Pepsi Grant Application a Bust for this Month?

The rain is falling quietly outside as I write this, and all I can see out the windows is a reflection of our living room. Ever since we received (and accepted) an offer on our house, I've been looking around with newly sentimental eyes: How can I drink my morning coffee without seeing the angular shadows the sun makes on these particular wood floors? Can we really sell the couches we've cuddled up on for the last three, four, years? And what of the view from our back deck? Surely a little patch of yard can't replace that. Selling a house you've loved is a bittersweet thing, for sure.

Tonight, too, is bittersweet. I expected to rattle off an exuberant post pointing you all in the direction of my grant application on Pepsi Refresh, and beg for you to spread the word in all the ways you can. I've been preparing for that moment ever since I first heard of the Pepsi Refresh Project, which will award $1.3 million in grants every month in 2010 to the projects that receive the most votes online. But an hour--an HOUR--after applications started being accepted, I was informed that Pepsi had already received their 1,000-application quota for the month of March. The site politely asked me to try again on April 1.

Is this a mistake? Brought on, perhaps, by a sudden influx of traffic? Or some mishap during the scheduled maintenance earlier tonight? I hope so. I'll be getting in touch with someone from the company bright and early tomorrow morning.

Now for the sweet part of the evening: I created a Facebook Page for Provocation and Privacy! I've gotten many requests for one in the last couple of weeks and finally had a couple of hours to sit down and make it happen. Then I had the pleasure of watching as my night-owl friends and supporters started becoming fans. Very exciting stuff! I hope they'll share the page with their networks and so on. It'll be a great place for you to get quick updates in between these longer posts--and interact with others who care about books, reading, and literacy. Find the page here.

Also, we've broken 1,000 pageviews on the blog. :)

Thank you all, as always, for your support. I'll let you know what's going on with the Pepsi Refresh grant application as soon as I find out!

The Word Is Spreading

As promised, here are a couple of photos that I'll be using in my Pepsi Refresh grant application, courtesy of Courtney Loving Sames. How did she even get this shot, which is adorably called "Little Offering"?!



And I love this one:



There are four more that I have up my sleeve, thanks to Courtney. The application will be online on Monday, and I'll give you the direct link then. I can't wait for you all to see--and, of course, vote for it!--when it's complete.

In other news, we're only about 70 pageviews shy from accomplishing the goal of doubling them from last week to this one. I'm so excited about that! And next week at this time, I hope that we'll double them again to reach 1,800.

Also, according to Google Analytics (which I of course check obsessively), word of these efforts is spreading not just past Laredo, or Texas, but past the United States! Readers from Mexico, the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Pakistan, Australia, and more are all tuning in. That is beyond inspiring to me. Thank you all for your support.

The Photos Are In!

What a crazy week it's been so far! Who got to experience the snow in Austin and other Texas cities?

Well, if you recall, last Wednesday I mentioned my goal of more than doubling the readership of this blog by the same time the following week. It's that time, and while readership hasn't quite doubled (my fault, for neglecting to post daily), it HAS increased a fair bit. Last Wednesday, the blog had nearly 450 page views. As of right now, those page views have jumped to more than 750! Not a bad gain, and the day's not over yet. Share the link to this blog with your friends, coworkers, and family via your social networking sites or good old-fashioned word of mouth. I'm confident we can get 150 more views by tonight! And by next week, I'm making the ambitious goal of doubling page views again.

In other news, Courtney Sames came through for me big time on photos to use in my Pepsi grant application. Through the photos and the rest of the application, I hope viewers and voters everywhere will be moved enough by Laredo's story to vote for this project. $250,000 will go a LONG way toward actualizing this dream--and achieving funding through other grant organizations, financial institutions, and/or the Small Business Association.

I have to run to a meeting, but I wanted to quickly update you all first. I'll post again tonight with an example of two of Courtney's beautiful work . . . and a few other updates!

If We Build It, They Will Come

"If we build it, they will come," Mary Benavides said to me on the phone this afternoon.

I was in my car on my way to my usual parking lot in San Marcos, where I'm an MFA student at Texas State. I had spent the morning working on the book I'm co-writing with the fantastic Corey Blake (www.roundtablecompanies.com), hurriedly cleaning the house in preparation for the Austin Energy Audit we're having tomorrow, and looking at yet more online photos of apartments. Then I'd spent the afternoon trekking through apartments that were all beginning to look eerily alike, and talking to leasing people whose cheerfulness I was really starting to doubt. So hearing Mary's voice, despite the fact that it was only the second time we'd spoken, was decidedly refreshing.

We spoke for about twenty minutes, give or take, filling each other in on the status of our plans. "I want to help you in any way I can," she said. "I want us to work together on this."

"So do I," I told her, thrilled that we were still on the same page (okay, pun intended).

She told me that she's in the process of choosing a location and securing investors, and I told her about a conversation I'd had with my mom recently about the choice between funding the bookstore through investors versus taking out a loan.

With investors, it gets complicated, my mom had said. They will eventually want a return, and they'll expect that their ideas are heard and some of them incorporated. "That's hard for me," I told Mary. "I mean, if their ideas are in line with your vision, that's great. But what if they're not? How much do you owe an investor because he or she has helped you start this venture?"

"Katie, we're exactly in the same place!" she exclaimed. "Plus, I'm proud. It's hard for me to ask for help like that."

"Me too," I said.

At another point, she told me of the difficulty of actually securing investors for a project like this. "But I just keep saying, if we build it, they will come," Mary said.

Stuck in traffic, after just spitting out a bite of a sandwich with disgusting wasabi mayonnaise, I felt goosebumps rise on my arms. "I love that," I said.

"What we're doing is bigger than you and me, Katie. It's about community. It's all about community."

We again promised to keep each other posted, and Mary told me that she'll be in and out of San Antonio in the coming weeks in preparation for her daughter's wedding. I let her know that I'd love to drive down and meet her so that we can talk about our plans in person.

"I think the key is going to be that each of our stores offers something the other doesn't," I said. "That way, we're complementing each other, rather than competing."

"Katie," she said, "I don't want to be in competition with you in any way, shape, or form. We're partners in this."

And I truly feel like we are, which in itself is kind of miraculous. Mary, if you're reading this post, can't wait till we meet in person!

Laredo Bookstore Updates . . . Overdue!

Wow. If any week has shown me what a challenge opening this bookstore will be, it's this one. Which is why, I'm sorry to say, I haven't posted since Sunday.

This week, after being on the market for a year and a half, our house finally got an offer. A full-price offer (granted, after we significantly lowered the price), at that. So, after settling quite comfortably, if guiltily, into the fact that the house may not sell for some time, my husband and I have been jarred into the reality of looking for a new place to live, packing, and moving . . . all in less than 30 days. That is, assuming the sale goes through as planned. All of this means that, in addition to Colin starting a new job this week, and my full-time work and grad school and planning for this bookstore, we've been apartment-hunting like crazy. It's a level of stress that's laughable.

In any case, selling this house (again, assuming all goes through) probably couldn't come at a better time. Because our lives are so in flux right now, we'll be renting for a while, rather than buying. That leaves us with some flexibility when it comes to bookstore plans.

And speaking of plans: Mine for this week are:

* Finish my Pepsi grant application, to be posted online for voting on March 1. Courtney Sames, who has been working with Fede Cavazos on filming a documentary about B. Dalton closing and what has come next, has offered to send me a few photos to use for my application. I can't wait to see what she's got for me!

* Email the president of Texas A&M International University in Laredo; since university students are one of my key demographics, I would love to keep him informed in hopes that he will communicate my plans to all TAMIU students. I'd love to get them reading this blog and contributing their ideas as to what they'd like to see in an independent bookstore.

* Finalize and send off magazine pitches to at least three national women's magazines. I'll let you all know which ones once the pitches have gone out.

* More research and more work on my business plan. When the plan is finished, I'll use it to apply for more grants, as well as a small business loan from local financial institutions and the Small Business Association. Once I have funding, I'll be able to give you all more details as to what I have in mind for location.

* Visit with Mary Benavides again over the phone to compare notes on our plans. I have some ideas as to how we can both achieve our goals while providing Laredo with bookstores that aren't in direct competition. Details to come!

Another update is that my sister, a senior at Texas A&M University in College Station, has the opportunity to work with an expert to develop a detailed project management plan. She's opted to work with me on developing a plan for the bookstore, which I'm SO excited about! This is something separate from the business plan, and should serve as a roadmap throughout the project. I'll be sure to keep you all posted.

Soon to come: my vision for the bookstore. The size, the look and feel, the books, the non-books, the refreshments . . .

Thanks for coming back this week despite my inconsistency. Your readership inspires me!

Social Media Love

It's been less than a week since I started this blog--and only four days since I've been tracking visitor stats with Google Analytics--and I've already been so encouraged by the responses I've been getting via Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail. So encouraged, in fact, that I thought I'd share a few with you:

Since late Wednesday night (2/10), there have been nearly 450 page views and nearly 300 unique visitors to this blog. And the visitors span Texas, both coasts, some southern and midwestern states, and Australia. That's a pretty exciting start!

Via Twitter:

"My wife and I are from Ldo and cant tell u enough what we think of your efforts Hope you achieve your dream we r wkng on ours"
"The world needs more indie bookstores!"
"For those of you not already in the know: @KatieGPainter is opening a bookstore in Laredo, TX. Take that, pessimistic journalists!"

Via Facebook:

"I just got caught up on your blog... WOW.. not only an amazing plan.. but you are an amazing woman.. and a champion for those of us that grew up with a book never leaving our hands..."
"Good luck, Katie! Let me know if you need an extra set of eyes for the [grant] application; I'll be glad to help in any way I can."
"Inspiring, Katie, we're behind you all the way!"
"Make a Provocation and Privacy facebook fan page."

And email:

"Unreal.....Had no idea that there is no bookstore in the largest city in the U.S. I know the importance of reading and it has been an escape for me to go to a book store and just zone out and enjoy the feeling you get from reading. Coming from a family that had a brother that could not read or write saddens me that the city has no access to a book store. I will support you Katie anyway I can. Your blog is amazing. Thank you for stepping up to this challenge."

My goal is to more than double the page views and visitors by this time next week, and then double them again the week afterward and so on. You can help by posting a link to this blog on your Facebook page, adding me on Twitter and then retweeting my posts about the blog, and/or sending an e-mail to friends and family with the link. I've said it before, but it bears repeating: The more people who feel invested in the creation of this bookstore from the beginning, the higher the likelihood of its success and longevity.

Thanks for all your support--and happy Valentine's Day!

What Do Independent Bookstores Offer That Chains Don't?

As it turns out, a lot.

But first, a little history on how Laredo views chains and independents, at least from my perspective.

Laredo seems, to me, very different now than it was when I was growing up. I didn't run barefoot across unpaved roads like my parents did, but I distinctly remember the many parts of town that were undeveloped. Just monte--hard-packed dirt and scrub brush. I remember the joy we three kids had on our family trips to San Antonio, 150 miles away. Our first stop upon entering the city was always Olive Garden. The restaurant shared the parking lot with Ingram Mall, and I remember being delighted by the big Shepler's Boot sign.

San Antonio was the land of chains, and we loved it. It was American Eagle and Abercrombie, Red Lobster and Texas Land & Cattle. We'd stay at the Drury Inn, which we called the Dreary, or sometimes at the Omni or Doubletree or Marriott. We'd shop and eat for two days and then go home, full and happy.

I remember when Laredo got an Olive Garden. It, too, shares a parking lot with a mall. Red Lobster, Logan's Roadhouse, Sirloin Stockade, and Long John Silvers occupy the same stretch of asphalt. I remember when we got a McDonald's almost around the corner from my house, and then--cue the trumpets--Starbucks came into town. In high school, I adored the feeling of sitting in Starbucks, gossiping with girlfriends, and drinking some sugary caffeinated concoction. I felt as though I was growing up, and Laredo was, too.

In a lot of ways, I think chains coming into town gave Laredo some kind of validation. It made us feel like we were joining the rest of the world, becoming a "real" city. It wasn't until I moved to the Austin area in 2002 that I became charmed by independently owned restaurants, boutiques, antique shops, and bookstores, that I began seeing their unique value.

Now to answer the title question of this post: What do independent bookstores offer that chains don't?

According to several studies explored in an article on Book Passage Bookstore's website--which can be found at http://www.bookpassage.com/content.php?id=95--locally owned businesses "generate a 70% premium in local economic benefit."

In California last year, the number of in-store author appearances at indie bookstores was more than 4,000. In the same year, indie bookstores donated more than $100,000 to local community organizations. They employed more than 3,000 people, and the sales taxes collected and paid to support schools, social services, and public agencies totaled more than $10 million. How about Amazon.com? Zeros to all of these questions.

I know, I know--Amazon.com isn't exactly a chain. But consider this bit of information from the article:

"In 2002 a study was commissioned in Austin, Texas, to compare the comparative economic benefit to the community of Bookpeople, an Austin independent bookstore, and Waterloo Records, a local music store, with a proposed Borders store that threatened to drive both out of business. The study looked at the local economic impact - i.e. the degree to which money from each business flows back into the local economy. The study concluded that for every $100 of money spent at Borders $13 flowed back into the community in wages, expenditures, taxes, etc. With the independents, however, the comparable figure was $45. In other words, the two independent stores yielded more than three times the local economic impact."

Consider these figures from a similar study in Chicago:

"For every $100 in consumer spending with a local firm, $73 remains in the Chicago economy.
For every $100 in consumer spending with a chain firm, $43 remains in the Chicago economy.
For every square foot occupied by a local firm, local economic impact is $179.
For every square foot occupied by a chain firm, local economic impact is $105."

I'm convinced. How about you?

Thanks for sticking with me through this long post! I'd love to hear your thoughts. And thanks to Annette for pointing me to this article!

Filming and a Phone Call

I'd like to start this post by thanking those who have been reading the blog and following my updates on Facebook and Twitter (KatieGPainter). I love the comments I'm getting on my Facebook wall, via e-mail, and on the phone, and I love hearing that friends and clients have passed the link to this blog onto their friends and family. I'm really learning how much reading, and buying books, means to the people in my life. But--as much as I adore hearing your comments through other mediums--for the love of literacy, throw out a couple of comments here! And follow the blog. I like seeing the little pictures on the left side of my screen. :) And also, what is reading and writing if not a conversation? So let's have one!

Entreaties aside, today was a productive and eventful day. I worked on a newsletter for a new telecommunications client and then had lunch with a former client, a fantastic biography writer. She had visited the blog and, curious woman that she is, had a million questions for me regarding my plans for the bookstore. So I enjoyed talking with her about that. It never gets old.

Yesterday, though, I found out from my aunt that I'm not the only one in Laredo moving forward with efforts to open a bookstore. Mary Benavides, who managed B. Dalton for the better part of 30 years, is also working toward this goal. My first thought, of course, was, Where does that leave me? Swiftly followed by, Oh, crap--I put my plans on the Internet too soon! They're all gonna laugh at me!

It was this state of mind that Courtney Sames found me in this afternoon. Courtney is one half of the documentarist duo I mentioned a couple of posts ago, and she wanted to come get an update from me on what I've been working on since our last talk.

"I wanted to talk to you about something off-camera first," I said. "I just heard that Mary Benavides is also trying to open a bookstore."

Courtney smiled, a little sheepish. "Well..." she said. "Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that."

I had to laugh. Sneaky documentarist!

"She called me on my way over here," Courtney said. "She'd like to talk to you. She's so nice," Courtney assured me. "The warmest person you'll ever meet."

I told Courtney that my aunt had given me Mary's number (the two have been good friends for years--such is Laredo) and that I intended to call after our interview. Courtney's eyes lit up. She looked at her camera. "Would you mind if...?"

That's how, after I updated Courtney and showed her this blog and the grant site, I ended up being filmed while I spoke to Mary.

Courtney was right about Mary's warmth and friendliness. After a slightly awkward start, I felt at ease, and we talked to each other about our plans and ideas. It was clear that Mary is as passionate as I am about bringing a bookstore to Laredo and fostering a community of arts and culture.

So where does that leave me? Right where I left off. We ended the call by promising to keep each other updated. More importantly, we vowed to find a way to achieve our goals in a complementary, rather than competitive, way. What, exactly, that means remains to be seen. But you'll know when I do!

As for the photo? He's the brains behind this operation.

On the Sidelines

What makes a bookstore successful in (a) an economy that is forcing people to buy only what they need, coupled with (b) a changing marketplace where readers with an Internet collection don't have to leave their couches to order books? Is the brick-and-mortar bookstore coughing its last eloquent breath?

This is a question on many booksellers' minds these days, and it is echoed by the publishing industry and, of course, writers and readers. Some argue that younger generations, especially, are reading less, and the ones who still do are being technologically seduced by the likes of the Kindle and iPad. Others argue that the traditional bookstore will never die, because the process of browsing and selecting books is tactile and personal. As Vivian Guzman recently commented on my Facebook wall, "We reeeally need a bookstore [in Laredo]. Browsing and ordering books online isn't the same!"

So let's get business-minded. How do the profitable bookstores in America--independent bookstores, in particular--stay profitable amid the challenges of a changing industry?

A former professor of mine, Dr. Michael Saenger, also commented on my wall. He said, "Personally, I think the key to bookstore viability these days is to have some way that the bookstore can make money that's complementary to selling books, without feeling like it's contrary to selling books. I bet Barnes and Noble makes more money from the gift item selection than they do from the book area. And they often have a kid's play area, with toys for sale. I don't think the 'book store' is dead, I just think the 'only a book store' is dying."

According to my research, Dr. Saenger is right: Sidelines, or the non-book items sold in bookstores, contribute up to 30% of bookstores' profitability. That's because, unlike books, which have a set retail price, it's up to the bookseller by what margin to mark up non-book items. Makes sense, but this was still surprising to me; I don't think I've ever bought a sideline at a bookstore. At least, not for a long time.

How about you all? What non-book items grab your attention--and make you reach for your wallets--at bookstores? What complementary items would you like to see bookstores sell?

Thanks, Vivian and Dr. Saenger, for your comments!

And...Action!

On Saturday, February 6, I was interviewed by Courtney Sames and Fede Cavazos, two fellow Laredoans who have been filming a documentary about the closing of B. Dalton. They have sat and talked with high school teachers who broke into tears; librarians who vowed to increase circulation; a bus full of orphanage children who shopped at B. Dalton one last time before it closed; and a fourteen-year-old girl who has collected thousands of signatures on a petition to bring another bookstore to Laredo.

As the cornflower sky began deepening and the air turned brisk with evening, we sat out on my back deck to have a long, frank discussion about my plans. I was asked about my family, my life in Laredo and since I left, and what books and literacy mean to me. I was also asked how I would tailor the bookstore to Laredo’s unique demographic and why I’ve chosen to take this risk. I guess my answer is this:

Without a bookstore, without a focus on the importance of reading and writing, Laredo is a city at its most vulnerable. At its most exploitable, corruptible, and defenseless. Never have I felt more moved to make a change than I do now. What was once a “life dream”—something I intended to pursue after achieving my own success as a writer—has become one of those rare passions. A mission. A knowledge that this is a problem I can help solve, and which my heart feels a duty to amend.

After the interview was over and we were all chatting in my kitchen, Fede admitted, “You know, before we started this project, I was skeptical about whether Laredo is capable of sustaining a bookstore. But after interviewing all the people we have, I know, without a doubt, that it is. There are a lot of people in that city who want and would appreciate a good bookstore.”

It’s what I believed already, but those words were so validating! There is a community of ardent readers in Laredo, and a community that would like to be.

Being interviewed was an honor, and I can't wait to see the documentary when it's done. Thank you, Courtney and Fede!

Are you from Laredo, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey, or South Texas? What would you like to see in an independent bookstore?

First Grant Application: In Progress!

Yesterday, I started filling out a $250,000 grant application on www.refresheverything.com. Pepsi is giving $1.3 million in grants each month to the ideas that seem most refreshing, positive, and feasible—and which earn the most votes from people who go onto the site. So, starting March 1, GO VOTE (I’ll attach the link when it’s up)! Two ideas per month will win the $250,000 grant amount.

I was so excited to see that Pepsi is doing this! Before learning about the program, I had read of a bookstore in East L.A., which is heavily populated with Latinos, that was granted a $500,000 MacArthur grant. Until that point, I hadn’t thought of grants as a potential funding resource—but as soon as I read the article, I knew that applying for them would need to be a priority. My goal is to win as much in grants as possible so that I can present that capital to banks and the Small Business Association when applying for a small business loan. But I digress.

I meant to say that, on my first search for grants, I was a little discouraged. I found that many of the grants for which this project is well-suited require nomination, rather than application. For others, I tend to fall in between the listed categories: The bookstore is not yet in business, so I can’t apply as a business requesting funds. But individual applicants are often required to submit proof that their idea can be executed in a shorter amount of time than this one realistically will. I still have much more research to do, but these were my preliminary findings. Which is why I was thrilled to see a commercial for Pepsi’s grant program! I’ll be working on the application this week so that I can submit it as soon as possible; only 1,000 ideas per month are accepted. I’ll let you all know when I finish the application and—most importantly—when it’s online and ready for voting!

A Bookstore for Laredo

The day before B. Dalton, then Laredo's only bookstore, closed, my dad said to me, “I don’t want to hear about your dreams; I want to hear about your plans.”

If you didn’t know him, if you didn’t know me, if you didn’t hear the self-aware laugh in his voice and the teasing tone in mine, his words would sound harsh. After all, what father wouldn’t want to hear about his daughter’s dreams? His oldest child’s dreams?

The truth is, both my dad and my mom have always been wonderfully receptive to, and unimaginably supportive of, their children’s dreams. But my parents are more than listening ears. They are hard workers. Build-from-the-ground-uppers. Entrepreneurs. Inspired and inspiring. I have learned from them what it means to not only dream, but to plan. And to not only plan, but to put that plan into action.

So I understood what my dad meant. I laughed and said, “I think I take after you.” I had recently dreamed about how I hadn’t been so supportive of my husband Colin's latest idea for work. Perhaps the dream was my subconscious telling me to stop, for a moment, playing devil’s advocate. Stop picking apart, examining each word, the syntax of each sentence, the format of each page, and the overall idea long enough to consider the excitement behind the idea. The inspiration. But I suppose I, too, like a plan.

And, yet, I’m not a planner. It’s a big joke in my family, how little of a planner I am. I oversleep, press snooze every seven minutes for two hours, am rarely the first to arrive at an appointment, am often forgetful, and put, maybe, too little effort into amending these qualities. Okay, these flaws.

What I am, however, is a person to whom “No” means very little. Or, rather, it means a lot. It means I will work and fight and sweat (then hide that sweat under a deceptive layer of Laura Mercier mineral powder foundation) all the harder to prove that I can meet that original goal. I can prove that naysayer wrong. I can make that beautiful, effervescent dream an equally beautiful, if imperfect, reality. And, in fact, I can do even better than I first imagined.

My dream: to open Laredo Texas’s first bookstore since the closing of its only one. My border hometown, with a population of 250,000 (and a population of 600,000 just a few steps away in Mexico), is now the largest city in the U.S. without a single bookstore. The 1,200 square-foot B. Dalton, owned by Barnes and Noble, was recently closed as part of the company’s transition to “large format” bookstores. The closing was covered by such media as MSNBC, National Public Radio, and The Wall Street Journal, which irresponsibly (in my opinion) dubbed Laredo “a poor city filled with immigrants who don’t speak English, let alone read it.”

The sting of such criticism follows closely on the heels of media reports denouncing Laredo as a breeding ground for criminal activity—drug and gang violence galore. The largest import/export hub in the U.S., Laredo, Texas is the nation’s bad joke, its bastard stepchild. That’s fine. It will allow us to do something great—something customized for Laredo’s unique culture and community, which is so much more than recent publicity would suggest. One year from now, I hope to watch as ground breaks and gives way to our bookstore. I hope to cheer as that dry South Texas soil splits to allow room for books. Stories. Worlds.

My plan: to research. To learn everything I can about selling books (as opposed to writing, editing, or publishing them). That includes financial dynamics, merchandising, location, store design, demographics, inventory, computerization, human resources, marketing, operations, and the list goes on. To write (and have reviewed) an educated, thorough, creative business plan, entirely tailored to the Laredo market. To apply for grants and fellowships. To apply for a small business loan. To encourage community support. To purchase land. To design and build. And to perform the real work—everything that comes after Laredo’s bookstore opens.

I hope to be a part of raising the literacy rate in my hometown (currently 47% of adults in Webb County lack basic reading skills). I hope to give children and teenagers a safe place to explore themselves, and the world. I hope to give adults a warm, welcoming place to enjoy one another’s company, to sit down with a good book and perhaps enjoy a glass of wine. In short, I hope to offer my city both an escape and a return. A liftoff.

One year. We can do this. And here, I will record the progress. I hope you will join me.

Dreams. Plans. Inspiration. They’re all we need to achieve great things.