August 2008 Hall of Fame
Lara Miller Wear It Your Way Sustainable Women's Wear
Acknowledging the impact that we have on our environment, my collection mixes hand-loomed "convertible" knits and tailored wovens made of sustainable materials for a contemporary customer. In addition to helping my business, if I win,I pledge to donate $2,000 to the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.
Q1: As with many small busineses, cash flow is my number one concern. Ideally a $50,000 to $100,000 line of credit from a bank would be just the thing to keep my business afloat. Since Purchase Orders and Inventory aren't considered collateral and I certainly am not going to be buying a car or a house soon, what do I need to do to become a "bankable" business? My next step is an SBA Soho loan, but I hear that you can only apply for these once a year, so I wanted to wait until sp09 when I expect to reach $250,000 in sales.
Idea Description
www.laramiller.net
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Lara+Miller&search_type=&aq=f
Animated by the human form, the line can be twisted, wrapped, and most distinguishably flipped upside down to reveal a whole new garment. I aspire to preserve and respect our earth in every way that I can. I see my company as a way to support my community by using organic materials and manufacturing locally to sustain my industry in Chicago. Hand-picked by Mayor Daley, I am a committee chair on the Mayor's Fashion Council. Selling internationally with an extensive press list, including Sundance,CBS,elle.com,Lucky and many others. I am on the verge of being profitable. Please help me get there.
What will you do if you win $10,000 for this idea?
I am teetering on the edge of staying in business and going out. In 1 year I've gone from 4 stores and $12K in orders to 47 stores and $125K in orders. I need to make $200K to see any profit but need to win ideablob to even stay in business. The money will immediately go to my Chicago based seamstresses, knitters, cutter, and suppliers who are helping me get the fw08 collection into stores by 9/15. I also pledge to donate $2K to the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, a cause that is very close to my heart.
I like your idea; I want to improve your odds of getting funding I will vote for your idea if you will vote for mine. My idea is for a web site that raises money for inventors and entrepreneurs called New Idea website Check out my idea blob submission and visit New Idea Website and see what I can do for you. http://www.ideablob.com/ideas/4060-NEW-IDEA-WEBSITE The need for jobs is one of the biggest problems that a democratic government faces because creating jobs is an unwanted byproduct of business and industry. The reason I say its unwanted is the more jobs a business creates the more its expenses are and the smaller it’s bottom-line. If business and industry have their way they would run their companies with no jobs at all no management or labor. To deal with this dilemma I pr…moreopose a federal venture capital carrot fund that literally pays entrepreneurs to create jobs. The investment bank would be expected invest in seed level startup projects like yours and to lose money at a specified dollar per jobs ratio for example during hard times that figure may be as high as $20,000 per job and good times the figure may be as low as five dollars per job, by controlling this ratio the fed could roughly control unemployment. The bank will be expected to fund novel products and services and stay away from things like restaurants that will simply draw jobs from other restaurants or moving factories from one part of the country to another. If you like this idea vote for it and send the congressional letter from the website. Sincerely Frank Scruggs
Hello Maideal4u! Thanks for your comment! I don't know how to contact you though!
Hi laura you have my vote very creative. I would also like to discuss one day you doing a design for our product. Please contact me when you have time.
Thank you so much to everyone for all of your support and help! I could never have gotten this far without all of you and I am so so grateful!! Lara
Good luck, Lara! As you know, Macol loves your designs.
keep up the great work!!
Hi dmalby... no I'm not grossing 200K at all. Please re-read my profile and you will see that I am struggling to stay in business. To lay everything out on the table, my business actually lost over $100K last year... but I have re-built and have hit $125,000 in sales - I must hit $200,000 in sales to even see a profit of $5,000 and I'm not there yet. I need this money more than ever because I am a locally manufactured sustainable business that is teetering on going out of business or staying a float - I don't actually see how I will begin seeing a profit of more than $10,000 for another 3 years at least. If I do not win ideablob there is a very real chance that I will go out of business. This is for survival not to increase an existing profit because there is no existing profit. Only a ho…morepe to provide local manufacturing and environmentally friendly style.
You stated that you are grossing <>200K, what is you profit? Why do you need financing if your business is so profitable?
Good luck Lara!!
Thank you again to everyone for all of your support! Rich, I just wanted to take a moment to let you know that this money is very much needed to help support local manufacturing, and therefore jobs in a time when the US economy needs them more than ever, not to mention changing the fashion industry in general to one that is more environmentally sound. If I was manufacturing overseas, using lower priced synthetic fabrics, and not following sustainable business practices, I would most likely be making money with the growth that my company has seen in the past year. However, I have chosen to stick to my values, creating a company that serves my community while also making people feel good about themselves and the contribution that they're making towards a healthy environment and our…more local economy. I work hard to make sure that the people that I employ are paid fair wages and are in a happy and healthy environment, even if it means that I do not personally make a salary yet. It is micro-lending like prosper.com, accion chicago, jvschicago, and now hopefully ideablob.com that help sustain this business. Not only do I support my local economy, but I also give back to my community even when I cannot always afford to. I have pledged to donate $2,000 of the $10,000 prize to the Chicago AIDS Foundation, an organization that I have been raising money for while running the Chicago Marathon for the past 5 years. I know that my business is an integral part of the fashion and larger small business community here in Chicago, keeping us the "City that Works" which I see no shame in at all, only pride. Thank you again to everyone for all of your support! Let's show them that fashion can be a beautiful way to help make a positive change in our world! Lara
Lara Miller is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHE SHOULD WIN!!!!
Lara's a terrific designer and is the hardest working person I know. I hope she wins because more businesses like hers are needed; independent, local, ecologically aware, forward-thinking, inclusive, and all-around awesome! She genuinely cares about and is committed to the people she works with and the communities she is a part of. On top of that, she creates beautiful pieces that make people feel good! Lara, you're the best! You have my full support!! I hope you win!!!!!
sounds like you have a thriving business! why do you need a grant? Should you not leave that for some non profits that can impove the world and don't have a profit model? shame on you!
Hi Lara, have you run into Elmidae in Chicago? She was a June finalist. Here is a link to her idea: http://www.ideablob.com/ideas/2496-Elmidae-an-eco-friendly-intell She also posted a pretty awesome youtube video, but I can't seem to find it right now. Good luck.
Lara. I LOVE your clothes and think you are a great talent. Just wore my peach wrap shirt Saturday night and got a ton of complements on it. I know you will be a great success and you definately have my vote. Keep up the good work and it WILL happen for you. Karen Siegel
Love your clothes. and I'm def. voting for you. Good luck! You're awesome!
I own Pivot - a boutique that carries Lara's designs and not only is she a talented fashion designer, but she's a wonderful advocate for sustainable design and business practices. She's done so much already to promote the growth of the eco-fashion industry, and with support she'll continue to do excellent work in advancing more conscious lifestyles.
Thank you so much to everyone for all of your support! I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciate it! We're almost onto the next sprints! More voting to come! Thank yoU!!
I love that you are doing bamboo in high style. Gone are the days of boring looking organics and eco-friendly clothing. You have taken it to the next level and I hope we never look back.
Lara Miller is not only a great business person with a great and innovative line of products, but a wonderful person as well. I only met her recently through Prosper, actually during a commercial shoot for Prosper.com As a business person I fully support her and as a friend I'll do what I can to help her. Matter of fact I need to see if I can find a nice piece for my wife!! -John from New York.
I love your products, truly unique and the eco-friendly factor is amazing. Defintitely wish you the best. I just voted!!
continued success! your vision & abilities are amazing - and you deserve it!
You are so ahead of the curve. Natural materials support indigenous people and continue the craft of material making such as Tapa Cloth, in the Pacific. We support you and hope to work with you in the future. The Tapa makers of the South Pacific, Pago Pago, American Samoa
I would love that you SERIOUSLY consider opening a store in Salt Lake City or Park City UT. I just recenly got one of your hand loomed convertible bamboo scarves from a Sundance Channel swag bag.
Thank you so much lizdehart! Great idea about posting to my site... still trying to get the site redesigned, right now I can't update anything by myself, but I will definitely see if my graphics person can help - there's one more thing that the winning prize would go to, a website re-launch! You have some great ideablobs by the way!
Also forgot to add: Put an ideablob button on your website to direct people to vote. <a href="http://ideablob.com/ideas/2886-Lara-Miller-Wear-It-Your-Way-Su"><img src="http://ideablob.com/ideas/2886-Lara-Miller-Wear-It-Your-Way-Su;button" target="_blank" alt="My Idea" /></a>
Lara, Let me be the first to say I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your bamboo scarf. I would love to see more from you! You absolutely have my vote!