SBE-310 Week 5 Part 2 – Entrepreneur Reflection Paper

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Table of Contents Introduction Page 3 The Beginning Page 4 The Right Building Page 4 Remodel Page 5 Business Opens Page 5 Summary Page 6 Reference Page 7 Introduction Ms. A. Ch... antawee is the entrepreneur of my choice and how she started her idea of an authentic Thai restaurant. Mrs. Chantawee was born, raised and educated in Thailand. She came to America in 2006 because she married a U.S. citizen. She soon realized that in this area there were no authentic Thai restaurants. There are a few Thai restaurants here, but most of them prepared their food that was Americanized and not truly authentic Thai. She realized an opportunity and began the process of opening a Thai restaurant. She saw a huge opportunity to grasp on to because of her idea. She had always wanted to have and own her own business. She wanted to be her own boss. Her interest and enthusiasm in preparing and serving authentic Thai cuisine has always been a dream of hers. Having opened a restaurant of her liking has made a dream come true for her. So many of the first customers that have visited her restaurant were very impressed with the high quality of food and service that was provided. Many of these customers have become regular steady patrons of Ms. Chantawee’s restaurant now. Having a wide variety of menu choices, lunch specials, and an overall relaxing atmosphere, her restaurant has seemed to have caught the interest of many of the local people that are interested in trying out a new type of food cuisine. By using some advertising tools such as the newspaper, radio, and a few television advertisements, Ms. Chantawee has made great strides in improving her new found business undertaking. The Beginning Upon arriving in America from Thailand, Ms. Chantawee knew what she wanted to do. She wanted her own business. And that business was an authentic Thai restaurant. There are a few Thai restaurants here, but most of them prepared their food that was Americanized and not truly authentic Thai. She realized an opportunity and began the process of opening a Thai restaurant. She saw a huge opportunity to grasp on to because of her idea. Her restaurant, from the research that she did, would be the only “authentic” Thai restaurant in the area. Having some previous experience with restaurant work from Thailand, she began the process of searching for a good location that would suit her needs for a Thai restaurant. She looked at many available buildings that were available for lease. This took her many weeks and many hours of looking and processing the requirements needed for her idea of a Thai restaurant. The Right Building Finally, in July of 2011, the right building came along that Ms. Chantawee felt would meet the requirements for her restaurant. Upon meeting and talking with the building owner, an agreement was reached and Ms. Chantawee finally had her place to open her dream. The building used to be a bar and grill and had many of the needed items for her restaurant that she could utilize. It had many items already in place that she could use for her restaurant. Items such as booths for her customers to sit, a bar area for those customers that just wanted to have some drink, walk-in coolers were there for her refrigerated items, a deep freezer for frozen products, and a storage area for dry food products. Remodel Even though there were many items that she was able to utilize for her Thai restaurant business, it was not quite enough. There were still some modifications that were needed to be done. Some of these modifications were to include upgrading the kitchen/cooking area with proper equipment. Items such as a deep fryer, a Wok, and a commercial grade cooking stove, and grill were needed. Also needed in the kitchen area was a refrigerated area that had prepared foods items that are specific for certain Thai dishes. Besides the kitchen area, the dining area needed some upgrades as well. Some of those upgrades included some Thai decorations to provide some Thai atmosphere, lighting needed to be improved, and the layout of the dining tables and chairs needed to be rearranged. There was also new carpet and fresh paint for the walls and ceiling to make the interior look fresh and new. Business Opens The day that Ms. Chantawee was waiting for, has finally arrived. Once the building was ready, Ms. Chantawee was ready to welcome all new customers. A meeting was held to familiarize all staff with the procedures and methods that Ms. Chantawee wanted to implement at her Thai restaurant. Customer service was to be priority. She wanted everyone to be totally satisfied with their visit here to her newly opened Thai restaurant. Many customers that Ms. Chantawee met and spoke with were very excited to see her restaurant open. They were also very impressed with the high quality of service and the high quality of the food that was provided. This was the only Thai restaurant in the area that offered “Authentic” Thai cuisine. All of the other restaurants had Thai food, but the food they served was “Americanized,” meaning the real Thai taste was changed to adapt to the American culture. Summary For Ms.Chantawee, being an entrepreneur was a huge challenge for her. It was something that she wanted to do. She had the passion, wanted to put forth the effort, and wanted to commit herself to serving people authentic Thai food here in America. The process of searching for and locating the right building was a huge undertaking for Ms. Chantawee that took much of her time. Once the right building was found, remodeling was the next major work process along with gathering all needed items to make her Thai restaurant a Thai restaurant. Her business was able to open after all the hard work and time invested processes were put together to achieve what Ms. Chantawee believed to be an attraction for new customers to her Thai restaurant. References Chantawee, A. (2016, November 10). Personal Interview [Show More]

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