Business Plan and Ideas

Business Ideas

1. Find a better location for the bike shop after thoroughly studying the market and the customer requirements.
2. Determine exactly which are my weaknesses and strengths and learn how to use them in attracting new clients.
3. Find a way to pay off the start up loans - maybe start a garage sale or manufacture items that can be sold with small cash (bracelets, earrings and so on)
4. Take a course in marketing and managements concepts. This will definitely help with discovering new strategies and ways to be successful.
5. Read and become up-to-date with the newest business and finance related problems in the area.
6. Look for a sponsor or investor in the company who would be available to pay parts of the loan.
7. Put together a strong business plan and figure out the steps that I want to take to become successful.
8. Talk with my friend and put him in theme with my new ideas. Find out if he wants to return to the board or find another person who might.
9. Talk to family members and learn if they are fully aware and if they approve the entire business I am trying to start.
10. See if my family members might like to be investors.
11. Figure out my personal qualities and if they would help or affect my business.
12. Find out ways to overcome possible knock-backs that might happen along the road in this business.
13. Develop ways to advertise my business using smaller amounts of money (talk to the local radio station to mention my shop, create my own flyers and ask a friend or a family member to print them out for me, create a large banner and put it outside my shop)
14. Make sure I study everything there is to know about bicycles, financing a shop, managing the money and investing them properly.
15. Try to make contact with people in finance, marketing and management, who can help me with their expertise and money.
16. Figure out where I can buy products of the same quality and with better process.
17. Try to put together a bicycle repair service, as it might bring more customers to my shop to both repair their bicycles and buy new ones in case the old one are unsalvageable.
18. I need to figure out my competition in the area and try to provide new products.
19. I should concentrate on studying the market before resuming my business as I don’t want to bring already existing products in my shop, at prices equal or higher than in others.
20. Always keep in mind that since my shop can be considered as a new market, I can bring existing products with small prices at the beginning, and when it will be ready, I could introduce new products into my shop.
21. Always aim for quality and not quantity or low prices. Customers will appreciate a good bike at a reasonable price rather than a cheap, but bad bike.
22. Learn to study the reactions and behavior of the customer and figure out how to act according to them.
23. Always ask what they need to buy a bicycle for and be prompt in coming with the perfect item to match their requirements.
24. Learn everything there is to know about the already existing products in the shop and make sure I can answer quickly when someone asks me something about one of them.
25. Analyze my competition, see which are their weak spots and try to combat them using these.
26. Make sure I have all licenses I need for my business.
27. Consider installing communication means inside the shop and make sure to tell people about it so that they can use it if they need assistance or information.
28. Never operate my business outside my expertise or financial resources.
29. Tell my friends about the store and ask them to spread the news around.
30. Have a positive yet realistic attitude about the future of the business.

If everything I have thought of goes as planned, I see my store prospering in the future, as more and more customers will come and ask for my services. I plan to bring new items to the store as soon as I see that I have success with the ones I am already selling.

Employee Statement

If my friend will agree to come back in business with me, we will be the owners of the shop. Our role will be to manage everything there is to manage in the store and make sure that it has profit. Also, each one of us, as co-owners, will have the right to hire or fire any employees, as long as the other co-owner agrees.

Even though at the beginning we will be doing all the hard work, after a while, we will hire more and more people to help us with the business. We will have to hire a manager to guide the other employees and an assistant manager if more help is needed in this department. Depending on how much the business will grow, we will hire people who will be in charge with walking around the shop and making sure customers receive the attention and information needed. Last but not least, we will hire a security team which will patrol inside and outside of the shop to ensure our customers’ safety.

Business Profile

My bicycle selling business consists in a store meant for selling bikes of all kinds and sizes to customers interested in purchasing a healthy means of travel. At the moment, due to the large sums of money I need to pay to cover my start up loans, I hit a dead end. However, I am determined to turn around and find another way around this maze called a fresh business and reach the center of the labyrinth to claim the big prize.

Economic Assessment

In the area I live there are two more bicycle shops. This is inconvenient for my business but I will try to work it out. After studying the regional economy, I find that my business can flourish without problems here. Since more and more people choose the healthy way of travelling and bicycle is the best alternative of it. Nowadays, when cars are all around the cities, people have started to think more about their health. This is why I think that this region is perfect for my business.

I have been in the business for three years and I have had moderate success. Due to the start up loans we had to pay, I and my friend can’t say that we are completely happy with the results, this being the main reason why he backed out of the business. However, I trust that with this new business plan and ideas, I will manage to make this business more successful.

Cash Flow Assessment

In the three years since I have started this bicycle business, the sales has brought me moderate success. The main problem was the fact that I had to pay the start up loans every month, which left me with virtually no profit at all. This is an inconvenience which I hope will disappear thanks to my new business plan.

I plan that in the future I will have a bigger profit because I want to find sponsors and investors to help me with the loans. Furthermore, after studying the market and the competition, I believe I have managed to figure out a way to be the most successful bike store in the region. Therefore, I believe that the cash flow in the following period will increase considerably.

Final Statement

Although at first it might seem difficult, I am sure that with a lot of hard work and ambition, I will manage to turn the small bicycle shop I own at the moment into a successful business. After all, my motto is: “Bike is your way into a successful future!”