Introduction to the Addicted 2 Football (A2F) Business Plan
A2F (Addicted 2 Football) is small business that provides a photography and filming service. My focus will be on helping young talented football players to get a spotted or even a contract by a professional club.
I will also be taking individual photo shots and team shots that will be offered to the family and friends of the players, high quality, average price and an outstanding service.
A2F will start as a sole trader business. With Abiodun Amode the owner, he will also be taking all the photo shots on the match days and training nights. Apart from this, he will also buy all the companies equipment. All business ventures require adequate analysis and development of business plans (Barrow 2011, p. 11)
Capital and Funding Sources
The business will need a starting up capital of £10,000. Mr Amode, will fund from the help of family members and friends. In addition, other funds will originate from Mr Amode’s secured bonds with the government.
Other than this, the savings from his part time job in Marks and Spencer will also be a critical source of the capital. Other sources of funds will also be exploited to increase the capital (Hatten 2012, p. 33)
Proposed Physical Location, Operation and Naming
The Business will be run from canary wharf in London. I will rent the business office within this location. The company name of the business will called Addicted to football. It will operate in the office of O & O consultant ltd.
The operations site will not have retail store. This is mainly because the service shall not be required. Observably, a store orders for framed photos will be taken over the phone and via email.
Necessary Strategies and Market Orientation
For me to start A2F I will need to talk to many personalities and groups. These shall include the local football teams and the current youth system in North London and East London. I have the best rate of young talented football players that make it to professional teams.
In this regard, I will focus on advertising in Secondary Schools, colleges and social networks. The main objective of these strategies is to capture the attention of most teenagers who spend a lot of their time on social networks. Ideally, the present technological applications enable the youthful generation to spend their free time in the internet (Johnson, Scholes & Whittington 2008, p. 55).
The next strategy will be to start up a website and a YouTube channel. These two approaches will help in the marketing and advertising initiatives.
In order to develop or realize more impact, a lot of novelty and innovation will be appropriate. For instance, I will put the edited filming work I have done on the YouTube channel and the photos on the website.
Principally, the advertising of the filming will show the quality of the work I will be producing. Indicatively, this shall enable the site to show football at its finest. My aim is to make young footballers look as good as the professionals.
Another strategy will be based on the equipment to be used. The equipment to be purchased will show the quality of the professionals. This service will not only be for young footballers. However, it will also be for semi-professional and adults.
Nonetheless, I also want to work with the disable community as well. It is important to be inclusive because this is the nation’s favourite sport (Walsh 2011, p. 44).
A2F Mission Statement
The mission statement must be transformative, unique and innovative. Generally the mission statement for the A2F is, “BRINGING AND SHARING UNDISCOVERED TALENT TO THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL”
Analysis of the Potential Competitors
There are a couple of competitors. Some of these include the “football-talents.co.uk and fmscout.com”. Notably, these two companies do not really offer the service. Moreover, they have a very poor level of quality.
These competitors also provide a variety of services. Some of the major services include acting as foot-balling agencies. Contrarily, my own company will provide a network for everyone to have access of the young upcoming stars.
Pie Chart Showing the Market Share and Make Up Some Competitors
There are several other potential competitors within the UK market. Evidently, UK is one of the countries with the highest number of football clubs. It is apparent that a significant number of established clubs have started this venture (Stokes, Wilson & Mador 2010, p. 94).
Importantly, they are also within the formative stages just like in my case. This means that a proper strategy will provide me with a positive advantage towards an effective competition. Actually, this constitutes my fundamental objective for establishing the company.
It is vital to analyze the present market share. Ideally, this initiative is a critical factor in strategy formulation. The pie chart below indicates the market share within the UK.
According to this pie chart, football-talents.co.uk covers 24% of the market share; fimscout.com has 20%, while other football clubs share 12%. This indicates that about 40% of the market is yet to be exploited.
The Main Objective of the Business
My main objective of this project is to create a network for young footballers to expose and share their talent across the world. I also intend to create a network that stores all past memories of the players for future references, e.g. to show family/friends. My focus is to work on youth players under the age of 18.
Suitability and Business Opportunities
The opportunity for a foot-balling Network service will be very effective in the England. Ideally, the associated benefits will be explicitly rewarding. This is because the English FA have been criticized on the lack of youth British talent players making it to the top level of football in the UK.
This is unlike most countries like Spain that have 80% of the players in the “LA LIGA LEAGUE” as native players. Perhaps, this may be one of the reasons for Spain being the best football nation today. This network will create away for the FA to invest and to see undiscovered UK talent.
Additionally, it will help bring the right player through the youth rankings instead of professional teams investing in international young talented players. The operations of the company will allow me to charge a cheap price for the video editing, team and individual photos.
I will not have the same operating expenses that other companies have. This is true since I will not be working from a store. Analytically, this means that I will not have a building to rent. Furthermore, there will be no leasing and no maintenance cost.
The general implication of this is that there will be more capital available for the right photo equipments and accessories. Indeed, these basic approaches might initiate business success within the sector (Pinson & Jinnett 2006, p. 123).
Assumptions on A2F on Success as a Business
Assumptions are fundamental in all business ventures (Kuratko 2009, p. 55).Right now in the UK, football is on a rise. Millions of pounds are invested in the different football teams. It is evident that UK has a great number of footballers.
However, a lot of talent goes undiscovered and unnoticed in the foot-balling world. A2F is a network that will give people a chance to express the talent and view the talent the UK can produce. Every football player wants to be noticed and feel important. Therefore, A2F tries to notice every player on the pitch.
It also seeks to major on the key moments that only last in the memories. Thirdly, kids like to see themselves play football. However, family members cannot make it in every game. Thus, this will be an easy way to watch what was missed.
The market for A2F will be very busy during the months of August all the way to May. This is when the football season takes place for most age groups. The youth football population is very popular. Match days are normally on a Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. This is the reason why it is going to be very important to invest in a motor vehicle.
Some matches may take place in north London on a Saturday and I will have to travel to east London on a Sunday with all the equipment. The areas I plan to cater for include Highbury, Wood green, Tottenham, Finchley, and Brent cross.
Observably, all of these are all under north London. Areas such as Canning town, Stratford, Barking, Hackney and Rumford will all be under the east London side. I believe the population of football wills enough for A2F to capture some quality.
Because of the huge difference, the profit scale would be large because customers will be at the matches in all these different areas. Since no one else will be taking pictures and filming at my high level of quality, this will give a full competitive advantage over any competitors.
Generally, £10000 will be the starting capital and £2000 will be used to purchase a company vehicle. The vehicle will be used for transport to match games and training sessions. Imperatively, £4000 will be allocated for investments in the camera equipment while the computer cost will be £1500.
Ideally, these assumptions provide a platform for the foundation of the main strategy (Longenecker 2009, p. 101)
The Three–Year Cash Flow Forecast With Profit
The intended business is expected to make significant profits. These profits will be consistent within the first period of three years. However, there is need for adequate precaution because this is just but a forecast and projection (Stokes, Wilson & Mador 2010, p. 124).
More pragmatic and transformative measures shall be undertaken to ensure that the business achieves these projected profits. This shall be coupled with effective business and performance monitoring based on the invested cash as the references point. The cash flow indicating this level of success is as shown below.
The 3-6 Months Cash Flow Forecast With a Loss
The company is likely to experience significant losses. These losses might be incurred during the first three to six months of the operation. Therefore, it is appropriate to design a projection of cash flow (Dees, Economy & Emerson 2001, p. 54). It helps to indicate the significant lose in the specified periods. The table below illustrates this cash flow.
The Breakthrough Graph
As indicated, the business will make considerable profits. These will be realized during all the financial years. The months in which there will be high profit peaks include between August and May. The breakthrough graph for the company is illustrated below:
Balance Sheet with a Retained Profit
A2FCOMPANY
BALANCE SHEET INDICATING THE INCOME AND RETAINED EARNINGS
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED
DECEMBER 30, 2013
2013
Revenue £10000
Cost of sales
Opening inventory £7500
Purchases £5000
Closing inventory £2500
Gross profit £5000
Operating expenses £500
Income from operations £1500
Net income before tax £7000
Income tax expense £600
Net income £6300
(Deficit) start of year £1750
Retained earnings – End of Year £5750
Profit and Loss Swell
The company is set to experience a very high profit swell. However, the loss swell is forecasted at minimal level. This is evident from the above financial statement. Generally, it is observable that the elevated profit swell is likely to extend to other financial years. This means that the business venture is very feasible (Birley & Muzyka 2000, p. 78).
SWOT and PEST Analysis
Presence of adequate capital is one of the major strengths for the company. Others include application of technology, effective advertising methodologies and innovative approaches (Chell 2004, p. 56). Evidently, the application of internet as a means of capturing a specific target groups is critical.
It offers the company a unique springboard for effective performance and brand promotion. Especially, this is likely to transpire amongst the youths and teenagers who are the highest consumers of social networking systems (Stokes & Wilson 2010, p. 56).
The observable weaknesses include lack of other human resources and high dependency on the major football seasons. Notably, not only a single person may be able to complete the stipulated tasks in the sufficient manner.
Moreover, an overworked individual might develop withdrawal syndrome and negative attitudes towards the various work processes. Indicatively, lack of proper motivation leads to negligence and low innovation. However, people working within groups tend to develop more interest for their duties.
They are also more motivated to enhance constructive competition (Korhonen & Ainamo 2003, p. 112). The business has a large virgin market to venture. This is a significant opportunity.
The company might also be threatened by stiff competition from other likeminded organizations within the market. The political conditions within UK are favourable.
The government is stable and there is a great political will for small business and sporting events. The enormous love for football within UK provides a distinct and advantageous environment for increased growth and development of businesses (Hisrich 2010, p. 66).
There is adequate security and legal support for upcoming and small-scale enterprises within the larger UK. Support is available and this varies in terms of financial and material. Particularly, the youth are allowed to access a variety of funding options.
These also include sufficient trainings on enterprise development and other issues concerning financial management. Lastly, advanced technological applications available within the market provide an impetus for improvement of service and advertisement (Allen 2012, p. 89).
The company may use an array of technological applications to reach its target clientele. Internet use is one of the fundamental strategies that the company will adopt. Maximum output will be expected from this venture. Therefore, crucial measures must be undertaken to ensure the sustainability of the business.
List of References
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Chell, E 2004, Entrepreneurship: globalization, innovation and development, Thomson Learning, London.
Dees, G, Economy, P & Emerson, J 2001, Enterprising Nonprofits: A Toolkit for Social Entrepreneurs, John Wiley and Sons Ltd, New York.
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Walsh, R 2011, The start your own business bible: establish your new career– for as little as $500, Adams Business, Avon, Mass.