Crowdfunding: Wishing Upon A Star

Do you remember what it was like trying to land your first job at or around seventeen? For me, it was a real pain. I didn’t have parents with jobs or networks that I could tap in to. There was no one. I was a goldfish swimming in a sea of sharks trying to land that first bit of income doing whatever someone cared to hire me to do. In my first job search I took the bus to a busy side of town and walked from business to business filling out employment applications. In the area to include my employment history, I wrote extensively about past babysitting and volunteer jobs hoping someone would see the determination in my heart to work. This produced some interest from a few employers who summoned me in for an interview; but the result was always the same. I was told I didn’t have enough experience. Common sense told me that in order to have enough experience, I had to be hired and have worked. It was a “Catch 22”. After months of rejection, I finally landed an interview at the local Burger King. The manager gave me the same sentiment and started to send me on my way. I became desperate and began pleading for a chance to prove myself. I even offered to work for free a few weeks just to show her I was determined to work. Believe it or not, she soon relented and I was hired.

Except for the benefit of the expansion of worldwide web, not much has changed since then. It’s still incredibly hard to get others to see the good in you and take a chance. Consider becoming an entrepreneur. In order to transform an idea in your head into a successful business endeavor, it takes lots of cash, extreme hard work, meticulous planning and steadfast commitment. Hard work, planning, and commitment are character traits that anyone can master, but none of them can manifest success without cash. The average person can’t ask a parent or friend to invest thousands of dollars in an idea. Even if they like and believe in it, they simply don’t have the extra money. So, what’s a budding entrepreneur to do?

Crowdfunding is a new form of investing that compiles micro-loans or small donations into a large investment. Websites such as Kiva.org or Peerbackers.com among with a few others allow you to harness the support of a crowd to back trailblazing ideas and get ideas off the ground. No contribution is considered too small. Regardless of the giver’s abilities, individuals are able to contribute to a greater cause and be a part of something truly big. Through this platform great business ideas that do not yet have the marketplace traction to attract traditional investment can get the capital they need to launch or to reach their crucial next stage of development.

I subscribe to both websites as an investor and entrepreneur. I have invested in endeavors from two social workers looking to expand educational opportunity in their counseling center to several young teenage girls hoping to take their first trip abroad. I believe we all should try to be each others keepers, and it feels good to help make a difference in someone else’s life. In the case of the social workers, with my help and the support of many others, they were able to raise all of the capital needed to several purchase computers.

I currently have a project with Peerbackers called, “Puppy’s Got A Brand New Bag”. My invention makes cleaning up dog droppings sanitary, easy, and environmentally responsible. My problem is that I do not have the capital to have a proper prototype made or to pay for manufacturing costs. If you like my idea and would like to contribute, I encourage you to please click on the link to donate. I need a total of $6,000.00 in order to attract venture capitalists to license my product. Anything you can give would be greatly appreciated. In return, I have reserved thank-you gifts depending on the amount of the donation. I believe in this idea, because it is a marketable solution to solving a long-standing problem. I am still as determined as that seventeen year-old kid looking for her first job! Can I count on you to believe in me? Your simple act of kindness could be the catalyst to bringing my idea to stores near you.