Two Spokanites with extensive experience in food service and entertainment have launched Navigator Consulting LLC, a consulting company with an emphasis on guest experience for independent and small chain businesses.

Chris Patterson and Kimberly LiVecchi, managing partners, have been friends for 15 years, Patterson says.

“We’ve learned how each other’s brains work differently and approach things, but we oftentimes end up at the same conclusion,” he says. “We have two different brains, but we see things clearly together.”

The duo has a combined 50 years of experience in Spokane businesses. Patterson has worked as a consultant for US Foods and as director of business solutions for Food Services of America Inc. LiVecchi was most recently marketing director for Corporate Pointe Developers and Village Centre Cinemas.

“Particularly with the challenges small businesses face in the midst of the pandemic, Kim and I felt we could no longer sit back and watch the list of shuttered spaces grow any longer than it already has,” Patterson says. “After being on all sides of this industry for so many years, we know the secrets to success, and it’s our mission and passion to help businesses in our region discover their best path toward their own success.”

Navigator Consulting offers employee training, guest experience evaluations, mock health inspections, business reviews, and company culture management services. Clients can also purchase one of two membership options. The $2,000 per year membership includes monthly training tools and other services. The other membership option includes customized training and an annual business review for a $5,000 annual fee.

Patterson says Navigator Consulting also offers to help with one-time events, such as a specific training session, for a starting fee of $400. The company also will help with projects for a starting fee of $500.

Patterson says he and LiVecchi, the company’s sole employees, aim to help clients bring in more money, rather than save the money they already have.

“I’ve seen so many operators walk past easy money because it involves training or leadership or a detailed follow-up with the customer,” Patterson says. “But then they spend so much time trying to find something for a nickel cheaper or a quarter cheaper, so they’re working on saving dollars, but there’s hundreds of dollars with their customer that they’re not capturing.”