Business Plan Live Green

I. Company

Mission: Create awareness on people of all ages to take care of our environment. This application will expose environmental problems and will promote solutions to leave a better world to our future generations and that will improve all living beings´ lifestyles

Vision: Reach most of the world´s population through their smartphones or technological devices, where they can download the app, and in this way improve the Earth´s environmental condition so that taking care of it is not an option but a lifestyle.

Objectives: ● Create consciousness about global warming and everything that causes problems in the environment. ● Motivate people to take care of our planet. ● Make all the actions that take care of the planet, a lifestyle. ● Stop the damage to the planet and improve its condition. ● Expand worldwide. ● Create an app that is easy to use and for all ages.

II. Introducing the product

Characteristics: Live Green is an application with exclusive graphics which make it unique and eye-catching to a public that is concerned of the environmental problems of the world and also that is interested in social media and technology.

This app is a social network that would be available in every application store and that is in charge of taking care of the environment in an easy way, in which everyone can contribute to solve this problem by using a smartphone.

Functionality: People will have to create an account and they will have a garden with different kinds of trees. They'll start with a seed of one of the trees and the amount of things they upload (only things that are exclusively related to the care of the environment and that are pictures, articles or videos can be uploaded) will determine how much your tree grows. When a person reaches 100 posts, the growth of the tree will be completed. There will be weekly challenges to recycle, to use alternative types of transportation or things like that and the person who completes it, will get an ornament like a fruit, a sphere, etc. to decorate their tree.

Once they complete the development of a tree they can move on to another one different.

The app will also have a news feed where people can see all activities of their followers and “high-five” or “copy”. If they “high-five” it the activity will appear on the news feed and if they “copy” it, it will appear on your profile (either in pictures, articles, or videos).

It is important to mention that the things uploaded by people (videos, photos or articles) have to be links from web pages that later a person will click on and the link will open when you click on the image.

When a person completes a challenge they have to upload a photo of it.

In this way people who have the app, will also have access to lots of information about our environment and climate changes and it will also motivate people to take care of the planet.

Benefits: ● This is a unique application that will give lots of information about global environmental problems through different kinds of media. ● It is not only an information platform but a social network and a “game” that motivates people to become conscious about the importance of this situation. ● It will create social awareness about the environmental problems. ● By reaching a significant part of the population from different nationalities, ages and profession, more people will be involved and interested in taking care of the environment. ● Live Green wants to reach all section of population which include multinational companies. ● In order to be part of Live Green, companies, which are highly responsible for pollution, should take responsibility and be aware of the importance of taking care of the environment. ● It will be free to reach a bigger number of people. ● The app is not aimed to a specific part of the population, anyone with a smartphone or tablet can use it.

III. Target market

There are 7 billion people living in this planet and 6800 million smartphones in the world. Our product is meant for all the people who own a smartphone. It is proved that social networks attract people from all ages. They have become a phenomenon that has helped everyone keep in touch. The idea of our app is to reach all possible ages. It is aimed for everyone to have fun, share, care and learn. To educate kids’ since they are little,to expand youngsters creativity and to remind adults of how important it is to care for the planet and give them a chance to leave a better place for their children and family. We feel the need to make people conscious of how their participation makes an important change. This tells us that we have 6800 million possibilities of making a better world and a huge change throughout an app.

Some statistics show that the world’s oceans contain 6 times more plastic than plankton. There is a need to reduce the levels of waste urgently. We feel that this problem surely has a worldwide impact because the planet is something we will always share. Mexico is one of the highest producers of garbage but so are Canada, Hong Kong and the USA. There is only one planet for all of us that needs to be cared for. Knowing all this facts we propose that people come up with alternative uses for all this products that end in dumpsters and oceans. We must do something if we expect to improve our quality of living. The impact of this app will start in the present but will continue and grow in the future. We chose this problem because it´s something that only we can solve and it´s completely in the hands of those willing to make conscience of our reality.

Our app is new and different. there are no other apps that contain all the possibilities and innovations that we offer. This means that we don’t have any clear rivals. In this app there is a chance to share and help others get motivated. You will share your ideas and have the opportunity to show others that you care for them and their well being . In no other app you can find a chance to contact your fiends with eco-friendly pictures, videos and quotes.

Our main strengths are the capacity of development throughout the market, the creativity of our idea and the social impact it will have. We expect it to reach as many people as possible.The design of our app allows it to be for all ages and any laboral environment. It has a high potential of sponsorship. It is free, so many people will be able to download it.

Our only weakness is the beginning. Starting to get followers and users might be hard because people are not accustomed to care for the environment. But it’s more like a challenge. Making a change is not easy but it’s necessary.

IV. Production and costs

The price is set according to the aims of the app. First, it is important to consider that Live Green is a social network meant to work in different platforms. Therefore, it needs to be developed for each operating system. If an app is available in more than one application store, its market share will increase. In addition, social networks are developed to approach as many people as possible.

The approximate cost for developing a similar app to Live Green is up to 100 000 dollars. In addition, there are additional services that need to be considered when planning the investment budget; for instance, share capabilities and web services. In addition, salaries for graphic and interface designers, programmers, integrators and testers, and app development trainers need to be included. A survey of IT professionals conducted by AnyPresence reports that the initial cost of developing a typical mobile application is from $25 000 to $100 000. The price increases according to the complexity and the amount of functionality it needs. However, the survey reports as well that another high percentage (24.3%) spend more than $100 000. Depending in the amount and quality of the features of an app, the price bumps into the $100,000 range and goes up.

However, the initial investment needed for the app to be developed is usually only 35% of the total cost in two years. Creating an app is not a one-time cost. To set out a realistic budget, long-term expenses need to be considered. Updates are crucial in order to keep users interested. Over 80% update their apps at least twice a year and a nearly a 33.3% once a month.

Although the maintenance and development is not as cheap as expected, funds can be raised by getting companies involved. Online advertising is taking off because it reaches a bigger amount of people in a short period of time. Internet in general, has a variety of advertising options and price points. In addition, 6 800 million people use and own a smartphone. Moreover, our app tries to reach as many people as possible not only by the app itself but by the influence in people and companies.

Why will companies be interested in advertising in Live Green? In one hand, companies set aside from 5% to 12% of the annual budget for advertising approximately. On the other hand, by advertising in Live Green, besides creating brand awareness, companies will modify their existing reputation. Giving their products alternative uses and having social awareness will draw people’s attention towards certain brands products.

Companies can advertise by creating their own account which is 100% free. However, advertisement will be charged whenever challenges belong to certain products. First, an initial payment is required to assign a challenge to a certain company. Second, for every people copying or giving a high five to the challenge, a different rate will be charged. Finally, another fee will be charged for every person who accomplishes the task or challenge.

Live Green aims to get 15 000 accounts by the end of the first year. In order to win more users and to meet the requirements of a social network, it should be free. All services (videos, photos, access to other accounts) should be available for all users. Therefore, more people will be interested in signing up, meeting the challenges and contributing by uploading eco-friendly alternatives to our alarming environment situation.

VI. Distribution Point of sale The only way people can acquire the app will be through app stores for most operating systems. Distribution policies It will be free and the account will have to be created providing your email address. VII. Marketing

“Be the seed that will make a change”

We will show ourselves as an app that is fully concerned about the environmental issues that have been taking place in the past years. In this app, the ones that download it will be able to be in contact with other people who are willing to share ideas about how to take care of the environment. Here, people will be able to upload videos, pictures, quotes and ideas. Others will see the ideas and have the opportunity to share them. Some challenges are to be completed and this way people in our app will feel motivated to continue caring for the planet. The main idea is to make people understand the importance of actively taking care of the planet, but allowing them to do it in a fun and creative way. We will make our members feel like the seed that can make the change.

Due to the fact that this product is an application, first of all we will make it available in different app stores for free. Then, we will promote it in the main social networks such as twitter and facebook. To be continued, we will use youtube commercials so more people get to know it. Finally, we will ask our sponsors to include our logo and slogan in their commercials and products.

The statistics say that 1.4 billion people use facebook and 98% of the 18-24 year olds use social networks, this is why we will base our first strategy on twitter and facebook. Youtube ads are also effective because only 30% of the people actually skip them, so it is a good strategy too. Finally Coca Cola is one of the most important sponsors for many social campaigns throughout the world like the one of “get the ball rolling” that motivated 3 million people to take part in it. If the campaign is fully developed many other companies would take part on it as well, providing them an image of a socially responsible company. VIII. Marketing Strategies

This Live Green staff strongly believes in respecting the environment and cooperating to make a better planet for everyone. Working together is the clue to the success of this app. Making people aware of the problem will make them responsible of the actions to take in the moment and keep on going with them further on the future.

As mentioned before this company believes in the importance of teamwork, so in order to make a better working environment all the members of our enterprise will be asked to come up with creative ideas and will have high opportunities of development. Those that contribute with the best ideas will receive bonuses such as trips and salary raises. If all the enterprise works hard, there will be parties and reunions for special occasions such as Christmas and Easter. Our employees will work under the best conditions, with all the needs of food, technology and a useful work place covered. A day care center will be available for those mothers that need to leave their kids in a safe place. Finally, our employees will be sent to many courses, paid by the company to expand their knowledge. This things will be for those people that develop the software and those in charge of promotion, marketing and publicity.

To make the production more efficient, every employee will have some tasks to complete according to their strengths. Clear criteria will be provided so people always know what is expected from them and don’t lose useful time. For us it is important to provide deadlines to be respected and this way it is a win-win for the company and for them.

The commercial alliances will be carried out with companies that want to be socially responsible. Our sponsors will have the chance to give their image to the recycled products. People will feel like they are buying something that will be useful to make decorations for many seasons but also to feel like they are caring for the environment. It is important to keep in mind that there are many uses to the products and people can enhance their creativity.