1.1 Objectives
Occasions is a small business aimed at the big time. In order to reach its lofty goals, Occasions must focus on the mission behind the vision. It will take all the employees, owners, founders, and vendors daily living the vision that Occasions represents. The vision manifests itself in three ways:
Be one of the top three event planning specialists in the Northwestern United States.
Justly compensate the employees, owners, and founders of Occasions.
Produce the same quality results, every time.
1.2 Mission
In an ever changing, fast-paced world, success is determined by good choices for lasting effects. Communication is essential. Occasions strives to be the best choice of clients by helping to ease their event planning burden. Through consistent, predictable professionalism, Occasions will ensure a worry and hassle-free event at a reasonable price.
But, not all our clients will be external. Occasions has internal clients to serve. Occasions will strive to provide the same predictable and professional working environment to its employees and contracted vendors, justly compensating them for their services. It is also a priority to make a comfortable living wage for its owners, founders, full-time staff, and their families.
Keeping in tune with the needs of the market, utilizing the latest technology and trends, all while ensuring the client receives the individual attention they deserve, is the vision and daily mission of Occasions; The Event Planning Specialists.
1.3 Keys to Success
Our keys to success include the commitment to quality by every person who is part of the team. Each of us will be responsible to push ourselves to a higher level of professionalism in three areas:
Consistent, accurate fulfillment of the client's wishes.
Competitive pricing for the quality of services offered.
Significant profit made on each event planned.
Company Summary
Founded originally on a part-time basis, Occasions is a small business designed to meet the needs of the ever changing social world. Portland, Oregon is the current home with plans to expand to branch offices within four years. Occasions' staff of two, with numerous contract vendors, plans events, writes event-planning products, and trains area students in the art of event planning. Occasions is invested in the community it resides in.
Occasions is, in part, the answer to demands of the social world, on the working family, heavily-burdened office, out-of-town business, or special occasion in need of special recognition. As a business, we understand the needs of public and private organizations. As parents and family members, we understand the needs of setting special time apart from other events in our lives. Occasions strives to accomplish these goals, in Portland and eventually other areas of the Pacific Northwest.
2.1 Company Ownership
Occasions is established as a sole proprietorship with the intention of selling the business when it is established to one of the employees invested in the vision of event planning. All aspects of the business will be documented to ensure clients can count on the same results every time. It is these documents that will become the basis of ownership. The sole proprietor will use his or her name as the guarantor of each service. Therefore, the sole proprietor must embody the vision and mission of Occasions.
2.2 Start-up Summary
Through careful planning on the part of the founders, the start-up costs for Occasions are minimal. It began as a home-based business with little overhead, and it continues to demand fewer outlay of funds as a service-based business. The start-up cost investment funds were assets saved from prior earnings by the owners who did event planning on a part-time basis before establishing themselves as a business.
It is the wish of the founders to remain a debt-free establishment. However, recognizing that in reality not all variables are controllable, outside financing is a viable option. Both founders own homes and have a perfect credit rating.
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4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy
Our target markets are middle to upper-middle class families, couples, individuals, or private and public organizations. We chose these groups because they are most able to afford event planners, and have the least amount of time to spare for event planning in general. Families demand attention, employees are overburdened, and overwhelming detail needed to plan large events are too large a constraint to place on people not trained in the area of event planning.
The fast pace of the world we live in leaves little time for extra things we would like to do, like plan events, parties, and social get-togethers. Occasions fills the need by being available to take on the burden of planning so that people can spend time on more important things, like family and friends. The demand for this service can only increase considering the rise in incomes, population, and need for interpersonal relations in the workplace.
4.3 Service Business Analysis
Occasions are in a unique position of competition. We compete against hotels with conference facilities, conference centers, other event planners both on the large and small scale, persons within an organization who are assigned the task of organizing an event, and people who wish to organize their own events without the benefit of assistance. The benefits and drawbacks of each of our competitors as compared with the services we offer are hardly a match in quality and price.
Hotels and Conference Centers
Strengths: On-site facilities, equipment, and support staff. Able to transport and house persons for overnight stays. Able to internalize costs of transportation and equipment.
Weakness: Often very expensive, impersonal, rely on unskilled labor for support staff. The error rate is high due to high volume and traffic from other events happening at the same time.
Other Event Planners
Strengths: Have been in the market longer; have established a reputation and client base.
Weakness: Reputation precedes them, no systems-based businesses designed to produce consistent results; focus on smaller events, specialized events are main focused rather than all events; do not have the supporting products to market with, or instead of, event planning services.
Employees or Persons wishing to do it themselves
Strengths: Internalized cost of planning the event; able to add tiny personalized touches that have meaning within the group or family.
Weakness: Consumes time that could be spent on other things; don't have access to the best prices, services, and other needed resources available.
Strategy and Implementation Summary
Marketing and Competition
We have discussed our client base as being predominately middle to upper-middle class individuals, couples or families, public and private organizations. We must then look at the needs of these markets and cater to them. We promise the same great results, every time.
When marketing to individuals, the idea of releasing them from the task, freeing their time for family and friends, and the promise of a worry-free event are the buzz words and concepts. Our marketing is predominantly by word of mouth or visual connection to large events these individuals have participated in or worked at.
When marketing to public or private organizations, the idea of greater efficiency for the money and a professional event without error would be the key concept. Groups, especially large ones, do not wish to deal with problems that arise due to oversight on their part. If the guarantee of worry-free, error-free events is available at a cost benefit to them, there really appears to be no better choice.
5.1 Sales Strategy
Occasions deals with a diverse market of clients. Within each market segment, closing of sales will differ. Each approach is described as follows:
Private and Public Organizations
Sales will be concluded one to two days after the end of the event. A follow-up phone call will be placed informing the client of the total cost, number of attendees, and information about the billing packet that will arrive at their offices. Feedback forms will be included in these packets to ensure the client is being served as they deem appropriate. Form letter thank-you will be sent following each event.
Individuals
Sales will be concluded with a follow-up phone call one to two days after the event. The phone call will explain the total cost of the event, number of attendees, and information concerning the billing. Individual parties of any age group are placed on a billing cycle. Invoices will be sent out the 25th of the month and will be due the 10th of the following month. Feedback forms will be included in these packets to ensure the client is being served as they deem appropriate. Thank-you cards will follow each individual event.
5.1.1 Sales Forecast
By beginning on a smaller scale, Occasions has the foresight to grow at a rapid pace to keep up with demand. We wish to maintain a steady rate of sales growth; however, we understand that sales of products and services will vary in different months. As noted in the graph and chart, rapid increases during the holiday season will boost sales, then allow that growth to level off at a steady rate.
7.2 Key Financial Indicators
The break-even point for Occasions is based on the assumption that we will produce 22 events per month and average approximately Rs.521 per event. In the current situation, we average more than this assumption for our public and private organization events. These currently make up 18 of the 22 average events hosted per month.
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7.3 Break-even Analysis
The break-even point is based on the assumption that we will produce 22 events per month and average approximately Rs.521 per event. In the current situation, we average more than this assumption for our public and private organization events. These currently make up 18 of the 22 average events hosted per month.
The break-even point will appear more rapidly for Occasions than for other types of home-based businesses. Start-up costs are limited to minimal equipment, there is little or no staff to pay in the beginning, and contracted companies will handle any additional equipment required for the planned events.
