CQUniversity Gold Coasts Market Opportunities - Assignment Example

CQUNIVERSITY GOLD COAST JAO COFFEE CENTRE BUSINESS PLAN Name Professor Subject Date Abstract The entrepreneurial form of business involves identification and assessment of opportunities; once that is done, a plan to exploit this opportunity is drawn with efforts to obtain necessary resources for the development of the idea (Ribiero & Roig, 03). Starting a business in a sole proprietorship form is very challenging but one would be able to fully be ownership of the business. Normally one starts from his/her own money and may later obtain loans. Before this is done, there is always a need to have a business plan for such projects to ensure a smooth kick-off of a business. In a bid to demonstrate knowledge from an entrepreneurial perspective, this paper is out to present a detailed business plan for a coffee cart that will be located at or near the CQ University campuses in Australia. The cart will be one to serve the university community with coffee. The community in this case will be including the students, the university staff and the local community. The need for a coffee cart was because of high demand for coffee and fast food around the university area especially on cold seasons. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.0. Business Description: Goals and Ideas JAO Coffee Centre will be a sole proprietorship form of business owned by an individual. This is because this type of business is highly flexible to operate with decision making being fast accompanied by a full share of the profit (Stockes 2010, p. 08; Kariv 2011, p. 07). The owner is able to bear the risks without a blame game in case one occurs (Greene 2009, p. 5). The owner in this case is the central owner of the business idea (Bruin & Dupius 2003, p. 01). JAO Coffee Centre will be located around all the campuses of CQ University campuses like Gold Coast campus and Brisbane campus. The business will first start at the main university campus and then expand to other campuses. 2.0. Marketing JAO Coffee Centre is a provider of special beverages at retail level. The centre uses a new system in the beverage and food industry to provide hot and cold beverages in a convenient and time-efficient way. The sole proprietors chose this kind of business because of its high global growth and the excitement involved in the food and beverage industry (Godsmark et. al. 11).In addition to that, it aims to provide students with the choice of driving up and ordering for their choice of a custom-blended freshly brewed coffee or other beverages. JAO Coffee Centre is therefore an immediate solution to fast food and institutional coffee especially for the students of CQUniversity Gold Coast who will have it at lowered prices (Ferrel et al. 368). The business will continue to look at the customer's unmet needs through research to establish their purchasing power. In this case, all the customers will be presumed to become regular customers. The main marketing activities of JAO Coffee centre will be rooted in consumer marketing because it will be offering fast moving products (Ford 2002, p. ix). The JAO Coffee centre will offer the students the finest hot and cold beverages with special blends of coffee, teas and custom drinks. Moreover, JAO will offer fresh-baked pastries, soft drinks and other confections on top of other offers like frozen coffee and hot chocolate. JAO, which will be operating on a daily basis, will be targeting a large student population in all the campuses for its market. This would not leave out the university staff that will be out to get refreshments at their resting breaks. At every location for large student population, the shop will provide specially ordered cups for premium coffees in the fastest time possible. As JAO will be providing high quality products to the students and a menu of delicious foods, some donations will also be made to the university to support the needy students. This will be aimed at ensuring we increase customer loyalty. This initiative is possible for JAO because of the bright financial picture it portrays. The initial capital for starting this business is not so high and being that the business will based on cash and carry style, it will be able to meet all these initiatives. Advertisements for the coffee shop will be done through posters and use of a billboard. The management at one point will involve questionnaires to its customers in order to get a feedback on the kind of services they will be offering. This will help the business to improve its service to better ones by ensuring that customer comments are given priority it deserves. The firm will sell in cash to enhance quick expansion of the business. The use of self-service strategy will be employed to avoid unexpected losses. At a later stage, the introduction of smart cards/visas will be introduced such that regular members can have a monthly subscription. This will also help enhance the security. The prices will be set according to the students affordability standards set by the CQ University’s catering services. This is because the catering board dictates the range of prices to ensure that student is not overcharged when getting any services. 3.0. Organizational Management The business will be managed by a manager, a cashier, cooks, accounts clerk, waiters and security personnel. All these workers will be employed on merit and after a demonstration that they understand how customer satisfaction is realised. This will also be after an advertisement for vacancies is announced and shortlisted applicants called for interview. JAO also recognises the fact that selling such products of coffee is labour intensive thus will require highly energetic and qualified personnel. In addition, JAO aims to invest well in its employees to avoid migration to it competitors. The staff will be promoted through salary increment and this would depend on their hard work, trustworthiness and regular presence at work. A competitive scheme of work will be drafted to ensure a quick salary increment that will help in retaining employees in the business. 4.0. Productions and Operations For the smooth running of the business, the cafeteria will require certain coffee brewers and coffee brewing equipments like Coffee brewers, coffee grinders Coffee Filters, thermal dispensers, airports, coffee servers and filtron. The purchases will be done directly from the suppliers. All the mugs and utensils will be of high quality and reasonable size to satisfy customer needs. The major supplies of beverages will be got from companies such as Vittoria Coffee. The business will also observe the government policies especially as recommended by the Department of Public Health. The business will open as from 6am in the morning to 9pm the night. 5.0. Financial Plan JAO Coffee Centre will incur the following costs before its operations starts. These will include the premises, rent, purchases, furniture, utensils, cookers, paying meter deposits for electricity, shelves and watchman wages. Some expenses will be incurred in the business in the course of its operations. These include transportation, trade license, purchases, salary and wages, advertisements and repairs. The main source of finance will be personal savings, and business loans obtained in the course of running the business. This will be with the view that new ventures need cash flows, forecasts and proper management and that this is a sole proprietorship business (Drucker 2012, p. 176). Table of Contents 1.0. BUSINESS DESCRIPTION 8 2.0. MARKETING 9 3.0. ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT 15 4.0. PRODUCTIONS AND OPERATIONS 16 5.0. Financial Plan 17 References 21 Appendices 22 1.0. BUSINESS DESCRIPTION 1.1. Business History JAO Coffee Centre is a sole proprietorship business and owned by an individual. This is because this type of business is highly flexible to operate with decision making being fast accompanied by a full share of the profit (Stockes 2010, p. 08 & Kariv 2011, p. 07). The owner is able to bear the risks without a blame game in case one occurs. JAO Coffee Centre will be located just around CQ University and around the major campuses of the university. The address will be jaocoffeecentre@yahoo.com. 1.2. Business Goals and Ideas JAO Coffee Centre will be a provider of special beverages at retail level. The centre will use a new system in the beverage and food industry to provide hot and cold beverages in a convenient and time-efficient way. In addition to that, it aims to provide students with the choice of driving up and ordering for their choice of a custom-blended freshly brewed coffee or other beverages. JAO Coffee Centre is therefore an immediate solution to fast food and institutional coffee especially for the students of CQUniversity Gold Coast. JAO Coffee centre aims to: Have at least one branch of coffee shop in all the campuses of the university by the end of the fourth year. Gross margin of 40% or more Net After-tax profit of 10% 1.3. Business Mission In its mission, JAO aims to provide student-customers with the finest quality beverages at the required time. Jao also has a mission of supporting the university community in project by involving the student-customers. JAO coffee centre also aims to grow into high profit-making business through sound economic decisions. Therefore the business will be ranked under the food processing industry with the aim of achieving maximum profit and providing opportunities. The business will rely on the purchases of high quality coffee and offer them to the campus students, who will be the majority customer, at an affordable price. 2.0. MARKETING 2.1. Market Research Before any operations start, JAO Coffee Centre will do a thorough market research to discover who the competitors will be in the food and beverage industry. The research will involve sampling of students to fill in questionnaires on the kind of services they want in case the business will start operating. This will include the coffee brands that they will expect in the coffee shop. This approach will be viewed as the best it will in the end make sure that the marketing strategy employed takes care of the desires and benefits of the customers (Kolb 2008, p. 6). Since research is also a good foundation to key decision-making when it comes to marketing, JAO will be able to benefit from it as t shall have an advantage over its customers (Raprak et al. 8). The marketing research will also help the manager who is going to run the business to have a good marketing mix (place, product, promotion and product decisions) and understand the external environment (McDaniel & Gates, 14). 2.2. Market Analysis 2.2.1. Market Segmentation JAO will focus on three distinct markets: university students within the campus university students and staff who commute daily the local community staying around the university To guarantee access to both markets, JAO will implement a variety of delivery systems. For instance, in the commuter segment, the coffee shop will design a simple drive-thru for individuals with cars. The centre will also take care of other non-motorists by creating simple makeshift tents and coffee shades. For consumers within the campus, JAO will apply a mobile or free door-to-door delivery. Unlike most of its potential competitors, JAO coffee centre defines its consumer target along demographic and social lines. A broader customer base for the centre is at the university and its local environs. In which case, the consumer profile integrates students’ needs to have quality beverages while at the same time ‘watching’ their pocket sizes. In addition, JAO will designate its products within students and tutors’ time limits. The highest concentration will consist of those driving to school, staff and/or learners at coffee and lunch breaks. In addition, the centre will cater for occasional consumers such as conference attendees within the school, attendees during school fairs and festivals among others. Hypothetically, the market size can be estimated as follows; assuming the centre does a door-to-door delivery to potential consumers of 1000. If this consumer base is maintained all year round, the revenue or income for that period will be estimated as 1000 multiplies by the price per product for one coffee cart. For the commuter populace, the demographic may fluctuate giving room for minus or plus marginal errors. Say, commuter consumer can constitute the tutors, day schooling learners, university staff and locals. This can be estimated to about 8 000. For special events and functions, the demographics may assume a 3 to 5 % increase from the normal market size. 2.2.2. Industry trends Over the years, there has been a growing liking for beverages such as coffee. The need to ensure an agile business in coffee business came in response to individual demands for more unique coffees. The already established market is gradually but steadily changing towards a mobile but quality-oriented one. The same people who use to sit at coffee shops for a relaxed cup of custom-made drink are the same who are now running the busiest schedules but feel the need to have their cup anyway. Monitor changes in consumer behaviour and their consumption patterns reflect JAO need to take the industry into a completely new level. Having assessed and analysed past trends in the industry, JAO will introduce a system of service catering for the consumers with the busiest schedules such as learners and tutors. At the same time, the centre will take care of commuter consumers who hardly have time for breakfast but still have the desire to grab a cup of coffee. 2.2.3. Competitive Comparison Being a major player in the food and beverage industry around the university, JAO Coffee Centre acknowledges the fact that competition for in products ranges from soft drinks to adult beverages. JAO's major competitors will be: locally owned and operated cafe around the university fast food restaurants and stores around the university An outstanding quality for JAO Coffee Centre against its competitors will be that it will be providing products in the most convenient positions in the university, that is, at major entrances and major leisure centres. This will enable the students to take the coffee as fast as they can and move fast for their classes without waiting for long. Some student-customers can also drive in and book for coffee then come back for them later. The use of visa cards can be used for this purpose in the subsequent years. Another advantage over its customers will be the allowance by the university management for the business to advertise within its premises. This will be geared by the fact that some percentage of the revenue will be supporting needy students in the university. 2.3.4. SWOT Analysis Like any other profit based business venture, the success of JAO will be determined by the five situation analyses. In the course of promoting, marketing and selling its products, the centre will assess both risks and impacts of potential threats. As such, the analysis will assume the SWOT analysis to examine both internal and external areas of opportunity, threats, strengths and weaknesses. Based on its business surrounding, the centre will receive competition from both direct and indirect competitors. For instance, the there exists other joints and business premises offering a near similar service within the vicinity. For JAO, direct competitors will take the form of already existing local cafe and restaurants. In addition, presence of multiple fast food restaurants and quick shops may acts as potential threats to the centre. Ultimately, however, the coffee centre will maximize on its internal strength and ‘local’ power to cut a niche within the market segment. In this case, JAO plans on hiring and recruiting locals within the cart, this will present an opportunity for the centre to market its products at grass root levels. In addition, the centre will use its strength (collaboration with the campus fraternity) as an advantage over its competitors. 2.3. The 7 P's 2.3.1. Products JAO Coffee Centre will be providing the students with the best hot and cold beverages and will specialize on custom-blended teas and coffees. On top of that will be domestic soft drinks, Australian sodas and other beverages like hot chocolate, frozen coffee and hot apple cider. JAO coffee centre will allow student-customers to order for the coffee beverage that they will need and this will be provided for in their exact specifications. Each employee in charge of brewing will be at a position to do a fine art of brewing, blending and serving the highest quality hot and cold beverages. Other than coffee, other products like teas and sodas, frozen coffee beverages and seasonal speciality drinks will also be available. These products will be marketed through billboards along campus highways, websites and through market premiums such as coffee mugs, T-shirts and ball caps. 2.3.2. Placement The JAO Coffee Centre will brand some of its products and sign an agreement with the theatre groups in the university to use their logos and pictures of products during their performances. The advertisements will also be projected by the university before any conference begins after paying a fee. This will be able to place the JAO products in a better competitive position (Publishing 2006, 04). 2.3.3. Promotion Advertisements for the coffee shop will be done through posters and use of a billboard. The management at one point will involve questionnaires to its customers in order to get a feedback on the kind of services they will be offering. At some point, JAO will print T-Shirts to award some of their regular customers. The initiative will work through filling forms and acquiring a voucher after a particular period of buying, that is, 3 months continually. 2.3.4. Pricing The prices will be set according to the students affordability standards set by the university's catering services. This is because the catering board dictates the range of prices to ensure that student is not overcharged when getting any services. A cup of coffee for example will go for $5. 2.3.5. People The people expected to take part as stated earlier are students, tutors, lecturers, and the local community in the surrounding. 3.0. ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT 3.1. Legal and licensing details JAO Coffee Centre will acquire a trade license from the Department of Public health of Australia as well as from the Ministry of Trade. The licenses in this case will be renewable annually. In addition to that, the business will fist have to get a legal permission form the CQ University Catering and Accommodation board in order to offer their students brewed coffee. All this will be done with the assistance of the business lawyers. 3.2. Management Details The JAO coffee centre will be managed by a Manager who must have a Diploma in Food and Beverages or an equivalent. The Accountant will be required to have at least a Diploma in Accounting and Economics similar to a cashier who should have a minimum of CPA. The other employees should have at least a certificate in the relevant area of operation. The Manger will be answerable to the owner of the business, as he will give an account of cash inflow and outflow in the business. This will be done with the help of the Accountant and the cashier. 3.3. Manager Should have the following qualifications: At least a Diploma in Business Administration plus a relevant qualification in food and beverages. At least 2 years experience in a management position. Any other relevant qualification. The work of the managing director will be as follows: Co-ordinating all the operations in the business Will be the chief accounting officer in the business Hiring and firing of employees Organizing for marketing and advertisement strategies for the business Professional adviser to the owner of the business 3.3 Professional Advisers The manager, the accountant, the cashier and the head chef will the primary advisers assisted by the lawyers of the business who will be in for legal advice. 3.4 Insurance and Security The business will be insured against fire. There will also be a third party liability for its customers and employees. 4.0. PRODUCTIONS AND OPERATIONS 4.1. Location JAO COFFEE CENTRE will be located at the university business centre where it will have it major offices and headquarters of operations. Other branches will be opened outside the university at major entrances and at the major campuses. 4.2. Council and Government Rules With the help of the business lawyers and managers, JAO will adhere to the regulations set by the local government council as well rules by the department of public health. 4.3. Plant and Equipments Some of the equipments for the coffee shop that will be required are: Cash Register or POS Computer, Espresso Machine, Espresso Grinders, Bulk Coffee Grinder, Coffee Maker (Drip), Refrigerated Pastry Case, Biender, Sandwitch Prep unit, Under counter Refrigerator, Storage refrigerator, Ice maker, freezer, oven, panini Grill, three Compartment sink, hand sinks, furniture, phone, Credit card machine, prep tables. All these would amount to $ 59, 170. The purchases will be done directly from the suppliers. All the mugs and utensils will be of high quality and reasonable size to satisfy customer needs. The major supplies of beverages will be got from companies such as Vittoria Coffee. 5.0. Financial Plan The JAO Coffee Centre has a promising financial base. JAO centre will be operating on a cash basis and from this base; the initial cost will not be higher than those used to start up coffee shops nowadays. So much of labour work is required in the business. Therefore, only qualified personnel will be required to handle such work. What will make JAO centre different from its competitors is the fact that it will invest on its employees through payments of overtime. The facilities and equipment will be financed from the initial capital collected and considered as capital expenditures. Taking advantage of any price drops will be our major strength and this will be facilitated by regular inventories. The business plans to have partner contributions that will see the business financed without any need for debt investment in the purchase of equipment. 5.1. Assumptions and Information The financial plan for JAO Coffee Centre will depend on the assumptions that: JAO will be a fast-growing coffee shop with a steady upward trend The JAO will also be assuming that its products will not meet any health challenges as they will adhere to the set public health standards JAO also assumes access to equity capital and sufficient financing to maintain its financial plan The general assumptions of JAO are as shown in the table below: General assumptions Year 1 Plan month 1 predicted interest rate 10.00% Long term interest rate 8.00% Tax rate 0.00% 0.00% Other 0 0 5.2. Main Financial Indicators The main financial indicators for JAO Coffee Centre will be those such as sales, sales margin, operating expenses, collection days and inventory turnover. JAO predicts that the growth in sales should exceed 150% each year. This means that JAO will have to put the gross margin at approximately 40% in the first year but may not go higher than 50% because of the payroll expenses that will be incurred in the course of expansion to other campuses. The inventory of JAO will have to be checked regularly to ensure that the products are kept fresh. It is only after expansion to almost all the campuses that the business will hold larger stores. 5.3. Break-even Analysis JAO investment aims to realise its fixed costs by taking the average price per unit and subtracting it from average cost per unit then divided by the fixed costs of operation. The number of units that JAO will need to sell is thus shown on the table below: Break-even Analysis Monthly units break-even 15 817 Monthly revenue break-even $29,580.00 Assumptions Average per unit revenue $1.87 Average per unit Variable cost $0.64 Estimated monthly fixed cost $19,457.00 5.4. Projected Profit and Loss JAO Coffee Centre is expecting to make a tremendous growth in first year of sales to achieve a high Gross Profit Margin. However, the expenses that JAO will have in the first year are expected to be so high to an extent that we will only realise a Net after-tax loss. The loss may affect as well the second year of operations. JAO will be expecting a production cost of 60% that will include actual production of the major products and other efforts to make sales. Most expenditure thus is expected in the area of administration and general work. This may take approximately 20% of the sales. The expenses that JAO will incur in the general and administrative area are like rents, equipment leases, utilities and payroll for employees. JAO expects that the sales should increase to 300% as from the third year because a few more coffee shops on the same brand name will have been set up in the campuses. This is the year where charitable activities of JAO Centre will begin. The fourth year will be a year to break up fully into the markets around the university campuses. More of the coffee shops will be open to ensure the number reaches at least ten shops in all the campuses. This kind of expansion is expected to shoot up the sales, increase production cost and improve the Gross Profit Margin. It is in the fourth year as well that more expenses will be incurred especially on advertisements. The major expenses in the general and administrative area are expected to go down to 15% by then. 5.5. Projected Cash Flow The fact that JAO Coffee Centre will be operating on a cash business, the cash flow will be monitored closely. With this close monitoring, the business is expected to be more self-sustaining after all the start-up costs are met. Seasonal dips will be taken care of by a change in the menu items. Therefore, JAO is predicting little cash flow drains in the first year. The only drains that are likely to be unavoidable will be when students are on holidays. 5.6. Balance Sheet The JAO’s net worth will be approximately $212, 000 and this is expected to increase. A projected balance for JAO is as shown below: Assets Current Assets Cash - $ 195, 358 Inventory- $ 21, 175 Total current assets- $ 216, 533 References Breene, C. 2008. Entrepreneurship: Ideas in Action. London: Cengage Learning. Bruin, A., & Dupius, A. 2003. Entrepreneurship: New Perspectives in a Global Age. London: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. Drucker, P. 2012. Innovation and Entrepreneurship. London: Routledge. Ferrel, O.C. Et al. 2010. Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and cases. London: Cengage Learning. Ford, D. 2002. Understanding Business Marketing and Purchasing: An Integrated Approach. London: Cengage learning EMEA. Helfert, E. 2001. Finacial analysis Tools and techniques: A guide for Managers. New York: McGrwa Hill Professional. Kariv, D. 2011. Entrepreneurship: An International Introduction. Cambridge: Taylor & Francis. Kolb, B. 2008. Marketing Research: A Practical Approach. California: Sage. McDaniel, C., & Gates, R. 1998. Marketing Research Essentials. New York: Taylor & Francis. Publishing, B. 2006. Product Placement Advertising Ideas. London: Data Notes. Ribiero, D., & Roig, S. 2007. Entrepreneurship. New York: Springer. Shim, J., and Siegel, J. 2007. Handbook of Financial Analysis, ForeCasting and Modelling. New York: CCH. Stocks, D. 2010. Entrepreneurship. London: Cengage Learning EMEA. Yaprak, Attila et al. 2009. Conducting Market Research for International Business. New York: Business Expert Press. Appendices General assumptions Year 1 Plan month 1 predicted interest rate 10.00% Long term interest rate 8.00% Tax rate 0.00% Other 0 Break-even Analysis Break-even Analysis Monthly units break-even 15 817 Monthly revenue break-even $29,580.00 Assumptions Average per unit revenue $1.87 Average per unit Variable cost $0.64 Estimated monthly fixed cost $19,457.00 Balance Sheet Assets Current Assets Cash - $ 195, 358 Inventory- $ 21, 175 Total current assets- $ 216, 533 Read More