Gurt Burgers Business Growth

Business Draft

Introduction

I am an entrepreneur setting up a small mobile catering business as a Sole Trader in Bristol, called "Gurt Burgers". I have £20,000 capital to front my start-up costs from personal savings and a bank loan.

Estimated Start-Up Costs

Second Hand Trailer with Certificates and Equipment. £4000

Advertising. £1000

Trailer Pitch. £1000 per month

Public Liability Insurance. £500 per year

I have chosen my pitch to be on a thriving trading estate. The reason for this location is because as well as having regular building and trading contractors, there are nearby offices and a high volume in passing delivery drivers - all of whom will be my main target market.

To build my client base, I will focus mainly on local advertising, highly emphasising that all my produce will be fresh, local and homemade. Considering I will need to advertise to a variety of clients, I will use bill-boards/posters up and around the estate; I also will deliver leaflets offering 10% off to all local businesses. This will be the initial promotion for my business, however, I am aware that there are downsides to these forms of marketing; for example; many people fail to notice posters and often ignore leaflets posted through doors and therefore I will rely quite heavily on word of mouth and the fact that my business will be placed in a convenient location for many of my cliental who are likely to be on the go and most likely on a time schedule.

Drawbacks

From being a Sole Trader, comes sole responsibility. It is important to take into consideration personal circumstances for example, having an illness could lead to loss of income and customers. To prevent this from having an effect on the business, I intend to eventually employ two supervisors part time on alternative shift patterns that could cope with the responsibility of working individually. This could be beneficial as it would allow alternative and new ideas to be brought to the surface, as well as allowing myself to delegate tasks making the work load more manageable. However, this will lead too much higher variable costs and would therefore only be considered in the long term. The main reason for this is because if my business does not breakeven I would be unable to pay wages/salaries.

In addition, another problem my business could face could be the lack of continuity. To prevent my business from failing in an event of disaster, I will cover myself by having a 'Business Continuity Plan' which would include insurance for theft, vandalism or a breakdown of a piece of machinery. I also considered using a variety of suppliers; though by doing this I would not build a trusting relationship with my supplier and cannot be as dependent on them if I am not a loyal customer. (Cranfield School of Management. Crisis management and business continuity planning. 2011).

Growth

To protect myself from rivals and increase my share of profit within the market I aim to grow my business within the following five years. My first option would be to consider going into a partnership.

Great compensations of doing this would be the extra capital and shared responsibility. A partner would also bring further expertise within the required field, along with the labour being prioritised into each partner's specialised area. Granting this would be beneficial there are negative aspects. Being within a partnership decisions can be made without consulting the other and arguments can occur, whereas with a Sole Trader you have total control of your business. Each partner would be liable for the debt of the business; this would be even if they did not make the debt. (Companies House. Partnerships. Business Link. 2011).

Secondly, I can make use of the opportunity for expansion to make use of the weekend target market. My current pitch is presently secured for Mondays to Fridays only. Bristol is highly popular for holding local car boot sales on Saturdays and local markets on Sundays. This will give me the prospect to further stable revenue and equally establish my business reputation for potential regular cliental. Therefore by having the upper hand of being a well know company I could expand further within the summer by purchasing a second catering trailer and make use of the local festivals, which would considerably bring in a high profit due to the extraordinary prices you can charge for convenience. However, I will have to take into account that these events are seasonal. Likewise I would rely hugely on the profit I make to ensure the upkeep of my outlay and a bad turn out could affect me greatly.

Lastly, franchising my company could be highly considered, as it is a proven way for rapid growth and it can be an immense expansion strategy that will not require a vast amount of capital to start, as you growing within your own business. I would use my existing foundation strategy and locate independent businesses to help set up and benefit from my blueprint. This will mean that they will own and manage their business but will pay me fees for the right to use my business model and have ongoing support and advice. This will allow me to receive a higher amount of profit income and expand my business name. However, there is drawbacks to franchising my business, for example taking on the responsibility for other companies names, will mean I have to maintain within my own business and other companies I franchise to a high standard at all time, and in affect a brake in the chain throughout the network could sabotage the company name. I would also have to consider the extra responsibility that will rely upon me, such as help with expansion for their own business and product or service development to ensure they keep their businesses at the forefront of the market for best possible income. (Brian Duckett. Franchise World. 2011).

In conclusion, I feel the ultimate improvement route for the growth of my business would be to use my second option of expanding into different areas of Bristol. This would be because it would enable my company to quickly establish itself and have a widespread presence in numerous locations. This also means I will have the upper hand within my market and will dominate over other similar establishments due to being a well- known respectable company.

To reflect the financing of my business, it will be made easier. Banks are more likely to lend money for further expansion to a company that is already well established and have proven to have a high reputation within the market.

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