I think I have made the right decision with my finances because I have the correct amount of money I need to set up the business, which was proven in the Cash Flow Forecast that with the 20,000 given to me through the Bank Loan and sleeping partner I can create a profit of 14,000 within 12 months. The business can manage the cost of the loan. I will be paying back the money in instalments set out by the bank, whereas the sleeping partner (family member) will accept his/her money back over a greater period of time and with a much smaller amount of interest being paid. This means if the business is doing exceptionally well one month he/she can be paid more or be paid less if the business does not so well in a month. This will reduce the pressure of having to meet full repayments every month until the business is well established.

Found in Newspapers, Magazines, Job centre & Employment Agencies I realise that staffing is my USP – Unique Selling Point. I will make ensure that my staff are well qualified and I will encourage them to continue their development at the local college i.e. Castlereagh. Thus giving me the best possible staffing service that is always improving to make the customers time in the coffee bar as good and restful as it can possibly be thereby the business, while this would be the most effective from of advertising.

I will use Newspapers, Magazines, Job Centres and Employment Agencies because these are reasonably inexpensive means of advertising and have a huge catchment area. The Local Newspapers and Magazines will be seen all over the locality, while the Agencies will find me the best possible people they have. The job centre will be used to find people who are not attached to any agencies.

I reached this decision because one of my main aims in a Trendy Coffee Bar is to provide a memorable service, so I will have 2 waiting staff always on hand to serve the customers while the 2 catering staff will be preparing the food and coffee. This means that the customer should have a waiter/waitress with them a.s.a.p. and not be waiting a long time to place an order. I am using my methods of recruitment because all my methods are reasonably inexpensive, which is good for my business while it is starting off. It will also bring me people from a lot of different areas and backgrounds.

It must be stressed that I think the people will probably mainly come from the agencies because they will most likely have the best people for the job in that they will have been interviewed and checked their qualifications and references. They will also need to be trustworthy because they will be handling money. dvertising/ Promotion Money Off, Belted Value, Offers, Free Gifts and Discount Vouchers HOW I REACHED MY CONCLUSION As I will be opening a reasonably small business I will not have a lot of money for advertising so I will make the most of what I have and use it to my advantage. As I will be buying coffee in bulk, which is cheaper because of Economies of Scale, I can afford to give small amounts away by having offers such as,

‘Buy five cups and get a free coffee coupon’ A flier advertising both the opening and such discount offers would be an inexpensive yet very effective way of promoting my business. I could design and print the flier myself and persuade family members and friends to help with the distribution. WHY THIS IS THE CORRECT CONCLUSION This is correct because as I am only starting off I cannot afford to have a huge opening or spend a lot of funds on advertising. I cannot afford to have Television advertising or an advert in the papers, however I do hope, that in time, I will be able to advertise in magazines, such as the Ulster Tatler, I can afford to do small offers like the one mentioned above because I am buying in bulk, which is always cheaper, so I am saving money by buying in bulk rather than just when I need more (just-in-time production.)

I am a new business trying to set up and be successful, so I do not have a lot of money and cannot afford a HUGE opening party. I will have, hopefully, a local celebrity – possibly a newsreader or football player to make the Coffee Bar look trendy and up market. I will then invite the press. I will be inviting reporters from local newspapers and magazines, such as the East Belfast News (this is delivered free to all houses in East Belfast) and Ulster Tatler to the opening and launch so I hope to get a lot of good, free publicity from this.

WHY THIS IS TO BE THE CORRECT CONCLUSION This is the right decision because I cannot afford to have a star-studded opening and have not enough money to pay for adverts in local papers, so inviting the press to do a story on the opening of my business is the perfect way to attract free publicity. Also having the local celebrity will make my business look up market and Trendy. This will only be an excellent idea if all the “important people” – newspapers and celebrities turn up.

However I know that I will also have to continue advertising as the business grows. EXPANSION Expand on same premises, and open a new retail outlet HOW I REACHED MY CONCLUSION I have come up with this idea after looking at my questionnaire and realising how many people thought that a Trendy Coffee Bar was needed in the area. This means there is a big demand for a Trendy Coffee Bar in this area.

So if I can find other areas with the same demand and think the business expanding into this area would be worth it, I will. However before opening more retail outlets, I will first expand on the same premises. I am opening in King’s Square, which is a series of units in a square shape. So if my company is doing exceedingly well after a period of time, I may look into the possibility of buying the unit next door to me and have a coffee bar twice the size, and hopefully selling at least twice the amount of coffee. This expansion could allow me to maintain control on the business and costs on a daily basis, which is extremely important to me.

WHY THIS IS THE CORRECT CONCLUSION

I think that the idea of expanding into the unit next door is a good idea. If, when the coffee bar opens it does very well in the first few months, I must decide, ‘can this level be sustained, or can it grow?’ However there may still be other people in different places that feel they should have my type of business located in their area, so I will use a lot of Market Research, mostly Field Research, to find out if there would be a great demand in another area. I believe that the aim of my coursework has been met and I have created a successful business plan.

I feel that my offering the TRENDY customers a very modern setting with unusual coffees, teas and continental food I will have a sound business base. With the amount of foreign holidays taken by people these days that experience what is known as ‘Coffee Culture’. I feel the demand is there, which the Pie Chart above reinforces. I realize that in order to succeed I must offer the customer a little something extra in both surroundings, quality of service, food and drinks, to ensure that I can entice them away from the traditional ‘coffee and scone’ type of shops in the area. To succeed in the medium to long term I must ensure that the customer enjoys a memorable experience and wants to come back again and again i.e. the “Boomerang Principle.”

Marketing will follow several avenues

1. Leaflet Drops at the Start-Up period

2. Small ads in the local society magazine

3. Small ads in the local free paper

Lastly but not least, I hope that the success of the marketing off my business will include word of mouth. Happy customers will promote the business.

Have decided to open my business as a Partnership, however as my partner is a family member who will be a Sleeping Partner, the day-to-day running will be left to me. Further finance will come from a Bank Loan for Working Capital (day-to-day expenses.) My Fixed Assets (coffee machines and ovens) will be leased rather than paid for ‘Up Front’ as this will help my Cash Flow allowing a monthly charge over the lifetime of the equipment rather than a massive initial Capital Payment. I will also rent my premises rather than purchase them outright during the Start-Up period. Perhaps over time with increased profitability I will look to purchase. My long-term plan is to open more Coffee Emporiums in similar busy shopping areas thereby increasing my overall profit by both increased sales and Economy’s of Scale. Anyone for coffee?

Bibliography

“How To Start, Run, Succeed In Your Own Business” by Derek Jones, W.H. Perry ” Business Studies GCSE 2nd Edition” by Alain Anderson www.investni.com