Service Provided

Providing New Shop Information at a Trade Show

The Consulting Services Division of Prestige Framing Academy, LLC, works with customers from conception of the idea to complete execution in each of the following areas:

Business Plans - We help you to determine the potential market and the scope of your framing business. Plans are drawn based on anticipated volume and projections of future growth for each individual business. Your financing can also be addressed during this phase. We have several companies that we can suggest to you.

Site Selection - Through a combination of planning worksheets, demographic studies and on-site visits, we work together to find the perfect site for your frame shop. Location is perhaps the most critical and unforgiving decision to be made in the business start-up process. Care and experience must be brought to bear on the site selection. Through the years we have looked at hundreds of locations. This experience and evaluation has led us to develop a preferred location profile. We are confident of our location profiles and will work with you to insure that your location choice is ideal.

Lease Negotiations - Your lease is a critical document. Our experience in retail leasing gives you an advantage when putting together this critical part of the deal. From the letter of intent through the lease itself and including any signage or other additions, you will be aware of both local and national trends. We can translate from real estate into plain simple English.

Retail Shop Design & Workroom Layout When selling a design-oriented home furnishings item like picture framing, the retail environment is essential to the success of the business. After finding an appropriate site, we will analyze your space and develop a detailed plan for both retail and workroom. A cohesive well-defined frame shop image will be created to clearly showcase the beautiful framing work that you will do. (It is often said that our stores look like a cross between Starbucks and Pottery Barn.) Your production area will be laid out and streamlined to produce the most spectacular frames in the shortest time for the least cost. During the construction phase Prestige will work with you to assist in the selection of contractors and then work with your contractors on build-out and cabinetry.

Capital Equipment Acquisition - The critical elements of production are speed, accuracy, and cost. We will help you select the best equipment for the job. Only after this careful evaluation and discussion with you can we recommend appropriate equipment and methods. Prestige Framing Academy has worked with all major equipment vendors and has established relationships that assure you the best prices and service. We also have worked with smaller vendors who can frequently provide a more effective and economical solution. Our representation of numerous clients carries clout with the vendors, which translates directly to benefits to you. We never accept kickbacks from vendors; any incentives are passed directly to you.

Vendor Relationships Our experienced staff will introduce you to the various vendors of framing supplies in your area and help you set up the most beneficial relationships. We will help you assess your start-up needs and methodology for replenishment of supplies. As in any business, knowledge of the suppliers is critical in securing the best value for your framing dollar.

Human Resources and Staff Training Prestige provides extensive training sessions in our school with our renowned Basic Introduction to Picture Framing class. This class is the backbone of your framing education. It will give you the skills and confidence to begin framing on your own. We suggest that all owner/operators take this class in the months before they open. For other staff members, we will provide a three session class that covers the basics of sales and preservation. This is done on-site during your setup, pre-opening period. Additionally, we train all staff at your site in the operation and maintenance of the particular equipment you have purchased. This hands-on time allows you to become familiar with your operations under the tutelage and supervision of a pro.

In order to facilitate your continued success, we have information in our client start-up manual that helps you with hiring and evaluation of employees. We provide references to employee manuals and help with sources for insurance and other needs.

Competitive Pricing and Marketing It is crucial to the success of any business to determine its competitive situation in the market. We have a plan, complete with worksheets and examples that help you gather the necessary information for this analysis. Then, together, we analyze the data to ascertain our appropriate market position. Retail pricing is developed that assures profitability and competitiveness. Our formulas are easy for your team to use repeatedly to check your market position. We have a marketing guide that is included in our client start-up manual. This guide gives you specific marketing ideas and programs. It also provides an outline for a continuing marketing plan by categorizing different areas that require constant attention.

Computerization While most people think of picture framing as decidedly low-tech, no shop should operate in today's environment without computerization. Pricing, inventory, and reporting capabilities will allow you to monitor and control the framing operation while transferring accounting data and financial transactions to standard systems like QuickBooks. Prestige Framing Academy has vast experience implementing computerized POS systems. Staff training is essential to get the most from your system. We enhance the training provided by the software vendors with hands-on sessions using your own work orders (all of the samples for the front of the store are your first projects) and current framing jobs. Employees learn how to use the system by actually inputting real live data in a supervised forum.

Competitive efficiencies and creative design are critical to the success of a framing business. Computerized mat cutting provides an advantage at a price that is now affordable for every framer. We have been installing and training on Wizard, the worlds leader in CMC (computerized mat cutter) for years.

Framed Sample Design Assistance The most important aspect of any business is the face it presents to its customers and the public in general. It is all the more important in a visual design area like picture framing. Retail customers need assistance to visualize the finished product. The framed samples that adorn your walls give your customers ideas about framing their pieces and reassurance about the quality of your work. We help you plan and design the sample set that is appropriate for your store. We recommend how many and what type of samples should be made and how to make them. Drawing on our many years of retail experience we have sure-fire plans that will help you succeed in exceeding customer expectations.

Ongoing Support - Finally, ongoing support augments our on-site presence. Telephone support is always available as needed. As you begin operations many questions will inevitably arise. We are constantly there to help. Some of our clients have been known to call us as many as ten times a day during the first few days of operations. We encourage this contact which is intended to act as a crutch as you begin your new business. As the business grows you may choose to participate in our Coaching and Mentoring program. Coaching and Mentoring is a program where we are in touch on a regular basis keeping your business going in the right direction. It provides continuing access to updates in our client information and manual as well as our alert system which is an email system of providing critical information to framers in a timely fashion. In addition, we have a presence at all industry trade shows and always look to help our clients in any way.

To find out more or receive our no cost and no obligation information pack just fill in the request form.