Executive Summary
Business Identification
The name of the business to be created is Locker Laundry, which is a drop-and-go dry cleaning service venture. The concept of the business is drop off and pick up laundry storefront. However, all cleaning is sub-contracted to established dry cleaners. The company will set aside a special place where customers can drop their dirty laundry and only pick it up when clean.
The main operating system will be similar to the one used in post offices. Clients will not have a direct contact with the management. In the building that the business enterprise will be located, lockers will be located at the front where clients will drop off the laundry. The store will initially be leased while the locker rooms will be located on the front where the public can access them quickly and easily.
However, due to the relative openness of the enterprise, security for the clients’ items will be guaranteed by the use of pin-code entry. Customers who will have signed up for credit/debit payments will be registered in the computer POS, which is a personal six-digit code, which will ensure the security of the transactions since the system will only be open to the customers and the handler.
Once the customers have dropped off the dirty laundry in their respective lockers, they will then be taken for cleaning to another laundry that will be sub-contracted. After the cleaning, customers will then get the laundry in the lockers after a stated period depending on the time of delivery to the company.
Mission, Goals and Objectives
For any business to reach a point of boasting of having achieved, it must have a mission, goal, and objectives. These three requirements act as a guide to the business. The mission defines what the business is established to do not only to the benefit of the owner, but also to the employees and the public at large.
Goals are like indicators of the far the business wishes to be after a specified period in terms of achieving its set objectives. Objectives on the other hand define the key deliverables that measure the business’ achievement. All objectives need to narrow down to the business’ vision and mission statement.
The mission of the company is to provide convenient and efficient laundry services for the general population. The first goal of the company is to be the leading laundry shop in the country in a period of ten years. The company is relatively new with the idea being conceived recently.
The capital is not large enough to provide the necessary means of achieving the objective. However, with the projected opportunity and growth, the business will most likely achieve it. Another goal is to provide efficient and reliable services to the working class people at their own convenience.
Since this group of people is often too busy, the company realizes the need to create a personalized laundry system where they can do it at their own convenient time. The third goal of the company is to provide employment opportunities to the young entrepreneurs in the area.
With the large number of unemployed people around, the company hopes to employ a sizeable number when more branches are opened. The fourth goal of the company is to be a profit making institution with exponential growth over the next five years.
Keys to Success
The business incorporates a new mode of doing laundry that has not been largely exploited in the area. This presents as one of the factors that is likely to see the business succeed due to the relative absence of competition. The business will also rely on the cleaning culture in the area, as a large number of individuals prefer commercial laundry operations.
The business will also be located on a largely populous area. The market will therefore be available meaning that people can easily access it. As such, competition from other already established cleaners will be insignificant.
Company Summary
This section describes the history of the origins of the business with the industry being described. It will also define the ownership framework of the business by describing whether it will be a sole proprietorship, a partnership, an organization with public ownership, or other forms of ownership.
Industry History
The business will operate in the service industry with the aim of providing cleaning services at an affordable and reliable rate. The dry cleaning industry in the area is dedicated towards delivery of services to the local people. It has been doing so over the last decades. The industry is driven by the reason that the people around the area are hardworking and do not let the cleaning get in their way.
The industry is also based on the original idea of cleaning clothing by utilizing non-aqueous organic solvents with the three main steps being cleaning of the fabric in the solvent, spinning of the extract excess solvent, and drying by tumbling in a hot air stream (Drucker, & Maciariello, 2008, p.19).
Though the industry is old and established both in the area and in the world, the ingenious idea of operating a post-office-like system is relatively new and practiced in few countries thus giving it an edge over the conventional dry-cleaning processes though it greatly borrows from it.
The dry-cleaning service industry is also respected among the service industries. It is estimated to contribute about 2% of the revenue generated in the service industry worldwide. The dry cleaning industry has evolved over the centuries with the Romans being the pioneers of the trade. Among the first chemicals that they used was ammonia, which they derived from urine.
Water was also the main solvent that was used though the solvent has changed over the centuries to non-water-based solvents. Kerosene was used in France to clean clothing items in the mid 19th century with the business extending all over Europe (Baxter, 2011, p. 3). Chlorinated solvents were only used after World War I. Its preference was the relative safety in use.
The use of tetrachloroethylene in the dry cleaning industry has gained popularity over the last century. Modern dry cleaning services utilize this chemical for their cleaning needs. According to statistical findings and reports, the dry cleaning industry is a significant part of economies all over the world with an estimated 7.5 billion dollars being generated from the trade between the year 2006 and 2011 (Baxter, 2011, p. 24).
Now, the industry is a significant source of daily living for thousands of people. The number employed is also large. It was with this consideration that the industry provided a good option for a personal enterprise.
Legal Form of Ownership
The ownership of the company is that of a sole proprietorship. This ownership method means that all liabilities and costs will be directly applicable to the entrepreneur. The profits, losses, and any liabilities that the company will incur will be directly applied to me.
The legal implications of the company include that any legal issues will also have to be directly applied based on the legal framework established meaning that I shall be directly responsible. In a sole proprietorship way, the owner is involved directly in running the business. The law states that there is no difference between the business and the owner (Drucker, & Maciariello, 2008, p.7).
This argument implies that all the profits will be personally received with any losses or debts being payable in this manner still. Based on this form of ownership, the business will enjoy all the advantages that come with it including reduced government interference. Control will also fall purely on me with the decision-making being faster and easier.
As compared to other forms of ownership such as partnerships, this business will have a reduced personal liability. Fund raising will therefore be easier. However, this form of business ownership has a number of challenges and disadvantages, which are encountered even as the business is in the planning stage.
The main limitation for the ownership is the ability to raise enough capital to start the operations and the money to propagate the business and its operations. For the loans to be borrowed, the securities to be used will also be personal thus posing the risk of personal loss in the case that the business defaults in payment.
Since the business is also dependent on my physical presence. There is also a risk of inefficiency and virtual collapse in the case of personal illness or inability to perform the required tasks. These challenges will however be addressed with as the business establishes itself with more workers being planned for.
Location and Facilities
The business will be located in a newer multi-use building. In the building, businesses are bottom level and hence convenient for the free flow of customers with the upper levels being living quarters (189 loft apartments).
Near the building and the business in general, there are a number of social amenities and public service centers. They include an elementary school, the city library, city rec center, and community college- all of which are within a 2-mile radius.
A shopping center is also within the same location housing a number of business enterprises. Some of the enterprises located here include a number of restaurants, a grocery store, and an office supply store with various commercial offerings near the businesses.
Additionally, a 287-acre master planned housing development is in the immediate location and within the major thoroughfare boundaries thus providing a future opportunity for growth of the business since many clients are likely to come from the project. The area also boasts of couple of larger employer within the immediate vicinity.
The area is known for good returns in most of the businesses operating here. As for the competition, the closest dry cleaning facility is within a few miles. Getting to it from the location of the proposed business, however, will require crossing a major thoroughfare implying that there is a considerable distance between them.
Major thoroughfares are considered a subliminal boundary for many consumers. They appear to be a prime location unchartered within major roads (Paley, 2005, p. 25). Another factor about the location is that the intersection is busy with many people passing there each day.
The traffic count at the intersection of storefront is 28,224 vehicles per day. At the nearest major intersection, it is 65,890 vehicles per day. Population in the immediate area is 258,000 with the average household income being over $83,000.
Management Structure
The staffing will be minimal and limited to me until operations are flowing well and or if secondary assistance will be necessary. Some of the roles that I will have in the company include being the sole proprietor, the manager, the sales and marketing officer, and the person responsible for the processing of the laundry that will be dropped off.
With improvement of sales and strengthening of the client base, some of the positions that I will recruit employees for include the marketing and sales department, a manager to oversee the operations of the business, a handyman to collect and deliver the laundry to and from the lockers, and a secretary to operate the security locks and any office work.
As the proprietor and the owner of the business, my role would then be to delegate duties to the managerial staff, to ensure that the company is running optimally, and to seek other methods of expanding the business as well as other opportunities. The role of the manager would be administrative, to oversee the performance of the company and the other employees, and to delegate duties to them.
The third employee would be involved in picking up the laundry from the lockers, delivering into the contracted drycleaners, and picking it up from them when it is done. With increases workload and number of clients, the employees will then be increased in this area.
The employees here will also be involved in the delivery of the dry cleaned laundry into the respective lockers. However, since the company is new with no established client base, the staff will only be me until the company realized growth or increased workload.
Products and Service
Products and services will be crafted to suit the convenience of the working class in the area and the country in general. With the busy schedules of the workers in the country and the area earmarked for the business, most of the people find dry-cleaning services an added task, which they claim interferes with their daily chores and professional work.
The company establishes a gap in the industry, as there are no companies offering a locker laundry technology in the area. With the few dry-cleaning services available, people are often frustrated, as they have to be in a queue for their dry-cleaning needs to be met.
With the main services that the company will offer being the dry cleaning service, and locker laundry services, the clients can access the lockers at any time in their busy day without having to queue. The laundry will be dry-cleaned for them after delivery after which they can pick it up after a determined period of time or by notification through telephone call or text messaging.
The company will also guarantee security of the items to be cleaned through an innovative technological locking system where the clients will manage their own security for the goods delivered. Another important service that the clients will enjoy is the efficiency of the cleaning services.
Traditionally, the dry cleaning services have always involved an interaction between the cleaner and the client. The company will eliminate this interaction between them, and enable the clients to decide on the different tariffs of payment. The client will also enjoy discounts through accumulation of points based on the participation in the business, and this they can trade for the services.
Market Analysis
In this section, an effective analysis of the dry cleaning industry in the country will be done with special attention being made on the area. It will also demonstrate the knowledge of the customers and the market competitors.
Target Market
The market for the services that the company will offer is large with a significant proportion of the people in the area opting to have their dry cleaning needs met commercially.
The business will compete for this market with the already established dry cleaning services in the area with the main advantage being the introduction of convenience in the system. An average individual will have dry cleaning done twice in a week. The company will target to earn the favor of the clients to create a better option for them.
Currently, the closest dry cleaning shop is located close to the proposed post office-like services. It will serve to entice the clients in that company to consider doing business with the company. About a thousand clients are served weekly in the area with the bulk of them being female clients.
The market also constitutes people in their middle ages and in the elderly who comprise one of the population age brackets that the company will target. On average, over half of the clients in the dry cleaning industries are employed. The reason that is cited for the large number is the unavailability of time for the people to do the laundry at home.
Since a large proportion of the clients are employed or work far from home, there is evident need to create a dry cleaning service that is convenient for them, meaning that they can deliver their clothing and pick them up at any time that they prefer.
The major challenge in the industry, however, is the number of service providers. In the town, for example, there are over five dry cleaning services within a radius of a mile. They also have the same market.
However, the main competition will come from the dry cleaners that offer round the clock services, as these will provide similar convenience to the company. The quality of services to be offered will determine the competition that these companies will offer. Therefore, the company plans to have interactive services.
Industry Analysis
As discussed above, the dry cleaning industry is a very productive of the economy employing thousands of people. The industry is stated to have generated over seven billion dollars in the last six years. This amount has been steadily on the rise since it gained popularity in the mid 1960s (Baxter, 2011, p.3).
The number of dry cleaning firms has also increased with the US recording over 22,000 of them in the same period (Baxter, 2011, p.3). Some of the explanations that have been forwarded for the rise in the number of dry cleaning firms in the world include the ease of availability of the resources utilized in the dry cleaning process (Baxter, 2011, p.3).
It is relatively easier to start a dry cleaning firm now than it was a few years ago meaning that the industry has experienced a remarkable growth over the last decade with the same being reflected on the proportion of revenue contribution in the economies of various countries.
In terms of employment, the industry employs thousands of workers worldwide with some of the researchers and financial analysts putting the figure at 150,000 workers in the year 2009 (Baxter, 2011, p.3).
On average, every dry cleaning shop is known to employ a minimum of seven people who are mainly in the main cleaning process meaning that the industry has progressed to be a significant source of employment for the youth and other groups of people. The number of people employed has also been on the rise with the increase of the dry cleaning operations.
With mechanization, however, the average number of people employed in a single company has been reducing. The personal business plan intends to have a single employee. However, it will indirectly employ other people since the main cleaning will be done in the dry cleaning companies that will be contracted.
With the estimated annual contribution of over 300,000 dollars in the US alone, the industry continues to generate capital and revenue for many individuals (Baxter, 2011, p.3). This capital will then be exploited by the creation of an alternative mode of delivery of dry cleaning service needs at the convenience of the clients.
With the economic crisis that was seen in the years following 2007, the industry is slowly recovering from the losses that were experienced, and is now on a stable rise again. The number of employees is also reported to be on the increase.
The industry is becoming an important one in the society. Since an effective analysis of an industry cannot be made without the documentation of units sold, t is important to consider the output in this industry.
However, there are no records showing the output of the industry in terms of the clothing that is handled, and this can only be inferred from the financial output. As indicated above, financial contribution of the industry has been in the range of billions, with an estimated one billion dollars being generated in a year. This case therefore means that the industry is an important one that cannot be underestimated.
Competitive Analysis
The company is relatively new in the market. It faces competition from some of the already established companies offering similar and related services. Some of these companies, as indicated above, are close to the proposed business premises, and will be the cause of direct competition. However, the business will be collaborating in a way with these companies to achieve the shared goals.
The main competition is the laundry services that are located on the other side of the road. These other services are likely to grab some of the potential clients. These other laundry services are also established. In fact, the owners have established a strong marketing strategy to ensure they retain their customers.
The main difficulty will therefore be to win some of the clients to my company in an attempt ensure that they are faithful to it. Another challenge that the companies will offer includes the possibility of offering related services. With the start of the Locker Laundry Business, the already established competitors may also decide to start their own drop and go dry cleaning services to challenge the business.
A number of companies in the region offer personalized dry cleaning services in the region. They collect the clothing at the household level and hence a feasible competition. The company will deal with this challenge by ensuring the delivery of services that are reliable to the clients.
Another weakness that has been established in the competitors is the pricing at which they offer for the clients. Once established, the company will aim at offering affordable dry cleaning services to the common workers and this will assure continued profitability and reliability.
The other form of competition that the business hopes to overcome is the indirect competition that will be offered by the dry cleaning companies that will be sub-contracted to do the actual cleaning of the client linen.
Since the pricing of the pieces will be based on the price that the sub-contracted dry cleaning services will offer, they could contribute to high pricing if they decide to raise their service charges. This could make the total value of the service to be raised, making the company to be less competitive and miss its competitors.
All these forms of competition will be effectively eliminated or dealt with as the business establishes itself and or gains more of the market share. In the long-term goals, the business will put in place its own dry cleaning facility, and this will ensure that the cost of the final items will be relatively lower compared to when other companies are contracted.
The company also aims to build a strong customer relation strategy to ensure that the clients are satisfied with the services. Some of the other method that the company will utilize to win the competitive battle will be using a strong marketing formula that will ensure that the clients are aware of all the services to be provided.
Market Strategy
In this section, it is important to consider the factors that will go into the determination of the price of the services. The four Ps that are important in any business strategies are also considered here, with these being the product, price, place and promotion related to the products/services offered by the business.
4Ps
The pricing of the services to be offered in the company will be determined by a number of factors. Some of the factors that are important in the final price of the dry cleaning services include the prices charged by the company to do the actual cleaning for the business enterprise.
The market trends will also be important in determining the prices of the services, as charging a price higher than the prevailing market price could result in poor returns. The pricing will also be determined by the amount of laundry that is cleaned, and the cost incurred in the actual cleaning process.
The targeted price should be adequate to provide a good return and still provide some money for the propagation of the business. Another important factor that will determine the final price of the dry cleaning services is the fabrics to be dry-cleaned.
Since different fabrics have different methods of dry cleaning, the sub-contracted company will have different rates for each fabric. The extra charges, therefore, will be added to the final price of the cry cleaning work.
The company will not have a particular product produced, but will be a service-dedicated company. It will therefore not have product descriptions but service descriptions. The company will also be listed as a service organization. The charges made for the production of many products will therefore not apply.
As for the promotion of the business, there are a number of suggestions as to how it will happen. Since most of the promotions have to be done through marketing, effective marketing will be carried out in local advertisements, local mailing cards and the local marketing businesses.
Additionally, coupons indicating when the business will have percentage offs will be distributed at the local businesses so that the clients can be enlightened on the offers, with the best example being the local Coffee Shop. With the average cost of website design and hosting being at $49.99 per month, the company will also target to have one for promotional services.
About the place or the location of the business, the busy street and intersection provides an opportunity for a large customer base. A number of large dry cleaning services that are located around the place are recognized above as being the main source of competition to the business, which is on the other hand an added advantage since the same companies will be easily approached for the sub-contracting of the services.
Price List
The services to be offered at the business premise include general washing, delicate cycle washing, and dry cleaning. The prices of the services will depend on the items to be cleaned, the cost of having the items cleaned, and a host of other factors described above. The most significant factor, however, will be the type of laundry that is delivered and the kind of washing to be done. The following, therefore, is a price list for the services.
For general washing, the charges will be $2.00 per pound with this depending on the charges to be instituted by the sub-contracted dry cleaning services. Delicate Cycle Washing will be charged at $3.00 per pound.
The prices for Dry cleaning prices will be as follows: a two piece suit will be charged at $10.00, a Skirt at $5.00, a dress at $10.00, a sweater with specials (such as a fringe) at $5.75, a regular sweater at $5.00, pants at $5.00, shirts at $3.00 each and a jacket at $7.00.
Selling Strategy
For any business to be successful, there should be an appropriate plan on how the sales will be made. The plan should be captured in the goals and objectives of the organization. The goals and objectives of the organization have been stated above and so have the mission and the vision of the company.
Some of the objectives that will see the main mission and goal of the company being reached have also been provided: they are focused and specific. This section, therefore, highlights some of the selling strategies to be employed in the company, the goals to be achieved, milestones, and the deliverables.
The goals of the organization include being the leader in the dry cleaning market in the region, to provide efficient and reliable dry cleaning solutions to the market, and to generate profit that will be injected back to the business for sustainability.
The main method of achieving the set goals and objectives will be by ensuring that the needs of the clients are met without any consideration of the expenses to be incurred during the process. The business will recognize the client as being the single most important individual.
It will therefore aim at providing quality services. Another way of achieving the goals will be by the use of a strong marketing strategy, where the business will employ a variety of marketing and promotion methods.
Some of the milestones that the business will target to achieve include attaining an award for the best company in the area or the region and using the innovative idea of Locker laundry to propel it to one of the biggest dry cleaning company in the area.
Since the company will only enlist me as the sole employee, the other milestone to be achieved is the efficiency. Most of the dry cleaning services around utilize a number of staff to carry out their services with most of them averaging seven employees.
This number is sometimes inefficient, as some times there are fewer clients. Working alone will ensure that only the available services will be provided.
Some of the deliverables in the starting of the company include the setting up of a dry cleaning service at the premise that will save the company money. As indicated above, the company will sub-contract other dry cleaning firms to do the cleaning for it, and this will be costly for the operation. The short-term goal of the business is therefore to ensure that a dry cleaning machine is available as soon as possible.
This goal will only be achieved if the business becomes profitable. The business also targets to add the number of employees after some time, and this will compensate for any added services.
The area that the new employee will be stationed will depend on the workload, and the terms of employment will depend on the profitability and sustainability of the business. Another deliverable thing in the business is the increase in the number of lockers with time. The business will start with few lockers, and then proceed on to add more as will be desired.
Sales Forecast
Based on the expected market conditions, it is possible to develop a sales forecast for the business. Now, the number of clients for the other established dry cleaning companies is high with each day having more than a hundred clients in any of the outlets. If this consumer consideration is made, it is possible to predict the expected sales.
Most of the clients are busy during the day, and the opportunities are therefore, mostly in the late hours after their work. Considering that the business will only have one employee, the size of the transaction that can be made s also limited. Competition is also an important aspect of the sales that should be factored. For this particular business, competition is key.
Some of the other factors that are important when doing the sales forecasting include the cash that will be immediately available as the capital and the number of clients that the business will enlist in the first few months of its operations. Marketing will be a significant determinant of the sales volume, and the strength of marketing teams will determine the output.
With all these considerations being put into place, a sales forecast is then possible. Within the first year, the forecast indicates that the company will make little profit, as most of the money will go towards operational costs.
In the first month of services, the projected sales are in the range of fifty thousand dollars, and this will mainly depend on the marketing strategies employed. The business is also projected to improve over the next couple of months meaning that more of the profits could be obtained.
In the first year, it is possible to make about a hundred thousand dollars, and this is dependent on the workload. Most of this money will go to the operations of the business and in the repayment of any loans that will have been used in the running of the business.
Because of these considerations, the actual amount of money that will be generated from the business is in the range of fifty thousands. The amount of laundry to be cleaned every day will therefore need to generate at least twenty dollars in profit. These projections are, as indicated above, heavily reliant on the prevailing market trends.
In the sales forecast, an assumption is made that the business will be handling about ten shirts, ten jackets, and about ten clients in each category in a day using the assumption that the business enterprise will be open during the weekends and the holidays.
One of the major weaknesses of this assumption is that since the sole employee is I, the time that is required to perform all the chores and ensure that the services are carried out in time may not be enough.
The other factor that may prove to be unpredictable is the extra charges that the other dry cleaners may charge for the services. The profits or costs that will be incurred will depend on the market trends, and the prediction will therefore have to factor in this fact.
Implementation Strategy
This section outlines the means of launching the business that will be used and the means of evaluating the business’s success or failures.
Overall Strategy
The implementation strategy for the business enterprise is important in determining the performance over the next few months. It is especially important to have a well thought-out strategy at the beginning of the business, and the success is pegged on this strategy. The source of the capital will mainly be from the personal savings, and a loan from a local bank.
The next step will be to set up the lockers in the building that has been preselected. In this building, the anticipated lease space is about 1,330 square foot at $25.00 per square foot. The lockers will take an area about 35 feet wide by 35 feet deep. The number of lockers that will be placed in this space will be around 350 lockers with 35 in a row, 3 feet between rows, and 4 sets of lockers back to back.
These lockers will be 1 foot wide by 5 feet tall with a depth of 2 feet. They will then involve an initial investment of $100 per locker. The initial lock investment for the locker will be an average of $50.00 per lock. This case shows that the initial investment will be great, and there is therefore a need to ensure that this is managed appropriately.
After the lockers are in place, the next thing will be to make an arrangement with the drycleaner of choice to clean the laundry on a contract basis. The company that is selected for the dry cleaning work will have to be reasonably cheap, and should charge for bulk laundry, which will in the end make the price of the Locker Laundry to be relatively affordable for the clients while at the same time allowing profitability.
When the appropriate contractor is found, the next thing will be to carry out a vigorous marketing campaign to market the business enterprise. This task will be done through local advertisements, local mailing, and cards at the local businesses.
In addition, coupons will be distributed at some of the local businesses for their customers. As suggested above, a website will also be designed for this purpose with hosting being paid for monthly at an estimated $49.99. Security cameras and alarm system will also be installed in building to ensure security of the laundry and the premises.
With the marketing strategies in place, the next thing will be to ensure that the first laundry that is delivered in the premise is done in a perfect manner and delivered on time. The clients will also be notified via short text messages when their laundry is ready, and this will be to ensure that they come again in the outlet.
A phone call will also be made to those who do not pick their laundry on time to ensure that they are able to do so. The payment modalities for the services will be at the convenience of the clients. The business will allow payment via cheques, cash, PayPal, and credit cards all of which will also be aimed at ensuring that the clients have efficient services.
The next thing will be to ensure that the clients come back for the same services, and the business will do this by giving them business cards and after sale services. Competitions will also be created where the winners will get their laundry done free of charge for the next visit that they have. These strategies will see the business grow with time and especially to record profit in the first year and months.
Implementation
The targets that the company hopes to meet have been outlined above, and these are either short-term or long-term. The short-term goals will be realized in the first few months especially in the first year. The long-term goals will be realized over a period of years with some spanning more than five years.
The immediate goals for the business include the profitability where the business will have to start making profit in the first month. By the first month, the client base is targeted to be in the range of a hundred clients to ensure profitability.
The objective of repaying the debts and loans associated with the start of the business is timed for the first year. The business should be free of any debts in the first year of inception. This goal therefore will be achieved after the short-term goals of profitability and sustenance are realized.
The other long-term goal that should be achieved within a period of five years is the one of having the company being the most profitable of its kind in the region. This goal is to be achieved with achievement of the other short-term goals.
Over the same period, the company is scheduled to increase the number of employees to assist with the daily operations, and this will help in making the business efficient. However, this goal may still be achieved in a short period depending on the profitability and workload. It can therefore serve as both a long-term and short-term goal.
Some of the other short-term goals that are stated above include the target of expanding the size of the floor that is available for the business premise. With the increase in the number of clients, the lockers that are planned for may not be enough to cater for the needs of these additional clients.
It is therefore necessary that the goal of expanding the space be realized before the total capacity of the lockers is occupied. Another option that will be explored is that of opening a branch in the area to cater for the additional clients, which is, however, a long term goal whose implementation may be costly to the business.
The targeted period for opening another branch in the region is two years, and this is dependent on the customer base and the amount of work that the business will handle. Once the objective of opening another branch in the area is realized, the business will target to open other branches around the country. The target should be realized within five years of opening the local branch.
However, this is also dependent on the performance of the original business enterprise, the market available in the areas, and the staff that will be available at the time. The company has also targeted to increase its capital base from the original starting value to at least a million dollars.
This target is not an easy one to achieve. The business, therefore, has planned to achieve it over the next seven years. However, it may also be realized sooner depending on the performance of the business enterprise.
Control Plan
For the business to meet the milestones that I have set for it, a control plan is important. The main areas that are important include the quality of services that are delivered to the clients, the ability to effectively deal with the competition, the formulation of employee working ethics and proper interaction with the sub-contracted businesses.
As indicated above, the main competitors are the dry cleaning services that have established themselves in the area for a longer time than my enterprise. The plans of dealing with the competitors have been laid down above with the pricing and quality of services being the main areas of enabling the business to compete.
To achieve the milestones, the business will also need to ensure that the clients are satisfied with the services that the business will be offering. To ensure that the clients are effectively served, the business will use a number of methods to establish the client satisfaction.
One of the methods that I plan to use is the development of a feedback system where the clients can contribute towards improving the services offered to them. I will therefore place feedback forms in the lobby. These forms will have various ways and areas that the clients can comment about the services offered. A box will be provided in the lobby.
The clients can then drop their filled forms here for my review. The services will then be evaluated with any complaints made by the clients being investigates and improvements being made. Another feedback method that the business will utilize is the conducting of surveys to establish the client satisfaction in the services that will be offered. Questionnaires will then be printed with the questions about the quality of services that the business offers.
The clients will then get them in the lockers. After filling these forms, the clients will then drop the m in the box, after which I will use the feedback to review the quality of services.
Another method that will be used to evaluate the success of the business is the scrutiny of the financial records. Since the business is aimed at making profit, the success will also be established by analyzing the financial performance in retrospect. I will carry out a monthly and yearly analysis of the business with the use of this to improve the business performance.
The other avenue that will be used to obtain feedback from the clients is the website that will be developed for the company. Once the company has put in place a working site, a link will be provided where the clients can give feedback on where and how the services may be improved.
The company will also perform a strong marketing campaign for its services to ensure that the clients are aware of the services available and the expectations that they can have on the business after delivering their laundry.
As a way of solidifying the client base, the business will also brand items such as mugs and cups. Tags with the business logo will be used to identify the clothes during and after the dry cleaning. Clients will carry them with the clothes therefore serving as a marketing strategy.
A measure that will be used to establish the success of the business is the number of clients that will be served every month by the business. With all the lockers being fully paid for, the business will then focus on client satisfaction, where after-sale services will be offered alongside the dry cleaning service.
Financial Statements and Projections
This section deals with the projected financial statements for the first year of business. As indicated above, the first year of business will be important in determining the overall success of the business, and this will then determine the future financial decisions. In this section, I will make a statement of the loss and profits that are expected within the first years of operations and this will then be broken down into the monthly component.
Revenue and Cost Estimate
Within the first 12 months of the business, the bulk of the cost will go towards setting up the business and putting in place all the necessary policies. With the anticipated lease space being 1,330 square foot retailing at $25.00 per square foot, the cost incurred here will be 33,250 dollars. This space will be used for the lockers, and will be 35 feet wide by 35 feet deep.
Since we could place 350 lockers with 35 in a row, 3 feet between rows, and 4 sets of lockers back to back, the cost of setting up the lockers will also be important to consider. Assuming an initial investment of $100 per locker, the cost of the lockers will be 350 dollars.
I will however seek custom fabrication for the lockers, but in presenting case for approval and funding, $100 per locker should be sufficient. Initial lock investment for the locker will be an average of $50.00 per lock. This amount then averages to 2,500 dollars, which will be added to the asset costs. The cost of these assets will come from personal savings, a loan from the local bank and contribution from family and friends where they are willing to help in refundable amounts.
A significant amount of money will also be set aside for the initial marketing costs of the business, and this will roughly be 2,000 dollars. This amount will be used in the printing of banners, flyers and brochures for the business organization. The business will also incur an estimated 1,000 dollars in the first year in the online marketing campaigns.
This amount will mainly go to the development and maintenance of a website dedicated towards marketing the business. Other marketing costs will be in incurred in the consultation of marketing services from the marketing firms and the media, which will be covered by the suggested cost of 2,000 dollars.
The first year will be a tough one since the business will still be in the initial stages, and the profits expected are not great. The revenue expected from the transactions is estimated to be in the range of 20,000 dollars in the first year, with this being a working value.
The projected monthly returns for the first year average at 100 dollars and this may be lower depending on the client base, the service charge of the subcontracted dry cleaners, and the load of laundry that is handled. The revenue could also be on the higher side monthly depending on the listed factors.
Some of the costs that will be incurred while running the business include the security charges, the transport charges, rent that will be charges by the property owner depending on the terms of the lease and the overhead charges such as the heating and lighting.
However, the main cost that the business will incur is in the charges by the secondary companies that will be doing the actual dry cleaning. The business could end up making losses in the first few months as it establishes the client base and the prices stabilize. Forecasted Profit and Loss Statement
In this section, I will consider the sales forecast, the operating expenses, and the profits month by month for first 12 months. According to the financial analysts, one should take the month-by-month revenue estimates of sales and expenses from the revenue and cost estimate (F1) and include interest expense to obtain a profit projection for the first year of operations (Sant, 2004, p. 25).
This will reveal net profit (obtained from subtracting the interest expense from the profit before interest) while the profit before interest is calculated by subtracting total expenses from total revenue (Sant, 2004, p. 28). Some of the expenses that businesses incur include the salaries of the employees, the payroll expenses and the general administrative costs.
However, since the business is dependent on me as the sole employee, the salary expenses will not be very significant. With time, the addition of an employee to assist with the operations of the business will mean added salary expenses.
For the first month, sales forecast is estimated at about a thousand dollars, and this may be significantly reduced due to the time needed to implement the business plans. The most appropriate figure to work with is therefore five hundred dollars for that month. As for the operating expenses, the business will not pay any salaries but the main cost will be that required to pay the subcontracted companies.
This cost is estimated to be around three hundred dollars. The other expenses to be paid include the overhead costs and the running cost of the business, estimated to be about a hundred dollars. The business it therefore not expected to have any profits in the first month.
For the next month, the business will target to make a profit of about a hundred dollars. Since the running costs will remain constant, the business targets to have the number of clients increased to bring about a thousand dollars in sales.
Having covered the standing charges in the subcontracted firms, the business will then proceed to pay some of the debts that it owes to the bank and other firms meaning that it may be possible to attain the targeted profit of a hundred dollars in this month.
During the next months, the sales forecast is expected to be similar to the second month though this may also change depending on the performance of the business and the client base that will have been established.
The main operating expenses that the business will incur over these months include the overhead costs, the running costs of the services and the marketing charges. These costs will be significantly lower than for the initial months and the profits are expected to be on the increase.
The forecasted profits for the months following the first one are one hundred dollars a month, and this amounts to approximately 20,000 dollars in the first 12 months. This amount will then be injected back into the business with the bulk of it being used as loan payment and or to offset any charges that the business will have incurred in the process.
The other expense that the business will incur in the first month is the insurance and the taxes that will be levied by the government and the local authorities. The table below shows some of the expenses based on the above information.
Examples of expenses include
Forecasted Balance Sheet
This section deals with cash, income, assets, liabilities, and capital (Sant, 2004, p. 28). For a business to be successful, it is important for the management to employ tactics aimed at ensuring financial viability, which is only possible if an analysis of the financial situation is done followed by suggestions and recommendations provided on how to improve the case.
In a well workout balance sheet, the balance should result in the debit and credit balances ending up equal (Sant, 2004, p. 28). This business is not different, and the forecasted balance sheet is provided here.
As indicated above in different sections, the business is in its starting stages. Therefore, the main asset that will have is locker room and the lobby in which the lockers are located. As previously indicated, these materials will be obtained as a lease from the earmarked building in the strategic location.
The estimated cost of the lease is $ 32,500, which is the main current asset. The next current asset that is of significance is the lockers themselves, which are valued at $350. For there the enterprise to guarantee the security of the laundry and other assets that will be located in the enterprise, some measures put in place for security will also be regarded as asset.
They are mainly represented by the locking system that will be employed in the lockers. The whole security system is valued at $2,500 and hence the third asset. The last asset that the business will acquire is the collection bags that will be used to deliver the laundry to the cleaners subcontracted by the business.
The other assets that the business will have over the next years include the establishment of subsidiary dry-cleaning firms in the area and in the region. The company will then build an office block to cater for these needs. The estimated cost of these long-term assets is valued at 50,000 dollars, which will be leased where possible.
A delivery van will also be acquired for the delivery of the laundry to the cleaning outlets, and the value of this asset is around 100,000 dollars. Multiple vans will then be purchased for this job.
With the establishment of a larger building and expansion of the business, the third long-term asset that the business will acquire is the dry-cleaning machines, and these will be bought at the prevailing market price at the time. The projected cost is at 20,000 dollars for each of the machines.
The main liability that the business will incur is the bank loan that is to be used in the starting of the operations. The amount of money available from the bank loan will be used to also offset the bills in the initial months, purchase the floor space at the building and to buy the current assets to be utilized in the first and subsequent months.
The loan amount is $200,000, which will be from the bank that offers the most attractive payment rates and interest. The play is to repay the loan by using the money that will be gotten from the business as return. Personal savings will also be used to repay the loan, and a target of the first two operational years is made.
The capital will be raised from mainly the loan with the deficit coming from my personal savings. The required amount is around $210,000, with the loan covering the $200,000 and the rest being from my personal account. This capital will be used to but the materials to start the business. Lockers and security systems will also be among the first priorities of the business spending.
Financial Projections
In this section, an effective summary of the financial projections and the assumption used in estimating the projections in section F is indicated.
Breakeven Point
In this section, inclusion of an estimate of income and expenses is made (Frey, 2005, p. 12). The use of this section is to determine whether the business will bring in enough money to meet its costs (Frey, 2005, p. 14).
This method is used to determine the exact point at which the business makes neither takes a loss nor makes a profit, and this is referred to as the breakeven point. It is calculated at a point where sales have grown at a greater rate than costs and the two lines cross, with the formula commonly used being;
Source: (Frey, 2005, p. 13)
The breakeven point of the company is expected to be approached after two months after the business has established itself and or generated enough funds to cater for its running costs. Within the first month, the business is expected to be in the area of losses, with little gains being made.
However, the financial projections are that the business will improve over the next couple of months to be self-sufficient. The unit volume is likely to increase over the next months too thus contributing to the achievement of the breakeven point.
The duration of the breakeven point will depend on the rate of growth of the business and the rate at which the sales are improving. For this particular business enterprise, the last few months of the business are expected to be more favorable than the initial months to ensure that the duration of the breakeven point will be reduced.
The business will therefore be profitable in the greater part of the year. The goals and targets that are stated above may be realized based on this.
Financial Position
This section includes the estimated financial position of the company at the end of the first year and the estimated capital/investment needs during the same period (Frey, 2005, p. 29). Any assumptions used in estimating this information is also included, and this helps in the determination of the rough figures and not the actual values.
By the end of the first year, the expectations are that the company will have paid off its debts and loans to the bank, and settled any arrears. The capital that will have been injected at the start of the business should also be available for the use in the subsequent year without any deficits being experienced.
By the close of business for the first year, the business should be able to run independent of any external financial inputs, with profits being realized for the same period. Most of the targets and goals that the business has made are aimed at ensuring that the business is stable by the first month. To achieve this goal m, however, the business will need further investment.
A proportion of the returns will be injected back to the running of the business. By the end of the last month, the proportion should be as high as a half of the returns to ensure that the business maintains an upward growth trend. The capital required for the next year should be readily available from the returns of the first year. It should be enough to cater for all the business needs.
Capital /Investment Needs
In this section, an effective estimation of the capital and investment needs for the company is done (Frey, 2005, p. 23). Any equity contributions that the company will need along with other start up costs required will be highlighted. The initial investment will be in the main business premise where the locker laundry service will be located.
The capital invested, as stated above, will be in the range of 200, 000 dollars, and this will be provided in the form of bank loan and personal savings. The future contributions will be necessary when the business needs expansion to other locations, both in the area and around the town to expand her market. The contributions will then be sourced from the banking systems and the personal savings.
With the financial projections in place, the business will experience appositive growth, and this is what is expected. Over the next year, however, the major contributions will come from the profits that are obtained with no anticipated external funding.
Reference List
Baxter, J. (2011). Dry Cleaning & Laundry Services. Hampton, Middlesex England: Note Publications.
Drucker, F., & Maciariello, A. (2008). Management. New York, NY: Collins.
Frey, S. (2005). Successful proposal strategies for small businesses using knowledge management to win government, private-sector, and international contracts. Boston: Artech House.
Paley, N. (2005). The manager’s guide to competitive marketing strategies. London: Thorogood.
Sant, T. (2004). Persuasive business proposals: writing to win more customers, clients, and contracts. New York: Amacom.