Introduction
My name is Brian Barton, and my Senior Project focused on a new business that my wife and I are opening here in Rexburg. It will be a pottery painting studio combined with a soda bar, and we plan to open early Fall Semester of 2025.
Ever since getting married we have wanted to start some kind of business of our own. She graduated in Supply Chain Management, and my major is Strategic Organizational Communication. We feel like that’s a pretty good combo for some fun entrepreneurial ventures! We thought of doing a pottery painting studio because when we went on our honeymoon we went to one for the first time, and have been going ever since for date nights. That’s how our idea was born!
Project Overview
I have spent a total of about 150 hours over the course of this semester working on many different aspects of this business development. Below is a timeline from start to finish.
During the semester, these are the parts that I spent the most time focusing on:
Many may see this and think that it looks more like a business related project, and not one that’s focused on communication. However, what I hope to show is just how integral the communication skills I have developed here at BYU-Idaho have been throughout the course of this new endeavor. Here is a list that just scratches the surface of some of the things I’ve done, that have been skills I’ve developed through my education here.
- Pitched the Business Concept to Stakeholders: Developed and delivered persuasive presentations tailored to different audiences (investor, customer groups, potential suppliers, future landlords, etc.)
- Negotiated the Lease Agreement: Engaged in professional communication with property managers to secure a favorable lease.
- Created Financial Projections & Funding Materials: Crafted investor-facing documents with clear messaging and data storytelling.
- Built Brand Identity: Defined brand voice, color palette, and visual identity to reflect target market values and mission.
- Planned and Executed a Digital Presence Strategy: Created a website, branded email, and coordinated social media setup to establish online communication channels.
- Managed Supplier Communication: Researched and selected a vendor, coordinated onboarding with them, and clarified expectations around product sourcing and logistics.
- Conducted Customer Research: Gathered informal focus group feedback from friends and family on bisque quality, aesthetics, and appeal.
- Developed Messaging for Marketing and Community Engagement: Created a unified brand message that will be used in outreach campaigns and launch materials.
- Prepared and Presented Formal Reports: Organized comparison tables, recommendation summaries, and stakeholder-specific messaging for final presentation materials.
- Maintained Internal Communication Systems: Coordinated responsibilities between owners, and kept investors informed with clear, regular updates.
Securing Funding
A lot of the communication was less formal, and done over phone calls, video calls, or in person meetings where documents/presentations weren’t needed. Here is our Business Plan that we first pitched to our investor.
The Business Model was very important in helping us secure our funding. It gave our investor confidence in our plan, as well as an understanding of what we hoped to achieve. This is our rough draft that we worked on toward the beginning, and through lots of meetings and collaboration, we developed more plans to improve what we had made.
Location Search/Lease
We spoke with at least four different potential landlords this semester before we actually settled on our current location. It will be located at 14 West 1st Street, Rexburg, Idaho. Just a few doors to the East of Little Caesars. We submitted 2 lease applications, and tried negotiating with both of those potential locations, but just couldn’t come to a reasonable agreement that would work for everyone.
As we kept looking, we found what would eventually be our solid location. Our landlord is the owner of all the Little Caesars’ in Idaho, and we had many phone calls discussing the lease, and negotiating compromises that would be worthwhile for both parties. We came to a good agreement, and signed the lease in early July. We start renovations August 1st.
I learned here that it’s very important to find people that you can build solid relationships with, and that are good communicators. I used many of the skills that I learned through classes like Interpersonal Communication, Group Dynamics, and Conflict Management/Negotiation throughout these interactions. It turned out to be a very rewarding experience, and I anticipate a long lasting business relationship with him.
Brand Development & Digital Presence
One other major aspect that I spent many hours was creating our logo, and digital presence. Having a solid website and social media accounts is something that is absolutely crucial to the communication that will happen between the business and our customers. It just so happens that my submodule within my degree is Digital and Social Media. I have been able to leverage that experience to help me move forward confidently as I’ve developed our web presence.
As far as posting has gone, I have made one post on Instagram and Facebook that tell a little about what is coming. We plan to really pick up on consistent posting once renovations of our space begin on August 1st. Below I will attach the links to our website, as well as social media accounts.
Vendor/Product Sourcing
This booklet was something that I made for my capstone project, but it includes the process that we followed to make a decision about what vendor/supplier that we would partner with for our bisqueware (unpainted pottery).
Conclusion
This project is more than just a required school assignment, this is something that I hope is the first step of many in entrepreneurial pursuits with my wife. I am very grateful for all the things that I’ve learned from my education at BYU-Idaho, I couldn’t have done any of this without it. I’m excited to move forward in the professional world with the skills that I have learned.