This coursework that I intend on completing will be based around setting up a business as part of my business studies coursework.

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INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND

This coursework that I intend on completing will be based around setting up a business as part of my business studies coursework.

I will complete it using the knowledge and information that I gain form my business lessons, and implement them to develop a business studies project that can be submitted in January.

For the coursework I will cover a number of areas in business. Below are a few topics that I intend to look at:

  • Market Research
  • Pricing And marking strategies
  • Operating costs of a business
  • Worthwhile opportunities
  • Location
  • Potential cash flow
  • Competition
  • Possibly advertising ideas

To aid me in my coursework I will look at various and suitable texts and material. I will be using the Internet as part of my secondary research as well as books in order to gain information.

At the moment my primary idea for setting up a business is a music shop in Caerphilly selling CD’s, cassettes etc. I believe that there is a clear gap in the market for a record shop, as there is only two shops in Caerphilly that really sell music. I feel by cornering this area of the market I believe there would be a great possibility of making it a successful business. I also enjoy listening to music whenever possible, which has made me knowledgeable about the industry and what people like etc

With these primary ideas in hand I hope to come up with suitable decision and a fixed idea on what I would like to do as part of the coursework. Upon decision I will write a feasibility study and conclude on whether or not there is a suitable market and chance for success for the type of business that intend on choosing at the end.

AIMS & OBJECTIVES

My main aim will be to develop a suitable feasibility study for music shop in the Caerphilly area. It will be a shop selling music CD’s as well as many other things that I intend on finding out through the means of market research.

(1)        My first aim and objective will be to discover whether or not it will be worthwhile business opportunity for the development of a music shop in Caerphilly. I will look at the potential customers and the opportunities that the market possesses. Through the medium of market research I will hopefully discover suitable prices, whether or not people will purchase from this sort of shop, as well as information on their favourite type of music and where they live. This chapter will also look at details such as:

  • How other business operate
  • Plausible costs of the business (rent etc)
  • Future (expanding)
  • Target audience
  • Current market

For research I will look into various things. As part of my primary research I will use questionnaires in order to develop knowledge on what people think. As part of secondary research, I will use observations and Internet sites such as such as Swalec and Census site in order to gain a sound knowledge about things that will affect the business.

(2)        After the market research has been conducted I will collate all the information together and present in forms of charts etc. With this information it will then allow me to decide upon various decisions that I will include through out the rest of the feasibility study. The chapter will help me with my finance section.

(3)        My second objective after conducting market research will be, to collect data and create a cash flow forecast on the sort of finances that this sort of business may incur. I will include a balance sheet and a cash flow forecast for a potential year ahead in business. Amongst these I will use various knowledge learnt in class to give me a firm idea of whether or not this type of business would succeed. It would also show possible costs of setting up a business. In my diagrams I will include information such as overheads, future costs, gross profit and net profit. In this chapter I will also include the sort of finances that would be needed. This could be a thing such as bank loan, overdraft or use of trade credit. It would also consider whether or not I would be able to pay back the money that I owe and make a profit.

(4)        In the next chapter I will analyse all the information that I have collected through market research and the results from finance. In this chapter I will decide upon a number of things, and be prepared to write a suitable conclusion.

(5)        For my conclusion and evaluation, I will summarize everything that I have learned from the feasibility study. This will look at possible ideas, changes and serious amendments that may be needed. I may also include opinions and ideas from outside parties, in order to decide upon things better. Overall this chapter will decide upon once major thing  - whether or not this business is feasible and worthwhile.

By hopefully following these objectives and aims I can write and provide a sufficient business plan for setting up a business.

FORMS OF MARKET RESEARCH USED

As part of my market research I will need to investigate on whether or not the business will be successful, will it be a worth while opportunity, how often people will shop there, prices that people will pay for CD’s and what sort of music they will want to buy.

Market research requires the use of many forms of medium in order to obtain sufficient answers. To help me I have used these four forms of market research.

Primary Research:

(1)        Questionnaire – this will be my main source of market research. Because it is a form of primary research (other wise known as field research) it will allow me to obtain the answers that I will be looking for, as I can set the questions and get reply’s to suit my needs. It will be a broad range of questions from asking people where they shop to how much they usually spend per CD.

For my questionnaire I had only one criterion on choosing whom they would go to. My questionnaire has gone out only to people living in and around the Caerphilly. This was done because many people living out of the borough would not shop in Caerphilly and would therefore be un-useable with some of the questions that were written.

(2)        Observations – this is the second form of primary research that I have chosen to use. It requires looking at various things. For example, someone interested in starting up a pizza store selling different and exciting recipes will look at what other businesses are selling.

Secondary research:

(3)        Government statistics – this is a form of secondary research as the results of are already obtained for us. The only problem thou are finding the answers that I need from a varied range of articles and media. There are many websites that provide information on statistics. They provide information on population, average income as well as much other interesting information that I can use for research.

(4)         Websites – these can provide information on current prices in the market place, current trends for types of products being sold. This is a form of secondary research that requires people to look up information that has been done.  I will give examples of websites that I have used as part of my research.

WHO HAVE REPLIED TO THE QUESTIONNAIRE?

When doing market research you need to look at the people who reply to the questionnaire. It is important to look at:

  • Male or female replies
  • Where they live
  • Age category

These are all important factors because it will influence significantly on the replies I will receive. For example women usually have a different taste in music than men. Women also like going shopping to places like Cardiff rather than a small town like Caerphilly where many men shop because they usually have a firm decision on their purchases.

IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A  MUSIC STORE IN CAERPHILLY?

To answer this question I have decided to use a questionnaire and government statistics. The questionnaire that I have used is shown on the next page and puts forward various questions that will quiz people concerning the development of a shop. These questions include:

  • Where they live in respect to how far they are away from Caerphilly
  • How often they shop in Caerphilly
  • What other shops people purchase music from in Caerphilly
  • Whether or not people would buy music from this music shop and not some place else

A lot of the questions asked in this form of primary research will give me information on whether or not the store will be successful in respect of competition and how often people will shop there etc.

As stated I have also obtained answers from the government census website. This has provided me with information about the population in Mid Glamorgan and visitors to Caerphilly. Both these sort of information are useful, generally because I can work out who will buy from Caerphilly.

CAN THE BUSINESS MAINTAIN ITSELF IN A DIFFICULT MARKET?

In order for a business to maintain itself, it needs to consider many things. Below I have listed many factors that I think are vital for a business to succeed. In my results of market research chapter I will look at the points below:

  • Prices and trading
  • Beating off competition in the area
  • Reducing costs of a business
  • Keeping up with trends in music
  • Selling what people need

To answer these I will more than likely make use of the questionnaire. It will discover current trends in music; the prices people pay and discover the types of competition that are in play.

I will also use observations as a key tool for my research in these areas. For example, I will personally look at the competition. At the moment I know there is a only two shops selling music in Caerphilly. Therefore I have observed the competition to a future music shop. I will do this in a number of areas. Although most of the information I will receive will come from the questionnaire that I have employed, the use of observations is useful because you can obtain information such as promotions and deals which cant always be found out form a questionnaire.

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I have also included a map of where the business could hopefully be set-up. As you can see the business would be set directly in the heart of Caerphilly where many people shop. The Castle Court shopping centre houses many big name shops.

WHAT TYPE OF MUSIC DO PEOPLE PURCHASE?

This type of question is useful for understanding what type of music people are currently interested in. Although it is usually quite obvious as to the music people are interested in, I can however discover whether or not people like other types of music, what music would be ...

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