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Business Plan for a Start-Up of an Information Brokering Company

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Business Plan for a Start-Up of an Information Brokering Company BUSINESS PLAN FOR A START-UP OF AN INFORMATION BROKERING COMPANY by Vesselina Stoytcheva A Master’s project submitted to the faculty of the School of Information and Library Science of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Library Science Chapel Hill, North Carolina November, 1999 Approved by: ________________ Dr. Evelyn Daniel © 1999 Vesselina Kirilova Stoytcheva ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Vesselina Stoytcheva. Business plan for a start-up of an information brokering company. A Master’s Project for the M.S. in L.S. degree. November, 1999. 50 pages. Advisor: Evelyn Daniel This master’s project is a model business plan for a start-up of an information brokering small business. Although the names of the company and the co-owners are fictitious, the plan is based on the activities of an existing information brokering company. The business plan is a very important document to the entrepreneurs. It helps to describe what needs to be accomplished, to provide information to potential investors, or to provide information for financing from a bank. This start-up business plan is based on the following assumptions: 1. V & S International LLC is a small family owned business. 2. The main activity of the company is information brokering. 3. The business start-up is financed by the co-owners. Headings: Information brokers Business plans Consultants Information services – Special subjects – Business TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction……..………………………………………………………… 1 Contents………………………………………………………………….. 3 Executive summary……………………………………………………… 6 Company summary……………………………………………………… 8 Environmental analysis……………………………………… Marketing plan…………………………………………………………… 15 Management summary………………………………………………….. 20 Financial plan…………………………………………………………….. 21 References: a. Appendices………………………………………………………….. 26 b. Sources consulted………………………………………………….. 45 i LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Annual Personnel Estimates……………………………………… 20 Table 2 Start-up Plan………………………………………………………... 21 Table 3 General Assumptions……………………………………………… 22 Table 4 Sales Forecast……………………………………………………... 23 Table 5 Projected Profit and Loss…………………………………………. 24 Table 6 Information Retrieval Services Trends and Forecasts………… 26 Table 7 Information Services Share of the Economy……………………. 27 Table 8 Monthly Personnel Plan for the First Year………………………. 32 Table 9 Projected Cash Flow by Month for the First Year………………. 33 Table 10 Projected Profit and Loss by Month for the First Year…………. 35 Table 11 Pro-forma balance sheet for the first year………………………. 37 ii 1 Introduction Information management outside the traditional library setting, a rapidly developing field, is expected to offer many employment opportunities for library schools graduates. Employers include private corporations, consulting firms and information brokers. A library school graduate has the opportunity to start up a small business and to become an independent information professional, providing information services, such as information retrieval, library services, and various information analysis and consulting services to different clients. The following material is a business plan for a start-up of a small business dealing with information brokering. It is based on a real company data, but for the purposes of confidentiality the names of the company, the co-owners, the contact information data and the address on the World Wide Web are changed. There is a lot of information in the literature about what one needs to do when starting an information brokering business. One can also find information about what a business plan is and how to prepare it. This master’s project is an attempt for a model of a business plan of a start-up company in the information brokering industry based on the literature and the experience of the author. The author found the most difficult the financial part of the plan. It is a problem to project the sales when the business is in the initial stage. Because of its nature the business plan is under continual development. This project focuses only on the first year of the business with some projections for a three-year period. 2 Particularly useful for the project were the books: Entrepreneurship: starting, developing and managing a new enterprise by Robert D. Hirsich and Michael P. Peters, Information for sale by John H. Everett, Information Brokering: a how to-do-it manual by Florence Mason and Chris Dobson, as well as the web site of the Association of Independent Information Professionals. 3 Contents 1.0 Executive Summary 1.1 Company Mission 1.2 Objectives 1.3 Keys to Success 2.0 Company Summary 2.1 Company Ownership 2.2 Company Location and Facilities 2.3. Company Services 3.0 Environmental analysis 3.1 Information Services Industry 3.2 Market Research Industry 3.3 Information Brokering 4.0 Marketing Plan 4.1 Market Analysis Summary 4.1.1 Market Segmentation 4.1.2 Main Competitors 4 4.2 Sales Promotion 4.3 Sourcing 4.4 Pricing Strategy 4.5 Distribution Patterns 5.0 Management Summary 5.1 Organizational Structure and Management team 5.2 Personnel Plan 6.0 Financial Plan 6.1 Start-up summary 6.2 General Assumptions 6.3 Sales Forecast 6.4 Projected Profit and Loss Appendices A. Information Retrieval Services B. Information services Share of the Economy C. Selected List of Competitors D. Monthly Personnel Plan for the First Year E. Projected Profit and Loss by Month for the First Year F. Pro-Forma Cash Flow by Month for the First Year 5 G. Pro-Forma Balance Sheet for the End of the First Year H. Retainer Contract between Intervigor Ltd. and V & S International LLC I. Subcontracting agreement between Information Retrieval Inc. and V & S International LLC 6 1.0 Executive Summary V & S International LLC is a family owned small business organized in the State of North Carolina on January 1, 1999. The office of the company is located at 4777 Hope Valley Road, Durham, NC 27707. The co-owners Samuel and Victoria Smith can be reached at phone – (919) 419-0000, fax – (919) 403-0000 and email – [email protected]. 1.1 Company Mission V & S International LLC provides information and business services to companies and individuals worldwide. The main activity of the company is information brokering, which involves on demand and for profit retrieval, analysis and organization of information in conformity with the needs of a client. The company area of specialization includes - international trade, secondary market research, consulting on venture capital investment, retrieval in government documents, patents and trademarks with a focus in the United States and Europe (in particular, Austria and Bulgaria). It will focus initially on providing two kinds of international channels: · Providing United States clients with assistance in developing European markets. · Providing European clients with assistance in developing the United States market. 7 The company’s long-term plans include establishment of wholly owned subsidiaries in Austria and Bulgaria. V & S International LLC adheres to the Code of Ethical Business Practice of the Association of Independent Information Professionals. 1.2 Objectives The company has the following objectives for the next three years: 1. Amount of sales - $88,000 in 1999; $131,000 in 2000; 177, 000 in 2001. 2. Gross margin higher than 85%. 3. Net income more than 6% of sales by the third year. 1.3 Keys to Success The company envisages the following keys to success: 1. Excellence in fulfilling the promise: completely confidential, reliable, trustworthy expertise and information. 2. Developing visibility to generate new business leads. Leveraging from a single pool of expertise into multiple revenue generation opportunities: retainer consulting, project consulting, market research, and creation of information products. 8 2.0 Company Summary 2.1 Company Ownership V & S International is a Limited Liability Company organized in the State of North Carolina on January 1, 1999. The status of a limited liability company provides many of the advantages of a general partnership and also reduces the risk of individual members. Its benefits outweigh those of a limited partnership in that all members of a limited liability company not only enjoy reduced risk, but also may participate in management and control. The company is a family owned small business, managed by its members (owners): 1. Samuel Smith, who holds a Master of Science in Information Science degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master of Business Administration degree from Duke University. 2. Victoria Smith, who holds a Master of Arts degree in Russian Language and Literature with Second Major French Language from Sofia University, Bulgaria and a Master of Science in Library Science degree from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, USA. She has also completed a two-year Specialization in Journalism and Mass Media from Sofia University, Bulgaria. Victoria Smith is an associate member of the Association of the Independent Information Professionals (AIIP), a member of the American Library Association (ALA) and a member of the European Research Network (EURENE). 9 2.3 Company Locations and Facilities V & S International LLC is a home-based business. The office is located in a separate suite in the owner’s house in Durham, North Carolina. V & S International LLC maintains the latest Windows capabilities including: 1. Complete email facilities on the Internet for working with clients directly and for email delivery of drafts and information.
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