Girotti Cafe: Buisness Plan - Term Paper Example

? A Business Plan by YOU HERE Girotti Cafe Executive summary Girotti Cafe will be operated under the management of a sole trader. All other business structures were considered, such as partnership, however by maintaining sole trader status, all profits are enjoyed by the owner and there is much less liability. “Partnerships share the burden of ownership”, meaning reduced profitability (businesslink.gov.uk, 2011, p.1). The sole trader does not have to register at Companies House, another advantage. Girotti will specialize in contemporary and casual dining at affordable prices in an atmosphere that promotes socialization as well as catering to the fine dining customer with affluent preferences. Menu items and decor will reflect these advantages. The business and its objectives The aim of the business is to be a leader among competition, providing superior value in affordability and modernism. The short-term goals include: Achieving profitability within eight months of start-up launch Attain $500,000 revenues by first year’s end Create a long-term plan for expansion by year’s end into another profitable UK region. Girotti Cafe will provide typical European and American-style cuisine, ranging from casual pub-style entrees and appetizers to more elegant dinner dishes for the higher-resource consumer. Common menu items will include burgers, fish and chips, and various sandwiches, steaks and a wide variety of appetizers for the casual diner. Appetizer dishes will include locally procured oysters, BBQ ribs, and family friendly foods. The goal is to make Girotti Cafe a place where the casual diner can enjoy socialization in a modern atmosphere and also where fine diners can experience a quality variety of more upscale food options. Taking a lesson from many modernized restaurants in the UK, Girotti Cafe will plan its decor similar to the business model image provided on the business plan cover. Girotti wishes to stand out amongst competition in both style and modernism, providing customers with a memorable contemporary experience to gain word-of-mouth related to aesthetics. By creating a more open layout, it will provide incentive for socialization so that customers stay longer and enjoy the lung bar to provide more revenues in alcoholic beverage consumption. The business opportunity The name Girotti is unique, catchy and easily distinguishable from other restaurants with more sophisticated, French-sounding names in the region. By selecting a single, one-word name, it is easier to identify and thus can help in word-of-mouth advertising and also brand recognition. The business venture will be successful because of its devotion to aesthetic modernism with small-town pub menu options for the casual diner. The goal is to draw in a wide variety of demographics, thus the menu will include filet mignon and other specialties that appeal to business clients or those with more discretionary income. The business chose Oxford as location because of real estate prices and the high volume of demographics and workers. There are 120,000 jobs in Oxford, more than the working population of 109,000; better than the national average of employment (Oxford City Council, 2010). The population is currently 134,248 with growth estimates of 13 percent by 2020 (Oxford City Council, 2011). Furthermore, there are approximately 40,000 non-residents that travel to the city for employment, thus daytime population rates increase by 26,000 because of this (Oxford City Council, 2011). This will allow Girotti to be open during lunch and use a variety of promotion to gain their lunch-time interests. “Small plates are a popular way to keep the price manageable” as consumers have trimmed non-essential costs due to the recession (Rowe, 2010). Lunch and dinner crowds will be offered low-cost, small plate specials to ensure higher interest with menu items such as roasted cauliflower and gorgonzola stuffed olives at ?4-6 per plate. This will add to Girotti’s value proposition. The market The objectives can be accomplished through marketing success. Girotti will be positioned in terms of quality and value, with positioning being “owning a place in the mind of the consumer by concentrating on an idea or word that defines the company” (Trout, 2008, p.2).This phrase is modern value. The business will use online vouchers for incentive marketing, since consumers are more frugal in their dining habits (Bainbridge, 2010) as well as street marketing teams equipped with promotional merchandise, such as keychains, with the Girotti logo. Street teams are low-paid labour that hands out promotional materials to customers targeted in urban centres (Smith & Reynolds, 2008). In addition, direct marketing materials will be sent to loyal customers and through online demographic catalogues, with restroom marketing in-house to remind customers of current value promotions and menu items since this has profit value (Cronk, 2009). Personnel The business will be operated by the sole trader, requiring one executive chef, two support chefs with full-time positions, four to six waitress and waiter staff depending on volume in full-time positions, and one general manager. Payroll is expected to be 25% of total operating expenses, within industry standards. Buying and production In terms of assets needed to run the operations, research uncovered that it would be most cost-effective to select an online wholesale merchant rather than attempting to procure needed materials from a variety of local retailers. In terms of products needed for operations, most of the foodstuffs will be procured from local retailers and vendors, in relation to produce, meats, cheeses, and other necessary menu items. Fresh fish and bakery vendors in the region will be selected to support the local economy and ensure that Girotti maintains a fresh food selection on-hand at all times, thus avoiding frozen methodology. Some products will be procured by Fast Food Merchandisers or other cost-effective suppliers in the UK that provide appetizer items such as French fries and fried clams that will be part of the Girotti menu. These contractual agreements will be worked out with vendors prior to start-up to ensure delivery and negotiation on pricing and delivery scheduling as based on the developed menu in its completion. Premises and equipment Products required at the time of start-up will include convection ovens, gas ovens, microwave ovens, chairs, tables, soda and Mixmaster blending equipment, signage for the interior and exterior, and also flatware and serving utensils. The most cost-effective supplier for these items is UK Equipment Direct, a leading UK catering and equipment specialist, located at ukequipmentdirect.co.uk. The company will rent the real estate for operations under land contract with an option to buy after profit objectives have been satisfied. Financial forecasts The business will procure capital from local banks after supplying the business concept, its long-term revenue goals, and business structure projections to lenders. The goal is to ensure profitability is 100 percent for the sole trader, therefore venture capitalists or other investors were rejected as potential financing options. The owner will also seek potential grant funding from the government to promote corporate social responsibility, thus some funding will not require repayment if successful. Either way, the business will require approximately ?40,000 at start-up and an additional ?60,000 for operations and asset procurement. Finance It is estimated that the business can achieve ?500,000 revenues in the first year on the back of marketing success and cost reduction efforts. At an average ticket of ?14, only 97 customers per day are required to meet this goal, a reasonable assumption. Costs of operations should not exceed 40 percent of total revenues both in relation to labour and supply management/inventories as well as utilities and other operational costs. Summary It is primarily the marketing and promotion function that will determine Girotti success, along with diversification of menu and constant upgrades based on surveyed results on menu satisfaction. With revenue goals in mind of 500,000 at the end of first year, Girotti will be able to expand the brand after three years to satisfy even higher profit objectives once brand loyalty has been established. It will be a leader in fine cuisine and casual dining in the region. Bibliography Bainbridge, J. 2010. Still earning a crust, Marketing, London. February 24, pp.30-32. Businesslink.gov.uk. 2011. [internet] Change your business structure: a summary of common legal structures for businesses. [accessed October 22, 2011 at http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1073792483] Cronk, P. 2009. [internet] The Guerilla Market’s 10-Round ammo clip, Riger Knowledge Base. [accessed October 23, 2011 at http://www.riger/com/know_base/advertising/guerilla.html] Oxford City Council. 2010. [internet] Oxford Economic Profile [accessed October 23, 2011 at http://www.oxford.gov.uk/direct/oxfordeconomic profilev3.pdf] Oxford City Council. 2011. [internet] Population statistics. [accessed October 22, 2011 at http://www.oxford.gov.uk/pagerender/decc/population_statistics_occw.htm] Oxford City Council. 2011. [internet] Oxford’s population-estimates and projections [accessed October 22, 2011 at http://www.oxford.gov.uk/direct/populationestimatesJun2011releases.pdf] Rowe, M. 2010. Small price, big impact, Restaurant Hospitality, 94(10), p.24. Smith, M. & Reynolds, L. 2008. The street team: an unconventional peer programme for undergraduates, Library Management, 29(3), p.145. Trout, J. 2008. The New Positioning: The Latest on the World’s #1 Business Strategy, Genii Group. UK Equipment Direct. 2011. [internet] Catering Equipment Specialists [accessed October 23, 2011 at http://www.ukequipmentdirect.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=100_143#indexCategoriesHeading Read More