Advice Concerning Business Goals for Shania - Assignment Example

Business goals 1. Advise Shania on which of the business forms under consideration best accomplishes her business goals. Thoroughly explain the reasons for your recommendation. Shania wants her coffee business to be large enough to be able to serve the churches in the neighborhood and all the Christians in the area. This therefore means that she has big goals and little capital to invest in the business. Her goals also involve being her own manager and making all the decisions about the shop without having to consult anyone. This is evident from the fact that she makes the franchise search without informing anyone. Based on the above business goals and Shania’s personal traits, the best business form is a sole proprietorship. This will allow her the flexibility she needs to establish and grow her business as she sees best. It will also ensure that she has no reporting responsibility to anyone as she will not have any partner to deal with. She will also be her own manager making all the decisions about hiring, firing, opening and closing time as well as any other in regards to profits and losses of the business (Sitarz, 2005). This type of business form will not necessarily require a very large capital to start as it will depend on the business. She can start small and grow to be big as her goals state. She will be her own person and liable for her business and will run it as she deems fit and according to her Christian ways and teachings. She should therefore make it a sole proprietorship business. 2. Advise Shania on whether her company should become a franchise or should open as an independent coffeehouse. Explain your recommendation. Her research on becoming a franchise in the locality is very demanding and will require not only a very large capital but maximum commitment and turning the business into something that is beyond her goals. One franchise of the two found by her research requires her to have uniforms (trade dress) and adopt the franchise name. She is not comfortable with this idea based on the fact that she has already chosen her business name and which is appropriate for her target customers who are Christians in the neighborhood. The franchise name will also push away the target customers instead of attracting them as the chosen name would have, and hence she will not have met her goals. The other franchise opportunity demands that she makes a commitment of purchasing a given volume of products each month for the next ten years. This is not something that can be committed to and especially when the business is just starting and the customers are fewer. Making such a commitment will be a big mistake on her part even if the franchise is offering to train her and her staff. The best move is for her to open the coffeehouse as an independent business. This will allow her to be able to attract the target customers her own way. It will also allow the business to grow according to plan and not be speeded up which may force it to close prematurely. An independent coffeehouse will also meet with the goal of her being the manager and making the business relate with religion (Spadaccini, 2007). 3. Perform a corporate name search at this website to determine if the name Shania is considering is available for use in the State of Colorado. Also assess whether the name is available as a trademark. Even if the name is available, advise Shania on whether it is a good choice. Explain why or why not. The name “The Gathering Place” has already been taken in Colorado and is a trademark as well and hence cannot be used by Shania for her coffee business. The name is not a good choice for a coffeehouse (and one that aims to target Christian customers only) because it indicates that it is an open place for all types of people in need. There are several organizations all over the country with the name. They provide solace and are open to all types of people to offer assistance and rehabilitation (Puri, 2014). The trademark company for example provides shelter and rehabilitation to even transsexuals and groups which are non-Christians. People are therefore likely to mistake the coffee house for such a place. The name does not sound Christian-like even though Shania may like to believe otherwise. The name of a place says a lot about the owner, the type of business it is and the likely people it is targeting. In Shania’s case, her target customers are not likely to elaborate the name and relate it to Christian ways. They would think it is a gathering place for everyone Christian and non-Christian alike and hence are likely to avoid the coffeehouse. It is advised that Shania should put more effort into naming the coffeehouse. She can seek advice from her fellow Christians and family members alike who are Christians. She can also seek wisdom from God and the Bible in order to provide a biblical name to the coffeehouse. This is more likely to attract more Christian customers and hence enable her reach her target (Awe, 2012). 4. Advise Shania on which of the interested persons she should include in her business, why, and in what role(s). If she chooses not to take in a particular party, what reasons should she give each person, if any? Your analysis must include biblical perspectives, such as biblical considerations of marriage and of business relationships with non-believers. Out of the people who want to be included in the business, the best candidate is Shania’s husband Marvin who wants to give Shania capital for the business but does not want any other responsibility to do with the business whether in management or its coordination. In short, he has no interests in the coffeehouse other than just assisting his wife with capital to set it up and enable it to run. This would mean that she can still be able to be a sole proprietor without worry of capital to start up the business. Her sister has familial restrictions from her husband. Her neighbor is a non-Christian hence they both do not qualify. If she chooses not to take either party, she should tell them the truth about her reason: she wants the business to be a sole proprietorship business hence she cannot afford to take any party’s money as well as still maintain the business as such. As for her neighbor, she can also include the aspect of him not being a Christian hence would contradict with the goals of the business as well as the target customers who might not appreciate him because he is a non-believer. As for Marvin, the bible makes her one with him once they are married making hence her business is his. He does not need to be in business with her as it is their money hence any decision she can make, they will both be in it (Wiate & Lehrer, 2003). She has worked really hard on this coffeehouse and should therefore choose the decisions to implement keenly if she is to succeed. References Awe, S. (2012). The entrepreneur's information sourcebook: charting the path to small business success. New York, NY: ABC-CLIO. Puri, R. (2014, October 3rd). How to choose the best name for your company. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/sage/2014/03/10/how-to-choose-a-name-for-your-company/ Sitarz, D. (2005). Sole Proprietorship: Small Business Start-up Kit. New York, NY: Nova Publishing Company. Spadaccini, M. (2007). Business structures: forming a corporation, LLC, partnership, or sole proprietorship. New York, NY: Entrepreneurship Press. Wiate, L. & Lehrer, E. (2003, June). The benefits from marriage and religion in the United States: a comparative analysis. Population and Development Review, 29(2), 255-276. Read More