We are in week 8 of our program with the SEEDs house. Yesterday we could see the difference SEEDs especially, and to a small extent our program, has made with the women who live there. They are actually beginning to dress and look like the entrepreneurs they are trying to become. And the energy level is so high!

We are working on the numbers for our business plan. We had Judi Butterworth of DeRito Partners, one of the Valley’s top retail brokers, speak to us yesterday, and tell us what landlords are looking for in a tenant, and how to look at a triple net lease. It was an eyeopener for everyone in the room, including me. The women are engaged in a homework assignment for next week: figuring out the startup costs for the business and the ongoing operating costs. Phil Blackerby will then put them on a spread sheet to take to backers.

The current name of the business is Passionate Pursuits, and it will be a cafe with a retail component that sells both crafts created by the residents and secondhand items such as baby clothes and furniture. Although it will not have a full kitchen, snacks and sandwiches will be available, along with anything else welcoming.

There will also be a space for AA and NA meetings on site, and they will be comfortable and inviting. Three different revenue streams will be provided for SEEDs.

On the walls of this destination hangout will be the stories of some of the SEEDs women and their journeys into and out of domestic violence.

I can’t wait until we get this opened. OTEF will remain in counseling mode with these women until we do!

Happy Easter! No program next Sunday.