A Divergence of Ideas and Plans for Different Business Plans - Assignment Example

? Business Planning Exclusive Summary No business plans are alike, regardless of whether they target the same market. While writing a business plan, there is divergence of ideas and plans for two different business plans. Two business plans, all targeting the same industry might have different objectives. Projected inflows, the period taken to start making profits among others. Such is evidenced by two business plans al targeting the bar business. In this paper, I will analyse the business plans for singles bar and night club businesses. Introduction While preparing a business plan, planners follow a similar procedure. However, the thoroughness in the preparation of the idea as presented in a final draft of a business plan is determinant of the research and the viability of the idea in the industry selected. While some of the business ideas appear excellent on paper, implementing them could be a problem. Thus, a viable business plan has the qualities of being excellent on paper and practical applicability. Such determine the similarities and differences in the components of a business plan. This paper analyses the strengths and weaknesses of two business plans, Singles Bar Business Plan for Colloquy Grog Shop and Nightclub Business Plan for The Spot club. A Brief Description of the Spot Business Plan The Spot bar, is a club targeting the students of state university, with a student population exceeding 22,000 students and has a projected growth of 15% per year. The location of the business is one block away from the main campus, in an area where three bars have thrived in the past ten years. After staring its operations, The Spot boosts of exceptional management team that automatically translates business into profitability. Since all members of the management team have had previous experience in the club industry, their expertise and skills are essential in transforming the club into a success. In its mission statement, The Spot promises fun to its customers, by creating an environment that satisfies the changing tastes and exceptions of the college-age women. The Spot takes the assumption that once women visit the club, men will have no choice but follow them there. If the plan succeeds, the club hopes to exceed $ 1 million in its third year of operation, and maintaining its average costs at 25%. Ownership of the company is a three partnership by Robert Shaw, Jill Morse, and Sheila Thompson. All the shareholders are experienced business people. The main products offered by the club targets women, attracting them to the bar, and hoping that men tag along. Among the products on sale will be an assortment of wines, different makes of liquor and wines. Three of the most significant elements giving the club a competitive edge over other businesses in the same locality are a larger ladies room area, floor design and music (“Nightclub Business Plan”, 2013). A Brief Description of the Colloquy Grog Shop Business Plan Colloquy Grog Shop aims at providing an environment conducive enough where singles can meet and have an opportunity to have a good communication. Offering coffee and tapas, the shop will also offer a unique service allowing for structured communication. Singles, especially those between 25-45 years of age have a problem of meeting each other. As such, the shop aims at providing these people with an opportunity to meet and have an effective communication. By the end of the second year in operation, the shop hopes to reach the profitability threshold, and hopes to achieve comfortable profits by the third year. The key success of the shop is addressing the needs of the customers. The shop’s location, an upcoming industrial area of NW Portland has registered a rapid growth of night stops and due to its targeted demographics. In an effort to reduce the operation costs of the joint, an old warehouse will serve as the main building, thus reducing rental expenses. Products offered to the customers include, eight microbrew beers on draft and in bottles, Espresso, cappuccino, coffee, and other coffee/espresso drinks, and an assortment of different tapas. In the singles section, there will be 4-top tables, where four people can sit and have an effective communication. There will be a topic of conversation at the centre of the table, which will change the topic of conversation after the exhaustion of the progressive one. This will take place with the help of a server, with different and distinctive topics of conversation for instance the news or sports, philosophical as well as intellectual topics. Uniquely, this place is that the shop offers single people with a rare opportunity to the singles, conspicuously absent in other bars and restaurants (“Singles Bar Business Plan”, 2013). Three Strongest Components Colloquy Grog Shop There are distinctive components making either of the business plans effective. While both have their weak and strong points, the drafts define the path to follow in order to reach profitability. For Colloquy Grog Shop, the company summary section makes its strongest component. The summary section clearly outlines the entire services offered by the business, as well as the background of the idea. The concise description of the idea and the services provided by the shop sets it apart from others, revealing its unique features and creativity in providing the singles with an opportunity to meet and have an effective topic. Innovativeness in the whole idea has the potential of transforming the dating scene, is the ideas in the plan is anything to go by. The product section provides another strong component of the plan. While most of the business plans are conservative in providing information on the type of products available to the customers, effective business plans reveal the entire products on offer, including those ready and those available on request. Such is the nature of the product component of Colloquy Grog Shop. It gives a candid explanation of the entire products on offer, opting to give a brief description of every drink. Further, it gives an explanation of the unique services available to the visiting customers. The third strong component for the Colloquy Grog Shop is its competitive edge. Basing its idea on providing the singles with a place where they could meet and have an effective conversation, the shop is far from experiencing any form of competition from other businesses, due to their lack of specialization in the kind of services offered. Three Strongest Components of The Spot The Spot on the other hand has a number of strong components too. The executive summary of the business plan is one of the strong elements of the business plan. Giving the entire overview of the business, from the target population and the market edge, the viability of the location to the management team, a person gets the clear picture of the whole business right from the onset of the plan. Another strong component for the plan is the personnel plan, which highlights the expected salaries for all the employees of the company. This is essential in drafting of the expenditure plan for the company and avoiding any guesses (Pinson, 2008). Since there are enough employees budgeted for, the company does not risk understaffing. Finally, another strong component of the plan is the competitive advantage element of the business plan. The plan sets the bar higher for the business, with innovativeness in providing high quality services for the women to attract them to the company. Three Weakest Components of The Spot Despite having strong components, the business plans have weakest points. One of the weakest points of The Spot business plan is the company summary. Describing the key elements of the business, it focuses on the attracting college-age-women, with an assumption that men will follow suit. Such an assumption is vague as men do not necessarily have to tag along women. There is the gay community, which the idea completely locks out, yet they are potential customers. Another weakness of the company is its products section. Despite being a club and the biggest assumption being that it will offer alcoholic drinks, there is the absence of details on the kind of products available to the people. The financial plan section of the plan has a number of assumptions, with its breakeven projection being expected to take a smooth curve. This is not true as a number of market elements can potentially ruin the entire plan. Three Weakest Components of Colloquy Grog Shop The main weaknesses of the Colloquy Grog Shop business plan include the personnel plan, where the Karen is expected to act as the manager, the server, and hostess and do all that needs to be done. The plan to provide her with differently coloured hats, customers is wrong as customers can realize this, questioning the credibility of the company. Moreover, there could be workload at particular times, overworking her. Another weakness of the plan is the sales forecast section (Finch, 2013). The component projects that in the second year in operation, sales will exceed $450K. This assumption could either be true or false as there is no evidence of previous performance record by businesses of this type (Pinson, 2008). Finally, the market analysis summary is also a weakness as it does not fully reveal the biggest competitors in the market. Despite the business idea being unique in its sense, there are competitors, who could be the singles clubs, bars, and restaurants among others. How the Business Plans Could Have Been Improved There are a number of ways of improving the business plans. By conducting a review of the existing firms in the market, it would be possible for the planners to make informed decisions on the various businesses they plan to venture in (Analoui & Karami, 2003). Of more importance to the business plans is a thorough market research focusing on both the challenges and benefits of venturing into the various industries (Ingram, & Spooner, 2004). A good research helps in identifying the required number of employees for a business, the expected cash flows, the required incomes as well as the required knowledge and skills for the employees. Challenges Faced and How I Overcame Them During the analysis, it was hard to determine the strongest and the weakest components of the business plans. This is because all the ideas appeared strong and carried a similar weight. However, to overcome these challenges, I had to undertake more research on existing businesses with related ideas to evaluate their effectiveness. Conclusion A business plan is a representation of an actual business on paper. The purpose of a business plan is providing the guidelines on how to best implementation a business. Although they follow a particular procedure, business plans are very different, regardless of whether they involve the same industry or not. It is however worth noting that the components of a business plan offer diverse ideas on the actual business plan. As such, there are a number of differences and similarities in the two business plans. A statement of five lessons you have learnt about business planning. From the business plan, I have learnt a number of lessons. According to these two analyses, a business plan should have concise ideas that flow, should be precise and straight to the point, must be realistic and should indicate the risks involved with the business idea. Moreover, it is important to carry out a thorough research on the viability of the idea. References Analoui, F., & Karami, A. (2003). Strategic management in small and medium enterprises. London [u.a.: Thomson. Finch, B. (2013). How to Write a Business Plan. London: Kogan Page. Ingram, M., & Spooner, K. (2004). A good business plan can put your practice in the driving seat. Pulse, 64(44), 40-41. Nightclub Business Plan (2013). Nightclub Business Plan: The Spot, Bplans. Retrieved from http://www.bplans.com/nightclub_business_plan/executive_summary_fc.php#.UhiduhunrNQ Pinson, L. (2008). Anatomy of a business plan: A step-by-step guide to building the business and securing your company's future. Tustin, CA: Out of Your Mind & into the Marketplace. Singles Bar Business Plan (2013). Singles Bar Business Plan: Colloquy Grog Shop., Bplans. Retrieved from http://www.bplans.com/singles_bar_business_plan/executive_summary_fc.php#.UhidwRunrNQ Read More