Business Plan for Sports Coaching Company - Stamford Bridge Academy - Case Study Example

Executive Summary of a Business Plan Sport coaching company Background Football is one of the most famous sport in the United Kingdom with the country’s football league being one of the most famous league globally. The popularity of the sport both in the country and globally has therefore increased demand for football coaches. A coaching company that trains teenagers thus appears a lucrative business idea that does not only promise returns on the investment but also promises to sustain the growth of the local football industry. The plan below therefore presents the coaching company as a potential business idea that will earn profits for the investments in order to earn the approval of potential funders. To achieve this, the plan must therefore analyze both micro and macro-economic factors that affect the industry and are therefore likely to influence the profitability of the new company (Elizabeth & Michelle, 2008). Among the factors analyzed in the summary below, include economic, social, legal, economic and technical factors that affect the industry and the institution of a new company in the country. In analyzing the factors, the summary below answers particular questions that help depict the relevance of the new company in the industry. Among the questions are problems the new company will solve, the company’s customers and the size of the market. By answering such questions, the plan below proves to the potential investors that the new company just as any other business will make profits thereby safeguarding their interests. Table of Contents Background 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Mission statement 4 Business description 4 Business environment analysis 5 SWOT Analysis 6 Market entry strategy 7 Marketing plan 8 Management summary 9 Financial plan expenditure 10 References 10 Jonathan, K,2005, The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America, New York, crown. 11 Introduction Stamford Bridge Academy will be a football coaching company based in London. The company will train professional coaches and hire them out to local football clubs and schools within the city. As stated earlier, football is the most famous game in the city of London. The city has two main football teams playing in the national league, which have raised the popularity of the sport. Besides Arsenal and Chelsea, which are major contenders in the English premier league, the city has several other teams playing in various local and national leagues. Besides the hundreds of the smaller teams in different leagues, secondary and primary schools also have football teams and participate in different sporting activities within the country. The demand for professional coaches is therefore high in the city a feature that will earn the new company a potential local market before expanding to other regions within the country. The schools appointed a talented teacher to coach the teams in the past; however, the increasing competitiveness of the sport in the region has compelled most schools to seek professional services from such companies as Stamford Bridge Academy. The company will therefore pride itself in professionalism as it rises to claim the untapped market. Mission statement Stamford Bridge Academy seeks to be: A leading company in the industry priding itself in the provision of professional coaching services in the city in its bid to grow and claim the market thereby safeguarding the interests of both the funders and the local teams that will seek the company’s services Business description Stamford Bridge Academy will begin its operation in the market as a small industry. The small size is an entry technique that will minimize harm and los in case the company incurs loses from industry hostility. However, the market is untapped and therefore promises to sustain the growth of the new entrant. As De, George states, the company will have a manager who will also serve as coach and therefore hire his services to both the market and the company (2010). As the company grows, it will expand its services and hire more coaches. The company will carry out extensive recruiting process through which the company will hire professional coaches in order to revamp its human resource. The location of the company is a fifty-acre plot of land out of the city. The serene setting will provide the company will adequate field and spacious rooms for the training of the coaches. The field will serve as an additional resource for the company. Diversification is an essential marketing feature that will improve the profitability chances of the new company (Ashe, 1980). Florian and Tony imply that the company will therefore hire out the field to the smaller leagues hosting their sporting activities in the city thereby increasing its profitability (2012). For a start, the company will have three employees including the chief executive. However, as the company grows it will diversify its management in order to serve the market effectively. Business environment analysis The popularity of football in the country coupled with the celebrity status of the various players in the country serves as a motivation for most young people. The government through schools and other non-governmental organization has sought to improve the sport in the country in a bid to create more job opportunities in the country (Bogomolova, 2011). The community therefore appreciates the role of football as a sport a feature that will contribute to the friendliness of the market. The company therefore anticipates great demand for its services in the numerous schools and smaller teams. Additionally, the city of London has several retired footballers and coaches who have vast experience of both the sport and the industry. Such will constitute the human resource for the company. The company will hire retired professional footballers among other stakeholders of the sport. This will help build an appropriate reputation for the company thereby increasing its marketability (Richard, 2003). SWOT Analysis Strength and weaknesses are factors within the company that affects its profitability. Iacobucci alludes that the company is in control of such factors and therefore manipulates them in order to increase its productivity in the market (2012). Opportunities and threats on the other hand arise from thee industry. The business has no control over such factors and may only change its approach on such factors in order to improve both its relevance and profitability. Among the strengths, that Stamford Bridge Academy enjoys is the fact that it will hire professionals. Professionals have both the experience and technical knowhow to achieve success. With its professional workmanship, the company will approach the market aggressively and exemplify the features of the sport in a bid to achieve success. The success of every coach hired out will improve the reputation of the company thereby increasing demand for its services within the city. The only weakness the company has is its newness in the industry; this may affect its penetration of the market (Jiaming, 2008). However, with the professionalism of both the company’s management and human resource the company will overcome any operational challenge resulting from the market (Wellman, 1988). As stated earlier, the market remains untapped, the professional clubs such Arsenal and Chelsea have professional coaches and parallel independent academies from where they nature talents. Most of the smaller clubs and schools in the city however continue to rely on the talent the teachers may possess in the sport. This implies that such institutions will require the professionalism the company promises in a bid to increase the success of their teams. The new company’s greatest threat from the industry is the negative attitude from most of the retired professional footballers. Most of such prefer working independently and may not therefore apply for jobs from the company (Painter et al., 2012). However, the company will offer such prospective employees effective remuneration package in order to win their services. Market entry strategy The company will enter the market through appropriate strategies in order to win a larger share of the market within the shortest time. After the development of the facility, the company will approach the local league with an irresistible offer. The company will offer such clubs with professional trainings through seminars. Such trainings will enlighten the management of such clubs on the profitability of the clubs through professional coaches. This way, the company will develop a working relationship with the management of the clubs. Additionally, the company will carry out extensive media campaigns in order to increase the company’s awareness in the market. Schools constitute the largest target market, the company will use its field to organize tournaments for the schools and encourage the management of such facilities to recruit professional coaches. The company will offer the schools lower prices for schools since most of them do not use the sport as a means of incoming revenue (Bowers, 2009). The company will charge higher for the smaller football clubs since the sport is their business. In order to cater for the higher demand despite the smaller human resource, the coaches will serve in both the clubs and the schools. This will require adequate coordination in order to increase efficiency for both the coaches and the schools. Marketing plan Marketing is a function of the management concerned with the determination, anticipation and satisfaction of the target market. Stamford Bridge Academy will employ several marketing tools in order to increase the company’s awareness in the market. Among the tools the company will use is the marketing mix, a tool that analyses several fundamental features of the business. Promotion is an element in the marketing mix that refers to the process of improving the product or service awareness in the market (De George, 2010). The company will use various advertisement media in a bid to improve the awareness of the company. The company will run adverts on both the print and broadcast media. However, the small capital may restrict the number and extent of the media adverts the company will run. To remedy this, the company will use the social media in a bid to overcome the financial challenges (Tabbush et al., 2011). Most of the football clubs in the city have accounts on different social networking sites including Facebook and twitter (Peter, 1994). Interacting with the companies on such platform is not only cost effective but also equally appropriate since the level of interactivity is reliable and the company may use such to carry out market researches (Argyrous, 2001). As suggested by Parente, besides promotion, the service is another element of the mix that will improve the company’s relevance in the market (2005). As discussed earlier, the company will pride itself in the dispensation of high quality services. The company will hire professional footballers, people with appropriate technical knowhow in the management of football. The quality of the services will reminisce itself in the success of the local football teams and schools that will hire the services of the company. This will develop a positive reputation for the company thereby increasing its market position as the teams and other stakeholders in the industry share the knowledge of the company among themselves. By diversifying its services, the company will widen its target market thereby increasing its profitability. The company will for example rent out its ten thousand-capacity stadium to the local leagues that has a deficit for such facilities. Fournier states that this way, the company will safeguard its revenue (1998). As the company develops through sustained success in the industry, the company will develop a football club by recruiting the talent natured by its different coaches both in the schools and in the numerous local leagues. This will increase the company’s success and will arise from the experience the stakeholders will earn after prolonged operation in the industry. The football club will enlist in the local league and seeks to join the famous national league. This will epitomize the company’s growth and success in the industry (Karen, & Ricardo, 2012). With the large pool of resources and professionalism, the company has a better chance to develop a strong team within its first ten years of operation. The growth of the company leading to the development of the football club is a promise of the longevity of the business and therefore a reassurance to the investors. Management summary The management of the company will remain minimal with three members in the management and twenty-five initial employees. The management will make the essential investment and operational decisions in the company thereby safeguarding the interests of the company. Key roles of the management will include marketing, management of the sports facility and the human resource coordination. For such a young company, marketing is the most essential department as it coordinates the company’s entry into the market and successive operations in order to sustain the profitability demanded by the investors (Homburg, Sabine, & Harley, 2009). Jonathan suggests that the company will therefore concentrate on marketing and diversify the management function to other departments as the company increases (2005). Financial plan expenditure The $125,000 investment will be used in developing the facility, which will include the field and the housing block, and in hiring the initial employees. Hiring of successive employees and expanding the field as the business grows and diversify will depend on its success (Pickton, & Broderick, 2005). Below is the breakdown of the initial investment. Cost Development of the facility $ 75,000 Hiring of human resource $ 50,000 Total initial cost $125,000 References Argyrous, G. (2001). Statistics for Research: With a Guide to SPSS. London: Sage. Ashe, M. (1980). Insider trading. London: Company Communications Centre. Bogomolova, S. (2011). Service quality perceptions of solely loyal customers. International Journal of Market Research, 53(6) 793-810. Bowers. J. (2009). 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