How I Started an Own Small Business - Case Study Example

Personal Project Introduction Starting a small business is one of the few life-altering and huge events in the life of a person. The first step towards initiating a business, whether large or small is to select the type and nature of business (Hills, Hultman, Kraus and Schulte, 2010). Once the business-type is finalized, the subsequent step is to analyze whether the business selected has the potential to offer adequate profit and generate enough revenue. However, these questions will always remain associated with a new venture; the most important thing is to believe in what a person is doing and should continue to look after the opportunities to embrace development. Initiation of a new venture has various advantages as well as disadvantages. For example, with the introduction of a new venture, an individual can make more capital and have own freedom (Hultman and Shaw, 2003). On the contrary, initiating a new venture involves huge financial risks and along with that one need to take extra burden of work so as to get success. Yet, individuals explore this avenue so as earn money, respect and at the same time carry out some social works (Carson, Cromie, McGowan and Hill, 1995). In our case, the business chosen was restaurant business. The company was named as E-Food Restaurant and positioned to capitalize on the opportunities arises due to the changing consumer needs. The USP (unique selling proposition) of our restaurant is customer tailored and fresh meals. In addition, the location of our restaurant coupled with large seating capacity acts as a competitive advantage to the firm. The products of our restaurant are mostly inspired from the British culture and wildlife (Hultman, 1999). The launching of our first restaurant business is a part of our long term plan and to drive change in the industry. However, the process was not easy enough and we had to pass through various complexities before reaching this stage. In this report, I on behalf of our company would like to reflect upon the steps that we went through in establishing and running the company through the competition & the decisions that were made during the competition and their outcome. In addition, this self reflection report also proposes to shed light on the overall experience and knowledge that we have gained from the module. Lastly, a conclusive statement will be drawn regarding our overall experience and the things we have learned over the years. Discussion In this segment of the study above-mentioned factors will be covered i.e. the phases through which we went and overall experience. The Phases through which we went Our business also took the steps as other businesses usually take before venturing into a business. Likewise, any other business, our business also started from the scratch and went through various phases before actually finally establishing and starting the operation (Johnson, 2008). During the first day of our sitting regarding the business idea, a number of plans came in to our mind, but we were very much confused about the type of venture we should get into. One of my partners came up with an idea that before finalizing any business we should carry out a comprehensive feasibility analysis of the business. All the other members accepted this proposal and we thought that this is the best option to mitigate the business and financial risks associated with a business. The next task was to select the potential industries in which our business can prosper and can compete without many difficulties. It is obvious that in whichever industry we cater to competition will be there and therefore strategies should be devised in such a manner that the company can continue functioning despite of high competition levels. The responsibility of carrying out the feasibility study was divided among the team members and everyone was asked to tender a report to present the findings. Initially, the industry which we have chosen was retailing business, restaurant business, manufacturing business and outsourcing/servicing. The analysis of the industry attractiveness and other legal factors have shown that restaurant business is the most feasible one considering the fact that legal works are less, has more potential than other segments and is independent of seasonality and other factors. Furthermore, it has been also found that restaurant business is a type of business where mass customer segment can be targeted and the financial risk is comparatively low. Lastly, another factor that played a significant role in our decision making process was the low start-up cost of this business. On the contrary, retailing business, manufacturing business requires high start-up cost as well as huge manpower (Kuratko, 2008). Thus, according to personal point of view venturing in the restaurant business was an appropriate decision. Once the decision making phase passed, the next tasks that we carried out was planning of the business operation and alongside that carried out the required activities such as legal works, market research, consumer research and competitor research. Hence, in the next phase we generally scanned the business environment where we are supposed to be operating. In the course module we have studied about the strategic marketing practises that are put into practise by the marketers so as to gain deeper insights of the environment. The same concept has been applied by us in order to scan then business environment. One of the astonishing facts about the implementation of the course module was that whatever we have studied was evident in the real life scenario as well. I had an idea that there are differences between the theory and practical application, but after going through I believe practical application is just the reflection o the theories or viz.–a-viz. (May, 2010). For example, we have studied that the external business is impacted by various factors such as the legal factors, political factors, social factor, environmental factor, economical factor as well as the technological factor. The analyses of the factors have really helped in underpinning various useful insights of the market and how these factors are shaping the industry. Apart from that we also implemented the concept of industry analysis that we have studies in the course module i.e. porter’s 5 forces analysis. In addition, apart from Porter’s five forces analysis and PESTEL analysis we have used various other techniques such as consumer trend analysis, competitor analysis etc. The analysis has shown that in UK restaurant business can be a profitable venture. However, at the same time, the analysis has shown that the industry is fragmented and intensely competitive. As a result of that we have decided that we need to make differentiate our self from the competitors. In order to do that we have decided to create a menu list that will differentiate us from the other providers (Remenyi, 2007). The same reflects in the menu list of our restaurant. Furthermore, in order to reduce the impact of competition several other strategies were initiated by us. In this context also we have used the concept of strategic marketing. Again, application of the theories helped us greatly and provided us with a number of advantages. For example, we have strengthened our distribution network in order to ensure availability of the products. Furthermore, various operational strategies were devised for the purpose of reducing waste. The promotional strategies we have adopted also acted as a weapon to fight with the competitors. Generally our focus was on personal selling and public relations, which helped us in reaching customers directly as well as enhance their loyalty towards the firm. On the contrary, it has been observed that companies involved in restaurant business generally tend to use television promotion or promotion through print media (Mohanty, 2005). These strategies allowed us to function efficiently in the market as well as these strategies minimized the threat of competition to a great extent and allowed our company to make a position for itself in the market place. Hence, on the basis of the findings and what we went through I can conclude that most of the vital decisions were made based on the theoretical assumptions and outcomes were highly consistent with the learning. In the next segment I will be reflecting upon the overall experience and knowledge you gained from the module. In addition, the factors that went in our favour and the factor troubled us will be also highlighted. Overall Experience The overall experience was pretty good as I came to know a number of new things and a number of factors became clear to me. Furthermore, I understood the entire process that is required to start a business. One of the key learning for me is to remain calm and composed during crisis times and thing strategically before making any decision. From my personal experience, I have observed that there is a solution to every problem, but what is more important is to identify the problem and implement the exact solution (University of California, 2010). In this context, I would like to share an incident which took place when we were in the process of planning our operation. It was during the time where we were in the process of developing the internal ambience of the organization. Although, from the outside out restaurant was looking attractive and bring, but somehow due to any reason the internal ambience was not consistent with its external appearance. We have tried a number of things such as usage of florescent bulbs, different colour combination, themes etc. None of the combinations were satisfactory. In the mean time, we thought of appoint an external consultant who is expert in planning and interior designer. His suggestions worked as magic and now both internal and external appearance are consistent. This incident made me learn that appropriate resources must be utilised and online should not waste resources in unpromising activities. In terms of the knowledge I have gained through this process, I would like to mention that apart from the practical knowledge I came to know about the process of its application. For example, in the course I have studied about various strategic management tools but never had the opportunity to implement the same in the real life scenario. Hence, I would say that it was a great learning opportunity for me. For example, I have done SWOT analysis a number of times curing my course module, but here when I did SWOT for my own company my thinking was broadened to a large extent. I considered a number of factors before making a point. Hence, I can also cite this as learning for me. The concept of team work played a pivotal in initiating the business. We were 5 partners and hence, the team work was important. From the beginning of the project we maintained good coordination among our self and that resulted in efficient execution of the operation. Moreover, we had our tasks divided and as a result of that there were no confusions among ourselves. The overall experience of the simulation and simulation venture was also good. It allowed me to get deeper insights of a business and the role of an entrepreneur. It also allowed me to identify the necessity of coordination among the business partners in running a business effectively. Conclusion The study based upon the self reflection of learning I had during the process of starting my own venture. The analysis clearly reflected that this was a great learning opportunity for me as I came to know about various theories and their applications. Hence on the basis of the findings as well as the learning I have received in the course module coupled with the implementation of those learning, I would like to conclude that the starting my own business was justified and appropriate. From an overall point of view I would like to mention that this research would also help me for the future endeavours. Reference List Carson, D., Cromie, S., McGowan, P. and Hill, J., 1995. Marketing and Entrepreneurship in SMEs – An Innovative Approach. London: Prentice-Hall. Hills, G., Hultman, C., Kraus, S. and Schulte, R., 2010. History, theory and evidence of entrepreneurial marketing – an overview. International Journal of Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management, 11 (1), pp. 3-18. Hultman, C. and Shaw, E., 2003. The interface between transactional and relational orientation in small service firm’s marketing behaviour – a study of Scottish and Swedish small firms in the service sector. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 11 (1), pp. 36-51. Hultman, C., 1999. Nordic perspectives in marketing and research in themarketing/entrepreneurship interface. Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, 1 (1), pp. 54-71. Johnson, A., 2008. The Influence of Need for Achievement, Need for Affiliation, Leadership Support, and Organizational Culture on Organizational Citizenship Behaviour. Michigan: ProQuest. Kuratko, D. F., 2008. Entrepreneurship: Theory, Process, Practice. 8th ed. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. May, H. 2010. Aristotles Ethics: Moral Development and Human Nature. New York: Continuum. Mohanty, S. K., 2005. Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship. New Delhi: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Remenyi, D. 2007. Proceedings of the 2nd European Conference on Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Reading: Academic Conferences Limited. University of California, 2010. Career Planning: Career Development Action Plan. [online] Available at: < http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/learning/career-development/career-management/planning/action-plan> [Accessed 20 January 2013]. Read More