If you’re hoping to open a zero-waste refill shop, you might be looking for a bit of funding for your business to get off the ground. If it’s a new business, you may be having trouble finding a bank loan - you’re not alone in that! So, your main option for outside funding may be to find an investor. Here are a few ways you can find people to invest in your zero-waste refill shop
Run an investment round
You can gather dozens of investors around your zero-waste business by running a regulation local business investment round, like with Honeycomb Credit.
What this means is that we allow anyone (as long as they’re over the age of 18) to invest in your business and receive that investment back, plus interest. This means that your future customers, your friends, your neighbors, and more can actually help you get the capital you need to open up your zero-waste refill shop.
And the best part about local business investing is that it connects you to investors, but you’re not giving up any equity in your business! You get to keep your profits, unlike if you entered into a traditional investor relationship. Also, loan crowdfunding has shown to drum up interest in a business before it’s even opened, thanks to the people who’ve invested becoming customers.
Seek out an industry connection to invest in your zero-waste refill shop
If you’re looking for a more traditional kind of investor in your zero-waste refill shop, a good place to start is with someone close to your industry. The refill shop industry is pretty small, but maybe you can look into suppliers who might be interested in investing in your business, and giving them a distribution channel for their products.
Or, perhaps there’s another, more established zero-waste refill shop that you follow who might be interested. Another option is to look more broadly into the sustainability industry in your area - any successful farms, solar panel distributors, composting businesses, something like that who might be interested?
A great place to find these connections is to join Facebook groups or other social media forums where sustainable business owners gather to gauge interested.
Ask family and friends to invest in your zero-waste refill shop
This is a touchy topic, but if you have family and friends with means who might be interested in becoming investors, it’s definitely an option. If you do choose to go this route, there are definitely safeguards you need to take in order to preserve your relationships above the financial aspect - check out this blog post for more on running a friends and family investment round.
Finding investors can fill your business with more than capital
They can also be powerful collaborators and your most loyal customers - especially when you connect with them through a Honeycomb investment offering. Learn more about working with Honeycomb by filling out the form below: