Business start up project

Student Name (ID Number); Course Code; Submission Date

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GOME CLOTHING

Student Name (ID Number) COURSE CODE MODULE LEADER SUBMISSION DATE dd/mm/yyyy

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................ 3

BUSINESS DETAILS ...................................................................................................... 4

INDUSTRY AND MARKET ANALYSIS .......................................................................... 4

CUSTOMERS AND VALUE PROPOSITIONS ................................................................ 7

MARKETING STRATEGY .............................................................................................. 9

OPERATIONS PLAN .................................................................................................... 11

RISK ASSESSMENT ..................................................................................................... 13

MANAGEMENT TEAM AND COMPANY STRUCTURE .............................................. 14

RESOURCES ................................................................................................................ 15

FINANCING ................................................................................................................. 16

REFLECTION ............................................................................................................... 17

REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 18

APPENDIX .................................................................................................................... 21

Figures .......................................................................................................................... 25

TABLES ........................................................................................................................ 33

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Student Name, the lifestyle entrepreneur behind the brand, created this business because she is passionate about clothing. She found a market she knew about and made the decision to develop a profitable and sustainable company based on her passion for urban clothing. Student Name will be the sole owner of the business and will work full time as the lead operator.

Our business model, clothing is a incremental product, meant to have the consumer

stand out from others within the crowd. The company is being built on originality, creativity and innovation through clothing.

The target market for the company has been developed on demographics and

psychographics which allows for a more detailed overview of the target market and their needs and how we can supply them. A trial run has been conducted for the company and results show that there is a need within our target market for the products we intend to offer in Barbados. Our value proposition is based on four things, quality, price, originality and high customer involvement.

The clothing will be sold online and in-store. The in-store location has no costs attached

to it and poses as a major advantage for the company. Bootstrapping will be the main funding option for the company but in any instance that additional funding may be required, family and friends will be the next option.

The company will be marketed via Facebook social media platform as a main form of

advertising because it is aimed at our target market demographics of Millenials and Gen Z; but will also indulge in radio advertisements and the use of local influencers to bring about brand awareness.

Results from our financial projections show that we will breakeven from the first year.

They are very few costs associated with the business model and is major reason to our positive net income.

Our business model is considered to be strong and proves why we could thrive within

the trillion dollar fashion industry. Beginning in Barbados and implementing growth strategies within the future, GOME could become a brand that competes with other larger brands that have been in the market longer.

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BUSINESS DETAILS

Student Name, the lifestyle entrepreneur, found a market she knew about, found a product she knew would sell, that she too was passionate about and thus, she intends to build a profitable and sustainable company on that basis. GOME (Graphically an Original Mind Explosion) clothing was created to become a dedicated part of the rapidly growing fashion industry while differentiating our business by diversifying the market through our brand. GOME clothing is an incremental development business model because we are selling a luxury product to males and females between the ages of 15 – 29 living in Barbados. The company will operate as a sole proprietorship by Student Name, a graphic designer with a substantial amount of knowledge about clothing and the industry will lead the company to its success. GOME clothing’s success will be accomplished whilst remaining socially and environmentally responsible. We want to make more environmentally friendly and ecologically responsible decisions and lifestyles. In addition we do intend to give back to our communities, by involving ourselves in activities such as giving clothing to the homeless, teenagers in orphanages and supporting and sponsoring community and school events such as talent or model shows. Mission Statement To deliver the best of quality products and originality to our consumers by creating a culture that encourages originality and innovation. Visions Statement To be the leader of originality and innovation in clothing within Barbados, focusing on your people. Aims & Objectives

• Cultivate a substantial amount of market share locally. • Be socially and environmentally responsible. • Establish a creative and innovative culture within the organization. • To be a leader and innovator within the fashion industry in the future. • To become widely recognized by our logo. • To create a community of “Gomers”. • To create long-lasting relationships with local celebrities and influencers. • To create partnerships and collaborations with larger international brands, within the

future. Entrepreneur Quiz Findings

1. Get2Test: Occasionally Enterprising 2. Designhill.com: Serial Entrepreneur 3. TestmyCreativity: 51.39

I agree with the first and second test, but the third test does not reflect me at all. Please see Appendix for all graphs related to the three entrepreneur quizzes.

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INDUSTRY AND MARKET ANALYSIS

The Market Lifecycle for GOME is Mature, because the industry has existed for a 1000 years (Robinson, 2018). This sentiment is also explained by Anne Catour, fashion mogul and socialite who says that fashion is the same thing, just repackaged every decade (Vogue, 2022). Given the significant number of fashion brands that exist (Tommy Hilfiger, 2002), even within the high fashion world there are over 200 companies operating, which makes fashion a fragmented industry (Oxford, 2017). Regarding the geographical extent, in Barbados there are 15 businesses (see Figure 1 in Appendix for Google Map search) that resell T-shirts, but there are no designers on the island according to my Google search using the keywords: “Barbados Custom Clothing.” Taking this search into account we have only a few direct competitors: Kelly’s Closet; Tiyi by Design; and Exclusive Cottons of the Caribbean. For a full description of the Direct, Indirect, and Future Competitors, please see Table 1 in the Appendix.

GOME is focusing primarily on the Barbados population, 287,708 (Barbados.gov,

2020). Drawing from the census data of Barbados (Barbados Census, 2019), our target market of people between the ages of 15 to 29 results in 30,104 potential customers or served available market. If we can capture 10% of the potential customers, we would have a penetrated market of 3,010 customers. If we expand our target market to 15 to 50-year-old people, we would have a total available market of 76,900 potential customers. The figures above do not include tourists, which could add another potential 1.36 million customers (worlddata.info, 2022). If GOME was to capture 1% of the tourists on the island, we would prospectively gain 13,600 customers to our penetrated market. Analysis in section 3 will highlight the importance of repeat customers. This analysis is supported (Barton, 2015) suggesting that youth are keen on staying up-to-date with trends.

For the Market Analysis Techniques, this report focuses on a SWOT, PESTLE and

Porter’s 5 Forces analyses to provide an understanding on the micro and macro business environments. The SWOT analysis (see Table 2 in the Appendix for a full analysis) highlights our strengths as being a local brand and can play on the “emotions” of tourists wanting a holiday token that comes from the island, which is consistent with tourist purchasing behaviour (Lee and Gant, 2009). Our greatest challenge, like any small business (Thompson et al., 2003) is acquiring funding and supply chain issues to a small island (Singh, 2004). Table 2 shows a table of GOME compared to our top three competitors.

Evolve, a local brand established in Barbados, has been around for some time and has

cultivated a great amount of interest and market share for the brand. The company focuses more on highlighting Barbados as it uses mainly colors within the flag and references to our culture. Their focuses is on a wider target market compared to us and could somewhat be considered a strength for them. Table 3 clearly illustrates the SWOT analysis conducted for GOME and our competitors. Many of our competitors’ products are priced substantially higher than ours, though we use similar garments, such as those produced by Gildan and Next Level. As out costs are very low we mitigate the likelihood of our clothing being priced just as high. Each collection will not exceed 100 pieces of garments and thus can be brought into the country as luggage and any expense will be simply disregarded as Student Name will cover the costs until the business generate substantial cash flows.

The PESTLE analysis highlights the greater issue of macro economics, especially

operating a business on a remote island in the Caribbean (Wood and Johnson, 2017). The full

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breakdown of the analysis can be found in Table 3, but one of the most significant challenges to the business is the importing laws of Barbados, that are highly taxed at 47% and must have no chemical residue (www.barbadosportauthority.com). There should be no technological issues, as GOME has purchased a T-Shirt labelling press that has been delivered from Amazon.com (link).

A full analysis using Porter’s Five Forces Model has been conducted and illustrated in

Table 4. A summary of the analysis highlights the competitive rivalry of our competitors consists of a never ending list but we will consider major players with great influence to our target market. Such brands are Evolve, Staple and Popular Demand. Since Evolve has been established within the market for a longer period, they have generated a lot of loyal customers. The supplier power can ensure a consistent flow of products we will focus on three suppliers. Our main garments will be those produced by Gildan and Next Level. These manufacturers are large institutions that encompass many intermediaries for their products. Our main or number one supplier is AlphaBroder, who is based within the USA and resells many brands at wholesale prices. The power of buyers within any industry affects the competitive environment for sellers and influences their ability to achieve profits (Wilkinson, 2013). GOME is determined to achieve profits while gaining as much market share possible by providing to and satisfying the needs of our customers, which in turn will lower the buyer power.

As mentioned, one of the greatest gaps in the market is the lack of options on the island

for custom clothing (see Figure 1 for reference of competition). Likewise, we found in our SWOT analysis that our top three competitors bring their product in from Bangledash, where we source our socially and environmentally sustainable products from Golden Custom in Canada. Research by Xu et al. (2019) suggests that products that are sustainable sourced are more likely to be purchased by people in the Millennial or Gen Z demographics, which is my target market. A greater threat to the company is economic downturns, which would lead to restricted consumer spending (Williams, 2018).

Within the fashion industry, many prints, materials/fabrics etc. are always going out

and coming into style, so the ability to foresee these trends would deem positive for us. We can maintain being at the forefront by designing our garments though more costs would be incurred. Incurring costs to build the brand image, can later show major returns. Though Barbados is a tropical island, during November to February, it has been observed that people wear sweaters more often. This is likely to be as a result of cold fronts occurring around those months (Smith, 2018).

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CUSTOMERS AND VALUE PROPOSITIONS

It is widely evidenced that this segment demands “stylish” clothing and we can offer it to them at such a value that cannot be disregarded/discard. GOME Clothing will be using different printing methods as this allows us to differentiate or diversify our collections. These methods would include, glow in the dark and regular screen printing, reflective heat press, chenille patches and embroidery (see Figures 2 to 4 for illustrations of the equipment and designs). Based on the information described above and the definition of Henckel (1997), our business model is high differentiation because we are not selling a need, but a want.

We are ensuring a competitive advantage by diversifying our collections, which will

allow for continuous interest in our clothing line. This approach is suggested by Vogue Magazine and also in consumer purchasing behaviour literature (Yap and Song, 2022). Our advantage is offering creative and innovative clothing that reflect that Barbadian vibe. For a general understanding of the culture, we believe it is best presented on this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/vibebarbados/. We are attempting to build this brand on more than just a printed garment. We aim to have our clothing be used as expression pieces for those wearing it and to give them the benefit to stand out from others as they wear our clothing. We are marketing to this market to not only buy clothing but to buy into a culture and an experience of investing into something local. From this we want to create a community of “Gomers” where customers feel a part of the brand and the company.

The characteristics of a good business model suggest that we create value through

building an identity, reputation and relationships. 1. Identity: Explanation of business identity.

2. Reputation: How does the company build their reputation?

3. Relationship: What relationships must the company establish?

Our value proposition is providing people with the opportunity to feel good and support

a socially responsible business that represents Barbados. A good value proposition should state three things:

1. Statement

2. Statement

3. Statement Our designs will be immensely different compared to our competitors. We will begin

operations with the highest quality blank tank tops, t-shirts, sweaters and hoodies from Gildan and Next Level (https://www.nextlevelapparel.com/) who are widely known for their quality. Though our true intent is to design our own garments, at launch those mentioned will be our suppliers until the brand can begin its own designing and producing of garments, which is supported by the article Simmons (2007). This process of designing our own garments would further differentiate ourselves from the competitors and further improve our competitive advantages, which is necessary to increase our opportunity of success (Johnson, 2002; Zimmerman, 1985). Both graphic and textile designs would be protected by the necessary intellectual property licenses which then prevents others from copying our designs as

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explained on the Government of Canada website (https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canadian- intellectual-property-office/en).

Our product solves the customer problem by serving them with the urban clothing they

desire whilst being cost effective. As mentioned, our competitors do offer the same products as us but they cost more. Reason for this is partly because those retailers reselling these products have a substantial amount of costs to cover and must price high. On the other hand, our clothing will be sold in store at Platinum Look Boutique, but at no cost to us. Another problem we solve is that of ensuring quality to the customer. Often, many complaints especially from Student Name, in terms of clothing is that the colors in clothing and prints often diminish quickly after being in the machine. We have found ways around this which takes us to another reason as to why we are offering various printing methods on our garments. Embroidery and chenille patches will not wash out, though they stand a chance of threads becoming loose, instructions on how to wash will be placed on the tag. Our manufacturers have also assured us that their embroidery machines go over the threads to ensure the security of the threads not becoming loose too quickly. The heat press method of printing also solved this issue as we will use vinyl instead of the other materials. Using vinyl does not wash out as the other materials do and lasts a lifetime, once printing instructions are followed (Rogers, 2018).

Our customers will receive many benefits, as we solve their problems and go beyond

to ensure their satisfaction. Thus, our competitive advantage is built on five things, price, quality, high customer focused, originality and relatively high differentiation. Everything from our offerings, to our dedication to focus on our customers, to our cost structure is more than enough reason to support why customers will buy from us rather than our competitors. Additionally, it is being emphasized more often than ever by many, the importance of buying local. As we are a local brand, we are indeed hopeful that this too is a way for customers to buy from us rather than from our competitors. Tourists also have a huge appreciation for buying local products from countries they have visited and we also see this too as reason for why customers will buy from us. Though there are other brands within Barbados that tourists can buy products from too, because of our location, (see Figures 1.4 – 1.6) we foresee this convenience being in our favor of reaching them. Our competitors’ businesses are all structured on an e-commerce business model, order and deliver. Our clothing is available at a location which is on the south coast of the island where many hotels and popular beaches are situated. The store is located in a mall that generates much traffic daily. The identity for the brand is made up of our “Gomers”, the customers of the brand. We will take the time to develop personal relationships with our Gomers that allows them to trust us to provide value for money and appreciate that we will do a good job. According to (Burns, 2018), customers tend to form relationships with brands in much the same way as they form relationships with people. A recognizable brand that resonates with customers can outlive its founder and can be a vehicle for growth for the company. The development of these strong, trusting personal relationships with customers allows for the securing of repeat sales. Thus, we intend to build relationships with local influencers to help build the reputation of the brand – originality through creativity and innovation.

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MARKETING STRATEGY

We aren’t just entering the market to be another brand selling clothing, we want our products to mean something to our consumers. See Table 1.3 for marketing mix specifications. Product – We aim to have our customers feel a great level of attachment to our brand by offering the best quality clothing possible. With such quality standards, our clothing will provide optimum performance in regards to durability and longevity. According to (Solomon, 2018) “it is a known fact that colors may even influence our emotions and help us to color our expectations of what’s inside the package. We are structuring our ability to communicate with consumers on the visual channel through the colors of our designs, garments and packaging. Our garments will range from size small to large but our business model allows for customization in regard to special orders of larger sizes. Our clothing is considered as convenient as there are no complexities with the use and purchasing process. Price – List prices for each item is outline in Table 1.4. GOME has adopted a cost-plus pricing strategy. Discounts will be offered on volume/bulk purchases and to loyal customers. In instances where demand may be low, our price structure allows for the sustenance of 50% off sales and buy one get one 50% special offers. During the holidays mystery gift boxes will be created as specials where family and friends can purchase a variety of products for someone at special prices. With the purchase of Promotion – Social media platforms such as Instagram (link) and Facebook (link) are our main platforms for communicating with our GOMERS. According to Burns (2018), when customers have a good relationship with a reputable tradesman, they will often recommend them personally to friends. As mentioned previously, our business plans to be highly customer focused which will call for conversations regularly with our customers. This relationship would further allow for word-of-mouth promotions to occur. There are many festivals, fairs and exhibitions held year-round in Barbados in which we do intend to attend and sell and market our company. We also intend to sponsor local fashion shows that the community or schools may be hosting, by loaning clothing to the models. This allows for a wide variety of brand recognition and promotion. Place – Our products will be available both in store and online. The retail location for the store is Platinum Look Boutique, which is located in a busy mall. A website will also be established for the company where customers can view and buy products at any time of the day. People - Student Name has established relationships with both local and international printers. She has traveled to Los Angeles on occasions to interact and build relationships with the printers there. The garments she orders can either be supplied by the LA printer or she can order them herself from other sources (whilst still maintaining quality). Student Name has grown up around business all her life as majority of her family members all own their own business. She receives advise from them regularly even when not seeking any. She has the full support of her family, friends and teachers and can turn to them at any point for any pointers and information. Our launch strategy will involves an event with friends of friends and friends of family along with local influencers involved with the brand and anyone whom our advertisements of the event have reached (potential Gomers). The event will be hosted at the store location and will serve light refreshments and include models and music.

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Product and market development is expected to occur within future years. We intend to offer other products such as jeans jackets, jeans and sweat pants and male formal shirts. Our market development will consist of entering other countries such as England, USA and Canada as many Barbadians live in these areas and we also have the ability to gain others interest within these countries.

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OPERATIONS PLAN

GOME Clothing is registered as a sole proprietorship and had a $107 BDS cost associated with the process. Copy right isn’t available in Barbados and is not a requirement for the brand until we begin operations in other countries. We are not required to have any licenses or leases to sell our clothing. Any licenses or leases necessary are already acquired by Platinum Look Boutique, the store selling our clothing. The store is designed to allow customers to flow freely through the store as they browse. To keep track of our inventory levels, we will record what stock is at the store’s location and what stock is in storage (for website purchases) and any order made online can be taken from the store if not available in storage. All sales will be recorded at the point of sale.

Sales staff and recruitment training are all a responsibility of Platinum Look Boutique as GOME will not be hiring any staff. Our graphic designer will be outsourced at various points. The staff at Platinum Look Boutique exhibit high service levels and we believe they can aid us in accomplishing our goal of exemplary customer service and relations. The store has assured us that any store promotional activities will automatically include GOME, as we are part of their stocked merchandise. To ensure security of customers and our clothing from theft or any other undesired activity, security is provided by the mall with cameras and officers positioned all around the building.

The statistics for both Christ Church and St. Michael has been included, (see Table 1.5 – 1.6) as the store is located in the parish of Christ Church but borders the lines of St. Michael. The store is highly visible as it sits on the top floor of the mall and the mall is positioned directly beside the main road, thus making it highly visible to passersby. The route is often busy as they are multiple public and private transport vehicles operating on this road (route taxis, private mini-buses and the public transport service). The parking lot has the ability to host 72 parking customers.

The other part of our commercial activities includes our website. The website will be designed to reflect the brand’s image. We will have a website that is easy to navigate and easy to access. This ease of access process will occur as continuous maintenance, tuning, testing and monitoring will often occur. This process allows for GOME Clothing to be high on the list of search results by the search engine. Website updates will occur as we see fit and may happen at times such as during the holiday seasons, for new releases and during sales.

Our preferred use of social media platforms (Instagram and Facebook) also link customers to our website simply by the click of a link. Another important ease to the customer that should be mentioned is the security of all transactions. We will work in correspondence with our local commercial bank and the commercial website PayPal, to ensure secure transactions.

Our launch will occur at the store location, Platinum Look Boutique. There is no cost associated with launching there. In addition, those invited (everyone the advertisement reaches) plus passersby within the mall can all be exposed to the brand. How we intend to reach people is by creating advertisement campaigns, where we will produce videos and photos along with posters tailored to the launch of the brand, via social media. The influencers mentioned previously, will also be associated with the launch. Our main platform for social media promotions will be on Instagram and Facebook. Twitter, YouTube and Snapchat will mainly be used to give our customers a more personal feel to the brand and to also make them feel and know that they are a part of the brand. Instagram and Facebook ads are efficient and effective as they can reach thousands for a low cost (see Figures 1.7 ). To maintain strong relationships with our customers, we intend to pay attention to them. Simply denoting that we will never downplaying their opinions of our competitors or their preferred brand and will politely but persistently prove our points of advantage over them. Developing strong, meaningful

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relationships with our consumers gives us the ability to reach our vision of creating a culture amongst us and our customers. This could allow for favorable experiences of our products to be shared. Putting our network to work – leads to credibility and legitimacy and thus leads to revenue. As we continuously work on building relationships with our customers and become established within the market we will then indulge in some strategic brand development. Such strategies involve, brand extension (jeans/pants, shoes, bags, phone cases, suits, eyewear etc.) Another strategy is to partner with other brands (our competitors) such as supreme, pink dolphin etc.

Our operations plan for three months, November, December and January are all illustrated in the Gantt chart (see Figure 2.1).

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RISK ASSESSMENT

1. Risk (Medium | External): Snowstorm in winter. a. SO: Online store. b. M: Late opening. c. CSF: Open communication with customers. 2. Risk (High | Internal): Lacking Cash Flow a. SO: b. M: c. CSF: 3. Risk (High/Medium/Low | Internal or External): ……? a. SO: b. M: c. CSF: 4. Risk (High/Medium/Low | Internal or External): ……? a. SO: b. M: c. CSF: 5. Risk (High/Medium/Low | Internal or External): ……? a. SO: b. M c. CSF: 6. Risk (High/Medium/Low | Internal or External): ……? a. SO: b. M c. CSF: 7. Risk (High/Medium/Low | Internal or External): ……? a. SO: b. M: c. CSF: 8. Risk (High/Medium/Low | Internal or External): ……? a. SO: b. M: c. CSF: 9. Risk (High/Medium/Low | Internal or External): ……? d. SO: e. M: f. CSF:

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MANAGEMENT TEAM AND COMPANY STRUCTURE

The management team of GOME clothing is currently only made up of the entrepreneur, who is essentially responsible for all the management functions. She is currently a student at the University of West Indies Cave Hill campus, majoring in Entrepreneurship. This major has allowed her to gain theoretical knowledge of human resource management, operations management, accounting basics, organizational behavior, economics of business, introduction to entrepreneurship, business plan building etc. She is also part owner along with her mother of a boutique store and has been around the store for much of her life. She has management experience and substantial experience in operating a business. In addition, she is very much skilled and considered by many as a creative and innovator and plans to develop a business culture of creativity and innovation as it reflects herself. There is always room for improvement for entrepreneurs in regards to developing their skills and knowledge, thus she participates in many conferences and workshops in hopes of improving her skills or lack thereof. She is also a graphic designer and has been the main designer for GOME clothing, (see appendix) for all work done by her for the clothing line. In the instance that she believes that a design she has in mind may need a more experienced/professional graphic designer, it is at this point that our outsourced designer is contacted.

Though the company will be operated solely by her, an organizational chart illustrated in

Figure 3.1, shows others who add to the operations of the company. These others include the suppliers, lawyer, graphic designer, printers and other key people such as family, friends and teachers). Due to the fact that Student Name, will have others making contributions to the company, she intends to adopt a democratic style of leadership. She exudes ethical behaviors and will expect this too from the company. Such expectations include not over charging customers in the buying process or using their credit card information for fraudulent activities. She believes in taking a rational approach to getting things done within the business. Basing decisions on logic, especially in a business environment can deem critical for the success of any business operation or activity.

She is surrounded by many who support her and her aim/goal to make GOME Clothing a success. Each one of them has pertinent skills or experience that she and the business can benefit from. She sometimes wonder how is she so lucky to be surrounded by persons who can add in almost every way possible. Such persons are her parents and step-parents, grandmother, friends, other extended family members and teachers.

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RESOURCES

Financial Resources: GOME Clothing has established a joint venture with Platinum Look Boutique, where the agreement is that they will sell our clothing with no cost attached. Since Student Name is part owner of the business, thus this allows for no cost to be attached to the selling of our clothing. In addition, there is no fixed time period associated with the agreement between us and the boutique for how long they will sell our clothing. In the instance that they do decide to not sell our clothing any longer, we would’ve already have our website set up and fully functional so that our operations will not be hindered nor affected. Storage is also done at the store for the quantities of clothing they carry and as well as at the home of Student Name. The quantities at her home are for orders made via the website. Thus, GOME clothing has no premises nor facilities to call its own.

All printing is outsourced so there is no machinery or equipment needed by the business at the time.

As previously mentioned, a joint venture is established between GOME clothing, and the boutique has its own staff and they are responsible for the selling of our products.

They absorb all costs associated with the premises and facilities. GOME clothing is not responsible for any costs such as rent, utilities etc. Social Resources: They are plenty knowledgeable and skilled persons of whom the business can contact for assistance, guidance or advise about anything. Student Name’s family all have some variety entrepreneurial/business skills. Her mother is the owner of the boutique, from where we will be selling our clothes and has owned multiple businesses before. Her experience with business can be considered an advantage to GOME as we can always gain insight and guidance from her. Her grandmother has also owned and managed other small businesses. Student Name’s biological father and step parents are very much an asset to GOME as well. Her father is a small business owner and manager at one of the most exquisite luxurious hotels in Barbados and could possibly be used also to reach tourists. Her step father is an author whilst her step mother is a member of a venture capitalist firm. Lastly, Matthew Pauley, an enterprise expert and the director of the Hostetter Center of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship is also an asset to the success of the company. She is also very much in contact with her business teachers from high school who always check in on her to hear of her progress and she at times contacts them to answer any questions she may have. Everyone mentioned could be very important to the success of the business as they can all add their expertise and advise to the company. Human Resources: Gome Clothing will be operated solely by Student Name, and will not employ anyone at launch nor for the next projected 3 years. The graphic designer will be outsourced when needed. This decision has to be made as the firm must operate lean and the expense of wages and salaries at launch could substantially affect the profitability of the company.

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FINANCING

Student Name plans to bootstrap as much as possible for the needs of the business. This allows her to avoid seeking other financing options until absolutely necessary. GOME clothing may reach a point where other funding options will be needed and thus grants and funding from family and friends will be considered/utilized.

We expect sales for the first year to be quite small as we are new to the market, but we still expect a reasonable amount that reflects our marketing efforts. We also project that male t-shirts, sweaters and hoodies will be our main income generators. This is assumed because tank tops are mainly worn during the summer (though t-shirts are too, but many still wear them more often throughout the year than they wear tank tops). Additionally, we believe the hoodies and sweaters will be main sellers because people tend to use them as layering options during colder temperatures. Although our main market (Barbados) doesn’t experience fall/winter temperatures, we still get cold fronts within September to January periods. As part of our market are students, it is an observable fact that many university or other students cannot get enough of sweaters/hoodies. For those outside of Barbados who will be consumers of our products, according to (Yogendra, 2015) “the functionality of sweaters where one can slide one's hands into the side pockets, and are an altogether more cozy and comfortable piece of clothing than most other outer layering options.” It is also anticipated that months starting from June right through to September, sales will be quite low. This is during the summer and we project that mainly t-shirts and tank tops will be our main income generators. These products are priced lower compared to our hoodies and sweaters and leads to substantial reasoning behind our projections.

Our opening inventory for years one and two of operation, is estimated as it is because we will be beginning with quite small quantities. All costs include garments and printing cost. Our projections for 2021 up to 2023 are as they are because we will be increasing our quantities as we would expect that our market would’ve increased by then, but still benefit from economies of scale, where our cost per unit decreases as we increase quantity. Our material purchases includes bags for packaging and stickers we intend to sell and add as complimentary products with any purchases made. This is expected to remain fixed throughout the first two years but will increase later as we intend to increase our quantities. Freight and duties will not occur on a regular basis as shipping is covered by the manufacturer and duties are not required every time stock has arrived.

Our expenses will be quite low as travelling cost will be partly covered by Student Name’s own personal funds. Our advertising budget for the first year mainly includes the costs for advertising via social media and also includes the radio advertising cost. This is expected to increase over the next three years as we will be putting more resources into marketing. For year 5, it is expected to drop as we believe the company would by then be in a position where it is well known and can invest less in advertising. We expect that on a few occasions we may have to cover shipping costs for samples, products to consumers or any other unanticipated activity that may present itself. There will be no salaries to be paid to Student Name within the first two years. Our professional fees only include that of the outsourced graphic designer. This fee is expected to increase overtime as we expect substantial growth and increase in quantities and styles of clothing. We will cover the interest payments on Student Name’s personal credit card and we considered it to be fixed throughout for the five years. The business does not make any losses from our projections and exceeds even the breakeven point.

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REFLECTION

I’ve learnt that entrepreneurship isn’t only about the business at hand but also has a large part to do with the entrepreneur as well. Any one idea can become a success, but this success depends on the person behind the brand. This business is one that I have wanted to grow for a very long time and this class has put me in a position of feeling more motivated than ever to move forward. I had a business plan already established for this business, but this class allowed me to see my weak spots and allowed me to develop on them. Looking back at the previous business plan compared to this, the level of detail and information that was required for this project outweighs that of the other business plan. Mr. Pauley has been exemplary in his teaching of this course. He has simplified everything and truly proves that he is an expert within the field of entrepreneurship. I appreciate his dedication especially with giving comments and suggestions on our business plan and how best to move forward and improve. Overall, this class has taught me to think outside of the box.

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REFERENCES

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APPENDIX

Appendix 1. ALUVE Test

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Appendix 2. Creative Test

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Appendix 3. Entrepreneur Creative Test

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FIGURES

Figure 1.1 Chenille patch design on GOME t-shirt.

Figure 1.2 Glow in the dark specialty ink on GOME hoody.

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Figure 1.3 Screen printed design on GOME sweater.

Figure 1.4 Google map of area of store location.

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Figure 1.5 Google map of area of store location.

Figure 1.6 Image of store sign and view of surroundings.

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Figure 1.7 Instagram advertising campaign creation layout.

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Figure 2.1 Gantt chart illustrating planned activities over a 3 month period.

Figure 3.1 Organization structure for GOME Clothing.

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Figure 4.1 Illustrates the target market for the radio station GOME Clothing intends to use to market. Figures 5.1 – 5.5 Designs created by Student Name for GOME Clothing.

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Figure 5.1 Logo

Figure 5.2 Logo

Figure 5.3 Logo

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Figure 5.4 Logo

Figure 5.5 Logo

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TABLES

TABLE 1.1 SWOT analysis conducted for GOME clothing and our competitors, both local and international. Company Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats GOME Clothing

1)Local. 2)Knowledge and skills of the entrepreneur. 3) Relationships with influencers. 4) Accessible to persons with average income.

1)Limited resources.

1)Market Development. 2)Product Development

1)Competitors 2)Economic downturns.

Evolve 1)Longer time in the market.

1)Limited product variety. 2)Only available online.

Staple 1)Large market share. 2)Available in many countries. 3)Great amount of resources.

1)Pricey.

1)Market development. 2) Grow with Network, distributors, retailers.

Popular Demand

1)Larger market share. 2)Available in many countries. 3)Great amount of resources. 4)Huge celebrity influence associated with the brand

1) Pricey. 1)Market development. 2) Grow with Network, distributors, retailers.

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TABLE 1.2 Porters Five Force Model.

Competitor Rivalry Supplier Power Buyer Power Threat of Substitutes Threat of New Entrants

Evolve – Local Brand Main supplier – AlphaBroder located in the USA.

Considered low due to our intention to have: 1)High customer involvement.

Choice of golf shirt over t-shirt.

Economies of scale.

Staple – International Brand

Alternative supplier – Chinese manufacturers.

2)Quality products This threat is high. Product differentiation.

Popular Demand – International Brand.

Substitute supplier – Local manufacturer.

3)Great prices Capital requirements.

Access to distribution centers.

Switching costs.

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TABLE 1.3 Specifications of our marketing mix.

Product Price Promotion Place People Quality garments. Discounts of 10% -

15% to loyal/repeat customers and on bulk purchases.

Social media. Retail location. Relationships exists between manufacturers and suppliers.

Performance Special offers. Word-of-mouth. Online. Support of family and friends.

Colors. Cost plus pricing strategy.

Fairs and Exhibitions. Advise often available from family and friends.

Sizes. Sponsorship. Customization. Convenience.

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TABLE 1.4 Price list for products offered by GOME Clothing.

GOME CLOTHING Prices

Tank Top $55

Female T-shirt $55

Male T-shirt $65

Sweater $85

Hoody $95

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TABLE 1.5 Illustrates the population for Christ Church.

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TABLE 1.6 Illustrates the population for St. Michael

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TABLE 1.7 Illustrates the resident population by age and sex.

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TABLE 1.8 Illustrates the number and gender of persons who attended school.

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TABLE 1.8 – Continued.

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TABLE 1.9 Illustrates the education level of the population.

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TABLE 2.0 Illustrates the income levels of the population.