Photo Plan

1.0: Executive Summary

2.0: Company Overview

Market Opportunity Explanation

Legal Form of the Business

Company Location

History

Growth and Financial Objectives

Manager Information

3.0: Market Analysis

Summary

Analysis of the Industry

Target Market/Customer Profile

Competition

4.0: Service Offering

Summary

Uniqueness

Description

Competitive Comparison

5.0: Marketing Plan

Customer creation and retention

Pricing

Positioning

Delivery

Promotion

6.0: Financial Plan and Analysis

7.0: Cost Assumptions

1.0 Executive Summary

Lifetime Memories Photography is a small business that provides photography services (with a focus on weddings) to clients looking for high quality, fair price, and great service.

Lifetime Memories is organized as a sole proprietorship, with Mike ______ as the owner and sole employee. He does all the photography for the events as well as taking reservations, purchasing equipment, and doing the business? books.

Mike ______ will be contributing his own capital to the business for start-up costs, and has secured financing from several other sources, but will still need $10,000 in start-up costs.

This business will be run from Leicester MA..

To start, Lifetime Memories marketing plan will focus on advertising in local areas like Worcester, Auburn, Shrewsbury and other surrounding towns. The advertising will emphasize the company?s lower price, its quality, and its high value to people who need event photography done, such as wedding planners and birthday party organizers.

There are several competitors in the local area that will be targeted, but these competitors, being better established and having retail locations, will charge more than Lifetime Memories plans on charging. There is an opportunity to enter the market and succeed where these other competitors are lacking, this mainly being low price and a guaranteed high quality, professional service.

Lifetime Memories vision is to provide the best photography services to people who want their special events captured and recorded for the best price and with the best value. Weddings, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, and Reunions will be our specialty. Anyone with any photography service need will be able to utilize our services, however. For example, baby showers, engagement, and special request photography will all be available.

Lifetime Memory?s Mission Statement follows:

?Lifetime Memories provides the best event photography service in central Massachusetts, combining value, quality, and service in a package whose price is unbeatable?.

Lifetime Memories is requesting a 3-year, $10,000 loan for start-up costs that Mike ______ contribution is unable to cover. He has approximately $8,000 in collateral available to secure the loan.

The requested funds will be used to purchase additional photographic equipment such as cameras, lighting accessories, developing supplies, and also to help the company during slow periods in its first year.

2.0 Company Overview

The company?s name will be ?Lifetime Memories Photography?, and operate out of the home of Mike Bartkus, owner and manager. There will be no retail store for the business at first, and most reservations will be taken over the phone and via e-mail.

Market opportunity

The opportunity for a small start-up event photography service in this area is a good one. While there are several others in nearby towns, such as Casson-Foster Photos in Auburn and Lasting Images in Oxford, Lifetime Memories would be able to offer lower prices because it doesn?t have the operating expenses the other companies do. Although there?s no store front, that means there will be no building to rent or lease and maintain. Also, we will develop our own photos, thus saving time and money for developing; further reducing the price we will charge.

There are several assumptions that we make to give insight as to why the business will be successful:

1. More established companies with more operational costs will charge more than us.

2. There is a desire by consumers to have available to them lower-cost event photographers.

3. Value and quality, not establishment or name recognition, is the main factor in choosing an event photographer, thus making the low-cost image of this company a prime choice.

Legal form of the business

The company will be organized as a sole proprietorship, with Mike ________ as the owner and manager of the company.

The company will operate out of Mike ________ home at:

459 ______ St.

_______ MA, 01524

History

This is a startup business. Mike _______ has, to date, invested $17,000 in the business from his own savings.

Growth and financial objectives

In the beginning, we will be a small company, located in Mike _________ home, with event photography services only. After profits begin to be made, and expansion becomes possible, it will move to a storefront in a more accessible location and add retail services such as photo developing, camera sales, and an on-site portrait studio.

As the customer base increases, more staff may also be necessary to take reservations, operate the store, and take pictures in