Sole trader
A sole trader is one person that runs a business; all financial risks are taken by that person and all that person’s assets are taken as risks. A sole trader is a person who trades by himself/herself without the use of a company structure or partners and bears alone full responsibility for the actions of the business.
I have personally decided to become a Sole trader due to the limited number of other options that being a partnership, a limited company and being self-employed. However becoming a sole trader minimizes decisions being made; only I will make them and there will be no disputes between other owners or other stakeholders in the business. I can also have complete control of the business and accounting affairs. However I do understand that I have to take full responsibilities for any liabilities should anything go wrong.
Business Aim
A business aim is a long term goal that a business wants to achieve in the near future. Business objectives are short term targets that businesses meet to achieve their long term aim. Marketing objectives develop from the overall Business aims/objectives and states what the business wishes to achieve through its marketing activities.
It is important that for my product I set out suitable marketing objectives to help market my product as best to my ability. My marketing objectives will help me to recognise where it is my product is heading, where I want it to go.
Business Objectives:
- Maximize profitability in order to breakeven
- The business needs to be profitable to succeed long term. I would be able to then consider expansion, as well as be able to make the company more efficient. I will also be able to be more lenient with my money.
- To maintain the quality of products
- It is vital that my customers are happy with the quality of their products. I would run regular checks to make sure customers are happy and an analysing of faulty products would be recorded. Any staff would always be trained so that health and safety requirements are met. Also the business has to go by certain regulations such as the food safety act, this ensuring the cupcakes are served safely and hygienically. Breaking these rules could result in the business being closed down.
- To expand the business and open up at least 2 more in other boroughs of London in the next 3 years to improve brand awareness
- Expanding the business will improve profitability and create more brand awareness to more people across the local area.
I believe that my business objectives, if met, will result in my business being successful.
The objectives cover the financial status of what the business should reach when breaking even however this may take longer than a year depending on the amount of sales received but it is a major fact I need to cover otherwise the consequences of debt will result. The objectives take into consideration the health of the customer by offering quality cupcakes and also set a target of enlarging the company to create more profit and make the brand more aware.
I am trying to develop sensational cupcakes selling business on the premises of the Hampstead area. In order for the business to be established please could you complete the following questionnaire?
- What gender are you?
Male □ Female □
- What year are you in?
What is your age group?
12- 15? □
16-21? □
25+ □
- Could you please indicate the annual salary bracket of you household?
Under 15k □ 15-30k □
30-45k □ 45-60k □
60-75k □ 75k+ □
Not sure □
- Do you consider it a good idea to have a cupcake shop in the suburbs of London?
Yes □ No □
- Would you like the cupcake shop to include beverages such as milkshakes and Hot Beverages such as Coffe, Tea, etc...
Yes □ No □
- How often would you purchase a cupcake if affordable?
Very regularly □ Regularly□
Often □ Sometimes□
Rarely □ Never□
- On a scale of 1-5 (1 being worst) how much do you like Cupcakes?
1 □
2 □
3 □
4 □
5 □
- What are your favourite types of cupcakes from the list below?
Red Velvet □ Vanilla □
Peach Cobbler □ Banana □
Chocolate □ Peanut Butter □
- Do you usually eat cupcakes ?
Yes □ No □
If yes, When?
For Breakfast □ For a Snack □
For Lunch □
For Dinner □ Occasionally □
- Would you like a selection of different flavours on offer?
Selection □ Only one flavour □
- Do you read newspaper?
Yes □ No□
- Do you read posters or notice boards?
Yes □ No□
- What makes you interested in an advertisement?
Pictures□
Colours □
Writing □
- Whereabouts would you like the cupcake shop to be situated?
Near Hampstead Heath Station □
Near the Coffeehouses (Starbucks, Costa, Cafe Nero) □
Other □
If other, Please Specify ______________________________
- How much would you be prepared to spend on a cupcake
£2.50 - 3? □
£3.50 - £4 □ £4.50 - £5 □
£5 + □
- When taking pack lunch to school, do you have extra money on you?
Yes □ No □
Questionnaire information and results
I carried out questionnaires to 50 people in the Camden borough, all different age groups and genders; the participants ranged from 12 to 50.
The questionnaire was broken down into sections:
Personal questions
Questions about the product
Questions about promotion/advertising
Questions about place
Questions about the price
The overall results are as follows –
1. What gender are you?
- 50% of the people I asked were female and 50% were male, males and females were asked from each year group, I made sure that the research was done fairly to reduce any biasness that could have been present
- What year are you in?
- 10 people were asked from each year group to give a fair view of potential customers. In each year group section, half were male and half were female
- Could you please indicate your annual salary bracket?
- The results show that out of the 60 participants questioned that 31% which was 18 pupils had an average household salary of 30-45k a year, and furthermore 28% which was 17 pupils also had 45 – 60k annual salary a year, this shows that there is quite a high wealth of families in the school. The average income salary a year for the country is £27,000. Therefore this shows that the schools pupils have parents who have an above average of income.
- Do you deem it a good idea to introduce a healthy smoothie stall in school?
- 82% of participants which was 54 pupils agreed that it would be a good idea to introduce a smoothie stall in school which was a very positive reaction as this explains that there would be a demand for a smoothie stall.
- From the research of using different year groups it showed that the year 9’s were the highest participants deemed it a good idea of introducing a stall and all of the children said it was a good idea. In the table below it shows how many pupils from each year group said it was a good idea and how many said it was a bad idea.
- Would you rather buy a smoothie or buy an existing vending machine drink (water or orange)
- 78% said they would prefer a smoothie
- 22% said they would prefer a vending machine drink
Therefore this shows that over ¾’s of the participants would rather buy a smoothie than a machine drink positively showing high demand for smoothies.
- If you could and were allowed would you buy a smoothie at break and/or lunchtime?
Again, the result from this question shows that a high percentage of the participants would purchase a smoothie at break and lunch times.
- How often would you purchase a Smoothie at school if affordable?
- Due to the general public wanting to become healthy it looks that the students follow this strategy and there was a lot more pupils who would purchase a smoothie very regularly and often this once again shows that sales could potentially be high.
- On a scale of 1-5 (1 being worst) how much do you like Smoothies?
- Over half the participants selected 1 and 2 this means that there is a large number of students who really like smoothies.
- What are your 3 favourite flavours of Smoothies from the list below?
- The smoothies that would get the highest sales from are – Mangoes and Passion fruit, Strawberry and banana and Oranges, Bananas and pineapples, therefore these should be the flavours I should purchase.
- Do you usually drink Smoothies?
- 54 % of pupils said that they drink smoothies and they drink them
When?
- For Breakfast is when most pupils stated they drank smoothies however a high percentage of the participants claimed they drink smoothies at break, lunch and for snacks, this relates very well as these would be the times when smoothies would be on sale.
- Would you like a selection of different flavours on offer?
- From the results of the questionnaire it is certain that different flavours of smoothies need to be on offer as 100% said they would like a choice of flavours
- Would your parents/guardians allow you to purchase such a healthy drink at school?
- With 54 out of 60 students being questioned said that their parents would allow them to purchase smoothies, this is encouraging as it means that sales would be supported by
- Do you read school letters?
- Just over half of the participants said that they read school letters and this would be away of informing the students of the business and with only half this could cause a slight problem with advertising this way.
- Do you read posters or notice boards around school ever?
- More people said no they don’t read posters around school this could result in poor custom through advertising as posters could be published to advertise.
- What makes you interested in an advertisement?
- I should consider advertising with pictures and colours with as least black and white writing as possible as 47% of participants preferred colours and 35% of participants preferred pictures
- Where would you like a Smoothie stall to be situated?
- The undercover way looks like the best place to situate the stall as this was the preferred location of the student’s results.
- How much would you be prepared to spend on a Smoothie?
- Using these results they show that I can charge £1-£1.50 for each smoothie as the majority of pupils said they would pay this.
- When taking pack lunch to school, do you have extra money on you?
- With this result of 82% of pupils bringing extra money even with packed lunch allows custom from pupils who don’t buy lunch.