I have quoted Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth once before in the title of a post and now I’m doing it again.  Unfortunately, I liked the title of the first post better.

In the post The Tempest is Raging, I mentioned the following:

Right now, it just feels like the floor is being dug out from underneath Corey and me.  Even though Froyo’s doing really well because the store keeps exceeding its expectations and everyone loves our product, the future looks very dim for our small store.  Our build-out cost almost double what it was estimated at and because Froyo was closed for a week and a half between locations, our coffers were drained.  So, we’re having trouble paying for the smallest of bills.  (We’re even putting our own money into the business to keep it going, which isn’t helping us financially since we barely have enough to meet our own financial needs.)

… Froyo will succeed if we can get an investor in time.  Like I said earlier, the store is exceeding expectations and doing really well sales-wise.  It seems so unfair and tragic that the store may fail because of our build-out costs, even though the store itself is doing well.

At this point, those small bills have done us in. We’re closing Froyo’s doors today.  We hope it will only be temporary.  But, at this point, we have no idea if it will be.

Right now, I’m experiencing a lot of fear, disappointment, and sadness because I don’t know what will become of Froyo, how we’re going to pay Froyo’s bills, and I can’t go back to school in January due to this situation and our financial needs.  (Hopefully, I’ll be able to go back to school in April because I can defer my enrollment until then.)  Luckily, Froyo is an LLC, so we’re not personally liable for most things, but there are still a few things to work out regarding our liability.  And, even if Froyo declares bankruptcy, we still want to pay our bills because it’s the right thing to do; it may just take us the rest of our lives to accomplish this desire.

Anyway, we appreciate all your thoughts, prayers, and support.  I would still like you to pray for us, if you’re willing, to help us figure out what to do now.

I haven’t been very good at updating my blog lately.   There are a few reasons for this.  The first and foremost is that I feel like my life is really depressing right now and I don’t want to turn my blog into a pity fest.  However, because it has been over a week since I’ve posted anything, I thought I’d post something.  I just don’t know what. … Well, you’re probably wondering why I feel like my life is really depressing right now, so maybe I should just share a little bit of what’s going on.

Right now, it just feels like the floor is being dug out from underneath Corey and me.  Even though Froyo’s doing really well because the store keeps exceeding its expectations and everyone loves our product, the future looks very dim for our small store.  Our build-out cost almost double what it was estimated at and because Froyo was closed for a week and a half between locations, our coffers were drained. So, we’re having trouble paying for the smallest of bills.  (We’re even putting our own money into the business to keep it going, which isn’t helping us financially since we barely have enough to meet our own financial needs.)

Corey asked the contractor why there’s such a huge difference in the estimate and the actual cost of the build-out and he said, “That’s just what it cost to build everything.”  During the construction process, Corey was keeping tabs on everything to make sure our budget was being met.  There were even a couple of extra things we approved the cost for, so we expected to be over by about $5,000.  But, when we got the bill, it felt like the oxygen had been sucked from the room.

Because we can’t afford to pay the build-out costs, our contractor and the sub-contractors want to put a lien on the property.  The lien doesn’t really do anything to us, except prevent us from collecting the money that was part of our rental agreement with our building management company.  The contract has a lien provision and unless the contractors and sub-contractors are willing to sign a lien waiver, the money is untouchable.  This money won’t solve all our problems, but it would help us until we could figure out a more permanent solution.

Before we moved to the new location, we had an investor lined up to help Froyo grow and expand.  And, because we knew that something could happen to change the investor’s mind, we even had a bank as a backup plan.  Because the build-out costs were so much higher than estimated, the investor pulled out because it was more than they wanted to invest and it changed the “risk factor” involved with the investment.  The bank fell through, too, because we no longer qualify for an express loan.  The bank needs to draw up new documentation and go through the underwriting process again, which will take up to three months, but no less than two months.

So, we’re in the process of trying to find a new investor.  We have a couple of promising leads, but we’re worried it’s not going to be in time to save Froyo because the contractor, sub-contractors, and anyone else we owe money to are getting antsy.  Corey and I just found out that our sign company is taking down our signage today.  Part of the build-out costs covered the signs, which haven’t been paid yet.  So, as of this afternoon, Froyo may not have any signs left, which will hurt the store dramatically.  We’re trying to work our way around it, though.

Froyo will succeed if we can get an investor in time.  Like I said earlier, the store is exceeding expectations and doing really well sales-wise.  It seems so unfair and tragic that the store may fail because of our build-out costs, even though the store itself is doing well.

Right now, we’re doing a lot of praying.  We’re praying that Froyo will succeed and that the hearts of the people we’re in debt to will be softened to give us more time.  We’re trying to have faith and hope that something will come through before it’s too late.  And, we’re trying to put our trust in the Lord and allow Him to direct our lives in the direction that’s best for us.  We’re also trying to realize and understand that the direction He knows is best for us may not coincide with the way we think things should work out.

Anyway, now you know what’s going on and why we’re so stressed.  If you know anyone that may want to invest in a small business that has a lot of potential (if it could just get through this storm), please tell them to contact Corey.  Also, we’d appreciate it if you remember us in your prayers.

The grand opening party for Froyo was last Saturday.  It was a lot of fun and a huge success!

We decorated the lobby with lime green and orange sherbet colored balloons.  It looked nice and festive! Between 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm, when someone walked into Froyo, I greeted them and donned them with a lei.  Everyone got a free kid’s size frozen yogurt with one topping.  The adults also got a free goody bag that contained a free 8-oz. frozen yogurt coupon, Froyo pen, a toy for the kiddies, and a free fish taco coupon from Rubio’s.  We also gave away a free Froyo T-shirt, which you can see in the picture on the left and middle (click to enlarge).

We had as many people show up to the grand opening as we normally get during an entire day.  Corey and I knew about half the people that came in.  Last Friday, we met one of our sales benchmarks and then exceeded that benchmark by almost a third on Saturday, even with the two hours of free frozen yogurt.  We’re really excited about that!

Anyway, the grand opening was a lot of fun and a lot of hard work.  We enjoyed seeing our family and friends and thank all those that came for supporting us!  We missed those that couldn’t come and hope to see you soon!

Happy belated birthday, Dani!

Business is growing steadily in the new location.  We’re excited to keep seeing it grow.  We’ve had some mishaps since the opening (trouble with product delivery, getting our alarm system registered with the city and Police department), but, for the most part, everything runs pretty darn smoothly.

Froyo now has free wi-fi and a few of our customers have already taken advantage of the service.  We hope this will be a reason people will want to keep coming back for the best frozen yogurt ever.

We currently have five employees.  They do an awesome job and we love them.  They’re always so willing to get the job done and so friendly with the customers.  They make the Froyo experience great for everyone that comes in.  We couldn’t ask for better employees.

We have the signage for our menu and our flavors finally.  And, we’ve added a couple of plants to the decor.  The store’s getting better and better!

Anyway, we hope to see you at the grand opening!  It should be a lot of fun!

Happy birthday, Shauna!

It was pretty slow yesterday, business wise, at Froyo.  But, Corey and I expected as much.  Even with it being slow, though, Froyo did better than a typical Monday at the old location. We figure business will grow steadily over the next few weeks as word gets out that the location is finally open.

Some of our friends, the Vigues and Meyers, decided to come by and show their love and support.  It meant a lot to us to have them there on our first day!

There were lots of other people we knew that came in too.  Like I said in the post It’s Official, Erin, Lauren, and I went to Froyo during our lunch.  (I’d post a picture of them, but they complained about the one I took. )  Erin’s mom and sister also came by to show support for Meghan, one of our employees and Erin’s other sister.  My old boss and his family dropped in, too.  His daughter was so excited to see that her bookmark was the same as the bookmarks being given away at the store.

We know a lot of you are planning to come see us in the future and we also appreciate your love and support!  Because we’re not always in the store, especially me, give us a call or send us an e-mail before you come in, so we can be there if possible.

To those of you who live out-of-state and can’t support us with your patronage, thank you for your encouragement and love!  We appreciate you just as much as the locals!

Also, for my lactose-intolerant family and friends, the sorbets haven’t arrived yet. Because of the economy, all the sorbet distributors have been going out of business.  Every time we get squared away with someone, we have to do it all over again because the company goes bankrupt or closes down permanently.  There are still a few distributors available and Corey’s trying to get everything squared away with them.  We’re just keeping our fingers crossed that they don’t go out of business too.  If they do, Corey said we’ll find a way to get sorbet in our store, even if we have to make it ourselves!

Anyway, Corey said business was really steady today, which is awesome since it’s only our second day open in this location! Corey said he’s been hearing a lot of encouragement and praise from the customers.  They think the product is really good and better than the other frozen yogurt places around.  Everyone also likes that there are so many flavors and topping choices all at once!  I know it means a lot to Corey when he hears things like this.

One of the things he’s told me since we’ve owned Froyo is he really likes that our customers come in and leave with a smile.  I honestly haven’t ever seen him as happy as he has been in business since buying Froyo and that makes me happy!

Once we (mostly Corey) get more of a handle on the new location (i.e. actual signage, Grand Opening celebration), Corey’s going to start getting all the particulars ready for our second location back in the Provo/Orem area.

Happy belated birthday, Tori!

It’s official!  Froyo is open in American Fork!

Corey and I are really excited!  The past few months have been long, drawn out, and frustrating, but so worth it.  I think Corey’s designing skills really came through with the look and feel of the store.  It’s beautiful and will get even more beautiful once we get our official signage and put artwork up on the walls.

Erin and Lauren, a couple of my co-workers, and I decided to go to Froyo during our lunch today.  It was so good to have a frozen yogurt again.  I’ve missed my low-calorie, non-fat treat over the past couple of weeks!

I thought I’d post a couple of pictures of the old store, so you can see how much nicer and updated the new store looks.  Then, you can really appreciate Corey’s creativity and expertise.  Also, the store underneath the sign isn’t the old store.  The sign’s actually to the right of the store and over another store.  It was crazy and caused a lot of confusion.  Oh well.  Not our problem anymore!

I thought I’d post a little good news to combat all the bad news that’s been going on. Also, bonus points if you know where the quote in the title comes from.

I’m a little less stressed today.  I worked long hours, or it felt like long hours, yesterday and got most of my project done.  I should be able to get the rest of the stuff done today without any problems.  Phew!

Our car isn’t going to die, thank goodness.  However, our air conditioner, that was just fixed a month ago, is gone for good.  It’s okay, though.  Summer’s almost over and we still have a car that runs.

And, finally, Froyo passed its inspections! Not without incident, but it still passed.  We thought the building inspector was bad.  Yeah, he was a lamb compared to the health inspector! His boss was really nice to work with and we’re glad he was available yesterday.  Otherwise, Froyo would’ve failed our health inspection too and, again, not for anything substantial. Oh well.  It’s over and done with and we’re glad about that!

So, I bet everyone wants to know when the big day is.  Well, we’re not positive. Ha! We don’t have an official date for the grand opening, so I’ll post something when we know for sure.  However, the store will more than likely open tomorrow.  (I’ll post an update later to let you know the final word.)  If it doesn’t open tomorrow, we’ll open on Monday.  Corey just wants to make sure a few last-minute things get done before he decides to open the doors for business.

Anyway, thanks for all your support and patience!  We really appreciate it!

Updated: We’re going to open on Monday just so we don’t feel rushed.  We open at 11:00 am!  Come see us!