#26 PLANNING (revised 6/10) " together at the gorge"

It is when I stand there at dawn, at dusk, in the stillness of the canyon. It is when I feel the warmth of the basalt walls that dig deep into the earth, nudging the wide Columbia to the sea. It is on that narrow ancient road where the life of Oregon bursts forth. I drift and dream of the river and the walls.

It is the gorge where I always return.

Sammy, Twyla, Nick and Sarah greeted each other in front of the massive basalt fireplace of the Columbia Gorge Hotel in Hood River, Oregon. It seemed fitting that this would be their starting place in a long journey. The elegant white Mediterranean building overlooked the river and the gorge. The manicured Oregon native gardens and stone bridges welcomed quiet thoughts in each of them, their pasts and their futures.

Joining the four near the end of the three days would be John Banks, Sarah’s husband, to discuss the core professional needs of this venture; investment and finances, legal processes and accounting functions.

Over the last two months, each had been assigned specific tasks. They were given a list to visit and observe the fifty most successful and innovative garden stores in the United States. In addition to completing a prepared set of questions common to the stores, each was to pay particular attention to the areas of concern they would have for green garden gates. Sarah had contacted these store owners and they agreed to help the four as they gathered information about those operations. They divided the fifty stores by the proximity to their homes. Sarah took the west coast and the northern mountain states and northern Midwest. Sammy from New Jersey, did the stores in the upper east coast and the inland northeast. Twyla, based in Colorado, visited the southeast and lower Midwest. Nick, from Florida, was given the southern east coast and inland south.

Sammy had developed methods of communication for their store visits and as a beta test for future communications among the group as the business developed. Each would carry iphones, laptop computers, digital cameras. portable fax and copiers as well as Garmin GPS navigators. They would share notes by instant messaging, Twitter and e-mails. There would be discussions each evening by video conferencing and “white board” technology. Conversations with store owners , customers, suppliers, and others could be by interactive live video feeds remoted to the four. All discussions notes, messaging and daily reports would be backed up and stored online for future reference to a secured Internet site.

To finance the research, living and travel expenses, and the purchase of equipment, John Banks had enlisted the support of a private investor who had great interest in being a part of green garden gates. He financed this research with an “angel offering” ownership of green garden gates.

Twyla researched in her area of concern:

Buildings and structures

Parking and loading flows

Zoning and land use

Demographics of the communities

Competitive forces facing the stores

General climate and specific weather factors

Health of the commercial market

Employment opportunities

Direction and priorities of local governments

Transportation and shipping patterns

The available of modern technology

Travel, shopping, working, and leisure transportation routes

General culture of the community

Community building themes and materials used

Local building ordinances

Proximity to other communities and potential sites

The real estate activity

sources for locally grown plants and products

junk shops and salvage yards

Sammy was assigned to pay particular attention to the store's computer related technology.

Monitoring the physical plant

Customer transactions

Inventory control

Capturing and holding the customer

Display and information

Communication among the staff

Outreach to the general community

Repairs and maintenance of the technology

Outsourcing of computer technology needs

The use of websites

The use of blogs

The use of social sites; Facebook and Myspace

GPS technology used

Advertising and promotion on related sites

Printing and reproduction technology

Accounting and payroll reporting technology

Financial reporting technology

The use of Internet technicians

Sarah was to look at the visual presentation, promotions, customer services, and accounting/reporting processes.

General curb appeal and overall visual appeal.

Customer conveniences; bathrooms, sitting areas, disabled provisions, carrying and loading devices, climate controls

Displays and theme designs

Employee identification

All advertising and promotion

Fixtures and equipment

All signing

Product presentation

Off site services

Accounting and money management

Product sourcing

All purchasing

Payables and receivables management

Nick was to examine the daily operation of the stores

Daily operational procedures

Overall staffing

The organizational structure

Employee policies and procedures

Employee communication

Customer service

Employee job descriptions and reviews

All employee training

Outside consulting tasks and goals

Security and safety

Space and time management

Employee wages/benefits/rewards

General overall efficiency

Re-use/recycle practices

Repairs and maintenance program

Capitol improvement program

Check out flow

Inventory flow

Product categories

The use of human resource administrators