Test

Testing 123

Interesting Visual

Barcelona Dinner 2
Originally uploaded by ValS68.

I like the way the glass is lit...

The Holidays Are Coming!

Wow, can you believe it's already October? This year has just flown by!

With October comes the inevitable countdown to the holiday season, and all its social demands. If you're like me, your to-do list is already getting a little long!

• Are you in charge of the office party or annual awards dinner?
• Is it your turn to host the family holiday get-together this year?
• Have an idea for New Year’s Eve, but don’t quite know how to put it all together?
• Looking forward to spending some quality time away over the holidays but don’t have time to make the arrangements?
• Is your new home finally "together" enough to throw that house-warming you've been promising?
• Having a hard time finding the perfect place to say 'I Do'?

Maybe I can help! Now’s the best time to let Befitting Service aid you in the planning process. We can start working on your invitations, reservations, menus, itineraries, decorations, gift ideas and more!

 

Let's talk soon, and you can do things differently this year!

--Naima

 

Befitting Service | It's what you deserve.
Naima Finnie, Director
naima@befittingservice.com
www.befittingservice.com

File Under [Boutiques]

Owner of Dior To Launch New Luxury Ski Hotel in Courchevel 1850

Courchevel, France - Courchevel 1850 is all about luxury, and the exclusive new boutique Hotel ‘Le Cheval Blanc’ owned by Bernard Arnault, the man behind luxury brand LVMH (Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton), will debut this December at the French ski and snowboard resort.

The hotel, which is solely made up of luxury suites, two private chalets and penthouses, also boasts a Givenchy spa, impressive health club, Louis Vuitton & Christian Dior boutiques, John Nollet hair salon and some of the most contemporary designs & stylish furniture & fabrics to be found in the Alps.

This uber-chic hotel has 34 rooms and is located in the quiet ‘Jardin Alpin’ area, allowing guests to ski straight from the door. Smaller suites start at a capacious 40-45 square meters, all of which include an LCD screen TV and WiFi, up to the enormous private apartments of the Arnault family that are also available for a truly unforgettable experience.

Neal Manuel, Managing Director of Kaluma Travel, the sole UK tour operator working with this luxury property, says, "Even though this hotel does not open until December, we have extensive waiting lists to stay at the property. This demonstrates the current demand at the top end of the ski market and we aim to provide the most unusual & exclusive properties available."

Befitting Service | It's what you deserve.
Naima Finnie, Director
naima@befittingservice.com
www.befittingservice.com

So I got a laptop...

So I got a laptop—my first one ever and I am on geek overload, installing all my familiar shortcuts and preferences and such. Having an extra machine will be great, so Gaidi and I won’t have to battle over screen time.

The new question is how to make this dang thing pay for itself! I have to entrench myself in moving this business forward: try every angle, touch every base, test every opportunity! I know we can make this work…it’s just going to take some time (which is in short supply these days).

I’m thinking I should go back to creating little notions at home to send to the Ed Nesfield of various hotels, and just ask for some face time (it's on my Sunday List). That’s inexpensive advertising and it’s effective because it’s unique...right?

Don't be intimidated by foreign cookery!

Don’t be intimidated by foreign cookery:

Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian.

Wine and tarragon make it French.

Sour cream makes it Russian.

Lemon and cinnamon makes it Greek.

Soy sauce makes it Chinese.

Garlic makes it good.

Now you are an International Cook!

--Alice May Brock (Alice’s Restaurant Cookbook, 1969)

 

Say cheese!

What's the deal?

I created this blog to use specifically as a business diary. We obtained our business license for Befitting Service on June 20, 2006. It is my intention to write about the lessons we learn and the mistakes we make along the way as we build our company from nothing to something—from the ground up.

 

Right now we operate Befitting Service from our home—from the computer desk in our bedroom, to be precise. This week marks the one year anniversary of my hire with the City of Imperial Beach, which means I am eligible for the computer loan purchase program. I ordered a desktop package for Milan, and a slick laptop for myself. Gaidi and I are always trying to work on the computer during the same periods of time, and we’re starting to get frustrated! Fortunately, thanks to the computer loan program, we’ll be able to afford working independently—plus, we can write off the computer purchase for the business!

 

Working for the City has been a good transition for me, even if it pays less money. I love being close to home (I can go home for lunch or run my local errands), and I am learning a lot about my community.

 

The harder business task right now is finding clients! Because we designed our business model to cater to affluent clientele, we can’t work with just anybody—we don’t do anything with a budget under $10,000, and our fee is 15% (so anything we do nets us at least $1500—our rent for the house is $1400, so we know we only need ONE CLIENT every month to make ends meet). That’s my goal—to make at least one rent payment this year using someone else’s money.

 

So how do we get that one client??

 

I’m starting with high-end bridal shows and working backwards.

1.      Find the bridal show, look for vendors lists

2.      Inquire about advertising or vendor registration

3.      Review the available list of vendors for business (of our goal caliber) that might network with us, or does not offer the same services as we do, or if they have the same services, maybe they outsource when their schedules are full

4.      Send a friendly introductory email and see who responds!

 

I just started this process on Monday (today’s Friday), and of the 15 or so emails I’ve sent, I’ve received 2 responses—actually, it’s 3, but one of them was an auto-response, so that doesn’t count. One asked for a list of services (she might outsource) and the other is interested in a brief meeting to discuss possibly working together—wooo hooooo! ALL WE NEED IS ONE!

Befitting Service | It’s what you deserve.
Naima Finnie, Director
*   naima@befittingservice.com
þ   www.befittingservice.com

 

What's a concierge?

Since we started our new business, Befitting Service, we've had some of our friends and family members tell us how excited they are for us...immediately followed by a question:

 

"I think I understand what you do, but what's a concierge?"

 

Great question! A concierge is a person employed by a business or individual to make personal or professional arrangements. Befitting Service provides and evaluates concierge services for boutique hotels and individuals worldwide: we make sure that the people responsible for attending to your needs are doing so to the best of their ability, and we only work with people who are simply phenomenal at what they do! So at home or when you travel, Befitting Service does elegant things, and we can coordinate everything you'll need from door to door. For example:

 

Event Coordination and Design (beach parties in Koh Samui, Thailand)

Destination Weddings  (Yah Mon!)

Charitable Galas (affairs of the heart)

Corporate Care (we'll greet while you meet)

Service Evaluation (does the staff make you want to remember their names?)

Staff Enhancements (great service made better)

Hospitality Accoutrements (Martha who?)

Transportation  (helicopters sure are loud!)

Exotic Destination Tours (we will take you to Amsterdam)

International Forerunning (ever been to Bali?)

 

Your feedback is really helping us define and elevate the services we provide. And thanks for referring us to your friends!

 

Your support is appreciated,

Naima & Gaidi Finnie

Befitting Service | It’s what you deserve.
Naima Finnie, Director
*   naima@befittingservice.com
þ   www.befittingservice.com

What does the title mean?

What do I mean by "from the ground up"...I'm not really sure.
I just know that i feel something about me changing; it's based on circumstances--I am not unhappy or sad or depressed or angry...just...changing.

Rebuilding.
Restructuring.
REPRIORITIZING.

Let's see where this new journey leads.