Meet Rachel Regula, owner of Little Spark Refill Shop, a zero-waste store in Cleveland, Ohio. Rachel crowdfunded her store’s second location with a Honeycomb Credit small business loan, but for her, the reason for crowdfunding her growth was about so much more than raising money - it was also a statement of her commitment to sustainability.
Read on to learn more about how you can make a difference with your investment by supporting small business owners crowdfunding on Honeycomb!
As a disclaimer: this is not investment advice. These are financial investments and there is no guarantee of a return; small business lending is risky and investors could lose part or all of their investment.
“I want to invest my money, but I want to invest in something I truly believe in.”
Sound familiar? At Honeycomb, you can find and invest in local business owners with missions that align with your own. Ready to learn more? Join our investor newsletter!
What kinds of impact are Honeycomb investment offerings making?
When you invest in a Honeycomb investment offering, you’re not just investing in a business. You’re also investing in the values that the business owner has shaped their dream around, as well as the issues they care about and support through their business’s operations.
A lot of business owners who are incredibly community-minded and mission-driven are drawn to Honeycomb’s platform, because they understand that we’re also all about lifting up the community and creating growth opportunities that lead to more vibrant neighborhoods.
Here are just a few ways that businesses that have crowdfunded on Honeycomb have been making an impact on their communities:
Making a sustainable impact on our environment
Businesses like Little Spark Refill Shop are every day creating solutions to climate issues by creating opportunities for their customers to make little but impactful changes. Refill shops like Little Spark Refill Shop and Prostainable (another Honeycomb campaign) have been redirecting plastic waste from landfills and providing their customers with healthier and more environmentally friendly options for cleaning products.
Other impactful sustainable businesses that Honeycomb has funded in the past include composting companies like Compostable LA, landscaping companies like Marek Landscaping, tech start-ups like Harvie and small farms like Cherry Valley Organics!
Supporting minority-owned businesses
Another way that your investment through Honeycomb can make an impact on the community is by supporting minority-owned businesses. We’re proud to say that 51% of our alumni businesses identify as a minority-owned business.
There are many reasons to support minority-owned businesses, including the fact that they create jobs, support their communities, and are often blocked out of traditional financing options such as bank loans thanks to institutional racism and other barriers.
With alumni like Black-owned whiskey brands like Guidance Whiskey in Nashville to LGBTQ+ owned bakers Pierogi Pantry in Cleveland, you can find and support minority-owned businesses that make a difference in your community.
Revitalizing communities
Local businesses and nonprofits that make a difference in their communities by tackling large, wicked problems also often find a home on the Honeycomb platform when financing their growth.
One example is StarkFresh, a nonprofit in Canton, Ohio who used their Honeycomb investment offering to outfit the new location for their grocery store, situated in an area affected by food insecurity.
What do banks usually use their interest on?
So, what exactly was Rachel talking about when she said she didn’t trust big banks to have her interest at heart? As a business owner, she understood that the bank’s main goal in lending to her (if they’d lend to her at all, as a young business) was to generate a profit. Then, the bank takes some of that profit and reinvests it in other businesses. Those other businesses might not align with Rachel’s values - and why would she want to pay interest to something she doesn’t know the outcome of?
Rachel knew that her business is so much more than profitable (which it is - she’s already thinking about a third location!) - it’s sustainable and a much needed asset to her community. And she also knew that her customers would resonate with that when she asked them to invest in her Honeycomb campaign. By championing her message of sustainability, she was able to find investors also committed to the cause to help her grow her business!
How do I get started investing and earning interest while making an impact?
It’s as simple as opening an account with Honeycomb today! Then, you can browse live campaigns and find those that resonate with you.
Here’s what it’ll look like when you go to check out live offerings
Once you’ve found a campaign you’re interested in, you can head to their campaign page. There you can learn their story and what they’re raising funds for, and you can also use the tag function to find campaigns run by minority-owned businesses, or look for ones in your area!
See for yourself what live campaigns are out there by checking out our platform!
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