Do You Need a Grand Opening?
So when exactly do you announce that you're open for business? It's crucial that your grand opening coincides with you being ready for customers. You don't want to open your doors only to provide poor service because you're unprepared. This is especially true for anyone opening a retail business. If your inventory isn't up to adequate levels or the store isn't organized yet, your customers aren't going to be impressed enough to come back.
Should the business's grand opening coincide with its actual opening?
Not necessarily. Businesses often leave several weeks — sometimes even months — between the two to give themselves a chance to iron out any kinks in their processes before they draw a significant amount of attention (and, therefore, customers) to their location.
If you provide a service, on the other hand, scheduling your time can be a real challenge, especially at first. It's easy to feel that if you don't take every job that's offered, you'll be left twiddling your thumbs in a few weeks with no cash flow. But in the meantime, you're stuck with a punishing schedule of deadlines, and you run the risk of turning out poor quality work. Again, ramping up your business gradually and relying on word of mouth rather than advertising at first can give you the time you need to assess work flow and scheduling.
Once you're ready for a full volume of customers, consider a grand opening. This can be anything from a small announcement in the local newspaper's listing of new businesses to a full marketing push to advertise a grand opening sale. But you don't necessarily need a grand opening, especially if your business is service-oriented rather than retail.
