By Bunmi Laditan 
 

       
 I spoke to Luz Shinohara at a quiet corner table of Shiawase during their bustling lunch hour. Looking around at the modern and decorative interior, it was hard for me to believe it when she told me that Shiawase opened its doors only last July. But when Mrs. Shinohara told me that she and her husband had 14 years of restaurant experience behind them, I believed it. After September 11th, the Shinohara family decided to plant it's roots in Orange County instead of going back and forth between their homeland Tokyo to manage restaurants they had there.  
     
    The first piece of advice that Mrs. Shinohara gave was that, "research is most important". Mrs. Shinohara conducted extensive research on the cities of Anaheim Hills, Whittier, and Placentia, before deciding that downtown Fullerton was where they wanted to be located. Some of the factors she weighed in deciding on a location were 1) Visibility, 2) How many Japanese people and Japanese customers were in the area, and 3) How many authentic Japanese restaurants were in the area.    
      
     The second step Mrs. Shinohara took once she saw a piece of property she wanted was talking to the realtor. When her credit and bank information was approved, she provided the owner with a copy of her business plan (an essential part to any business venture). Mrs. Shinohara was a little wary when she was notified that she was competing with three other individuals for the restaurant location, but elated when she was again notified that she was hand picked by the owner to receive the prime downtown property lease. What made her business plan stand out was the originality of the restaurant concept- authentic Japanese food by Japanese people. While surprising, the fact is that many Japanese restaurants are not run by Japanese people. "Japanese food is more than just sushi bars and Teppanyaki (steak), my business plan showed that and intrigued the owner." Mrs. Shinohara encourages entrepreneurs to stand out and be unique.  

Mrs. Shinohara believes that the biggest mistake an entrepreneur can make is jumping into any business venture without adequate research. They just go ahead, they don't think, they have no business plan. Many end up wasting a lot of time, energy, and money," said Mrs. Shinohara.  

 "Having confidence in what you are offering is very important," Mrs. Shinohara told me. She does this by telling people about dishes that they might not have been adventurous enough to try and offering samples of the dishes. "Business is a service," Mrs. Shinohara believes, "If you don't have the heart in what you want to do, you won't succeed, you have to put love into what you do, no matter if you are an employee or an owner." Mrs. Shinohara proves this true; at closing time, she isn't jetting out the door, she is cleaning the floors with the rest of her team. Now that's dedication.   

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