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A woman who applied for a start-up loan to launch her exciting new range of sea-shell stores on seafronts across the country has had her application rejected and her business plan described ‘ill-conceived’.
Simone Williams said she had always dreamt of selling sea shells by the seashore after hearing her grandmother tell her stories of such a business when she was a child.
She told us, “Can you imagine anything better, being by the sea, the fresh air, doing something you love? I just can’t see why they wouldn’t lend me the money.
“The bank manager actually took me to one side to ask if this was an elaborate prank and if there were any hidden cameras filming him. I told him no, I was deadly serious, but that just made him laugh more.
“He clearly knows nothing about business because he said the seashore was literally the worst place on the planet to try and sell seashells.
“Apparently my business model is akin to ‘selling ice to the Eskimos’, but I would tell whoever had that idea that I believe if it’s your dream to sell ice to the Eskimos, then you should follow that dream, and not worry about what the bank tells you.”
Williams said that although the bank’s rejection and evisceration of her business plan is an admittedly minor set-back, she plans to launch an Indiegogo campaign to raise the necessary funds to open her first store.
“This country needs an affordable and fun way to collect seashells when you’re near a seashore, and my shop will be just the way to do it!”
