Donating to other merfolk in the community?

[MermaidLilac]

How to i get more involved with going to mermaid meets up?
How do i ask for more support with other merfolk to help?
these questions have been going throw my mind and I would a silicone mermaid for a youtube series that I'm starting is starting but no one is taking me seriously why?
Should I take Down my gofundme page and just give in my dreams? Gofundme like below
Is it sad i that i find lose change on the rod and put it on my saving jar?

https://www.gofundme.com/mermaid-tails-for-2

[Ransom]

Lilac, I appreciate what you're trying to do. GoFundMe is not what you need right now though, and might actively harm your reputation at this point, especially with a target like that. How was that figure decided, if I may ask?

Silicone needs to be worked for as it is with the vast majority of mers, since it's not the life necessity that GoFundMe is meant to support.

I'm not a YouTuber and eventually someone who is might answer you in more detail. What I'm seeing is that people are much more likely to support personalities they know -- and who have tangible, relatable goals and plans to reach them. Ocean conservation is quite frankly oversaturated, and you'll need to find a niche market you can serve well first, and build a reputation from there.

You've great intentions, but I fear you're putting the chariot before the seahorses. Raina has pointed out that the tail is just a prop -- what matters is your personality and ability to sell your performance. That can only come with experience and practice, and a good fabric tail is more than enough to give you that.

Basically, you're still young and time's on your side. Keep studying and growing, because right now you need that more than you need a silicone tail. All the best!

[WickedlyGoodSeaWitch]

$165,000?!?

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[Mermaid Jaffa]

Lilac, I appreciate what you're trying to do. GoFundMe is not what you need right now though, and might actively harm your reputation at this point, especially with a target like that. How was that figure decided, if I may ask?

Silicone needs to be worked for as it is with the vast majority of mers, since it's not the life necessity that GoFundMe is meant to support.

I'm not a YouTuber and eventually someone who is might answer you in more detail. What I'm seeing is that people are much more likely to support personalities they know -- and who have tangible, relatable goals and plans to reach them. Ocean conservation is quite frankly oversaturated, and you'll need to find a niche market you can serve well first, and build a reputation from there.

You've great intentions, but I fear you're putting the chariot before the seahorses. Raina has pointed out that the tail is just a prop -- what matters is your personality and ability to sell your performance. That can only come with experience and practice, and a good fabric tail is more than enough to give you that.

Basically, you're still young and time's on your side. Keep studying and growing, because right now you need that more than you need a silicone tail. All the best!

Seconded. Just asking upright for that kind of money seems sketchy.

[PhaylennMurúch]

I could buy a house outright for that much money

[Calypsi]

Thats entirely too much money. If you're going to use go fund me for a tail I suggest showing tail designs and quotes on the price, plus info on why you need it and how having it will better your life, show your work and reviews with the tail You have too. You deff arent gonna get that much money, especially not for one tail.

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[AniaR]

It cost me 34,000$ to launch my business, and that's a large-scale business with many mers, 5-6 silicone tails, 15 adult fabric tails, 10 kid tails, and 6k worth of monofins we re-sell, along with insurance, advertising, and rental fees. lawyer fees too, and business registration.

Looking back on it, I made a few financial mistakes out of ignorance, and could certainly have done what I am doing for less.

So, if I can run my business on a fraction of what you're asking, you have to scale your idea way back.

My suggestion to you is to find out how to make a business plan. There are templates and tutorials online. Plan for the *first stage* of your business, not your end goal. And figure out those numbers.

The most successful gofundme for a business was much much less money than that. So keep that in mind

[Theta]

I see that you're in the New York area. We have meetups fairly frequently - they tend to be out at Coney Island. You can find more information about them in the Pod of New England thread. There's always something going on, you just have to poke around to find the information. There are a bunch of NY mer facebook pages as well.

[MermaidLilac]

I just calculated wrong, I was planing to ordering from merrow Fin.
basic is $600.00
Shipping is 100.00(I think that how much shipping is )
a TOP is 250.00

[MermaidLilac]

"Basically, you're still young and time's on your side. Keep studying and growing, because right now you need that more than you need a silicone tail. All the best!"
I don't what to studies, I have one of Raina book, read that 6 time, i wanted to successful and prove everyone wrong.

[Mermaid Momo]

A tail is a luxury item and because of that no one is going to donate to someone so that they can afford something that is not necessary. The only time i have ever seen a crowd sourcing thing work for a silicone tail was when a mermaid had the unfortunate luck of being scammed not once but twice and the community banded together to help her get the tail she deserved.

You're young and new, work towards your goals you have a long time to do it still. If you really want it you'll find a way to do it by your own means

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[Ransom]

"Basically, you're still young and time's on your side. Keep studying and growing, because right now you need that more than you need a silicone tail. All the best!"
I don't what to studies, I have one of Raina book, read that 6 time, i wanted to successful and prove everyone wrong.

Be successful for yourself first. Proving people wrong is just a bonus

My recommendation right now is to get a high-quality fabric tail, join up with your local mer community if there's any, and start pitching to potential clients in your area. Some quick exposure will help determine whether this business works for you, and which parts of it suit you the best.

[scrapdragon]

That and "I don't want to do studies" is a really, really, really bad attitude to start a business with. The learning curve for running a business is steep.

[Calypsi]

"Basically, you're still young and time's on your side. Keep studying and growing, because right now you need that more than you need a silicone tail. All the best!"
I don't what to studies, I have one of Raina book, read that 6 time, i wanted to successful and prove everyone wrong.

You have to study to have business sense. Without that you'll never be successful. Studying and knowing how to run a business, what taxes you need, understanding budgets and costs, plus insurances is all vital to running a sucessful business. Its not you get a bunch of money buy items and workers abd then try to sell yourself. You have to advertise and build up a reputation. There's alot that goes into a business.

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[MermaidLilac]

So should go to school for business

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[Ransom]

So should go to school for business

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Way I see it, she's more talking about the mindset of learning as much as you can before jumping in, and keeping a learner's attitude all the way.

You're just starting out, so you could watch Raina's videos and read books on starting a side business, since very few mers get to do this full-time. You don't need to go to business school for that.

[Mermaid Jaffa]

As with any industry, you have to learn to earn. Like Raina said, you need not just skills but knowledge as well to run a business successfully. To be a pro mermaid, you need more than a tail to sell yourself. Its the right term to use, sell yourself, because you are putting yourself out there for people to buy your skill set for their parties, events etc. You can't go in thinking big dollars without any business sense.

If it all seems too much, like you said earlier you didn't want to do anymore studies, then its just best to keep mermaiding for recreation.

And you've got to have the right attitude. Be full of positivity. Yes, there will be some downtime but when you go into "business mode", leave all your troubles at the door. No sense in bringing them along with you and interfering with how you run the business.

[Siryna mermaid]

Hey, I feel you! I'm a new mermaid too and I'm not going to parrot what everyone else is saying (they're right). The advice I'm going to give is this: grow yourself organically. put yourself out there. even if it means putting mermaiding back on the backburner and focusing on your education or your land job to save money and start a business. I know it's slow, but if you really want something badly enough you will find the means to get it and it feels so much better to earn it yourself than for it to be handed to you. My suggestion is to do some research on how to start an LLC, figure out the certifications and licencing you'll need to operate individually, and work on getting insurance. if you have a good enough credit, you can even apply for a business loan. hope that helps! good luck to you!

[Mermaid Delphinidae]

Hey, I feel you! I'm a new mermaid too and I'm not going to parrot what everyone else is saying (they're right). The advice I'm going to give is this: grow yourself organically. put yourself out there. even if it means putting mermaiding back on the backburner and focusing on your education or your land job to save money and start a business. I know it's slow, but if you really want something badly enough you will find the means to get it and it feels so much better to earn it yourself than for it to be handed to you. My suggestion is to do some research on how to start an LLC, figure out the certifications and licencing you'll need to operate individually, and work on getting insurance. if you have a good enough credit, you can even apply for a business loan. hope that helps! good luck to you!

I agree. If you don’t have the knowledge or experience you won’t be able to do this right away. But if you really want it, you can work for it over time. Even if you managed to raise the money on GoFundMe, your idea will fail if you don’t know what you’re doing or if you don’t want to work hard.

Also, performance and personality are more important than budget. You could do some great stuff with fabric tails and upgrade to silicone when you have more money.


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