BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES Business Opportunities

Business Opportunities

Business Ideas

Most entrepreneurs begin with a business idea. A business idea is the first spark of the entrepreneurship (Hisrich, Peters & Shepherd 2005, p.89). A business idea, however, is not the same as a business concept. Converting the idea into a concept requires an expanded, more complete exploration of the idea. A business plan is a working document that sets objectives and strategies of a company with the basic requirements, projects and operations for a specific time frame (Gummesson 2007, p.10). This paper provides development and evaluation of business ideas in light of financial, business and industry related issues. The paper uses a concept statement template provided in Barringer's book titled 'Preparing effective business plans: an entrepreneurial approach'. An overview of the marketing Ps, SWOT and PEST are provided to assess the prospective business opportunity.

Screening Ideas

Before formulating a business plan, one has to evaluate and screen the available business opportunities keeping in light a number of factors like market and nature of the product, the required finances and other resources, business location, and differential and competitive advantage (Barringer 2009, p.36). For instance, one might be interested in screening business opportunities like opening a rice bar or a coffee bar, both of which sell tangible food products. For screening opportunities like these, we formulate a business concept statement and conduct a SWOT and PEST analysis of each of the options. In the present case, we evaluate these variables for a coffee bar in Manchester, U.K. The following table presents the concept statement for the chosen business opportunity:

Concept Statement Template For Proposed Business Opportunity

Coffee Bar at Manchester City

Proposed Project Name: Coffee Creek

Background:

The motivation for this business stems from the fact that a vast merchandising knowledge and taste exist for the project. Further, there are profitable opportunities related with the business.

Business Problem:

Getting the required space at a commercial location in Manchester. Funding the initial budget in excess of £50000.

Goal:

The desired outcome for the business is generating a revenue base above the industry average for the coffee bars of similar capacity. Justification/Benefits:

Why should/must the project be started now? List reasons

1 Low operational cost. Hence, profitable opportunities for new entrants

2. Availability of debt finance for small entrepreneurs.

3. A return on investment higher than similar businesses

Assumptions/Constraints: List assumptions and constraints

1. Acceptability and popularity of new flavours of coffee to be introduced with the launch

2. Getting trained and skilled staff

Resource Needs

Resources Available:

Hard cash of £ 50000.

Expertise of coffee merchandising

Good public relations (e.g. with coffee vendors)

Special Resource/Skill Needs:

Marketing research for new flavours

Finance if budget exceeds initial investment

Estimated Cost: £ 40000

Source of Funding: Self

Estimated Start Date: September 2011



Form of Ownership of the Business

The form of the ownership undertaken by the business would be that of sole proprietorship. The business will be run by one individual who would be the sole owner of the entire business.

Starting a new Business

Starting a new business rather than buying into a new business is a better option because of the ...