All The Way to Opening Day
Starting a new business is hard.
You didn't know that, did you? Complete surprise, right? Great, I've said all I need to say. Wrap it up boys, we're going home.
Really though, it's hard. Everyone knows that. Starting anything new involves endless amounts of planning and monitoring, and starting something as fickle and unpredictable as a new business can feel strikingly similar to poking a starving bear in the nose with a fork.
A hurricane of parts and pieces needing to be perfectly planned stands between you and your first time lighting up that big neon "OPEN" sign. How will your business use certain technologies? What's the best layout to encourage customer engagement? How do you develop an attractive, memorable logo? How do you establish brand recognition and loyalty? What equipment will you need to create and serve your planned menu items? What color paint do you put on the walls to make people eat more?!
Opening or revitalizing a business doesn't often come with much - or any - breathing room. Each seemingly small decision can translate to weeks of sleepless deliberation. Look, you're poking a bear in the nose with a fork, are you going to just start poking without a carefully laid out plan?
There's no need to poke that bear alone. In fact, it's much smarter to poke the bear with a friend, preferably a friend that's poked more than 300 bears over the course of 18 years and been so successful that they no longer fear poking bears.
Okay, I promise I'm done talking about the bear. The point is, making your business a successful local or national phenomenon doesn't have to rest solely on your shoulders. With a team of experienced experts at your side, the road to opening day becomes significantly less stressful. Turning your long list of scribbled ideas into a real, physical location can actually be easy and even fun!
Planning
The first step on the journey of concept to completion is the planning phase. Without a clear strategy, there's no chance of ever reaching a grand opening. No opportunity to carry those comically large ribbon-cutting scissors into battle on your business' first day.
A consulting team like ours here at Fortuna will give you that chance. We don't exactly have giant scissors laying around (a complaint I've been filing regularly since I started here), but we can surely find you some. With years of industry experience under our belts, we streamline the planning process by providing a clear set of personalized goals and action items. We know that every business is different, and so each plan is specifically tailored to your wants and needs. After successfully
Design
Design, to us, means a lot of different things. It's the logo on the sign outside your business, the first impression made on your new or returning customers. It's the lighting and carefully planned seating arrangements that make your interior feel perfectly cozy. Everything your customers experience while interacting with your brand is critically important, which is why design is such an important part of our process.
Our graphic designers develop logos and graphics that are perfectly tailored to your brand's personality, inviting your guests to become wonderfully absorbed in the world of your business. Even something as seemingly small as the layout of your menu is crucial for customer engagement, and the Fortuna team works with that in mind.
With proven results across the United States, our interior designers have received abounding praise and recognition for their work. Developing designs that are equal parts appealing and intuitive sets the Fortuna designers apart from the rest. There's nothing quite like seeing the rendering for your space for the first time, finally visualizing what was once nothing more than an idea.
Outfitting
Selecting the various items and equipment that your business will need to run smoothly can be overwhelming. What espresso machine best suits the needs of your menu offerings? What kinds of cups (there are soooo many types of cups) are best to serve your different types of beverages? Will you need flavorings for your dishes or drinks?
As you probably expected, we've got you covered. Our warehouse is stocked with everything from napkins to gorgeous Italian espresso machines. We can even help with installations, repairs, training, everything. We have everything you'll need, and probably a lot of what you don't need too. We're fully prepared to help you select the items and tools that best fit your business.
Training
I mentioned training briefly above, but it deserves a more in-depth look. If you've got baristas, they need to know how to use the equipment we just installed, right? Some of these espresso machines take a bit of practice to use effectively. Turning new hires into expert baristas is an art, and we certainly consider ourselves artists. We'll show these fresh, inexperienced employees how to tame these intimidating machines like the pros. If your business plans to offer coffee, it only makes sense to do it right.
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Of course, you can always start your business on your own. You and your trusty fork might just get away from that bear without a scratch. We just think it makes more sense to do it with a friend, someone that's been there before and can keep you from being eaten.
- Griffin Thomas
Social Media & Publications Specialist
Fortuna Enterprises, LLC
