Hey ya'll!
Remember back in early March it was announced that Tea Please had just entered into the FedEx Small Business Grant Contest? Thanks to you all, we made the Top 700. FedEx then did another cut to announce the Top 100 businesses who made it to the second round. Tea Please was one of them!
After submitting a required video and six long weeks of waiting, the final 12 winners were announced May 4th and...we weren't on the list.
This isn't a sob blog post, on the contrary, this should be motivation.
Why?
Tea Please entered into a contest that had over 10,000 submissions across the nation. At the time of submission, we had only been in business for nine months. NINE months!
Not only that, but I entered on the last day of submissions and only had a week to gather votes to make the Top 700 submissions.
After getting notified of making the Top 100, I cried...literally. My new in business behind had the audacity to enter into a contest on the last day, ask everyone for votes and somehow make the Top 100! I was in the ranks with a business that had received a large investment from Jay Z, businesses with tons of employees, a business whose owner was on Top Chef and businesses that were small-yet making millions a year! I was up there with them!
I won't lie, I strongly believed Tea Please was going to be one of the winners. I created this business for a purpose and with passion. Not only that, I was reading books on positivity, steering clear of distractions, waking up to gospel music, setting my daily intentions and tirelessly updating the Tea Please website so that it was more functional, informative and appealing. That grant was mine for six whole weeks. And then it wasn't.
Again, this isn't a sob story.
I'm proud of what Tea Please has been able to accomplish, I'm proud to have made the Top 100 and I'm honored and humbled by all of the outpouring support. Words will never be able to fully express my gratitude. Thank you to you all who voted, shared my post and gave me words of encouragement.
This is only the beginning!