJ7-Vz_SpE

Although the success level of this venture was moderate, what came out of that period was the first hand experience and recognition of seniors and housebound indivuals in need of, independence and personal care . The information acquired therefore would prove itself to be valuable in the building process of the Take Out Grocery Infrastructure. Another valuable outcome from that venture was the business relationship that ensued between myself and Donald Baylis. You all will get a chance to hear from him personally once the official crowd funding campaign page has launched. Donald has been an invaluable addition to the Take Out Grocery team and currently holds a consultant position and overseas all IT operations.

Thank you all for taking the time to read a bit about past and take this journey with me into the future.

Stayed tuned for further updates/posts.