Kelly Duff

Orange City, FL (USA)
Role(s):
Founder/Owner/Principal

The Baby Bayou, LLC

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Location: Orange City
Industry: Retail/Clothing
Year Founded: 2017
Number Employees: 1-10 people
Business Stage: Growth (not profitable)
Entity Type: Limited Liability Company
Description: Good Morning, My name is Kelly Duff, I am one of the owners of The Baby Bayou, LLC. My partner is employed full time and is similar to a silent partner. We are brand new business owners and are ignorant to the process on how to request funding from investors. Our store is located in Orange City, FL, in Volusia County. After extensive market research prior to opening, it was concluded that there aren't any all-in-one baby stores within a 28 mile radius; but something that was needed within the community. We, as a store like to push the boundaries on the "conventional" baby store. How? We offer membership discounts at a price, host interactive games for moms and families, aspire to host educational courses, such as birthing classes and lactation courses, as well as we bring a line of apparel that isn't found in your everyday corporate stores like Target or Walmart. We started the business by utilizing personal lines of credit, collateraled vehicles and applying for credit cards. We were able to get the doors open and everything was flowing smoothly. The downfall to opening in June is that its the slow season during the summer months. It has come to the point where we need to ask for an investor to see the potential in our store until the holidays make way. When mom's come into the store, they are taken back by the ascetics of the store, and the uniqueness of the products as well as the way the store is run; being unconventional and all. The little working capital that we did have has been depleted due to hiring employees, inventory, etc. We desperately need working capital and for an investor to give us a chance. We strongly feel like this type of store will take off. Our advertising is minimal which is hindering our sales. "You have to have money to make money" and unfortunately we don't have any funds to allocate towards advertising. We are launching our E-commerce on Friday. It has been a difficult journey building this site, as some of our vendors did not allow items to be sold online. We have now been given the OK for that to happen. Once the site is launched our sales are projected to rise significantly. When speaking about strictly loan issuance we are requesting $7,000 so that we are able to continue meeting overhead, paying employees and replenishing the inventory, as it is desperately needing right now.. If I didn't have to bring people on I wouldn't have had such a depression in the funds. We are requesting for loans $7,000 @ 10% interest rate (negotiable) if investing we are requesting $8,500 for shares (negotiable on amount of shares) and $10,500 to buy into to become a co-owner with a negotiable percentage. In conclusion, we are seeking under $10k for working capital, payroll, and pay off of credit cards. All of the businesses expenses have been on personal lines of credit, and we are not able to request anything further utilizing our personal credit. We have a DUN & Bradstreet number and are able to share, expenses and sales reports from opening to date. I would also like to note, neither myself or my business partner are taking an income home, as we want to see the store gain a foothold in the market and our lines of credit paid down prior to receiving a paycheck. I am a full time student, a full time mother, a business owner and a service-connected disabled veteran and we have worked too hard to let this business close its doors permanently. I understand we are considered a “high-risk” but I can assure you, I am a fighter and wont give up. This is my last resort by reaching out to you. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you, Kelly Duff Owner The Baby Bayou, LLC 2452 S. Volusia Ave Orange City, FL 32763 (Phone # removed)(URL removed)