We recently held a ribbon cutting and Grand Opening open house event at Impression Signs and Graphics in Oakdale, MN.  The event was a great success, and accomplished much of what I had hoped it would.  With that said, there are things we should have and could have done better, so I thought I’d share some related thoughts in this article. When planning a Grand Opening event, it helps to first consider what you are trying to accomplish by holding the event in the first place.  For our event, some of the objectives were as follows:

• Help increase awareness about our business in the local community
• Showcase broad capability
• Provide an opportunity for attendees to network and create new business relationships of their own
• Increase our company’s internal self-confidence
• Enjoy the company of others in a comfortable environment

Read on for some commentary about my perception on our performance vs. the objectives: The event clearly created community awareness, as it was promoted by the Woodbury, MN Chamber of Commerce, attended by Carmen Sarrack, Mayor of Oakdale, MN, as well as several other members of the City Council.  I witnessed a warm partnership between members of the Woodbury Chamber and the Oakdale City Government, both of which appeared to have the best interests of our company in mind. We were able to display and educate attendees about many of our capabilities, but with more advanced planning, we could have showcased more of our capability.  For example, my intent was to have a vehicle wrap installation in progress during the event, but I did not put the wheels in motion on this idea soon enough to pull it off for the event. We did provide networking opportunities for all attendees.  A member of my BNI chapter who attended mentioned just this morning that he enjoyed the event and made a business connection that was very likely to lead to closed business for himself.  Check. Our team worked together through some high stress moments the final week before the event to complete design and fabrication on many items on display throughout the shop.   Seeing the amount we accomplished in the final week while still fulfilling our client orders increased my confidence in our team’s ability to come through for our clients when they need us most. Based on the feedback I’ve received, attendees enjoyed the event.  With a great group of people, some good food and drink, a free logo cake from Sam’s Club and beautiful weather outside, we created an enjoyable environment for all. With more advanced planning and the benefit of hindsight I would have done more to promote the event.  My friends at the Chamber did a nice job promoting, and I sent a couple email blasts, but I should have directly put an invitation in the hands of more local businesses, I frankly just started that process too late in the game. Overall, I’m very happy with outcome.  The key is plan ahead to identify the things you hope to accomplish, determine how you will accomplish them, and then execute as much as you can! Follow this link for a video piece put together by Matt Johnson, a realtor and Woodbury Chamber of Commerce Ambassador: Grand Opening Interview - Impression Signs and Graphics