WelcomeThe Business Plan

You’ve got a business idea. You’ve decided to start a business.You want to get going.

But there’s a lot more to a good business than a good idea.You need to think things through to maximise your chances of success.Are you the right person to run the business? Will customers like your product? A business plan will help you turn an idea into a business. It needs you to think through all the parts of your business to plan how everything will work. It will take a few weeks to write if you’re going to do it properly. Some parts will be easier to complete than others. Stick at it because it’s not the final document that’s important, it’s the process. Although you want to have a good plan when you’re done, an OK plan is better than no plan.

The Prince’s Trust Business Plan Pack

The best business plans aren’t long and complex; they explain only the most important information – what you want to achieve, how you will get there and the things you need to do along the way. It’s best to tackle a business plan in small chunks. The Prince’s Trust Business Plan Pack can help. This is The Business Plan divided into sections to help you develop your business idea. You can use the information in The Guide to help you complete the sections. Some of the sections of The Business Plan have tables to record the financial parts of your business. The tables are also available in MS Excel format and the sums in these are automatic. The Prince’s Trust Enterprise Programme

The Prince’s Trust has helped many young people to complete their business plans and start their own businesses. If you are aged 18–30 and unemployed or working fewer than 16 hours per week, then we might be able to help you. We have offices throughout the UK and in each there is a team of Enterprise Programme staff.

To take part, you need to be interested in self employment and have a business idea that you would like help to test and explore. The programme can then help you to see if your business idea will work and whether self employment is right for you. If through this process you find out it is, the programme can offer mentoring support and, if you really need it, financial support to start your business. However, if self employment turns out not to be the right option, the programme can offer support to secure other goals in employment, education, training or voluntary work.

We can’t guarantee that your business will work or that we will be able to offer you money, but if you are up for a challenge and want our help to explore your business idea, get in touch and come and meet us.

Getting startedWhose plan is this?

Business and owner details:     Production company

Owned by Alex Wong, Film&TV Producer, Director and Graphic Designer

Business name:     Say What…

Owner(s) name:     Alex Wong

Business address and postcode:     Say What… HQ, 127 Burland Road, London, SW10 6KA, UK

Business telephone number:     020 4567 8836

Business email address:     A.Wong@SayWhat.com

Home address and postcode (if different from above):     17 Ebony Court, CH3 7HJ

Home telephone number (if different from above):     01244 574 419

Home email address (if different from above):  AWong1@hotmail.com   

Section oneExecutive summary

1.1 Business summary:     Say What… is a production company that help and produces video, poster, banner and etc. for companies or personal use. Say What… will ask the client, what they want (like poster, video and etc) and what is it use for? and then Say What… will send the information to a group of Producers and Graphic Designer, and then Say What… will send back at least 8 designs for the client to pick from.

The client don’t need to anything until they pick a design.

If they like the design they can contact the designer them self and say what they want to make changes on. And the client could ask for more design.

Say What… will put want the client want (a design brief) to the website and list of design will help the client design of what they want like a poster or etc. each. So if there is 15 designer in that project there will be 15 different design.

1.2 Business aims:     The client will have at least 10 different design to choose from. If the client don’t like it, they don’t need to pay anything.

1.3 Financial summary:     We will hire a small group of people in the HQ to run the company, making sure the website and the office is running fine and contacting the producers and graphic designers online , and hire a large group of producers and graphic designers online.

The different is that the group in HQ will be pay monthly and each of them will have to give at least 15 new design per month, and the group online will be pay base on each project only if the client pick their design.

Elevator Pitch

1.4 Your business name:     Say What…

1.5 Strapline:     An production company that used the community and professional designers for all the projects.

1.6 Elevator pitch:     Hello! My name is Alex Wong! And I am the CEO of Say What…, Say What is production company that does video production, graphic design, website design and a lot more. And the we uses the community and a group of professional designers to design our product. And then myself and my production team will create it!

Section twoOwner’s background

2.1 Why do you want to run your own business?     Because my business idea is unique and there is nothing like this in the market.

2.2 Previous work experience:     I have worked in Mark Lee’s production in London for 3 years from (2010 - 2013)and I also been a freelance graphic designer for 1 year (2013 - 2014)

2.3 Qualifications and education:     2001 – 2007 - Hawarden High School –

GCSEMathematics, ICT, Product Design AAdditional Math Level 2 MeritEnglish Language, English Literature, C

As-levelMathematics, ICT, Product Design B

2003 – 2006Wirral Multicultural Organisation – Level 7 Cantonese

Degree

2007 - 2010 - UCL

BA (HONS) Graphic and Media Design B

2.4 Training:

I am currently at Liverpool University doing a master degree on Graphic Design, this will help me to improve my design and I have learned the newest graphic design technology in this course.      Details of future training courses you want to complete:     I am planing on a master degree on Art in Liverpool University.

2.5 Hobbies and interests:     My hobbies are going to cinema with my friends or co-workers and then have meal after. And I love football so every weekend I will go to Liverpool and play football with my uni school friends and sometimes we will have a mini tournament between my uni friends and other uni football team.

I am interested at new/old movies, and the latest technology that out in the market. Also playing the newest video game.

2.7 Additional information:     

Section threeProducts and services

3.1 What are you going to sell?

a service

3.2 Describe the basic product/service you are going to sell:     I am going to sell services to my customers, the service will base on media product and graphic design.

3.3 Describe the different types of product/service you are going to be selling:     I am going to sell graphic design like poster, banner, logo and etc., video production and website design.

3.4 If you are not going to sell all your products/services at the start of your business, explain why not and when you will start selling them:     Because I will don't got that many for me to design and make the products, I will need to wait until I have enough customers and my online community is larger and then I will add all the product for sell to my company.

3.5 Additional information:     

Section fourThe market

4.1 Are your customers:

both

4.2 Describe your typical customer:     My customer will be adult for starting a new business or any business that want to promote there shop in a new way.

4.3 Where are your customers based?     My customer are based in Chester

4.4 What prompts your customers to buy your product/service?     Making the customers’s business have a fresh new look.

4.5 What factors help your customers choose which business to buy from?     By giving my customers a lot of choice to choose from and giving them a good customer service.

4.6 Have you sold products/services to customers already?

no

If you answered “yes”, give details:     

4.7 Have you got customers waiting to buy your product/service?

no

If you answered “yes”, give details:     

4.8 Additional information:

Because this is a business idea, so there is no customers yet brought any of my products or waiting to buy. But I have 10 years of working in the business and I know that there is a gap in the market, so my business idea is going to work.

Section fiveMarket research

5.1 Key findings from desk research:     I found out by researching some information for my idea on the internet, I found out that a lot of people is not happy with the cost of same big production company. And if the customer choose a small production company the cost will be lower but the service and choices will be not too good compare to big production company.

Also I found out that there are not similar production company in the local area. And some the small business in the local area don’t have a website or some have got a website but it got nothing on it.

5.2 Key findings from field research – customer questionnaires:     1. Sex

Male Female Prefer not to say

2. How old are you?

0-18 19-25 26-34 35-45 46-55 55-65 65+

3. Have you ever brought any production company service or product

yes/no

4. If yes, which production company have you brought a service or product from?

5. Would you hire a production team to film a big event like wedding/birthday/etc.?

yes/no

6. Would you hire a graphic design to design a website or log just for you?

yes/no

7. What do you think is the most important for a production company? ( only choose 2 below)

Understanding all detail about the service Reasonable price A lot designs to choose from

Have a 1 to 1 meeting with a designer Can contact the design at anytime

8. How much do you think is a reasonable price to pay for a production company service or product?

Below £80 £81-£150 £151-£200 £201-£350 £351-£500 More than £500

9. Do you think small business in the local should redesign their logo? and Why?

10. If there a production company in the local will you buy their service? and why?

5.3 Key findings from field research – test trading:     

5.4 Additional information:     

Section sixMarketing strategy

What are you going to do? Why have you chosen this marketing method?

How much will it cost?

     Making a Video to promo my company and post it on Facebook and youtube, and advertise for local people to see.

Because many people uses Facebook and Youtube everyday, so is a good platform to promo. Also my company is a production company, by making a professional video to show people of what can Say What… do.

     £50

Put up banner around to local area, on it will have the company name, some information about the company and the company website link.

Some people don’t go on social media website and they will notice the company, also if the banner put on a busy street then a lot of people will see it.

£100

Giving out free wristbands in the local shopping centre on busy days, on it will have the company name and website link.

Young people will keep wristbands and wear it for fashion. And some adult will give to their child for a mini gift.

£50

TOTAL COST      £200

Section sevenCompetitor analysis

7.1 Table of competitors

Name, locationand business size

Product/service Price Strengths

     Mark Lee’ production company

Media production £4500  Is a well known company

The G’s Graphic design £1750 Known for designing the Vue cinema and Panda wear logos

Angel Graphics Graphic design £200 Cheap and many choice to choose from

Three man’s production company

Media production £250 Cheap and good service

7.2 SWOT analysis :

Strengths

Have a group of professional at your service any time.     

Weaknesses

Don’t have any customer yet, needs time to build up the community sizes.     

Opportunities

 Help the local council to re-design the website and uses there website as a example to show the people in the local area.

Threats

People in the local area may not uses a production company before so is hard to get them to buy the service at the start.     

7.3 Unique Selling Point (USP):

Unique Selling Point (USP)

An production company that used the community and professional designers for all the projects.

     

Section eightOperations and logistics

8.1 Production:     

8.2 Delivery to customers:     

8.3 Payment methods and terms:     

8.4 Suppliers:

Name and location of supplier

Items requiredand prices

Payment arrangements Reasons for choosing supplier

8.5 Premises:     

8.6 Equipment

If being bought

Item required Already owned? New or second hand?

Purchased from Price

8.7 Transport:     

8.8 Legal requirements:     

8.9 Insurance requirements:     

8.10 Management and staff:     

8.11 Additional information:     

Section nineCosts and pricing strategy

Product/service name      

A Number of units in calculation      

BProduct/service components

     

Components cost

     

C Total product/service cost      

D Cost per unit      

E Price per unit      

F Profit margin ( £ )      

G Profit margin (%)      

H Mark up (%)      

Section tenFinancial forecasts

10.1 Sales and costs forecast

Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

A Month name                                                

Sales forecast

B Product/service

     

                                               

C Product/service

     

                                               

Costs forecast

D Product/service

     

                                               

E Assumptions(e.g. Seasonal trends)

     

10.2 Personal survival budget

Section Monthly cost ( £ )

A

Estimated costsMortgage/rent      

Council tax      Gas, electricity and oil      Water rates      All personal and property insurances      Clothing      Food and housekeeping      Telephone      Hire charges (TV, DVD etc.)      Subscriptions (clubs, magazines etc.)      Entertainment (meals and drinks)      Car tax, insurance, service and maintenance      Children ’ s expenditure and presents      Credit card, loan and other personal debt repayments      

National Insurance      Other      

B Total costs ( £ )      

C

Estimated income

Income from family/partner      

Part time job      Working tax credit      Child benefits      Other benefits      Other      

D Total income ( £ )      

E Total survival income required ( £ )      

10.3 Cashflow forecast

Month Pre-start 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

A Month name                                                      

Money in ( £ )

B Funding from The Prince ’ s Trust                                                      

Funding fromother sources                                                      

Own funds                                                      

Incomes from Sales                                                      

Other                                                      

C Total Money in ( £ )                                                      

Money out ( £ )

D Loan repayments The Prince ’ s Trust                                                      

Personal drawings                                                      

                                                     

                                                     

                                                     

                                                     

                                                     

                                                     

                                                     

                                                     

                                                     

                                                     

                                                     

                                                     

                                                     

                                                     

                                                     

E Total money out ( £ )                                                      

F Balance ( £ )                                                      

Opening balance                                                      

Closing balance                                                      

10.4 Costs table

Cost item What is included and how you worked it out Total cost

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Section elevenBack-up Plan

11.1 Short-term plan:     

11.2 Long-term plan:     

11.3 Plan B:     

11.4 Plan B continued...: