Lucille Wine Shop & Tasting Room - How it Started & Why Should You Shop There
Sarah Marshall, owner of Lucille Wine Shop & Tasting Room Tells Her Story
At Generating Media we always are curious how and why people decide to open up a business. Sarah Marshall, owner of Lucille Wine Shop & Tasting Room, tells her story how it all began. It takes a lot of courage and patience to take the “leap”. From the sounds of it, she came from an up-bringing were her parents instilled a vote of confidence in her abilities to take risks.
Several years ago I had the pleasure of working with an extremely wealthy man that had been successful in the business world. He owned several outstanding properties in New York, France, and the Caribbean. I remember clearly asking him how he accumulated such wealth. Without hesitation he replied, “I have taken lots of risks”.
Sarah is a young woman that believes in her vision, not afraid to seek help and guidance when she feels she needs it. Even though she had no formal business training, Sarah can accept her strengths and weaknesses. She sets her priorities to focus on her strengths and seeks help in the other areas.
After months and months of working on her business plan, choosing a location, designing the space, putting together and training her staff, she realized she was going to need help to develop a cost effective marketing plan. Through the Greater Lynn Chamber of Commerce she was introduced to Robin Samora, who was connected to the Massachusetts Express Grant Program. This particular grant is designed to provide the tools and guidance to support small to medium size businesses. Marketing is extremely expensive. It is a challenge to decide how to best allocate resources to the most cost effective marketing platforms.
Through the support of Robin Samora, she has been able to put a marketing program in place on a tight budget. It is not a simple process, but takes lots of discipline to stay focused. Plus there is a lot to learn about all the possibilities. One key element was to make sure Sarah created a store where she made it clear why customers should shop at her store. Below is a short video clip where Sarah explains her strategy to create a reason why customers should shop at Lucille Wine Shop & Tasting Room.
Sarah’s daily life is filled with many distractions of the logistics of running her store. Robin Samora was a constant reminder to step back and set priorities. Not only did Robin help teach her what to do in terms of her marketing efforts, but what to stop doing. Sarah continues to say the Express Grant Program is the “best kept secret in town”.
As the city of Lynn continues down the path to try and re-define it’s brand. It will be critical for the small to medium size business to not just survive, but be successful. One business needs the support of many for Lynn to be successful. The more diverse and successful businesses can be will prove to make the City of Lynn a destination to visit, shop, eat, and live.
The support from the Mayor, Economic Development Council, Greater Lynn Chamber of Commerce, and the Express Grant Program combined can provide the necessary help.