Strengths & weaknesses of a business idea. Research for a new electronics shop.

Themba Agati

For this Coursework, I am meant to think of four business ideas, evaluate them on their good and bad points. After this we are meant to pick the business we think is going to work best.

My first business idea is based on a fast food restaurant like another KFC, it is called chicken stop.

Strengths of opening a shop like this would be

It can be easy to set up
By having cheap prices, it will secure customers to repeat purchase.
Being able to create the food quickly for you and others pleasure

Weakness of this would be

There are many chickens shops so there would be
Fast food can cause health problems so it may not appeal too many.
Missing one order can cause you to lose customers

Competition for this business would be shops such as McDonalds, Subway, Burger King, Nandos etc.

My second idea is based on another store like HMV but supply different stuff. It would be called Super Volt.

The strengths of this idea

There are not many shops around like this
You can supply other products that other competitors like Game don’t supply like Computers

The weaknesses of this idea are

It can be hard to start up because of the range of products you are going to supply will be expensive
You will have to charge high prices at first to survive the first year because of your products you buy which could turn customers away from your shop at the start.

Competition for this business would be shops like Curry’s, Argos, Dixons, Comet etc.

My third idea is like another ASDA but just smaller, it will called Savers.

The strengths of this idea would be

You can sell almost everything at the store
If your store is big enough there is rooms left you are not going to use, you can rent the rooms to others for more money like ASDA do.
This could be a major store the town your business is going to be in needs so it will bring in customers

The weaknesses of this idea are

The start up costs will be expensive.
Products can easily be stolen by having a big store because you can’t watch everywhere.
Competition could be fierce if you set up in town with huge competitors like Tesco and Sainsbury’s

Competition for this type of business would be the large supermarkets such as Asda, Lidl, Morrison’s etc.

And my last idea is a clothes shop which would be called Madness.

The Strengths of this idea are

Supplying a range of clothing competitors don’t have
Providing the essential stuff for different seasons at low prices will bring in customers like cheap scarfs at winter.

The weaknesses of this idea are

Stock can be expensive so if you damage or lose some it will cut some of your profits.
Also buying having expensive stock your prices will have to be quite high to make some profit.

Competition for this type of business would be shops such as River Island, Republic, TK Max, Next, etc.

Overall I chose to start up a store called Super Volt; I have created a logo for my store which is just the initials of it, I think this is an appropriate logo because it is just two letters which symbolising the store. I have acknowledged the Business name Act 1985; it will not affect my business because there is no business also called Super Volt. I have chosen to open up an electronic because I generally have an interest in electronic products; this is one of the many reasons why I am opening up an electronic store. Another reason why I am opening up an electronic store is because in the area I plan to open it up in, there are not many competitors who can ideally be threats to my business. There are some threats like small electronic stores but no major competitors such as HMV or Curry’s. I also know people in the industry who can get me cheap products but I may have to avoid them due to not knowing if the products will be genuine. Another reason why I want to set up an electronic store is because I have worked in HMV before as a previous job and I thoroughly enjoyed working in that store so this is a main reason why I want to start up an electronic store.

Aims and objectives

Aims are needed in any business because it gives the business/person something to work to achieve whereas an objective are small goals which help you achieve your aim

Aims

1st aim to provide a high standard of products

Buy products from reliable suppliers every month
Produce products to perfection everyday in a fashionable way
To listen to customers complaints daily then use them as guidelines on improving store

2nd aim to provide excellent customer service

To provide a 24 hour help line everyday
To motivate staff and myself daily to provide excellent customer service
To have a fair 28 day refund policy.
To provide unique services that competitors don’t offer such as self

3rd aim- To keep customers coming into the store

To run price checks on competitors weekly to know how to price products
To run different weekly offers like BOGOF
To design a new unique layout for store every month
Make sure every customer always leaves the store happier when they came in

4th aim-To be environmental friendly

Design standard size printed items to minimize paper offcuts.
For packaging design jobs, find packaging solutions that require minimal materials
Take on charity projects for an environmental not-for-profit every month
Install energy efficient lighting around the shop.

Stakeholders

A stakeholder is a person who owns a percentage of a company’s shares. Another definition for it is a person or group not owning shares in an enterprise but affected by or having an interest in its operations. It is important for my business to acknowledge their stakeholders because they are my source of income, so when it comes to their needs are they are my priority.

Ten examples of stakeholders are

Customers
Local community
Employees
Managers
Owners
Suppliers
Government
Creditors
Trade Unions
Competitors

In order I think my most important stakeholders are

Employees

Customers

Competitors

Managers

Suppliers

Local Community

Government

Employees

The employees will be my main key to success although they may not be that many. They will need to be very motivated, need to arrive on time for work always but on the other hand they would expect me to pay them on time as well as offer them benefits such as pension possibly and Health insurance. The customers can be responsible for helping me fulfil my first aim which is to provide a high standard of products. The employees along with the manager will help me achieve my third aim which is to keep customers coming into the store. As my business grows I will increase the size of my store and employee more staff.

Customers

The customers are quite important to us because they will be our main source of income; we will heavily rely on repeat purchase/customer loyalty which is an aim of our business which is to keep customers coming into the store. The customers will expect excellent customer service and motivated staff which is one of our objectives.

The customers can be responsible for helping me fulfil my first aim which is to provide a high standard of products; this is because the customers are giving me the money to buy the high standard products. As my business grows the customer base will also grow.

Competitors

From carrying out secondary research I have found out some of my competitors are HMV, Curry’s, and Argos among others. They would be what will keep me on my toes always trying to be ahead. Competitors would be one of the biggest threats to the business because they could steal your ideas and competitors. Competitors will expect you to be ahead of them, so they will come up with products to overtake you in the market likewise yourself. As my business grows the competitors would become smaller threats to my business

Managers

Managers manage your store unless you personally do it yourself as the owner; they would expect the same employees would from you, good pay. Managers may also expect the same as employees which is the health benefits or pension money. I will expect mangers to also provide me with a monthly report analysing the store. The manager would be in charge of keeping staff motivated which is one of my objectives.

Suppliers

Some of my suppliers would be Play station, Microsoft, Apple, Play.com and others. If the products from the supplier are cheap then I ...