The Business Plan

This project requires me to produce a imaginary business. To do this I must research into all aspects of a business, using books, people, and computer resources. To help me do this I will create action plans, that I will evaluate and redesign as I proceed during the project. The reason for the action plan is to help keep track and organise what I am doing, it also shows points that I must cover for my business to be successful. In this project there are certain parts of the project that can be decided before I created a action plan these are:

What will I sell- I will sell electrical goods like televisions, videos, and hi-fis

My shop name- I will call my shop "Kes" (Kapur's electrical shop).

From what I already know I have decided to make my business a sole trader operation as these are the easiest to set up. Also in a sole trader business I will get to keep all of the profits. Also as I am a sole trader business there are less regulations that I have to comply with. As a sole trader I do not have to make my business accounts available to any one except the inland revenue. This is useful as it saves me time, and it keeps my business dealings secret to the public.

What is the aim of "kes"

The aim of "Kes" is primarily to be able to compete with other companies in the local area. Also to brake even, but provide a high quality service to the public. Then it is to make a profit. For the first year the aim of my business will also be to become a well established business, and to remain open (not be forced to close due to lack of business).

Action plan

This is my first action plan, that I will later evaluate and then using my evaluation I will create a second action plan.

Task What this means that I will have to do Date start Date finish

What market am I aiming at? This will involve doing market research so that I know what people want, then I will see what market I am after, e.g. budget or high price retailer. 3/10/99 5/10/99

Where am I going to place my business? This will involve me carrying out research in local area to see if they meet the criteria that create, from research from books, surveys, and my market. 5/10/99 8/10/99

Planning restrictions I will research into any planning restrictions that are place in the Kenton area. 10/10/99 17/10/99

How will I price my product? My pricing strategy will depend on my area, so I will have to carry out a survey to see what pricing structure suites that area. Then I will research pricing strategies in books, and from people. 17/10/99 25/10/99

What is a market?

A market is where the sellers meet the buyers to exchange money for a product of service. The term "market" is actually used to describe the people whom the product is sold to. This does not always involve face to face selling, it could selling over the television. For a shop there can be different markets, e.g. domestic, and business.

My market- My market is going to electrical goods sold to domestic customers.

Product-oriented vs. Market-oriented business

A product oriented business is when the product is produced first, then a market is found. Business rarely use this type of marketing. Companies that use the type of marketing, usually make basic products needed for life. In some cases though a product must be made first before a person realises that they need it. This is normally the case when new technology is involved.

A market oriented business is when a business will find what product people want and then sell it to them. This normally involves market research. This is where the business will identify what the customer wants. These types of business normally survive longer, as they are able to adapt to what the customer wants.

My business strategy- I will have a product oriented market as I will be selling new technology that is constantly changing. This is because people do not normally realise they need a new television, videos, or Hi-fi until the product is made. This method has a lot of risk involved as there is no guarantee that a person will want my product.

What is marketing

Marketing is not advertising, it is actually finding out who wants to buy your product. Marketing is finding out what a customer wants, and then giving them that. The goal of marketing is to predict what the customer wants in the future, by looking a past trends, and carry out market research. The goals of marketing are:

ÑŸIncrease sales

ÑŸIncrease market share

ÑŸImprove image of business

What is the point of market research?

A business must find out how many people there are whom will buy its product. This is where market research is used, market research is used to find out:

ÑŸ What parts of the product do people like or dislike

ÑŸ If people want the product

ÑŸ How much would they pay

ÑŸ Who, and where will they buy the product

ÑŸ Competition

ÑŸ What promotions to use

What do I want to find out- I want to find out:

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