Growing LUE Outdoors

LUE Outdoors is an Outdoors Retailer based in Summit County, Colorado. We currently have a Pop-Up Shop, and are online. We are ready to grow again, so we have started looking for either a brick & mortar location, or go mobile. But before I get ahead of myself, let's work our way from the beginning...

I started LUE Outdoors 2018 when I was trying to figure out how to make a living after having to close my property management & remodel business due to degenerative health conditions, and then unable to find employment because of my inability to promise to be reliable (because of my health conditions). But LUE Outdoors was not just born from neccessity; The passion to venture into and succeed in the Outdoors Industry came from my love for the Great Outdoors, Outdoor Adventures, Small Business, and a long time dream of having my own retail store.

LUE Outdoors began purely as an "online mall" : A place to connect consumers with top small businesses in the outdoors and snowboard industries. I was (and still am) an Affiliate and Ambassador for businesses that we hand picked - companies that hold the same values I (and in turn LUE Outdoors) have. The same desire to lift each other up, support our communities, offer awesome gear and products, do our part to help the planet, and be a decent human being in general.

Fast Forward to Spring 2020: Quarantine came, but we moved forward with our fist collaboration with Findlay Hats - which was a huge success - and from there we grew the products we offer(ed) online.

March 2021 Our 2nd Findlay Hat Collaboration came out - even more of a success then the first, we then added more awesome products to the online store, working towards Growing LUE Outdoors even more. Our 3rd Findlay Hat (June 2021) sold out in 3 hours! With each release we were able to grow our business a little more. Then, come August 2021, my dad made (and is making) a big investment in the business so we could move into a pop-up space, working towards true brick & mortar. ...Between signing and now, it has been h - e - double hockey sticks: Opening delays due to the development company, and then contractors for other businesses in the building, putting us into debt with each passing day (we were originally supposed to move in and open early October) because we were not able to make sales in the pop-up space. To make things more fun, December 22nd, our whole house came down with Coronavirus, and did not test negative until the second week of January. We got the store ready as quickly as we could, and opened January 28th, 2022.

We have seen, and continue to see, our business grow, and everyday are blessed with people telling us how much they love our store, how we have done a great job curating products offered, and how they cannot wait to see us grow more. But (the infamous, but) things have not been going well in regards to the developers, landlord, and our business: Assurances (which were deciding factors on taking the space) were made that are not being honored, and very important info was omitted prior to me signing a lease - no cash sales allowed!? After going back & forth, last week the landlord admitted his fault, and told me we could walk away. ...Problem is, there are no retail spaces available in Summit County that would be a good fit for a LUE Outdoors Store.

So, brass tacks of LUE Outdoors...

1) The mission of the Growing LUE Outdoors Campaign is to help Grow LUE Outdoors as a business.

2) The problem we face is funding for growth, and that is why we started the Growing LUE Outdoors Campaign.

We currently need funding for/to:

- A Brick & Mortar Location, or A Mobile Business (we go to the customer and do events), or both.

- Marketing Campaigns

- Accountant

3) The market size (potential) is almost limitless when a retailer has an online & physical presence.

We are located in Summit County, Colorado:

In the County we average over 7 Million Visitors Each Year.

Our County Population is 31,000+ and growing at a rate of 63%

Online Market has it's limits due to competition, but still has large potential.

Outdoors Industry (has been and) is one of the fastest growing industries.

4) LUE Outdoors works with Small Businesses. We work with Eco-Friendly Businesses. We work with Socially Conscious Businesses. And as much as we can, We work with Colorado (our homebase) Businesses.

We help grow other amazing small outdoors companies while Growing LUE Outdoors - it is a symbiotic relationship: Each purchase at LUE Outdoors helps not only our community, but also the communities where our business partners are based. LUE Outdoors just needs a little help so we can work towards & reach LUE Outdoors potential.

Thank you for your time,

Samantha Luegger

The LUE in LUE Outdoors