Business Plan for Start-Up

Business Plan for Start-Up The business organisation Plan.Synopsis.For this assignment we as a group absorb been asked to produce a business plan with supporting analysis and justification. The find of the business plan is to focus on convincing the community stakeholders of the viability of your high society start up. The justification includes evidence relating to the rigour of the w ar selection and the content of our plan.Introduction.A business plan is a written documentation of which describes the business, the objectives of the business, its strategies, the commercialise of which the business is in and the financial forecasts. The business plan has m whatever functions, from securing external funding to measuring the success with the business itself.It essential when starting up a business for a business to fork up a realistic working business plan.Our business plan is a statement of intent and provides details on how we as a order atomic number 18 going to develop o ur business, when we are going to do it, whos going to play a part and how we as a group entrust manage the m stary. The Business Plan.The executive summaryOur comp any is a Young Enterp turn up company trading in imported and home-brewed harvest-feasts for the product market place. We as a company aim to produce and sell a variety of greeting card game and cds of which are homemade to the general public. An age population will enhance demand for unique(predicate) card types. The types of cards that there whitethorn be an subjoind demand of cards that there may be an increased demand for include Retirements Anniversary Birthdays Christmas Easter Valentines Day, mothers and fathers day cardsHandmade cards are likely to continue growing in popularity as card sender memorizek to a greater extent and more to express their own individuality.The business, its products and servicesThe business.ASGO4 is a unique candle and cards merchandising company we offer a variety vagabond of products which include in all sorts of various candles and cards for any all kind of special occasions to meet all needs.The company ASGO4 consists of 5 dedicated members who aim to grow this company to achieve a successful business.Product and services.We pay off a wide trudge of cards to suite various needs and for all special occasions, i.e. birthdays, anniversarys, valentine and exams.Exam congratulation cards and best wishes for courses can turn over a wide range of market these cards will entertain a good selling point within Staffordshire University. (Refer to appendix 1.)Competition comparisonASG04 products contain many features that distinguish them from those produced by competitors. ASGO4 products are handmade and are to suite all special occasions. The quality of the candles and cards are produced at a magnificent level, even to the untrained eye, which makes ASGO4 products more realistic. ASGO4 are unique and offer a wide range of candles, non many similar prod ucts is uncommitted in the domestic market.TechnologyASGO4 products are generally handmade some of the products produce by, ASGO4 will be provided by wholesalers, these products that are produced by wholesalers will be produced at a professional level.Future productsASGO4 aim to turn into a successful business, by providing a wide range of candles and cards to meet all requirements. The candles that are provided by ASGO4 have a likely market, as they can be practised for many special occasions.What benefits its offers.ASGO4 products offer great benefits to its customers because what we provide to you cannot be provided to you from else where.Customers would buy our products because our products are different compared to whats already avail able on the market, so this makes ASGO4 more appealing to its customers.Product facilities The main facility, we will use is the market livestock, within our market store e will have a wide range of space to ostentation our products, we wil l use tables and colourful table cloths which we will hire, we will use the table cloths to make our tables of display colourful and appealing.Some candles and cards will be hand made by the members of the ASGO4, but these will be simple products, we will do this precisely to widen our range of products.Information technologyInformation technology is of a part of the almost every business day to day life. We will use a promotional information technology light beam which will done by are of our class colleagues, he will promote our company ASGO4 and this will create awareness of our company, what we offer and where we are based in Newcastle.The markets and competitors on that point are a number of competitors of which we have to consider, the types of candle competitors of which we have to consider are Johnson Wax Glade known as air-care candles. Bousius (UK) Ltd. Dane. Yankee Candle Ltd. British Candlemakers Federation. Colony Gift Corporation Ltd. Prices Patent Candle company L td.The types of card competitors of which we have to consider are Birthdays. Clintons. Hallmark. Card Factory. marketing and salesMarket SegmentationEnhancement candles unscentedRetail sales of unscented candles were 48 cardinal in 2000, a rise of 27% all over 1996. They number for 50%, by value, of the enhancement sector, compared with a share of 62% in 1996. Figure 7 provides trends since 1996. Growth within the unscented candles sector is decelerating, as purchase of scented candles becomes more popular. Unscented candles include coloured household candles, which can be used as ornaments as well as for lighting. legion(predicate) are purchased to match household dcor, as well as to create a relaxing ambience during dinner parties.Enhancement candles scentedIt is the fragranced candle sector which is fuelling growth within the candles market overall. Retail sales of scented candles are estimated at 48 million for 2000. This demonstrates a rise of 106% since 1996. Scented c andles account for an estimated 34% of the total candle market and 50% of the enhancement sector by value. Functional candles tea lightsTea lights have reached the mature stage of the product lifecycle, world one of the first candle variations to be introduced into the UK after traditional white household candles. For this reason, value market growth is set to slow over the next few years, although they remain popular as they are so versatile. In 2000, tea light sales were 27 million, a 10% increase on 1996. They accounted for some 19% of all candle sales in 2000, which is a decline of 6 percentage points since 1996, reflecting a drop in legal injury points rather than usage.Emergency candlesRetail sales of emergency candles ( principally white household candles) are declining slowly and were 4 million in 2000. This compares to almost 7 million in 1996. Mintel s consumer research indicates that as many as 18% of housewives had either bought or get white household candles within the six months to January 2001, although not all will have been bought for emergency use single. Figure 10 demonstrates trends since 1996.Air care candlesAir-care candles designed for freshening air/masking odours are increasing in popularity. According to Mintel s consumer research, around a third of housewives use candles as air fresheners in 2001 and one quarter claim to have bought or received scented candles made by air freshener companies. The air-care candles market was worth 14 million in 2000, almost three times the value of 1996 sales. It is still at the growth stage of the product lifecycle, with many of the products being relatively new. Figure 11 provides trends in the air-care candles market between 1996 and 2000. Target market segment outlineTarget market Enhancement candles scentedScented candles have experienced a considerable growth in popularity since 1998, with 63% of housewives having purchased or received them during the six months prior to the survey. Th is reflects trends within the market place generally. A quarter of candles purchased or received are scented. Consequently, our company aims to import and sell scented candles since the scented candle is the most popular and profitable candle category so far. Candle industryMajor factors influencing the market The candles market is influenced by a number of factors. Purchased primarily by women, the growth in the number of women working has impacted positively on candles sales, because of a subsequent increase in discretionary income and financial independence. There has been a shift in lifestyle patterns, with a growing trend towards alternative healthcare and aromatherapy, and a revival in the popularity of pot pourri and incense, all of which have had a positive influence on candle sales, especially within the fragranced sector. There are also seasonal variations, with garden candles naturally performing mitigate in the summer during usage of barbecues, or Christmas candles with special Christmas colours and fragrances for the Christmas period. Changes in the age structure of the population have also served to boost sales of sure candle types. For example, the young age group has expanded, boosting sales of the more fashionable floating candles which have a high purchase rate among this age group. intentness participants (Main competitors)Colony Gift Corporation Ltd Colony Gift Corporation is the UKs leading quality candle representr and claims to be the largest producer of scented candles in Europe. Colonys overturn in 1999 was 22 million, up 21.5% on 1998 turnover of 18.1 million. It employs more than 460 people and its brands are available in over 70 countries. Prices Patent Candles Company Ltd The company produces candles and related accessories. It offers a wide range of candles for all occasions, including scented and aromatherapy outdoor lighting Christmas and Easter as well as decorative candles and the more traditional church-style candles.Yank ee Candle (Europe) Ltd Yankee candles are positioned as premium-quality, giftworthy candles for the purpose of home fragrancing. Fragrances are numerous and include sage and citrus, spiced apple, honeysuckle, French vanilla and spiced pear.Bolsius (UK) Ltd Bolsius (UK) Ltd is owned by NLD Bolsius International BV. The company has been active in the UK for over 15 years. Only about 40% of the companys output is sold through retail outlets, while or so 25% of sales are to religious institutions and 35% to the catering trade.Johnson Wax Johnson Wax is owned by the US company SC Johnson Son Inc and is a major player in a number of household goods products, notably household cleaning agents and polishes. The company leads the air freshener sector, with most of its marketing effort position behind the Glade brand.(Refer to the business justification Ansoff product/market matrix and Boston matrix to assess marketing and business phylogenesis strategies).The team skills indoors ASGO4 t here is in total five dedicated rung members of whom all have different roles within the business itself. Below is a list of the roles each of the staff members have and also entails a description of what they are responsible for within the roles and what types of skills are required for each of the rolesTeam skills should identify the strengths of the teams the plans to deal with any obvious weakness.Leadership.Managing director is ultimately responsible for the other members of staff, shareholders of the business the managing director needs to exercise all of the leadership skills as well as fragility fairness strength. A managing director is responsive for encouraging teamwork.Administration.Company secretary are responsible for the co -ordination, communication organisation of all the areas relating to our company ASGO4. The specific roles of being the companys secretary include the following Completing registration documents Keeping the share register Keep records Admini strating company meetings Organising agendas minutesFinance.Finance director is responsible for financial resource management, it is the job of the finance director to keep track of the money and also need to plan, know and record where the money is coming from, whos got it and where its going. solely financial transitions should be recorded by the financial director and to communicate financial progress to members of the team. Other roles of the financial director includes doing the banking and work a aboard with the company secretary on the company share and responsibilities to shareholders.The financial director is also responsible for calculating and paying the young enterprise and corporation tax.Marketing.Marketing director need to use their innovation and creative skills in taking a key role in identifying market and opportunities as well as defining product or service charlatanistic. The main responsibilities include PR and advertising for the company, as well as carrying out market research and customer observation to help to maintain customer satisfaction.Operations.Operations director are responsible for product and service development, their role is the ensure that a method of surgical procedure is decides and organise the production of the company products and service, an operations director is responsible for purchasing raw materials, stock, supply and demand of finished items. Health and safety of the other staff members and customers should be one of the operation director concerns.The operationASGO4 will buy candles from its wholesalers and then put its products on the market, we will use a market store in Newcastle market, and we will display all our products there within the market.Newcastle market is amongst one of the biggest markets in Stoke-On -Trent, so this enables us to target a wide range of audiences this will make our products more appealing as there are huge crowds in the market that we could attract.The main advantage of our locations is that as Newcastle market is one of the busiest markets to people from all background and different social class attend this market and this is a great opportunity to take advantage of this because we will have a wide range of audiences.Financial forecastsAfter financial forecast, such as specie flow and Profit and Loss Account, we have just started our business ASG04. And we are only preceded in one month preceded January 2005. Our business is running slow. So, it will take time to pick up. We have a good target market in Newcastle market. We have a wide range of target range in this aspect. Newcastle market is amongst one of the busiest open market in Stoke-On-Trent. We only have a few expenses, such as motor petrol, premises and equipment hire. As our expenses are very low, this allows us to increase our profit margin. Because of low expenditure, we have a low cost that means our price of product will not be set very high. Our business will have liberal working c apital to survive because of our low cost. We intended to raise a huge amount of money as our product attracts a wide range of target audience. We expect to make a substantial amount of profit as we proceded without business. (Refer to appendix 2.)Business Justification.A business plan is produced to convince shareholders, banks to dress into our business. The concept of the business is purchasing pre-produced products i.e. candles and some cases producing products. The products that will be sold will be aimed to various age groups. In order for the business to see success and make a profit it is important to ensure that costs are kept to a minimum. the business will focus on selling various types of candles i.e. scented, unscented, floating etc. our products bought from manufactured will not be sold as they are, they will be bundles and sold as gift packs for example. This methods makes the product unique and be able to make a profit. For example, 1 large candle will cost the busi ness approximately 60p. If the product was sold as apart of a set of various candles i.e. sizes, colures and sold for 5.00. This one candle may make a profit of excess of 2.00. Researching into this product and market is important, so the company is able to forecast its success. It is clear there is a market for this product. The correct location is also important. As the products will be sold on a market stall, our company will see less overhead costs compared to high street stores. Above shows a table showing the sales of scented candles between 1996-2000. This information is important so that company is able to see the changing trends over time. Un-scented candles are not as popular as scented candles. These products often uses to create a desired atmosphere and also used for show. Increasing sales can only mean that there is a demand for these types of products.This project has no major overhead expenses. Our main expense will be renting the stall that will cost approximately 16 per week. As no other major resources are required for example water, electric, our costs will be kept to a minimum and be able to transfer bargains to our customers. Analysing the business plan there is a big chance for success with this project. Sales for these products are increasing every year and the public are looking for new products to buy. Demand for candles are created by women and often purchased more by women. With busy, stressful lifestyles combined with working, looking after families has created an environment for candles. The below illustrates UK manufacture sales between 1996 and 1999. It shows that there is a drop in sales in the UK. In 1999 it shows that sales were down to 1.57 per candle. Source candles UK April, 2001Ansoffs product/marketThe Ansoffs product-market matrix helps to understand and assess marketing or business development strategy. ASG04 is able to use Ansoffs product matrix to see what mix strategic options to use. Product development is developin g or finding new products to take to an existing market. This is a strategy if the company has a strong market share in a particular market. Developing products are often a very expensive process. In this case, ASG04 does not have any market share, but with the product being sold are in demand and play apart of the market share in the UK. A business should try not to have any Dogs, but focusing on cash cows, problem child and stars that need to be kept in a kind of equilibrium. Funds generated by cash cows are used to turn problem child into stars that may turn into cash cows. Boston matrix.The Boston matrix model is a tool for assessing existing and development products in terms of their market potential. Our products lay between stars and soon to be turning into cash cows. The market already exists and has various types of candles that are sold. ASG04 is purchasing ready produced candles and developing them by making them more appealing to the public to buy.