Introduction
An 18 hour childcare for children aged between 6 months to 12yrs is a serviced based business model intended to provide reliable childcare to women and men within communities who are working. The business was invented to capitalize on the market opportunity due to demand for such services (Godin, 2000). Accordingly, a series of market researches were conducted and conclusions were made in regard to the customer preferences for childcare services while at work. Most of the working men and women were finding it a challenge to jargon between childcare and their careers. This essay will describe the business model and potential benefits that will emanate from its establishment. The establishment process will be analyzed to reveal the potential success and problem solving from the business innovation.
The opportunity
The pilling demand for childcare services has called for realization that such services must be of significantly great quality (Aggarwal et al., 2003). Parents, employers and the society stand to gain a lot from quality childcare services. The changes taking place in the United States and the entire world at large are gradually replacing the ancient function and composition of the community. Besides, the increasing growth in economy has necessitated the unprecedented preference for child care facilities especially with the local community. Accessibility to efficient childcare facilities has a lot to give back to the social, educational and emotional growth of children. There are open gains for the economy resulting for childcare services.
The absence of reliable and relevant childcare services complicates many men and women to obtain and sustain job related opportunities and the jobs in particular. It is in this light that a market survey was conducted where it was discovered that the facilities are very few in the locality. And those that are currently available had issues concerning the safety of the children time in time out, reducing the confidence vested in them by their customers. It is due to these discrepancies in the business that an opportunity presented itself to carry out the services more efficiently than the existing facilities. In so doing, success was just but a few meters away.
Ensuring success
In providing guarantee for success, the previous attitude towards such facilities in regard to security was to be wiped out first. Second, there are various codes of standards set out by the Child Care Act 2002 (Peter & Rowan, 2008). Any business that conforms to the set laws of a particular country has a good base ground for prosperity. In this respect, the business model innovated will ensure total compliance to the laws governing childcare services to promote the level of assurance among the working parents. The business has set up the site of the facility in an area with ample field for playground and all the safety measures fitted to ensure the child has enough space for movement and being monitored. The site is also accessible to public transport system and good traffic conditions. The intended number of hours for operations is a maximum of 18 hours per day to give assurance the late workers of their children’s safety. Moreover, the staff designated to receive and release the children will be given additional training and orientation to familiarize themselves with the rightful parents to avoid imposters picking the children and endangering their lives.
Impact on Results
The innovation is set to have a great impact on the results as shown by the intended satisfaction of the customer needs. Introduction of this facility is a groundbreaking occurrence to the rather dormant childcare provision in the locality. First as a result of the numerous procedures that accompany putting such a business idea into a reality are very complicated and at times some entrepreneurs might get tired on the way. The most important factor is focus towards the goal. With the presentation of structure and general layout of the facility to the customers who seek the business services, they are bound to recommend the services to their colleagues where the marketability will mostly de did by word of mouth. The location is densely populated next to the town where most of the adults work. The large population of workers will be capitalized in producing tremendous outcome to the business. The innovation will work on a common saying ‘action speaks louder than words’ since the determination of the staff and services provided will speak for itself.
The innovation
The childcare facility is unique in that its design has been developed to suit all the customer preferences. Ranging from security, health and response to urgent matters, the facility will employ trained and licensed staff and medical practitioners to respond to state of emergencies (Louvierer, Hensher & Swait, 2001). Different from other facilities in the country, the state of innovation in this facility comes along with surveillance cameras, security personnel and police whose availability will be always when called upon to react to matters of security. The business model that has been innovated is not taking chances to critical subjects of concern such as provision of security. The customers are meant to be convinced that their children are left in safe custody. This improves the value created in the invention. The facilities playground for older children will be fitted with the state of the art play gadgets and facilities that can enhance positive growth of children. It should be noted play is very important in a child’s development hence the playground will also be under strict watch eye of trained personnel and security officers to avoid preventable accidents.
Creating customer value
Creation of customer value will be done using customizing of the services for the parents (Kim & Maugorne, 2000). Notably, the parents would wish their children to be picked up near their residential places hence through the business model shuttle services will be provided to make their work easier. The buses will be equipped with trained nurses and comfortable beds and comfort to ensure the children under the age of one year have an opportunity to sleep whenever possible. Besides, the parents who will still be breastfeeding their children will have a chance to do so in such a manner that at designated times their children will be brought to their places of work for breastfeeding. Moreover, the working parents will not have to get to the nursing homes to collect their children; all they will be required is to call the care centers and the child will be taken to their homes after working hours. For the children between the ages of 5 to 12 years, trained early childhood development teachers will be handy in teaching the children how to read and write. This has the implication that the form of innovation in this business model will be significant to the parents who will not worry about looking for learning institution for their growing children.
Implementation process
The process of implementation involves five steps in major business models. First, there is setting of the stage which comprise of setting ultimate goals for the business model (Goldstein et al., 2002). The staff and the clients must understand the direction the business is heading to. Second, is the discovery process which entails understanding the needs of the customers, the challenges facing the industry and the potential benefit the business will provide to the entrepreneurs. It also helps to understand the state of resources in the company and how they are going to be implemented to outdo competitors. Third, development and design which enables the business do more research to discover the trends in customer behavior and how to fulfill their varying needs. Fourth, is the stage of conversion, which involves putting the ideas into practice and making fortunes from the opportunities? Lastly the process of implementation is the commercialization which entails making the ideas work effectively through the use of various mechanism such as launching new venture (Fitzgerald, 2005).
Measuring the impact
In measuring the impact of the implementation process, a random survey is conducted within the community to find out the view of the people in connection to the business entity. Structured questionnaires are distributed randomly to willing respondents to find out from their point of view how they would rate the business model invented. More positive response from the respondents is a sign to show that the business perception is positive in the community. In addition, a survey is also conducted on the clients in person through questionnaires to establish their level of satisfaction with the services provided. In most cases, where the business is giving maximum fulfillment to the clients in a way that they can easily balance their careers and childcare then the outcome will be exemplified by an increase in the number of clients within the business. Lastly the financial statements are appropriate in measuring the impact of the processes of the business model. Therefore, increase in the assets and profitability is a good sign of growth.
Reflection on Learning
From the innovation above, there are important lessons that I have learnt that will be instrumental for my personal development and growth. First, I have learnt that to be successful in any business, one needs the patience and persistence in the line of business. That patience enables one gain the confidence even upon making mistakes in the course of nurturing the business. Second, success is not built on ‘a silver plate’ but rather it demands careful and cautious approach towards business ideas. The fact that someone failed in that line of business cannot be a discouraging factor. Success is built under a series of mistakes and learning from the mistakes. Working hard and determination is required until the ultimate goal is achieved (James & Higgins, 2000). Moreover, networking and conforming to the government rules and regulations ensures good health in business. The type of business invented required more of networking for its success. Last but not least, I have learnt to be a wide minded person especially when dealing with children and the staff employed to provide care to the children. This is very fundamental in creating a healthy connection or relation with the clients hence building on customer trust.
References
Aggarwal, S., Erramili, M. K., & Dev, C. S. (2003). Market Orientation and performance in service firms: role of innovation. The journal of services Marketing, Vol. 17, No.1, pp.68-82.
Fitzgerald, M. (2005). Research in development. Web.
Godin, B. (2006). The Linear Model of Innovation: The Historical Construction of an Analytical Framework. Science, Technology & Human Values, 31, pp.639-667
Goldstein, S. M., Johnston, R., Duffy, J., & Rao, J. (2002). The service concept: The missing link in service design research? Journal of operations Management, Vol. 20, No 2, pp. 121-134.
James, M., & Higgins, D. (2000). Achieving Innovation, the Core Competence. R&D Innovator, Vol 5 (1), 37-56
Kim, C., & Maugorne, R. (2000). Value Innovation: The strategic Logic of high Growth. Harvard Business Review, Vol.75, No. 1, pp. 102-113.
Louviere, J.J., Hensher, D.A., & Swait, J. D. (2001). stated preference methods: Analysis and Application, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Peter, S., & Rowan, G. (2008). Innovation: A blue print for transforming the way your Company innovates to the core. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Press,