May 6, 2016 4A Entrepreneurship

May 6, 2016 4A Entrepreneurship

Executive Summary

Sistance is a errand running business. It strives to be an “on call” personal assistant, with the

motto: Sistance is at your assistance! We will be located in the Cameron Village area, and seek

to target busy families, students, busy people in the workforce, immobile people, or anyone that

needs help with daily tasks. We will advertise through the radio and social media in hope to

appeal to the customer in a situation that they would be the most willing to call Sistance and

order their services. We offer a basic menu of services, but we will strive to legally and ethically

accommodate the customer in the best way possible. We will have many competitors as delivery

and transportation services are popular in the area, but after Sistance opens, with competitive

prices to companies such as Uber, we predict that because Sistance offers the most diverse list of

services, it will become an industry leader in the area.

Situational Analysis Internal Environmental Scanning

Target Market

My target market is immobile people (unable to drive, particularly elderly or disabled), busy families and/or adults, and college/high school students. Sistance will be located within walking distance of the NC State campus, and in a demographically diverse area that will includes ederly and busy families. These people are most likely to want my service because of the convenience associated with having things delivered to you and transportation.

SWOT Analysis:

Strengths

Sistance will not be limited to a specific field, such as popular delivery services including food or dry cleaning. We will offer a combination of services that consist of food pickup and delivery, dry cleaning pickup and delivery, grocery shopping, and transportation. In addition, we will strive to accommodate the customer’s request that are not included our menu of services.

Because Sistance’s competitors (Uber, OrderUp, Grubhub, etc.) are limited to one or two services, Sistance better promotes convenience, a key factor in the target market’s values. Our employees’ primary goal is to please and accommodate the customer and their convenience.

Because of our excellent customer service and business concepts maximize the customer's convenience, we position Sistance to be a better choice than a competitor.

Weakness

Initially, Sistance will not be well known in Raleigh. We also have limited capital, so gaining enough business to at least break even, until we establish a more developed customer base and name recognition, will be a challenge. Additionally, business will be difficult to predict due to the variance in the customer's wants regarding Sistance’s convenience.

Opportunities

In Raleigh, there is a trend of food delivery and private transportation services. Because of this trend, there are multiple competitors in the area. However, this is still an opportunity for Sistance because it will offer a more broad variety of services and offer more convenience to the

customer, allowing them to have a greater advantage than the competitors.

Threats

Bigger companies that are established in the convenience field (delivery, transportation, etc,) and have gained a loyal customer base have experimented with expanding the variety of services they offer through test markets. Most of these services have not reached Raleigh. If they do, it will be a threat to my business because Sistance will not be the only business that offers a variety of convenience services in the area.

Services and Distribution

Sistance will be offering pure services to its customers through direct distribution. Customers will interact directly with the Sistance employees to request the services, therefore Sistance is considered a retailer. We will offer a menu of services (included below) and will strive to complete any additional request that are legal and ethical within the context of the business, for the customer.

Finances

In order to obtain enough capital to begin Sistance, we will seek investors in the Triangle to invest in the company. Ideally they would be compensated with a royalty, but we would negotiate appropriately to the offers we receive. Once we achieve our break even point in the first Sistance location and a predictable profit for a year, we are interested in opening a new location in attempt to maximize profit.

Competitors

My competitors include Uber, Grubhub, OrderUp, transportation services, food delivery

services, and personal assistants. Transportation services are limited in the services they offer

(only transportation) and have a reputation of being expensive. My business will offer more

services and be more competitively priced. Food delivery services are typically limited to

specific restaurants and menu items, and my business will offer any reasonable and obtainable

food items that can be obtained within 15 miles of their delivery location. Personal assistants

require a commitment to a specific person (and payment) and are expensive while my business

will be accessible whenever you need it and does not require a long term commitment while

being reasonably priced. Uber offers very similar services to my own, but each different service

requires a different transaction, while my company can be quicker and offer different services

under one transaction, therefore more cost efficient, than Uber.

External Environmental Scanning

Demographics

Sistance will be located in Raleigh, NC in the Cameron VIllage area. The location will be a key factor in my business, because it will be helpful to be as close as possible to them. Raleigh consist of consist of approximately 55% families of some sort, which is beneficial for Sistance because families are the majority of our target market due to the convenience we can offer.

Additionally, Cameron Village is close to the NC State campus. College students look for convenient services and ways to save time, so Sistance will most likely gain many college students as customers.

Society and Culture

A trend of delivery and taxi services are becoming more apparent. More restaurants, dry

cleaners, and other companies are offering delivery, and more people are taking transportations services like Uber. Services such as Uber are lowering alcohol related incidents, which is a popular controversy which Uber is offering a service that people are willing to use. My business will stand out from the others because it will do more than one service, unlike other companies who typically only offer one specific service.

Technology

Social media, online ordering, and ordering through smartphone applications is becoming more efficient and successful for companies to gain customers. This trend provides convenience and easily accessible services to the customer. Sistance is predicting that the majority of business will be through our website or our app.

Economy

Within Cameron Village’s zip code 27605, the mean income is significantly higher than the

average state income by nearly $20,000 per year. This is an advantage for Sistance because the

people in the area will be more likely willing to pay for Sistance’s services.

Government

All of my employees will have to have a legal license in order to drive to and from their destinations. This may restrict the number of applications receive if someone is declined the position if the can not legally drive.

Competitors

In the Raleigh area, companies such as Grubhub, Uber, Orderup, and other transportation and delivery services are present. To compete with these companies, Sistance will offer a

combination of the competitor’s services. As Sistance becomes more popular, it will most likely

become an industry leader because of the accomadation it can offer to the customer.

Target Market

Demographic: families with small children, soccer moms/dad, college students, elderly, busy people in work force, people without cars

Psychographic: hectic and busy lifestyle, little free time, willing to pay money to save time and spend more time with family, values family, does not enjoy running errands, is frequently carpooling children or working

Behavioral: benefits from extra free time, not having to take children to run errands, more convenient, beneficial, and cheaper than hiring a babysitter to watch kids while running errands, easy to access and can use frequently

Geographic: Live in Raleigh

Sistance will strive to accommodate the customer and provide the best and most convenient services to the customer. We want the customer to feel like have an “on call” personal assistant to alleviate their stress or inconveniences and save them time. Sistance can be conveniently accessed through the website, through the app, calling on the phone, or visiting the storefront.

We will attempt to reach our target market through advertising on websites, local newspapers,

the radio, and offer coupons. Also, Sistance will offer lower pricing than its competitors in

addition to a more a diverse selection of services. Economically, the financial stance of the area

is above the North Carolinian average, which allows Sistance’s target market to better afford

Sistance’s economical services.

Marketing Strategies

Price: The final price or a service will have many varying contributors including the type of service, the time it is requested to be completed, and the duration. There will be a flat fee for each service, and if the delivery and pickup is within 10 miles of Cameron Village (Sistance’s location), there will be no travel charge. However, if the destination is greater than 10 miles, there will be a charge of $0.75 per additional mile up to 25 additional miles, for a maximum radius of 35 miles. During rush hours (7:30AM-9:30AM and 4:30PM-6:30PM), the charge per each additional mile will increase to $1.10, due to the traffic and time increasing. Additionally, we will give out coupons and offer a 10% discount on Wednesdays for all students or teachers that present an ID to make our business more accessible for those who wish for a lower price (targeted at, but not specifically NC State).

Place: Sistance will open its first location in Cameron Village in Raleigh. The demographics of this area is fitting to its target market, and its location close to schools, restaurants, and many homes will be beneficial to business. As Sistance achieves a reliable profit, we plan to expand to major cities across the nation such as Charlotte, Austin, Atlanta, and more.

Promotion: Sistance will have multiple social media accounts such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to reach its customers and advertise the business. We will advertise of deal of the week and do giveaways on our social media accounts and hope that through word of mouth, our

business will become better known among the community. Sistance will also promote through radio advertisements because they hope that the listeners will be in a situation that they would find Sistance extremely helpful and accommodating to them, and become loyal customers.

Additionally, we will give out coupons and offer a 10% discount on Wednesdays for all students or teachers that present an ID to develop customer loyalty within the educational field (targeted at, but not specifically NC State).

Products/Services: Sistance will offer pure services. It will include errand assistance as well as

delivery and transportation, and legal and ethical request from the customer within the context of

Sistance’s convenience concept, which resembles an “on call” personal assistant. Services

include, but are not limited to, food pickup and delivery, dry cleaning pickup and delivery,

transportation, and grocery shopping (with delivery).

Financial Plan Start Up Cost:

Cars: We are planning to begin with three 2016 Honda Accord LX with standard equipment.

Price for one: $23,840 Price for three: $71,520

GPS: Tom Tom with Lifetime Map update

Price for one: $90.00 Price for three: $270

Desktop Computers: Apple 21.5 inch Imac Intel Core i5

Price for one: $1100.00 Price for three: $3300.00

Printer: HP Officejet 100 Wireless Printer

Price: $270.00

Credit Card Scanner:

Price for one: $10.00 Price for four: $40.00 Storefront Furniture:

Desk:$350.00

Chairs(2): $500.00

Bookshelf: $85.00

Vehicle Advertising:

Price for one: Approximately $199.00 Price for three: $597.00

Business Cards/Coupons:

Price per 250: $40.00

Taxi Meter App:

Price per app: $11.99 Price for four: $43.96

Total Start Up Costs: $106,715.96

Fixed Cost:

Auto Insurance:

Monthly Cost for one: $88 Monthly Cost for three: $264

Rent in Cameron Village Area:

$1,725/month

Phones: Monthly payment per iphone 6s with $0 down (Verizon) Price per phone per month: $27.08 Price for four phones per month: $108.32

Plan: $80 per month

Total phone bill: $188.32 per month

Electricity:

Per square foot: $1.21 per year Price per year for my location: $2044.90

Price per month: $170.41 Water:

Approximate price for year: $600 Price per month: $50

Employees: 4 employees working at all times between the hours of 7AM-10PM Per person/per hour: $8.00

Price for 4 employees per workday: $480 Per month: $14,400

Total Fixed: $1679.73 per month

Variable Cost:

Gas:

Price per gallon: $1.95

The Honda Accord will get 27 city miles to the gallon. A customer will be within 15 miles of our business, or they will pay the additional charges. The gas and the employee cost will be the only variable cost for the business. If a customer is 11 miles away and request us to pick up their dry cleaning in Cameron Village and deliver it to them during daytime hours, it will take

approximately 30 minutes for our employee round trip, costing Sistance $4.00 for the labor. It will be 22 miles total, which would equal approximately $1.58 in gas cost.

$9(dry cleaning cost)- $4(labor costs)-$1.58(gas cost)= roughly $3.42 for Sistance to put toward

fixed cost or profit

Menu of Sistance’s Prices:

Dry

Cleaning………$9

Food Deliver…………...………$7 flat rate with and additional $2.00 per meal

Transportation………..$5 flate rate and $0.75 per mile($1.00 during rush hour)

Grocery Shopping………$7 flat rate and additional $0.50 per item

Additional request will be determined by the staff, but will typically be the miscellaneous fee of

$8 or $10 during rush hour.

If the customer is between 15-30 miles away, an additional $0.75 per mile or $1.10 during rush hours.

Rush Hours= 7:30-9:30 or 4:30-6:30

Supporting Documents https://www.staplescopyandprint.ca/pricelist.aspx#businesscard

Email from Griffiths sent with common business costs estimates

http://mobilewraps.net/prices/

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/547947/Realspace-Magellan-Collection-2-Shelf-Sofa/

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/304574/Serta-Smart-Layers-Jennings-Super-Task/

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/726826/Sauder-Palladia-Collection-Executive-Desk-29/

http://www.officedepot.com

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price/summary.aspx?ModelID=CR2F3GEW&ModelName=Accord%20Sedan&ModelYea

r=2016&EColor=R-548P&IColor=IV

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