Meet Ginger Benoit-Fournier | Owner of Fournier Custom Designs Inc. Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ginger Benoit-Fournier and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ginger, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Opening your own business is one of the most challenging things to do. We are taught that our paycheck is our safety net. We are taught that our identity is wrapped up in our job role.

All those are lost as you start a business. But the rewards are greater then the fears. You determine your value, you determine your financial health. All the choices are yours. This is a very different way of approaching life.

There are still fears, doubts, etc… they are different when you start your own business. “The buck stops here” is ever present in all your actions and decisions. Will I sign another job/client/sale? Can I pay my employees? How will I grow? What direction should my business take? These are all your decisions. You are no longer following someone else’s goals, values, teams.

What should our readers know about your business?
Our business is small compared to others. However we treat our team as we would expect to be treated. It is the core of how we do business. Treat others as you would expect to be treated. I have shed a lot of the “corporate slave” mentality learned and use a life/work balance as our core value system for our team. Everyone has all the time off they need regardless of the reason. We work together to help each other when someone is off. We offer benefits, raises, recognition, birthday celebrations, Christmas parties, etc… to show how much we value our team. We know we can not do this alone and our team deserves the respect and compensation to show it.

Our most challenging period to date was the COVID 19 shut down. We kept all our staff working and built out a new showroom to keep busy. We emptied our savings to keep the staff and business open. Once we were able to do business again we were broke. We got an EDIL loan to keep our doors open. This has helped us continue to grow our business.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
West Palm Beach is a great city and offers so many different options.

I love the Norton museum. It has rotating shows, live entertainment on Friday nights and food!

The West Palm green market on Saturday is a foodie heaven. It is only open in the winter but is one of the best markets around.

All the restaurants downtown. You can walk from store to restaurant under tree lined sidewalks. One of my favorite restaurants is Bradleys, it is also one of the oldest. Open seating with views of water and yachts. Amazing service, valet parking and seafood to die for.

Sandy the Christmas Tree is a unique take on the city tree. A huge sandcastle with lights that is up for the holidays.

Kravitz performing arts center offers a wide variety of shows, plays and speakers. I have seen Cirque Du Sole, Book of Morman, The Gypsy Kings and talks on a number of different topics.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Ghazi Hajj was my VP when I was a Operations Manager for a large chain restaurant company. He showed faith in my decision making, was always honest to me and supported me in ways that allowed me to grow. He was tough, fair and a great mentor. We kept our relationship after I left the company and did consulting work for him on different concepts he was developing. There was always mutual respect and honesty at the core of our relationship. The became the foundation of how I treat my teams and the expectations I use to be successful.

He passed after an illness and his loss is still felt.

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