Experience of Directors
Abdul Said has recently returned from the United States, where he has lived for twenty years. His most recent position was a telecommunication manager in an Internet Company that created software and other supporting material for media houses. Mr. Said returned to Dubai as a result of various family-related reasons. Since his arrival, he has considered several employment options in the telecommunications companies that are available in Dubai. Mr. Said opted for entrepreneurship as this will help him handle family affairs in a more comprehensive manner.
Johannes Manuel is a professional journalist who has worked for major media houses in Europe and Asia as well. He has multiple positions while working for media houses in Dubai. His last position, he served as the Editor in Chief of the Dubai Royal Media house. He was in charge of overseeing media content released through the multiple channels owned by the media house, including newspapers, television, as well as the blog. Mr. Manuel also has extensive training as a financial accountant.
The directors aim to ensure that Dubai Line Media becomes the preferred provider of freelance journalism services. Once the directors achieve this goal, they will assess the possibility of extending their services beyond Dubai into other neighboring countries, as well as Asia and Europe.
General Business Description
Dubai Line Media will is a Dubai-based startup media business that will host freelance journalists. The industry of focus for the business will be the sports industry. The company will serve to provide freelance journalism services for multiple media houses, including television, print media, and online magazines. Aside from the freelance content, the media house will also conduct interviews with professional sports personalities.
The mission of Dubai Line Media is to provide quality freelance journalism services for the sports industry by leveraging our networks to offer rare insights into the industry.
The first goal of the company is to provide insightful coverage of the sports industry in Dubai. The business also aims to grow a network of contacts that will provide information as well as ensure that the profile of the company and sports achieves the desired market acceptance level. The company aims to ensure that it assists in shaping the policies that govern the sports industry at large.
The goals mirror the business’ objective of providing quality freelance services to the sports industry in Dubai. The business purpose also includes ensuring that the sports fans are given the priority for all sports coverage. The objectives are in line with the business philosophy of Dubai Line Media, which indicates that in the sports industry, the business is underpinned in the entertainment of the fans.
Even though the products will be developed with the aim of providing quality information for the sports fans, the direct consumers of the services will be the media houses in Dubai. The sports industry is growing at a fast pace, as has been the case in recent years that have seen the introduction of new sporting disciplines and competitions. Dubai Line Media will serve to enable the existing media houses to broaden their scope of coverage in the growing sports disciplines.
Legal Status
The directors intend to operate the freelance media business as an entity that will have limited liability under a company registered as Dubai Line Media Limited. The shareholding will be based on the requirements aligned with state support and investment.
The business requires special licensure by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Dubai. A profile of the directors and all the certification of all employees who will be directly involved in the development of content is mandatory before commencing operations. Dubai Line Media will require to obtain accreditation from other professional bodies that are in the media industry so as to raise its acceptance in freelance journalism.
Preliminary discussions with the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Dubai are already underway. The initial indications are that the licensure will be granted as long as all the requirements will be met to the fullest (Pinson 490).
Market Analysis
The market analysis indicates that there are few journalists who can provide full coverage for the current expansive realm of sports disciplines. At present most media companies have resulted in providing limited coverage for sports by overlooking some sports disciplines. Dubai Line Media aims at providing expansive coverage in the world of sports with the goal of accommodating all sporting disciplines, including the ones that have been overlooked.
Market Demand
Dubai Line Media has identified a niche market in the media industry, which has been ignored over the years despite the enormous growth and its evident potential. The market research shows that the Dubai Sports freelance industry is estimated to be 300 million Dirham annually.
Dubai Line Media has set its target at 50 million Dirham annually by the third year. Dubai Line Media targets to achieve control about 5% market share of freelance journalism. The co-founders have no intention to expand beyond the Dubai market in the first three years of operations.
Target Market
Dubai Line Media used data from the Dubai Institute of Journalism to identify potential clients and partners in the media industry. The intention is to target the four leading media house that shares the lime share of media operations in Dubai. The primary focus is the sports department of the media houses and other sport online sports magazines as well as sporting blogs. The initial approach is to try to fill the gap by providing freelancing services for the existing sports disciplines. Once a relationship has taken root, the business will seek to extend other untapped sports disciplines.
Competitive Environment
Dubai Line Media desires to offer freelance media services that are tailored to the Dubai market while at the same time ensuring that the services mirror international standards. The goal of meeting international standards is to ensure that Dubai Line Media remains competitive against multinationals. Given the proximity and minimal operational costs, Dubai Line Media will be better placed to provide quality services at a reduced price, as well as reduced execution time. In the long run, the company will acquire state of the art types of equipment to enhance production.
Product Proposition
Dubai Line Media aims to provide a range of freelance journalism services to its clients in the identified market segment by applying reliable journalism firm principles to guide the operations. To ensure that the quality standards in the services are maintained, the business intends to get all the required accreditation from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority as soon as possible even before commencing operations.
The outcome of the market research has indicated the pricing of the services in the market niche of the business. In order to ensure a balance between success, as well as the sustainability of the business, the product will be priced at a ten percent reduced rate. The company assumes such attractive pricing coupled with quality services and aggressive marketing campaigns will enable the business to break even in less than two years of its operations.
SWOT Analysis
Despite having such an envious opportunity to grow, the business has its share of weakness that will be overcome using appropriate strategies. The SWOT analysis captures the business’ strengths as well as the weakness. From the analysis, it is possible to identify the opportunities as well as threats in the market niche of Dubai Line Media Limited.
Strengths
- Experienced employees with specialist skills;
- Coverage of new sporting disciplines;
- Proximity to clients;
- Wide range of freelance services;
- High-quality service & products.
Weaknesses
- Brand name not established in the media industry;
- Market response to certain services not previously tested.
Opportunities
- Growing market;
- Offering a rare glimpse of the new sporting discipline;
- Increased interest in new sporting discipline hence requirement for wider coverage.
Threats
- New entrant into the market
- Large competitors
- Established customer relationships and loyalty
Marketing and Sales Plan
Sales
The sales lead role at Dubai Line Media will be played by the directors for the first three months. The importance of having the directors undertaking the sales leadership position is necessary for enabling successful navigation of the technical aspects of introducing a new business to clients. The plan is operationally feasible, given that there are a few clients who will be targeted. Dubai Line Media targets a maximum of ten organizations that include media houses as well as sports agencies and related companies that are based in Dubai. The strategy will allow the business to obtain clients without burning much of the capital raised for the company.
Dubai Line Media intends to recruit qualified business development executives as soon as the finances of the business permit. The manager will receive training on the different service specifications, the management philosophy, as well as the item coverage range.
Advertising
Dubai Line Media has set aside a considerable amount of funds that will finance the launching of the company. The finances will facilitate the introduction of the business to the target clients who are mainly in the media industry. The business will place limited adverts in a focused manner to ensure that it captures the attention of the right clients (Rogoff 340). The modes of advertising will include email marketing and several billboards around Dubai as well as social media marketing.
Direct Sales
Dubai Line Media will apply the direct sales technique, especially during the launch of the company. The choice of the technique is critical as it allows close contact interaction with the clients. The mainstay of the sales activities will focus mainly on the cold calling in the initial stages. The business will also rely on or referrals as well as networking so as to grow the client base.
Forecast
The following table outlines sales forecast of Dubai Line Media for a period of three years. Other related information is concerned to sales provided in the appendix section.
Table 3: Forecast Sales (Dubai Line Media V Total Potential Market).
The Organisational Plan
The directors will manage all the business operations of the Dubai Line for the first four years of operation. The business will have to hire three freelance journalists in the first year and target to grow the number of a journalist to seven in total in a period of two years. The employees will play the role of freelancing and media coverage while the administrative functions will be carried out by the co-directors.
In the event any of the directors are rendered incapable of running the business, a recruitment agency will be appointed to pick the replacement. The person who will be picked will be vetted by an independent firm as well as the other director. The persons will join the organization will in the capacity of an executive.
Dubai Line Media will outsource its accounting operations to an auditing firm so as to ease the need to hire an accountant. Bookkeeping will be done manually for the first year, a phase that will be followed by the introduction of an accounting package.
Professional and Advisory Support
Dubai Line Media will list the services of several professionals and experienced persons in the media as well as business startups so as to benefit from their guidance in running the operations of the business.
The business will have a total of seven persons who will constitute the board of directors. The directors will be chosen from a diverse field and will be well persons who are well known to the co-founders. Out of the expected seven members, three individuals who have been contacted have responded positively and will be having their first sitting in the course of two weeks. The three potential members include Mr. Abdirahim Fahad, Prof. Jonathan Sowden, and Sheikh Abdi Rogo.
Dubai Line Media will also enlist the services of a media management consulting firm, which will serve as the management advisory. The attorney of the business will be Prof. Morenoli Okanampo, who works at the Morenoli & Co. Advocates. The insurance agent will be Dubz Insurance Limited, which has experience in insuring media companies for more than five decades. Dubai Line Media will enlist the services of advisors who have been in the media business for several years. To start with, Mr. Ahmed Aden has been picked as a special advisor during the initial stage of the business.
The Financial Plan
The financial plan of Dubai Line Media is outlined in the following table.
Table 4: Financial Plan.
Reflections
The amount indicated in the table above is the total finances required to run the Dubai Line for a period of about one and a half years. There are already talks between the directors, which are aimed at raising more finances, especially for the equipment that is required in the execution of the main objectives of the company. Dubai Line media will also seek finances from the Dubai Enterprise Board, which, according to the survey, has been funding media startups. The directors will also help the company to acquire more funding from the Media Venture Capital Scheme, which will be instrumental in financing the salaries and operations costs of the directors.
If the target fund capital aimed for expansion is not available for the second year, the directors will seek alternative funds. The business might have to defer some of its expansion plans in the second year in the event that funds are not acquired from the alternative sources.
Profit and Loss Statements
Dubai Line Media anticipates a loss of 7, 000 AED in its first year of operation. Dubai Line Media will be in a position to achieve control of fifteen percent of the market based on the market analysis. Given the consideration that the freelance media services for the sports industry is not a crowded field, the set target of fifteen percent is a conservative target for Dubai Line Media (Pinson 57).
The second year of operation indicates a net profit of 55, 092 AED. The third year of operation indicates a profit of 122, 602 AED. Dubai Line Media intends to capture 55% of the freelance sports media market by the fifth year of operation. When the target is achieved, the business will be able to achieve strong market leadership in the sports industry of Dubai.
Twelve Month Profit and Loss Projection
The following figures indicate the profit and loss projection:
Works Cited
Pinson, Linda. Anatomy of a Business Plan. Chicago: Dearborn Financial, 2013. Print.
Rogoff, Edward. Bankable Business Plans. New York: Rowhouse, 2007. Print.