Art as a Marketing Aid ~ Growing a Company!

Recently, a friend called me and told me about his exciting new business venture and that he was hoping that I could help him out.  Within two weeks he was submitting a proposal (RFP) to expand his existing coffee business by building an outdoor stand-alone café that would sell healthy foods, coffee etc…  The new facility would be located in a park-like setting and be affiliated with a hospital center. It would be called Nourish to stand for the relationship between a healthy diet and good health.  He was hoping that I could put down on canvas what he was picturing in his head, and that it could be done in time to submit the image as the cover of the RFP. 

Fortunately, the timing was perfect and I painted this little oil painting (11 x 14) for him.  Using a few architectural renderings of the park setting and buildings (currently under construction) as reference material along with my friend’s description of what his café would look like, I was able to place the Nourish café image into a specific location.

I could sense the excitement in his voice about the possibilities of expansion for his business.  The economy has been tough for most businesses and expansion is always risky.  I love his entrepreneurial spirit and I was more than happy to play a small role in his new venture.  I’m hoping that with his vision now on canvas that the prospective business partners will grasp onto and embrace the concept.  He’s competing against big chains like Panera, but my friend’s creative expansion plan sounds like a winner to me!