Advice

Rie
AE2B

When my friend who lives in Japan is going to open a store here in Carbondale, I’ll give him/her the below advice. But my stay here is about two weeks so far; therefore, this suggestion is based on my hunch.

The first thing that I want to tell him is simple. He should not open a narrow store because people in the U.S. like big things, for example, houses, fast food, cars, etc., I think. Even in the case he can’t find a nice location to construct a store, it shouldn’t be built like a tower. Tall buildings are not suitable for this region. Of course he needs a parking area for the cars. Though there are sufficient bus stops and buses are really useful in this city, cars are more necessary to go shopping.

And then, if he wants to make his store bigger and more famous, it’s a good idea to have a party such as a BBQ by using their product so that people can obtain some information about the store. Either outside or inside is OK. They like chatting with their friends at a party. This is the difference between Japan and America. And Carbondale is a small town, so a rumor will be going around that something is good or not. Thus, taking advantage of this feature of a town is a very important thing.

Many international students are living here. So, he should keep in mind that selling foods is a little bit hard thing before he knows their culture. Each of them has a taboo in culture or in table manners, but it’s hard to understand all of them by himself. When he opens a restaurant, he needs someone who helps him. On the other hand, he had better hire a person who is familiar with cultures.

Anyway, I’m really hopeful that he can catch success and happiness. That is why I would like to send these messages to him. If he does not hear me, probably he will be in trouble to look for customers, because less research about an area which people open a store causes their failure.