People who don’t design things don’t understand how hard it is. If their teenage nephew can do it, they should get their teenage nephew to do it.

You’re mostly just describing having a hobby.

Billboards to me only work if you’re doing a marketing blitz and have millions of dollars to spend putting the same message everywhere.

Think of it like decorating for a birthday. One decoration is not going to make people realize it’s anyone’s birthday, but a whole room might.

IMO it’s reserved for large corporations.

The Google maps listing is basically the phone book of the 2020s. If you don’t exist there, you don’t exist.

Well retail is cyclical, right? I worked with clients in retail before, and it seems like Black Friday through Christmas is where they made the bulk of their sales. Do you have a plan for how you’re going to approach the holidays, or are you just winging it? This is literally the time of year people come in looking to spend money. There’s a reason why bookstores sell all sorts of $20 crap that isn’t books, and I would make sure you’ve got good gift material in your store.

Also-- side note-- if you’re going to run a business, you have to at least learn how to use a period between sentences. I know it’s Reddit, but it comes off as really unprofessional and makes you look like you don’t know what you’re doing.

Architect here. The best thing you could do for space planning is bring an architect on board at the very start (a firm that has experience with your type of business and city). They’ll be able to help you phase your construction projects, tell you code info and board of health requirements, and ultimately draft the plans you’ll need to get it permitted. They can help you get estimates and get the design in line with your budget.

Small businesses don’t have a lot of money and like to cut corners, but trust me-- you’re going to run into a bunch of roadblocks and eventually have to hire all the same people, so just do it right from the outset.

Do not get an architect at the last minute to “make plans.”