Business Plan: Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency Essay

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Executive Summary

This document contains a business plan for Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency that will provide support services to students who wish to pursue higher education in the UK. The target market will be students who have finished high school and those who want to undertake advanced degrees. The business will be owned by a student who has previously travelled from China to study in the UK. The enterprise has immense prospects because of favourable legal and economic policies in the above-mentioned countries.

The capital investment of the business will be ¥500,000 and will be sourced from the owner’s savings and contributions from friends and family members. This money will be used to lease office space, buy equipment, hire staff, market and pay for all licenses. Repayment is guaranteed through the sale of affordable education travel packages to different groups of students wishing to travel to the UK. The table below highlights key financial metrics for the business, including projected sales, net profit, and the number of employees for the first year of operation.

Item	Cost
Projected Sales	¥129,000
Number of Employees	2
Net Profit	¥76,000

General Company Description

The name of my proposed business is Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency. In Chinese, it means the willingness to know more about higher education opportunities abroad. As its name suggests, Beijing will be the company’s headquarters, as it is the main educational centre in China. The business aligns with the educational policies of the Chinese government, which aim to promote Beijing as an educational center by encouraging collaboration in the provision of education services with governmental and non-governmental organizations (Frezghi & Tsegay 2019).

The primary business that will be undertaken by Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency will be the provision of services linked with establishing educational linkages for students seeking educational services in China and the UK. The primary target market will comprise primary, junior high, and high school students.

Beijing ZhiYing Educational agency is differentiated from other companies because it will offer quality services and with greater detail than most traditional businesses do. For example, most existing education agencies in China have a poor understanding of the location or kind of universities that the students will attend when abroad. Additionally, some of them are staffed by people who have no educational experience overseas.

Consequently, most of these firms are simply ran as consultancy agencies with a poor record of making timely goals or processing student travel documents on time. Based on these areas of incompetence, Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency seeks to set itself apart from the competition by providing personalized services because clients will interact with former students who have experienced learning in the United Kingdom (UK).

In some cases, the prospective students would be studying in the same institution as some members of staff. Relative to these dynamics, the business will be run in the same manner as an alumni association with strict controls governing the number of students who would be serviced by one staff member. The business’s key competence is professionalism and the provision of timely services. As the first tier of business operations, services will be offered to students who wish to seek an education in the UK and China. The overarching aim of the business is highlighted below.

Goals and Objectives

As highlighted above, the goal of starting the Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency is to provide agency services to international students seeking higher education in the UK. The broader objectives for implementing this business plan are hinged on the quest to promote educational exchanges within the UK and China by exploiting favourable educational policies formulated by the Chinese government.

Mission Statement

Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency’s mission is to provide a model framework for equipping international students, seeking educational services in the UK, with the best skills and support to ease their transfer. This strategy will be implemented by combining traditional and new (virtual) ways of recruiting international students and providing appropriate support as deemed fit. It is expected that this mission would elevate the company to be a leading brand in the next 10 years with a market presence in five locations within China.

Vision Statement

Our vision is to Identify, nurture and encourage students to pursue higher education opportunities around the world

Business Philosophy

Profit maximization

Target Market

Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency will cater to the needs of young Chinese post-high school students who want to pursue higher education in UK universities.

Description of Industry

The global higher education sector is a fast-growing industry that is thriving on the back of rising awareness of existing educational opportunities abroad (Banker & Bhal 2019). Relaxed regulations between the UK and China to foster educational exchanges in this sector have the potential to increase the number of Chinese students who seek educational services in the UK (Holligan & Shah 2017).

Furthermore, plans by the Chinese government to create educational centres in major cities may foster collaboration and synergy among different stakeholders in the sector (Gbadamosi 2018; Boyle 2019; Frezghi & Tsegay 2019). However, in the short term, it is expected that there will be a sustained demand for higher education services in China. Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency is poised to exploit this opportunity by being a model agency that provides support services to students who wish to pursue educational opportunities in the UK.

Most Important Strength and Core Competencies

Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency’s experienced staff will be the greatest strength of the firm. Management will be headed by a competent team of professionals who have first-hand experience studying in the UK. The above-mentioned company strength stems from my personal experience studying in the UK where I bring first-hand insights that could be useful to students who wish to follow a similar path. The business’s core competencies will be in securing admissions to UK universities and facilitating travel arrangements.

Legal Form of Ownership

Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency will be a sole proprietorship, which means that the liabilities and assets of the business will be personally guaranteed by the owner. The main aim of adopting this form of ownership structure is to maintain total control of the business during its early years of operation. As alluded by Østergaard (2019) and Vidal et al. (2017), a business owner needs to maintain such control during the inception stage to reduce the probability of failure.

Another reason for using the sole proprietorship structure is the small stature of the business, which allows for a lean management team, headed by the owner of the business. Again, the business owner needs to maintain this type of control to nurture the business vision among all members of staff and to set the business in the right direction of operation (Li & Chai 2018; Frezghi & Tsegay 2019).

Products and Services

Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency is designed to only provide services and not products. During its initial years of inception, the business will only be focused on providing support for higher education transfers to Chinese students who wish to study in the UK. The UK is selected as the desired location because of its favourable educational policies that favour a short time of study for some courses and a diverse student community. For example, students who wish to pursue a master’s degree may save one year of study if they choose to learn in a UK university. The list below outlines the basic services that will be offered by the business:

Consultation beforehand to understand the situation
Free evaluation, giving assessment plan and study abroad advice
Negotiation – two parties sign the agreement
Propose a study abroad program to determine universities and majors
Prepare application materials
Submit students’ application documents
Get an offer
Provide a visa plan and prepare visa materials
Undertake visa application processes
Get the visa, free guidance before going abroad
Successful study abroad

The above-mentioned services will be provided to the clients through five different service products listed below.

Self-funded studying abroad application for undergraduate study: This product will be provided to students who wish to privately fund their education in the UK. It will mainly target students who have completed the national higher education entrance examination in China. Similarly, students who are studying undergraduate courses in colleges or universities within the country will also be considered for this type of educational product because the associated service processes are the same.
Self-funded studying abroad application for postgraduate study: As its name suggests, this educational product will be available to students who want to pursue a post-graduate course in the UK. Particularly, those who wish to get a master’s degree in one year will be considered for this product because of the time savings associated with pursuing such a degree in a UK university. This educational product is expected to be the most appealing to UK students because of the short time needed to complete the postgraduate course. Therefore, students are expected to benefit from reduced study times and improved cost savings because of the short duration of the study. Thus, the educational product is expected to be a top seller.
Study tour for students (5-10 students): This educational service will be tailored to suit the needs of small student groups, which are probably less than 10 students. Recruitments will be done directly from schools but if there is a need to collaborate with educators, a collaborative approach could be adopted. It is expected that the main demand for this educational product will come from small towns, third-tier, and county-level cities.
Accommodation services: Accommodation will make up part of the services provided by Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency because students could experience difficulties finding affordable and convenient locations for their duration of stay in the UK. The educational agency will provide these services by availing multiple accommodation options for students.
Pick-up services: Transport services will also be provided to students who wish to travel to the UK. They will be provided through airport transfers. The two major transport options that will be considered for this exercise include taxis and buses/coaches. The option of travel will be dictated by the students’ budget.

Competitive Advantages and Disadvantages

Unlike traditional businesses that provide educational services in China, Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency will utilize advanced virtual tools to provide educational services, including the use of a software program (APP, or WeChat mini program), to clients. They will be designed to not only recruit but maintain customers as well. For example, the platform will be used as a catalog for students who have enrolled and they will be categorized according to different needs.

The virtual platform will also be used to pair students who wish to study in the same university or pursue similar courses. The aim of setting up such a platform is to provide an online resource for sharing knowledge and experiences that would be useful to new and existing students. In addition to posting the requirements for every educational opportunity available, students can also find help on such platforms from colleagues who have experienced similar challenges. Clients will also be encouraged to discuss academic questions on this online platform and provide support services to those who wish to join.

They will be paid for this service, thereby creating a part-time job for new students. The above-mentioned educational services will be integrated on WeChat mini-programs or “sub-applications” within the program’s eco-system. The main motivation for using this platform is to exploit the high number of young Chinese students who use it. Therefore, by simply downloading the WeChat software, clients will not need to make additional software downloads as the platform will already be in-built within the system. The pricing and fee structure of the company’s services are outlined below.

Pricing and Fee Structure

The anticipated product and marketing costs for the company’s products are outlined in Table 1.

Table 1. Pricing and Fee Structure.

	Product/service name	UK Universities Applications (5 universities)
A	Number of units in calculation	7
B	Product/service components	Components cost 0
C	Total product/service cost	0
D	Cost per unit	0
E	Price per unit	1299
F	Profit margin (£)	1299
G	Profit margin (%)	100%
H	Mark up (%)	10%

Business Worth

According to Bates and Robb (2016), the value of a business depends on how well it meets consumer needs. The main value proposition of Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency is the provision of quality services at affordable costs. Services provided during the initial two years of operating the business will be subsidized because the business will still be new and more time needs to be provided to gain market traction. Therefore, during the initial phases of business, the prices of services offered will be lower than the market’s (Latif et al. 2019).

Marketing Plan

According to Carpenter and Loveridge (2019), no matter how good a business plan may be, it is difficult to realize its full potential without a robust marketing plan. Consequently, there is a need to undertake careful and systematic research to identify and exploit existing market opportunities. This assertion stems from the views of Bullough, Renko, and Abdelzaher (2017) who caution business owners from making key decisions based on market assumptions.

Therefore, the need for effective market research cannot be understated. Relative to this need, preliminary market research showed that China’s growing economic potential has led to an increase in household income and a similar increase in disposable income (Dotzel & Shankar 2019). Collectively, these forces have encouraged students to seek better learning opportunities abroad.

An increase in household income within the Chinese society is also likely to cause a surge in the demand for quality education services and a commensurate increase of rationality in the manner these services are dispensed. This view stems from the dichotomy of education services in the higher education sector which highlights the need to balance service and price concerns. Subject to this assertion, it could be construed that the main advantage of higher education services is its service-focused nature with a propensity to create value and synchronize production services. However, these advantages cannot be visible to the customer when they first visit the education agency.

However, they are expected to notice it over time, as there is a tendency in the market to support companies that offer the highest value (Jia et al. 2018). Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency fits this profile and endears to meet the needs of all its customers because it is important to have a good business reputation for the advancement of the company’s goals. Thus, the business’s reputation will be pegged on providing high-quality services.

Economics

Based on its large population, China is the leading market for higher education services in the world (Yu 2018). India and the United States (US) are similarly large markets. It is expected that the total student enrolment of Chinese students in foreign universities is more than 37 million students (Yu 2018; Gadepalli & Mondal 2018). A growing middle class in the country portends great potential in this sector and Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency is expected to exploit it. Based on its relatively new stature in the market, the agency is expected to control less than 2% of the market during its first two years of operation.

A decade into the business, the market share should increase to about 5%. These projections stem from statistics that show an increased number of student applications from Chinese students wishing to study in UK universities. For example, Turner (2019) and Fontenelle (2015) estimate that the number of Chinese students applying to study in the UK has increased by 30% within the last five years. These figures are supported by similar statistics from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), which show that there has been an increase of Chinese international students studying in the UK from about 43,000 people a decade ago to 106,000 students today (Turner 2019). Therefore, the demand for higher education services in the UK (from China) is expected to support demand in the short and medium term.

According to Study International Staff (2019), the above-mentioned trend showing the increase in the application of Chinese students in the UK is a manifestation of the changing political, social, and economic dynamics between the East and the West. Particularly, the growing political tensions between the US and China have been cited as part of the reason for the increased number of students choosing to study in the UK, as opposed to the US (Turner 2019). Again, the rising levels of household income in China, which has been occasioned by improved economic conditions in the country, have further increased the demand for higher education services in the UK.

These variables suggest that there is a high likelihood of the higher education sector reporting strong growth numbers in the UK and China. More importantly, there is an opportunity for Chinese students to reap the benefits of studying abroad, vis-à-vis the advantages of learning in a different culture and environment. Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency is set to exploit this economic and cultural opportunity. Although there is a sound plan for implementing such a strategy, there is a need to recognize specific barriers that may slow growth and affect the business’s operations.

Motoyama and Hui (2015) say that businesses which prepare for uncertainty are best likely to survive in the long term. Similarly, in the short term, several variables could impede a business’s growth. Different researchers have explored similar barriers to business success at an interdisciplinary level and demonstrated that high capital, production, and marketing costs are some of the greatest impediments to the success of new businesses (Reuben & Queen 2015; Conti & Doreian 2014; Huh, Vosgerau & Morewedge 2016; McCarthy, Fader & Hardie 2017).

Similarly, a study authored by Sharma, Kumar, and Borah (2017) suggests that low brand recognition, inadequate training, poor application of technologies, unionization of workers, high shipping costs, and exploitative quotas are other impediments to business success. Nonetheless, it is important to note that the risk profile of these business challenges is dependent on the type of business and sector involved. Subject to these considerations, the major challenge that could affect the operations of Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency is poor brand recognition.

This is because the business is new and the industry thrives on a good business reputation. Therefore, without a proper marketing plan, it could be difficult to gain market traction. To address this concern, there have been minimum expectations set on the business within the first few years of operation. Alternatively, an aggressive marketing strategy will be adopted to promote the business’s name.

Besides traditional barriers that could affect the business plan, Williams and Needham (2016) add that several external factors could still impact such a business. For example, changes in government regulation, industry practice, economy, and technology could affect the business (Williams & Needham 2016). Technological changes could have the biggest impact on the business because its marketing strategy (social media) will be negatively affected. Changes in government regulation within China and the UK could also influence the business by changing travel requirements, residency policies, and other policies that students have to observe before travelling.

Industry practices could also affect the business by influencing competitive behaviours (Williams & Needham 2016). Therefore, the need for periodic evaluations to benchmark companies with industry performance would be integral to the survival of the business. Economic conditions in China also have a similar effect on the business by influencing students’ purchasing power. Although these variables have the potential to influence business operations, their risk profile is low in the sense that their likelihood of occurrence is negligible.

Furthermore, the current regulatory environment for higher education between the UK and China is improving and prevailing economic conditions are favourable. Based on the above-mentioned market dynamics, the overall marketing strategy that will be adopted for Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency is highlighted in Table 2. The two major marketing strategies that will be adopted as part of the business plan include branding and social media marketing. The social media marketing strategy will be adopted because target customers are mostly young people who frequently use such platforms to communicate and entertain themselves.

Table 2. Marketing Strategy.

What are you going to do?	Why have you chosen this marketing method?	How much will it cost?
Social media marketing Promoting our services through online social media, such as, Weibo, WeChat, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.	Our customers will be students who have spent their most of time on social media. We can use the same platform to give them updates about their overseas study services.	0
Branding Designing a Logo, name and advertising	A company’s brand is a comprehensive and complex concept with rich connotations about service delivery and pricing. In the context of this business plan it will be used to represent a brand’s trademark, name, packaging, price, history, personality and reputation. It will also be a symbol of the most appropriate advertising style to use to communicate the business’s products and other aspects of its value to the audience.	820
TOTAL COST		820

The insights presented above were mostly obtained from secondary research and not consumer questionnaires. The process also showed that the improving economic conditions in China will increase the potential for families of students who live in second-tier and third-tier cities to seek higher education opportunities in foreign countries (Khan 2019). For example, some foreign competitors already have a market presence in major Chinese cities and Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency will adopt a similar approach. Most students who come from second and third-tier Chinese cities desire to study abroad when pursuing undergraduate or secondary education.

To address some of their needs, Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency will be run by a competent advisory board of directors that includes course consultants, academicians, managers, and teachers. It is important to recognize that the educational needs and services offered to first and second-tier cities differ because the latter is in the introductory phase, while the educational services offered in first-tier cities are either in the growth or mature phases. Based on the different stages of growth of educational services for the two types of cities highlighted above, it will not be prudent to develop a big team to cater to second and third-tier city students because of limited resources. Instead, emphasis will be made to create a lean transition team that is subject to expansion once the demand for services increases (Kennedy & Benson 2016).

Customers

The main customer group will be high school graduates or students from Chinese universities. Particularly, students who hail from Chinese universities and want to pursue a master’s course in a UK university or students who want to pursue an undergraduate course in a similar institution of higher education will comprise the main customer group. There will be no discrimination of the customers in terms of gender, income, race, or creed. Those who will be eligible for scholarships and self-sponsored programs will characterize the customer group.

Part of their profile will also include intermediaries, such as high schools and universities in China, which will act as information centres or recruitment points for students that want to pursue further education in the UK. So far, a lot of attention has been placed on high schools and universities in first-tier cities, thereby leaving second and third-tier locations underdeveloped.

The proposed business will exploit this opportunity by seeking collaboration with educational institutions from these locations. In other words, they will form part of the customer group. Some of the benefits that the above-mentioned customer profile would get include increased access to information and support services for various groups of students. Lastly, Chinese universities will also be positioned to develop collaborative relationships with UK universities. They will also receive 24/7 assistance from our support team. A summary of the business’s strengths and weaknesses is provided in Table 3.

Table 3: SWOT Analysis.

Strengths Brand advantage Customer resources advantage Diversified services Capital Business size International cooperative advantage	Weaknesses Highly and unstable staff turnover rate Unregulated industry and information transparency Marketing Promotion
Opportunities Training school Customer resources International collaboration Market demand is still strong The government encourages the study abroad industry to regulation gradually Second and third tier cities demand release	Threats Highly and unstable staff turnover rate Unregulated industry and information transparency Competitor New entries Employees Negative news

Competition

The main competitor for the proposed business is Beijing New Oriental Vision Overseas Consulting Company Limited. A comprehensive analysis of its competitive power is provided in Table 4. However, the main competitive advantage that the proposed business would have on New Oriental Vision is high-quality services. In other words, students would be getting support services from a business owner who has first-hand experience learning in the UK. Therefore, they will receive high-quality and personalized care. The main disadvantage that could be encountered when implementing this strategy is the lack of a strong brand name because the competitors are already known in the market.

Table 4: Competitor Analysis.

Name, location
and business size

Product/service

Price

Strengths

Weaknesses

Name: Beijing New Oriental Vision Overseas Consulting Co.,Ltd

Location: The company has cooperated with the United States, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore. And in China, there more 40 branch offices have been registered in Nanjing, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Kunming, Xi’an, Tianjin, Changsha, Dalian, Ningbo, Xiamen, Suzhou, Changchun, Harbin, Shenyang, Lanzhou and Shijiazhuang., covering major cities in the country.

Business size: Since founding in 1993, New Oriental has had over 34.4 million student enrolments, including approximately 4.9 million enrolments in fiscal year 2017. As of February 28, 2018, New Oriental had a network of 87 schools, 1,000* learning centres, 18 bookstores and access to a nationwide network of online and offline bookstores through 170 third-party distributors and over 25,600 teachers in 75 cities, as well as an online network with approximately 20.9 million registered users.

Exam guidance
Universities application
Scholarship application
Visa service
Overseas services
International Winter Camp (study tour) and other projects
Personal life planning
Career planning
Overseas training
Immigration guidance

5 universities application for master study
Costs
15,000 Yuan approximately
1,700 pounds/ each student

Brand advantages

Good reputation
Large scale
Guaranteed services
Loyal customers
Abundant capital

Customer resource advantage
The New Oriental training school got a strong customer resources, the characteristics of New Oriental’s customers are very different from other competitors. The survey shows that 80% of New Oriental’s overseas clients who have studied in New Oriental training schools, which is very different from other competitors’ customer resources. From the aspect of obtaining customer resources, customers who have studied in New Oriental will leave contact information when they were studied here, and such amounts of customer information is almost free for New Oriental to use, which ensures the effectiveness of customer resources instead of obtaining them in illegal way. And students will not dislike of this (Liuxue.xdf.cn, 2019).
“one-stop” service advantage

The company’s business scope covers a wide range of services, services are diverse and practical, from the examination guidance, school applications, scholarship applications, visa services, overseas services, international winter camps and other projects gradually extended to provide students with life planning, career planning, overseas training and immigration guidance.

International cooperation advantage
New Oriental has a good cooperative relationship with many famous universities in the world (Liuxue.xdf.cn, 2019), which provides great convenience for customers to choose when they decide to study abroad. The UK partners cooperating with New Oriental are listed as follows:

Durham University
King’s College London
The University of Sheffield
University of Plymouth
University of Glasgow
University of Nottingham
University of York

Highly and unstable staff turnover rate
In this industry, employee who work for educational agencies flows frequently, the turnover rate is high, this is the common thing for every agency in this industry, it also means this industry is still not standardized. The reason of the high turnover rate concludes poor insufficient staff experience, complaints caused by employee’s excessive commitment to customers, unsatisfied remuneration package, and sales pressure, etc. Because of the highly flow of employees, it leads to low satisfaction rate of customer, unstable team, overload work, all of those led a decline in word of mouth. How to ensure team stability, rational turnover rate are important issue for every educational agency.Unregulated industry and information transparency, etc.
Early in this industry, educational agencies used the advantages of the unequal information to make high profits. Due to the inconsistent professionalism of the consultants, well and poor services, will cause many problems, for example, the university applied is different from the university that students will attend, the university has not been certified by Chinese ministry of education, and there are even fake materials. These are common issues for those agencies which are large scales or long-established companies. However, but after the arrival of the internet era, access to information from foreign universities has become simple. The state’s supervision of the study abroad industry is also strengthening. The above problems are gradually controlled even eradicating, but it does not mean that the industry’s environment has improved. A lot of information in this industry is still not transparent. For example, where is the application fee specifically used?

Niche

Students who seek higher education in the UK will form the niche market for the proposed business. Therefore, the main services offered in the company will be tailored towards the UK as the preferred study market. Comparatively, students who wish to study in other locations do not form part of the niche group. The justification for the existence of this market rests with the business owner who has studied in the UK. Therefore, the services offered will be products of first-hand experiences of a Chinese student studying in the UK.

Strategy

Place

According to Osman et al. (2019), Harger, Humphreys, and Ross (2016), location is an important consideration for new business development because it influences purchase decisions as consumers often hesitate to buy goods or services in inconvenient locations. As alluded to in this document, the proposed business will service second and third-tier Chinese cities. These will be the ideal locations for the business because the market is underserved. The goal will be to make the place of business convenient for the customer to reach and that it is convenient to the business purpose, as recommended by Folmer and Kloosterman (2017).

The competition (education agencies in first-tier cities) will not pose a significant threat to the business because they will be dispersed in different cities. Relative to this observation, it is important to be far from the competitors because of the similarity of services offered.

Price

According to Rossi and Chintagunta (2016), pricing is another important concept of marketing new businesses. Ordinarily, prices communicate the value of a good or service but some researchers caution that some consumers may not care much about prices anyway (Kim & Chung 2016; Biloshapka & Osiyevskyy 2018; Lyons & Brennan 2019; Pels & Sheth 2017). Furthermore, it is easy for competitors to undercut smaller companies if they can sell goods cheaply (Paswan & Guzmán 2017; Aribarg & Schwartz 2019).

Therefore, the best platform for competing is through service quality. Subject to this consideration, the projected pricing strategy will be based on the industry average. Stated differently, an average pricing strategy will be adopted but the main area of competitive advantage would be service quality. Relative to this assertion, Walker et al. (2019) suggest that pricing is an important factor to consider when executing business operations because many customers make their purchase decisions based on it. The target customer group is also expected to use the same justification when seeking higher learning opportunities in the UK.

Promotion

According to Cova, Pace, and Skålén (2015), promotion refers to the strategy businesses choose to “get the word out” to customers. In light of the young age of the target market (18 years – 35 years), social media will be the preferred marketing strategy. Traditional media outlets will not be selected for the business because they appeal to a general audience that does not share the characteristics outlined above. Word-of-mouth and networking will be supplementary techniques used to market the business. These marketing strategies will be used on return customers and those who are affiliated with the business.

The desired image that will be projected in the marketing campaigns is nestled in the need to present the company as a reliable and innovative educational agency. Additional support will be provided through graphic images, which will be developed by an independent marketing agency. Therefore, they will be mandated with the task of producing logo designs, letterheads, and even signage. A separate database that contains the names and details of customers will be developed and their contacts used to communicate with them about new products and services. It is expected that this promotion strategy will cost about ¥1,200 before the start-up. The figure is expected to decline by about 40% by the time business is operational because people would have known or heard about its services.

Distribution Channels

Since Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency will be mainly service-centred, the need for a robust distribution system is low. Instead, students will be contacted through social media and other marketing platforms after which they will be encouraged to visit the physical office for more advice.

Sales Forecast

An overview of the company’s sales forecast is provided in Table 5.

Table 5: Sales Forecast.

	Month		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
A	Month name		Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
	Sales forecast
B	Product/service Unit sold		3	4	8	7	8	8	6	5	9	7	7	3	75
C	Product/service Sales from the unit sold		3897	5196	10392	9093	10392	10392	7794	6495	11691	9093	9093	3897	97425
	Costs forecast
D	Product/service		1299	1299	1299	1299	1299	1299	1299	1299	1299	1299	1299	1299	1299
E	Assumptions (e.g. Seasonal trends)	The assumptions of my business, because of we only provide application services for British Universities at the first, seasonal trends will affect sales, Peak applications are generally divided into 3 batches: The first batch was submitted from September to the end of December. The batches submitted will basically get results before the British winter vacation, except for Oxford UniversityThe second batch is from mid-January to March, and the same basic will be given before the Easter holiday. In this batch, there may be some very popular business major in the popular universities that have begun to close applications. The third batch of words is basically from the end of April to the end of June. This batch is to catch up with the rest universities, for the last batch of students, most popular major has closed at this time.

Operational and Resource Plan

Carpenter and Loveridge (2018) say that most successful businesses thrive on the implementation of successful operational plans. Comparatively, the operational and resource plans of Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency will be pegged on production, location, legality, personnel, inventory, suppliers, and credit policy requirements of the business. These items are further discussed below.

Production

As highlighted in this report, Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency will be a service-centered business. Therefore, production-centered operations, such as production methods, product development, and inventory control, do not apply to the business. However, quality control and customer services will be provided by a competent team of professionals who have acquired travel experience between the two countries.

Location

Mack, Talen, and Koschinsky (2017) say there are various types of considerations to make when choosing the desired location for doing business. For example, the convenience and time associated with different places is a function of sales because customers tend to purchase goods and services in locations that are ideal for them. As its name suggests Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency will be situated in Beijing because it is an important educational center in China. The business will be located in a 150-square-foot office in downtown Beijing and will follow the city’s zoning requirements. Power and other utility bills will be shared with other tenants in the building. The location of the building will provide easy access to clients and five parking spots will be assigned to them. The cost structure for the business will be highlighted in the company’s financial plan and the agency will be operational in normal business hours (9 am-5 pm) every weekday.

Legal Environment

As highlighted in this report, the legal requirements of a business are important for its survival because all firms are supposed to comply with existing laws and regulations, regardless of the sector involved. This view suggests that different aspects of regulatory compliance, including health and transportation, will be addressed before the inception of the business. Licencing and permits will be obtained from local authorities and taxation done by an independent accountant. For purposes of diversity and equality, there will be no basis for discriminating employees during recruitment based on gender, sex, age, or any other demographic variable.

No special regulations are governing the sector by management will comply with existing building codes for the office block and ensure the business against fire and other forms of damage. Lastly, there will be no trademarks or patents needed to operate the business.

Personnel

According to Carlsen and Boksberger (2015), having a competent team of employees is a requirement for any successful business. Two consultants who have previously worked in an educational agency will be employed as part of the core staff. They will provide skilled labour and source through head-hunting because there is a need to find employees who understand the educational dynamics between the UK and China. Based on their experience working in other educational agencies, it is assumed that they will be competent and not require additional training. The tasks to be completed by the employees will be assigned by the business owner in an unstructured manner for the first two years of operation. Therefore, there will be no schedules and written procedures. The job description for the employees is as outlined in Table 6 below:

Table 6. Employee positions, roles, and pay (Source: Developed by Author).

Position	Roles and Responsibilities	Pay
Administrative Assistant	Provide administrative support to the manager Creating spreadsheets	¥20,000
Support Staff	Fielding telephone calls and directing visitors to respective offices	¥20,000

Lastly, contract workers will be sourced to provide professional services, such as accounting.

Inventory

The service-oriented nature of Beijing ZhiYing Educational Agency means that there will be no inventory associated with the business.

Suppliers

All office supplies and equipment will be sourced from China. Shortages and unmet delivery times will be addressed by ordering goods before the scheduled time. The supply costs are expected to be steady throughout the business period. Therefore, there will be no need for intervention.

Credit Policy Requirements

There are no plans to provide services on a credit

Management and Organisation

The management team will be headed by the business owner who will oversee its daily operations. He brings immense experience to the management team by being a student who has lived and studied in the UK. In case of death or incapacitation, the business will be run by a member of the management team who will be appointed once the business is in operation. A comprehensive list of positions for key employees is highlighted in Table 6 above. No loans will be sought because the business will be financed by the owner whose curriculum vitae (CV) appears in Table 7.

Table 7: CV.

Name

Address:

Phone Number

Email:

OBJECTIVE

Provide educational support services to Chinese students who want to study in the UK.

WORK
EXPERIENCE

–

EDUCATION

ADDITIONAL
SKILLS

Microsoft Office package: Microsoft Word, Excel, Access
Database operation: Microsoft Office Access, Oracle 8i
Statistical operation: SPSS, STATA
Programming: C++, SQL, HTML

REFERENCES

Professional and Advisory Support

Professional and advisory support will be provided by a team of competent professionals listed below.

Board of directors

Management advisory board
Attorney
Accountant
Insurance agent
Banker
Consultant or consultants
Mentors and key advisors

This team is lean because the agency is a small business and does not require the services of big professionals. Therefore, the networks available to the business owner will be exploited to improve management and advisory activities, as recommended by Sassatelli and Arfini (2017).

Start-up Expenses and Capitalisation

According to Steier, Chrisman, and Chua (2015), businesses have a way of incurring more expenditure than had been previously anticipated. To manage this problem, it is essential to carefully outline a list of start-up expenses that will be incurred in the initial phase of the business implementation process, as outlined in Table 8. The forecasts and expenses were derived after evaluating the expenditures associated with similar businesses. The total cost of starting the business will be financed from the business owner’s finances and contributions from friends and family.

Table 8: Start-up Expenses.

Cost item	What is included	Total cost
Wages and salaries 900/month	Salary for 2 full-time employees	10800 pounds
Rent and rates 900/month	Rent workplace and office 900 pounds per month including the bill	10800 pounds
Insurances 0	None	0 pounds
Bank charges 0	None	0 pounds
Light, heat and power 0	Included in bill	0 pounds
Telephone 30/month	For business	360 pounds
Advertising 60/month	Business cards,	720 pounds
Print, post and stationery 50/month	Costs for printing, paper	600 pounds
Motor and travel 150/month	Travel cost	1800 pounds
Professional fees 100/month	Activities from results	1200 pounds
Miscellaneous 45/month	Tax preparation fees, credit card convenience fees	540 pounds

Financial Plan

The financial plan for the proposed business entails a detailed review of the expected profit and loss statement and cash flow projections as outlined in Table 9 below.

Profit and Loss Statement

Table 9. Profit and Loss Statement (Source: Developed by Author).

Item	Y1	Y2	Y3	Total
Sales	30,000	35,000	50,000	115,000
COGs	24,000	28,000	32,000	84,000
Gross Profit	6,000	7,000	8,000	20,000
Expenses	10,000	11,000	12,000	33,000
Profit/Loss	-4,000	-4,000	-4,000	-12,000

Cash Flow

The projected cash flow is outlined in Table 10.

Table 10: Cashflow.

	Months	Pre-start	3	6	9	12	15	18	21	24	27	30	33	36	Total
A	Month name		Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
	Money in (£)
B	Funding from The Prince’s Trust		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Funding from other sources		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Own funds		5000	5000	5000	5000	5000	5000	3500	3500	5000	5000	5000	5000	57000
	Incomes from Sales		3897	5196	10392	9093	10392	10392	7794	6495	11691	9093	9093	3897	97425
	Other		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
C	Total Money in (£)		8897	10196	15392	14093	15392	15392	11294	9995	16691	14093	14093	8897	154425
	Money out (£)
D	Loan repayments The Prince’s Trust		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Personal drawings		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Wages and Salaries		900	900	900	900	900	900	900	900	900	900	900	900	10800
	Cost of Sales		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Rent and Rates		900	900	900	900	900	900	900	900	900	900	900	900	10800
	Insurance		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Bank Charges		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Light, heat & Power		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	00	0	0	0
	Telephone		30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	360
	Advertising		60	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	60	720
	Print, Post, Stationery		50	50	50	50	50	50	50	50	50	50	50	50	600
	Motor & Travel		150	150	150	150	150	150	150	150	150	150	150	150	1800
	Professional Fees		100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	1200
	Miscellaneous		45	45	45	45	45	45	45	45	45	45	45	45	540
E	Total money out (£)		2235	2235	2235	2235	2235	2235	2235	2235	2235	2235	2235	2235	26820
F	Balance (£)
	Opening balance		0	6662	7961	13157	11858	13157	13157	9059	7760	14456	11858	11858	0
	Closing balance		6662	7961	13157	11858	13157	13157	9059	7760	14456	11858	11858	6662	6662

Balance Sheet

As the business is yet to be started, there are no assets or liabilities to develop the balance sheet.

Break-Even Analysis

A break-even analysis is often used to estimate the total value of revenue that needs to be generated to recover the total cost of doing business (Guzmán, Paswan & Kennedy 2019). Relative to the operational costs of starting the educational agency in China, the total costs associated with the business are listed below:

¥400 Sale price per unit:

¥ 600 Desired profits:

Total fixed costs: ¥1,000,000

To get the break-even point per unit, we will undertake the following calculations

¥1000,000 / ¥ 200 = 5000 persons

Limitations/Risk Analysis

The most identifiable risks for the business include changes in rules (in China or the UK), financial risks, and changing customer needs. These risks will be addressed by reviewing market feedback and staying updated with the latest changes in the regulatory environment.

Conclusion

The proposed business has the potential to gain market traction because of favorable economic political and social conditions in China and the UK. The robustness of the key tenets of the business plan highlighted in this document also shows that important details relating to the business have been well-researched and addressed. However, it is important to improve the effectiveness of the business plan by fine-tuning it after getting market feedback.

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