business plan draft

BUSINESS START-UP PROPOSAL

By Group 5
Edit ltd.

Contact details
Telephone:
Mobile:
Blog :
Email:
Web:









The business idea


Business name
The proposed name for the business is Edit ltd.

Business idea
This business is located in Dundee near the campus of Dundee University where we, a group of Dundee graduates, will provide fellow graduate students with the chance to work along side Edit ltd.. In producing works to sell in our gallery. The gallery holds many green credentials the main one being to produce all the artefacts from reclaimed or recycled materials. In doing this we will further develop their skills and interests as well as encouraging them to retain a sustainable design approach. We aim to provide awareness of their work and place them as artists and designers in the bigger world of art and design effectively acting as a stepping stone in helping them secure commissions or work. This will be achieved through our work in the gallery as well as a web site and a free magazine. All of this being marketed to our customers, whom we strive to offer a one off chance to buy unique pieces. In the comfort of knowing they are recycled, more sustainable and interesting in comparison with mass produced products of the consumer market witch we are aiming to steer clear of and offer an alternative to. This is a market which currently is wide open and as people are becoming more knowledgeable of the damage created by mass consumerism they are looking for an alternative. The business will run all year offering customers the chance to by and visit when they please. The gallery will be open in normal shop hours. We predict Christmas to be the most successful sales period as people look for alternative gifts. The objective of this business is to bring the alternative recycled work of designers to the customer enabling us to create income for the company and advertise the talents of Dundee students. As well as offering the customers the opportunity to own the works which hold the prestige of having been a gallery piece.

Key success factors
There are no local companies providing products that hold the same values and uniqueness that we offer. Effectively providing us with an open market. With such a package of gallery, web and magazine we will not go unnoticed. There are other recognised and successful galleries in Dundee that are already putting Dundee on the map as a city of culture and interest the DCA (Dundee Contemporary Arts) for example and we intend to boost this market and use it to our advantage. One of the greatest things about the company is its use of recycled and reclaimed materials. This means we can source them very cheaply or even free, keeping material costs to a minimum and guaranteeing a large profit margin on sales. In working with Dundee graduates we are receiving young enthusiastic well educated talent. As we are helping them to prosper in future successes and providing them with free accesses to workshops, we get their skills very cheaply. They will receive a twenty percent margin of profit from the sale of their work and we will receive the remainder to fund the company and bring profits in relation to existing galleries in Dundee. I do not see these posing much competition as they are selling to a different market and tend to be working with all ready established artists and designers. Their products sell for a much greater price. We aim to sell Edit ltd. work with the same air of prestige but for a lot less. We can do this as we are not buying in the art work but are investing in the graduates, making our market open to a much larger range of consumers. Therefore we are under cutting the nearest thing we have to competition.

Location of business
The location will be crucial to the success of Edit ltd. it is located very near the centre of Dundee and close to the Dundee University. Dundee city centre is often crowded with shoppers as it is well known for its shops and it is ideal for an alternative gallery giving a welcome break to the high street brands. Dundee has good road and rail links with Scotland’s largest cities Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen to the north. This making it easy for visitors to access the gallery and is ideal for deliveries from web sales.

Target market
The company’s aim is to appeal to as wide a range as possible in offering reasonable prices in relation to that normally related to galleries, as well as being comparable to relative products on the high street. Exhibited works will mainly be of a modern contemporary style with the intention of appealing to the majority.

Skills and abilities
As a collaboration of former design graduates ourselves we are well linked and positioned for running such a business and in the case of some having struggled to find work we see plenty opportunity for such a practise. Within the founders of the business we have two product designers, two textile designers, an interactive media designer as well as a graphics graduate and a environmental and interior design graduate. Together we offer a wide range of skills, knowledge and experience and are all familiar with the practise of developing and producing products. We all share a passion for the environment and are eager to develop an alternative to the every day mass produced products we consume and dispose of. Among us we have many personal skills besides our creative abilities which will stand us well in running such a business. This combined with our passion and enthusiasm for design should set us in great stead for running Edit ltd.


Business partners
We believe having strong links with Dundee University will positively affect the business as they have a large influence on the city and vital links witch we could massively benefit from. They also do a lot of work with the development of opportunities for their graduates and we would be delighted to work in collaboration with them. We hope to also work in collaboration with Dundee Contemporary Arts this giving us greater recognition in the market place In discussions with senior staff of the University they have shown interest in providing financial backing and support if we work exclusively with their former students and help in the presentation of degree show work of graduating students. This will give us good initial links with our prospective clients and as they believe that such development will help boost their reputation they are very much on board.

Staff and employees
The business consists of the nine company founders all employed by Edit ltd. They each hold an equal stake. However salaries will be based on positions and hours involved as not all staff will be fully committed as a result of other design commitments ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….




Financial resources available


Capital available from savings and investments
Edit ltd available capital has come from endorsements from major design practises and design equipment suppliers who wish to be linked to such a company in return for sponsorship. They believe it will help advertise their product and there will also be an advert on our web-site and in the magazines. We will be pursuing finical support from the University of Dundee and government funding for our work with young graduates

Income from sales
I estimate that income from sales of gallery stock and online sales will be £5,600 per month during the first 6 months. This will be providing we achieve our targets of half capacity of production and sales that being sixteen people producing and selling 4 works each per month at a value of £350.

In the second 6 months, we estimate that sales income will be £9,000 per month. Due to our promotions in the magazine and online we predict this higher income because we will be more established and have returning customers and the word will have spread.

Grants and support available
We understand that financial support may be available from the following organisations:
Prince’s trust
Dundee University
EU schemes

I estimate that we will receive financial support in the first year totalling £100,000. Some of which will be low interest loans.


Security available
Edit ltd. are able to offer the following assets as potential security against any loans that we may require:

Estimated market value of homes: £9000,000


Start-up loan
I estimate that £700,000 from a suitable bank will be required as a start-up loan.


Business expenditure and costs

Personal remuneration
I need to pay myself a total of £1,500 per month for the first 6 months of the business, and a total of £1,650 per month for the second 6 months of the business.


Start-up costs
I expect to incur expenditure on the following items before opening the business:

Equipment for work shop £30,000?????????????
Vehicles (second-hand van and trailers): £35,000??????????????
Computer System and printing: £1000????????????????
Fittings for Premises: £40,000???????????????????
Advertising and Promotion flyers and magazine: £1000?????????????????
Insurance Premiums: £2,500???????????????????????
Professional Fees: £10,000??????????????
Total:??????????????????????????????

Running costs
I expect to incur the following running costs during the first 6 months of the business:

Rent on Premises: £550/month????????????
Rates on Premises: £200/month???????????
Gas/Electricity Usage: £500/month?????????
Telephone Charges: £150/month?????????????
Wages:?????????????????
Fuel costs & Vehicle Road Tax: £960/month???????????????
Total: £??????????????????
Therefore the total for the first 6months would come to???????????


Finance payments
I estimate that the total cost of finance payments in the first 6 months of the business will be ???????????? and ??????????????? in the second 6 months of the business.





Projected cash flows