Full Plate started a little over a year ago as a belief I kept coming back to: business owners and their customers deserve a better experience. For most of that year it lived in notebooks, late nights, and conversations with owners around the Outer Banks.
On Wednesday morning it stood in a room. There was a banner behind it, a red ribbon in front of it, a lobby full of people who took time out of their week to be there, and a pair of wooden scissors that needed both hands. I got to cut the ribbon. It took about one second. I am still smiling about it.
The people who made it happen
A ribbon cutting is really a thank-you note you get to say out loud. Here is mine.
Melissa opened the morning with a welcome so warm it took the nerves right out of the room.
Hunter gave Full Plate this opportunity, and the Chamber he leads shows up for businesses here every single day.
Kelly organized every detail, from the run of show to the scissors, took every photo on this page, and made the whole thing feel easy.
Hannah was standing beside me for the moment the ribbon came apart. Having her there turned a milestone into a memory.
Some of you rearranged your day. Some of you drove across the bridge. All of you made it a celebration instead of a ceremony. Thank you.
What I said, in about a minute
The Chamber gave me a minute, and the cookies were waiting, so I kept it short. The gist:
I started Full Plate because I truly believe business owners and their customers deserve a better experience. I have spent my career working with startups, starting my own companies, helping others start theirs, and working for companies like Walmart, CVS and Amazon. Now I am taking everything I have learned and putting it to work for business owners right here on the Outer Banks.
That is the whole mission. Everything else is detail.
Marketing, served in order
If you looked at the banner behind us, you saw three stacked courses. That stack is how we work, and it is the part I most wanted people in the room to take home.
A lot of businesses get served dessert first. Ads and posts show up before the basics are ready, and the owner wonders why the money went nowhere.
We start at the beginning. Get the foundations right: a website that works, a Google profile that is complete, a way to capture every lead. Then take great care of the customers you already have: quick replies, staying in touch, earning reviews. Then, and only then, grow.
Same order as a good meal. It just tastes better that way.
What comes next
The ribbon is cut and the cookies are gone. Now comes the part I actually started this for: helping Outer Banks business owners take great care of their customers, one plate at a time.
If you own a business here and want an honest look at where you stand, it starts with a free Kitchen Check. If you just want to say hi, our door is open, and so is the Chamber's. Joining the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce was one of the best early decisions I made for Full Plate, and Wednesday was proof of why.
Thank you for being part of this.