Do a SWOT analysis (or PEST or Porter5) of your business idea. Elaborate thoroughly.
Do a SWOT analysis (or PEST or Porter5) of your business idea. Elaborate thoroughly.
INDIVIDUAL:
Respond to the movie, The Founder.
1. Identify and discuss concepts from weeks 2 & 3
2. Ethical dilemmas observed in business
3. The business model and its evolution
INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP:
Do a SWOT analysis (or PEST or Porter5) of your business idea. Elaborate thoroughly.
SWOT:
Strengths: Rafa and Pedro
Online and in office
Tax exemption- 501c3
Liability coverage
Volunteers
Providing services to those in need
Partnerships
Donors may receive tax deductions for their donations
Memberships
Weaknesses: Pedro and Christina
Must become great at marketing to local communities
Limited budget
Must find reliable investors
Lots of paperwork
Expensive- must have substantial startup funds
Human error
Opportunities: Christina and Rafa
Employee benefits (medical, dental, vision, 401k)
Social media outreach
Helping the community
Improves the economy
Setting an example for others to follow
Improve personal skills
Threats: All
Inflation: Detriment to customers and to the business
Malware or Cyber attacks on website could potentially steal client info.
Natural disaster
Theft
Reputation
Liabilities
Other non-profit organizations
Porter 5:
Competitive Rivalry.
Supplier Power.
Buyer Power.
Threat of Substitution.
Threat of New Entry
PEST: Political, Economic, Social, Technical
INDIVIDUAL:
Respond to the movie, The Founder.
1. Identify and discuss concepts from weeks 2 & 3
2. Ethical dilemmas observed in business
3. The business model and its evolution
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Paper Format:
The Idea – Christina
Develop the idea – what does it do?
Is it a product or service? How does it work?
Monetize the idea – how will you make money?
The Business Model – activities in making and selling
The Market – Pedro
Is there a demand for your product or service?
Who is your target market? How will you reach them?
Placement – where can your goods/services be accessed?
Who are your competitors? How will you differentiate yourself?
Supply – Rafa
Any Advantageous position?
Sources of materials
Warehousing and/or transportation needs
Operations
Physical store or virtual?
Establish processes
Management/Personnel?
Compliance
Federal EIN
SCC registration
LLC Operating Agreement or Corporate By-laws
VA DTA
County Business License
Miscellaneous
Insurance
Bank Account
Add References/Citations here that we can add to the pape & add a note if its a newspaper article, journal article, website:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Business Plan
Customer Segment: (Audience) Virginia residents age 35-65
Value Proposition: Online ledger to establish trust & video summary
Channel: Online with website & in-person in office
Customer Relationships: membership/monthly donation
Revenue Model: Primarily Donations, Secondarily Sales
Key Resources: gifts baskets, wood, metal, special hardware (nails, screws, bolts), food resources, shirts/coffee cups/pens,
Key Activities: website/online platform, travel, labor, marketing
Key Partners: food kitchens, large corporations, local businesses, hospitals
Cost Structure: resources/inventory, labor/wages
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Audience: Adults age 35-65 living in Virginia
3 Areas of Help:
-Care packages to hospitals
-Building furniture
-Food delivery to homeless shelters and food banks
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Blue Collar Value will operate as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization by promoting a charitable cause. We create value for our customers by giving them trustworthy methods and means of donating to their community. Our company tracks exactly where your donations go and provides a video recording of the moment your donation is received by someone in need. We operate both online and in-person, and we have a small crew of staffers who help us carry out our services. Our main services include the donation of gift baskets to children in hospitals, the donation of food to food banks/food kitchens/persons who are homeless, and constructing furniture for those who have fallen on hard times. Our value lies in the creation of a platform that promotes donation based giving that is verifiable through our online ledger and transparent via a video summary of events. Our competitors, GiveSendGo and GoFundMe, are restricted to their online platform. BCV’s hybrid system that incorporates an online platform with an in-person distribution and delivery team makes us more competitive overall and more available to our clients.
While LLCs calculate their profit margins, the term profit margin is sometimes known in the nonprofit world as the net margin ratio or net assets depending on the circumstance. Overall, we want to maintain positive net assets on a consistent basis which will be one way we gauge our success. BCV will need to take in revenue through donations from many high-level donors and individual donors. Essentially, we will need to diversify our sources of revenue. Potential donors would typically be Virginia residents and friends of Virginia residents. Our target market consists of adults living in Virginia ages 35-65. However, we also would benefit from receiving large donations from big corporations or businesses in the area. Big name donors could include local hospitals (UVA Children’s Hospital, Inova, Sentara), local colleges (George Mason University, NVCC), and local church groups. Some of these aforementioned businesses will become our stakeholders. As the company grows, we can sell merchandise both online and in-office. All merchandise will be branded with our logo and may include t-shirts, coffee cups, sunglasses, collared shirts, and pens.
The company will operate out of our office headquarters and through our online website. We will need to add roughly twelve full-time employees to the payroll. Some of our operational costs include the rental of an office space, payroll, utilities, fashioning company attire with logo, marketing, training, security, background checks, web design, monthly costs to keep the website up and running, company vehicles, company gas cards, and supplies related to our donations/offerings (gift baskets, furniture with engraved logo, food supplies, etc.). We will also need to design the office layout and furnish it with office chairs, desks, lamps, fridge, and other related office supplies. Our company intends on lowering some of the payroll and labor costs by allowing donors to volunteer during events if they wish (assuming they pass a background check). Since trust and common decency is a big part of our value proposition, background and security checks must be implemented to keep the trust of our patrons.
BCV faces some potential challenges. First off, we intend on building relationships with the staff of local hospitals. However, if hospital administrators are unwilling to partner with us then one of our areas for donation-based giving (to children at hospitals) will be stalled. I don’t see this an overarching problem, but it is more of a timely process where trust must be established to guarantee an ongoing partnership. Secondly, we will need to allocate a large amount of our funds towards marketing. Since the majority of our donations will be sourced online, we need to appropriately market our company to an online audience which will be costly. We will also need to distribute flyers to local organizations. Lastly, we will need to find employees who are trustworthy and skilled in a certain area of expertise. For example, we will need to employ people with backgrounds in areas like social work, construction, and HR. I would also like the company and its employees to maintain a high level of customer service. All employees are expected to act with dignity, respect, and a general sense of positivity. There are many other challenges that this company will face that have not been mentioned here. We will address all issues that we are aware of now and address future issues as they arise.
