Cloth Repair and Laundry Business - Case Study Example

? Cloth Repair and Laundry business Executive Summery In today’s economy, people are normally busy (they always work, they always learn, committed in entertainment, and in schools and among others) such that they do not get time to do certain basic things of their lives such as laundry services and repair of their torn cloths. The problem even gets worse for the University Students; these students are so committed to their studies, research and entertainment activities such that they have very little amount of time to concentrate on the basic aspects of their lives. My business will be engaged in providing laundry and cloth repair services for University students in the United States of America. The business will provide these students with door to door collection and distribution of the torn cloths and cloths that require laundry services. The Laundry and cloth repair business will solve problems such as saving University Students time, saving the Environment from degradation, and boosting Food Security among other others. The business is also sustainable in that it boosts food security, conserve our environment, as well as solving some of the Problems University Students face among others. In to prove the feasibility of the business, market research, and SWOT and Value chain analyses were carried out. The SWOT analysis was carried out in order to identify the expected Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats that the business may face. The Laundry and cloth repair business Idea In today’s economy, people are normally busy (they always work, they always learn, committed in entertainment, and in schools and among others) such that they do not get time to do certain basic things of their lives such as laundry services and repair of their torn cloths. The problem even gets worse for the University Students; these students are so committed to their studies, research and entertainment activities such that they have very little amount of time to concentrate on the basic aspects of their lives. For example, University students hardly get time to do laundry services or even repair services for their torn cloths. It is also recognized that there exist many companies that provide these services for University students across United States of America (U S Bureau of the Census, 2002). However, not all of them offer door to services to these busy students. Therefore, students had to waste their precious time taking their cloth for laundry services or to be repaired in case they are torn (U S Bureau of the Census, 2002). Some students may also love some of their cloths such that they may not wish to dispose them off in case they get torn. Therefore, my business will be engaged in providing laundry and cloth repair services for University students in the United States of America. The business will provide these students with door to door collection and distribution of the torn cloths and cloths that require laundry services. Rationale for the Business Idea Entrepreneurs by nature are individuals who solve problems, as wells as opportunity oriented; these are just a few of the many characteristics of entrepreneurs (Hunter, 2000). Therefore, as an entrepreneur I thought it wise to come up with the business idea so as to be part of those who solve problems that normally face our society today. My business, therefore, aims at solving several problems which face our society today. Problems Laundry and cloth repair business will solve Saving University Students time The target customers (target group) for the business are University Students across the United States of America. Just as earlier mentioned, these students are so committed to their studies, research and entertainment activities such that they have very little amount of time to concentrate on the basic aspects of their lives; they hardly get time to do their laundry services or even repair services for their torn cloths. The business also intends to further offer free collection and distribution services to these students such that students (customers) will not to travel long distances in order to bring their cloths for laundry or to be repaired. In order to achieve this door to door collection and distribution services, the business intends to liaise with the administration of Universities in it will operate so as to given permission to set up several collection and distribution centers within these Universities. Saving the Environment from degradation Even though there exist several raw materials from which cloths are manufactured, quite a good number are made of cotton (Brown, 2010). Therefore, repair of cloths will reduce the manufacture of cloths being bought (decrease in demand cause a decrease in supply, and a decrease in supply cause a decrease in manufacturing). The decrease in the manufacture of cloths will doubt decrease the growing of cotton. Normally, the agriculture today is carried out using high tech technologies (Lichtfouse, 2009). These include the use of sophisticated machines, fertilizers, and pesticides among others. The use sophisticated machinery in agriculture such as tractors release air pollutants into the atmosphere; these pollutions may comprise the quality of air people breathe (Brown, 2010). They may also combine with water vapor into the atmosphere to form acidic rains whose effects are usually dire (Chetdav, 2009). Pollutants may also destroy the Ozone layer; which a protective layer that shields people from the dire effects of ultra violet radiation and global warming (Girard, 2009). The use fertilizers and pesticides can pollute both soil and water. The fertilizers and pesticides may be washed by streams in large water bodies such oceans, rivers and seas among others (McMichael, 2003). Therefore, repair of torn cloths can reduce the cultivation of cotton and consequently reduce the pollutions into the atmosphere. Boosting Food Security Food security is a big challenge to many nations today; therefore, any contribution towards sustaining food security is welcome (McDonald, 2011). The reduction in the cultivation of cotton as a result of repair torn cloths can boost food security since the land that should have been used in the cultivation of cotton is can now be used to cultivate food crops. This act has the capability of boosting food security. Sustainability of the business Business need to be sustainable in today’s challenging business environment (Willard, 2002). May business will be sustainable in that it will boost food security, conserve our environment, as well as solving some of the Problems University Students face. Therefore, as entrepreneurs we thought it wise to contribute towards conservation of our beautiful and beloved environment (Bolton, 2004). This is one of the reasons as to why we started the business of alteration and mending of torn clothes. The organization intends to encourage people to prefer mending their torn cloths to purchasing new ones. The main raw materials of making new cloths are cotton and silk among others, and the reuse of neglected torn cloths may contribute greatly towards reduction in the cultivation of cotton, thereby; reducing pollution associated with the cultivation of the crop such as pollutions associated with the use of machinery, fertilizers and pesticides. The SWOT analysis of the business The expected Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats that are likely to be associated with the business are as follows. Strengths (S) The strengths of this business are expected to be based on its strategy. The strategy of the business focuses on satisfaction of its customers. Therefore, our strength is expected to be offering our customers the best services in the industry of laundry and cloth repair. Not just offering door to door collection and distribution but also offering excellent customer care. Therefore, our main strength will be being close to our customers; understanding their needs and specification (Hm, 2009). Weakness (W) When the business starts, it is expected to be small in size in terms of capital and assets. Therefore, the amount of capital that will be available may not be enough for the business to handle the stumping blocks. Lack of sufficient resources may affect the business seriously in terms penetrating into the market and finding its own niche in the market. Opportunities (O) Students are normally committed to their studies research and entertainment activities such that they have very little amount of time to concentrate on the basic aspects of their lives; they hardly get time to do their laundry services or even repair services for their torn cloths. Not very many entrepreneurs or companies have seen this as an opportunity, therefore, as an entrepreneur I thought it wise to come up with idea so as to take advantage of the opportunity. Therefore, the business intends to offer laundry services to these students. The business will also take the opportunity of offering free collection and distribution services to these students such that students (customers) will not to travel long distances in order to bring their cloths for laundry or to be repaired. This is due to the fact most companies in this industry do not offer door to door services. In order to achieve this, the business intends to liaise with the administration of Universities in it will operate so as to given permission to set up several collection and distribution centers within these Universities. Threats (T) The worst threat the business is expected to face in this laundry and cloth repair industry is competition. This threat is expected to be worse during the initial stages of the business operation. If proper actions are taken, or if appropriate policies and strategies are not taken, the business may risk losing clients and customers to competitors. Value Chain Analysis In order to achieve its objectives the organization aims at doing a number of activities and among them include: installation of appropriate infrastructure and recruitment of personnel (human resource) (Schmitz, 2005). Infrastructure This includes the business premises and machinery. Premises Premises are amongst the important components of businesses. My business premise is expected to be located in one of the major universities in America. It is will later expand to other Universities in United States of America. The organization also aspires to open the business in one of the cities of the United States. In case it is opened in one these cities, the business premise will have its front door facing the main street such that it will be visible from various entrances. Equipment The business will acquire several equipment and machinery. First, the business will acquire sewing machines (five in number for the start), but as the business will continue example more machines will be ordered. The number of sewing machines will be added only if the amount of work exceeds the number of sewing machines available. The organization will also acquire washers and dryers. In order to meet the specifications of the various customers the organization will employ both hand wash and machine wash techniques. In the case of machine wash, the organization will acquire both the top loading and front loading washing machines. However, the number top loading machines is expected to be more than that of top loading machines this is due to the fact that more people prefer their fabric washed with front loading machines to top loading machines. Human Resource The business will employ individuals as tailors, launders, sales agents, door to door collectors and distributors among others. The jobs of the various staff members will be fully described. They will also have review and career record, and training history among others. The new staffs of the organization will undergo appropriate Psychometric Aptitude Test and interviews so as to ensure that only qualified personnel are selected. All the recruited employees will undergo appropriate training so that the each and every employee will have his or her job described so as to prevent conflicts among the employees. In addition, all employees will under refresher training annually; this expected to enhance customer service and care. Research Finding People are usually busy (they always work, they always learn, committed in entertainment, and in schools and among others) such that they do not get time to do certain basic things of their lives such as laundry services and repair of their torn cloths. It is also recognized that there exist many companies that provide these services across United States of America. However, not all of them offer door to services to these busy students. Therefore, people had to waste their precious time taking their cloth for laundry services or to be repaired in case they are torn. Some members of the societies may also love some of their cloths such that they may not wish to dispose them off in case they get torn. The problem even gets worse for the University Students; these students are so committed to their studies, research and entertainment activities such that they have very little amount of time to concentrate on the basic aspects of their lives. For example, University students hardly get time to do laundry services or even repair services for their torn cloths. Therefore, my business saw the need to bridge this gap Universities. Conclusion and recommendations It terms of the above research it is quite event that the business is feasible and should be started. It is true that University students are normally busy to do certain essential services in their life. It is also true that some members of the societies may love some of their cloths such that they may not wish to dispose them off in case they get torn. It also true that there that there exist many companies that provide laundry and cloth repair services across United States of America, and most of them do not offer door to services. Therefore, solving these problems is a great business opportunity. References Bolton, B. K. (2004). Entrepreneurs: Talent, Temperament, Technique. Burlighnton: Routledge. Brown, D. C. (2010). King Cotton in Modern America:. Mississippi: Univ. Press of Mississippi. Chetdav, R. S. (2009). Acidrain. Lincoln: iUniverse. Girard, J. (2009). Principles of Environmental Chemistry. Sudburry: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Hm, A. B. (2009). The Swot Analysis. Norderstedt: GRIN Verlag. Hunter, S. (2000). Great Canadians in Business: Entrepreneurs. Alberta: Weigl Educational Publishers. Lichtfouse, E. (2009). Sustainable Agriculture. New York: Springer. McDonald, B. L. (2011). Food Security. Cambridge: Polity. McMichael, A. J. (2003). Climate Change And Human Health: Risks And Responses. Wellingtone: World Health Organization. Schmitz, H. (2005). Value Chain Analysis for Policy-makers and Practitioners. Geneva: International Labour Organization. U S Bureau of the Census. (2002). Economic census. Other services (except public administration). Summary. New York: United States. Bureau of the Census. Willard, B. (2002). Sustainability advantage: 7 business case benefits of a triple bottom line. New York: New Society. Read More