Entrepreneurship and Small Business - Case Study Example

Business Plan Proposal: The Genius Junior Table of Contents Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………………………3 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………3 Mission Statement…………………………………………………………………………………..4 Company History……………………………………………………………………………………5 Market Research and Competition………………………………………………………………….5 Value proposition of the product……………………………………………………………………6 Marketing Segmentation Strategy…………………………………………………………………..6 Marketing mix……………………………………………………………………………………….7 Operational Plan……………………………………………………………………………………..8 Basic Forecast and Financial Overview……………………………………………………………..8 References………………………………………………………………………………………….10 Executive Summary This is a business plan about The Genius Junior, an education agent that mediates between the institutes in UK and the Saudi students who wish to study in the UK. The company has a noble objective, which is to extend support to families and students who are keen on studying in UK and get cultural exposure that is bound to help them in shaping their career. The founders of the company were of the opinion that it’s high time that someone stands up to think about the future of Saudi students. The objectives of the company were multifold, which was at first to make profits, even while seeking to do good for the future of Saudi students. Introduction The Genius Junior is a small firm that operates as an education mediator that mediates between the education institutes in UK and the Saudi students who wish to study in the UK. The goal of the company is to extend support to students who are keen on studying in UK and get cultural exposure and make profits at the same time through a stipulated commission from the institutes that the students get enrolled in. The company started its operations at a small scale with just the owners getting successful associations with institutes and signing contracts to make a commission of 20-25% on every enrolled student. The first year of operation saw decent returns on investment and all stakeholders were keen at getting associated with the company for the future feasibility of the project. Several theories and researches explain that it’s easier to penetrate a market that has some competition than the one that is entirely new for any product or services in terms of exploration. There will certainly be enough takers of a service that boasts of future nurturing and better career prospects. The most unique thing about this service being provided to students of Saudi Arab is that they or their parents do not have to struggle and run to and fro in trying to meet the formalities. In order to find out the interests, preferences, and influential factors of the target market, i.e. children in the age group of 14-25 years, an extensive market research will be conducted. The ideas generated from this market research will be utilized in targeting the potential consumers of the facility to be able to under go courses at UK schools and universities. In order to remain competitive, the company will strive for constant improvements in services and associations in future within the financial and time constraints. Games Workshop is successfully operating in the gaming industry and has made significant contributions towards the distribution of hobby games in the UK market. Therefore, the business plan is about the introduction of a new product in the company’s hobby characterization. The product is a video game, and its name will be Tom & Jerry Strategy Fun Game. The video game will have some distinctive features in comparison to the other video games available in the market. The target market of the product will be children in the age bracket of eight to thirteen. Several issues need to be addressed before the launch of a new product, so the paper will involve a detailed discussion about the business proposition of the company, marketing strategy, competitor’s analysis and financial overview. It will provide assistance in analyzing the importance of integrated business approach to lead in the competitive market place (Abrams and Kleiner 2003). Mission Statement Since the start, the company’s mission is to spread awareness of the importance of learning English language from the native speakers and also get an exposure to the services of highest quality that appeal to a majority of the similar age group population. The company is in niche business and was the first of its kinds to get associated with schools in UK and get Saudi school students to sign up for three months courses; a segment that generally appeals to small number of people. However, moving on in future The Genius Junior aims at expanding horizons and get colleges and universities in its esteemed list of associates. The small venture was started with an aim to be the best education mediators serving Saudi students and proving beneficial for UK schools and universities at the same time. The goal is to establish The Genius Junior as a prosperous company in the UK as the first company dedicated to help students from Saudi to get enrolled in schools and universities from UK to brighten up their future. The aim is to not commercialize education but to make students and their parents understand that a stint in UK would stand them in good stead for the future. The founders want to be the pioneers and the best of what it does in the region. Company History The Genius Junior started its business in the summer of 2011, June to be precise. The founders of the company spent a few years in the UK before visualizing that they can do their bit in assisting the needy students back in Saudi in getting enrolled in courses at the schools in UK, especially for three months English language course. The fact that there were no agents at that time helped them make the decision easier as they had no competitors to be afraid of and they can work on their own feasible terms. This is not so old a business and is a two people partnership. Market Research and Competition The business of The Genius Junior is unique in nature considering the target consumer segment, which also helped the company in gaining associations, profits and the trust of parents of Saudi students. The encouraging profit made by the company has in fact ended up inspiring them to further strengthen their market existence by tying up with universities also. With the increasing awareness of parents and students, half the works that the company intends to do get done automatically; which is to explain the benefits of undergoing courses overseas in shaping up students’ future career. During the early years of their stay in the UK, the founders of the company analyzed that there were no education agents operating in the UK and they didn’t miss a chance to lose on the opportunity. The advantage for any business; whether new or an existing one in the market of not having to face the competition is immense and this very fact worked in the favour of The Genius Junior too. The company started tying up with education institutes aggressively and in the very first of its launch had partnerships with institutes including Stafford House School of English, School of English Studies, Harven School of English, AES, and Concorde International. The market research that the owners of the company carried out gave them a clear signs of immense potential that their business venture had due to the lack of competition and a large untapped customer database. They came up with an innovative way to win over their prospective market by not spending a lot on advertising and marketing but visiting schools and convincing students, teachers and parents about the huge set of benefits that come along with an exposure to institutes in the UK. i (Cant, 09). Value proposition of the product This service has many unique and innovative features that are not found in any such product in the market at this price and in this area. It provides customers an amazing experience that even provides them with n opportunity to progress in their professional career and also get an experience of global functioning. The target market segment of the product is mainly the children in the age bracket of 14 to 21 years. Therefore, it will be successful in attracting target customers by delivering enhanced customer satisfaction and making sure that the customers and their parents do not get worried about the future of children. They’ll not have to wait for trying to get enrolled in education institutes from abroad as they’ll have the Genius Junior catering them right at their doorstep. Marketing Segmentation Strategy The market for these kinds of services can be divided in a number of segments - Segmentation on the basis of Age: Some courses that already exist are suitable for school children, where as moving on in the future the plan is to enroll students from colleges and universities also. Segmentation on the basis of Preference: Universities and institutes in the UK vary on the basis of the fee being charged and the reputation in the education circle. So, the target market segment can be categorized on the basis of economical group on the basis of family’s average household income. Segmentation on the basis of Student category – The target market can also be segmented on the basis of students’ and the course they are undertaking at the moment; whether they are in the primary, secondary or college education. The target market for The Genius Junior would be children between the age group of fourteen and twenty one years belonging to both the gender groups. Marketing Mix In the marketing mix, the detailed discussion on utilization of the 4Ps of marketing is emphasized to make the services successful in the market place. The explanation is given below: Product: In formulating a marketing strategy for a product, the most important aspect is the product itself. The features that a product offers determine how well that particular product will fare in the market. The product that will be offered by the company will be services that are unique and have negligible competition. Price: Pricing a product or a service is a very important consideration for any organization as it is important to earn profits from business; therefore a company should set the prices above its cost price. However, consideration has to be given to the fact that the consumer should get a fair return in exchange as he/she is the one, who is paying. The third consideration while pricing a product is of the organizations objectives. Therefore, in the first year of its operation, the company did not charge anything from students moving to the UK for studies and rather had a share of their course fee as their commission. Promotion: The Company plans not to go for extensive promotional campaigns and rather visit the schools, colleges and universities in Saudi to convince students and parents about the benefits they can make by having a course in UK on their portfolio. Place: For the distribution of its services, the company will establish an effective office, one both in Saudi and the UK without having to worry to much about the channel distribution. Operational Plan The Genius Junior owners plan to rent a small commercial facility in one of the highly populated plazas that are located near to the educational hub of the region so that it becomes easier to get the required promotion and exposure among the education institutes as well as the student base to get the word of mouth publicity. Fantasy Weddings will rent a small building in the Wal-Mart Shopping Plaza on Hwy 84. We will be next to the Bath and Body Works store. The operation of the business is going to take place in our building as well as out of it. We are going to have to see the business that we are contracting for the weddings. We will take care of decorating the church and the reception hall. Basic Forecast and Financial Overview Financial Overview Expenses: Cost Head  £   Printing 200   Transport 120   Website 100 A. Total expenses 420 It can be analyzed from the review of the overall expenses that the company will incur expenses in the operational running through various heads of expenses, such as printing, transport, website etc. etc. However, the major plus in favour of the company is that the company does not plan to spend a lot of money on advertising and marketing and rather in contacting parents, students, and the prospective schools directly on one on one basis. The uniqueness and niche line of business The Genius Junior is operating is bound to assure profits, future growth and sustainability. This is also substantiated by the fact that the company made a profit of £9,450 in the first three months of its operations i.e. from June to August of 2011. Even though, the company plans to grow its business by tying up with Universities in addition to schools that it currently operates in association with, the cost is likely to increase only marginally. This adds to its current and expected future financial strength. The modes of promoting business in future would be focusing on utilizing the features of Internet, primarily the Social Networking websites, like facebook, twitter, etc. The future advertising and expansion plans to the university student segment also, hence will not attract a large amount of increase in expenses, which is sure to bolster the company’s performance in future. References Abrams, R. and Kleiner, E. 2003. The Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies. 4th ed. Canada: The Planning Shop. Burns P. 2007. Entrepreneurship and Small Business. 2nd Ed. Palgrave. London: Pelgrave. Belz, A. 2010. The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course Product Development. USA: McGraw-Hill Professional. Hill, C. and Jones, G. 2009. Strategic Management Theory: An Integrated Approach. 9th ed. USA: Cengage Learning. Read More