marketing budget

Food and Beverage Permits & Licenses:

Due to iChef being a food service industry, we are subject to substantial regulations and policies. iChef may need to retain two different licenses for alcohol and food. According to the “City of Chicago Classes of Liquor Licenses” we will need the “Caterer's License (for caterers located within the City of Chicago)”. Since we have to obtain the Caterer’s License, we are required to have the Retail Food Establishment License.

Requirements for the Caterer’s License:

• “Inspections Required: Criminal History Review, Onsite Inspection, Health, Local Liquor Control Commission

• Fees: $4,400.00 ($2,200.00 for holders of a Consumption on Premise-Incidental Activity License) + $40.00 onetime publication fee

• Renewal: 2 Year” (City of Chicago.org 2010-2015)

Requirements for the Retail Food Establishment License:

• Zoning and Inspections

• Fees will be based on square footage

o 0 – 4,500 sq. ft. = $660.00

4,501 – 10,000 sq. ft. = $880.00

10,001+ sq. ft = $1,100.00

• Renewal: 2 Year

Other permits or inspections that will be needed for iChef would consist of the “Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) inspection. This department is responsible for health inspections; making sure the food is healthy, has a viable temperature, there are no infestation and more. Later, when iChef develops its food truck service, we will need to acquire a “Mobile Food Truck Licenses”. We will need a licenses for the Mobile Food Dispenser & Preparer. The dispenser fee is $700 and the preparer fee is $1,000, each licenses has a 2 year renewal.

Technology plan

The areas of technology needed is a mobile app, a website and internet services. As we advertise the business as being easily accessible we want to ensure the customer experience is a smooth and easy process. The mobile app is the top priority and then the website follows. As our primary focus is excellent customer it is extremely important that our technical options are properly handled.

Technical areas that can be handled in house will be handled in house. We will utilize data encryption to encrypt confidential information. The implementation of encryption technologies on desktops, laptops and removable media will be used to protect our customer and employee confidential information from unauthorized access. By providing strong security for intellectual property, customer and partner data we will be able to monitor and protect information from intrusions.

We will utilize App Inventor to learn how to build and maintain our app. Sometimes it is much easier to learn how to do than to pay someone else to do it for you. Once the app is built, we will utilize the company Tri State Technology to ensure the app in functioning and keep coding updated. The cost for the service is $7,500 a year.

We will utilize Site Builder to as our website host. The web page will be built and maintained internally. The monthly cost for the domain name and website it $9.18 a month. The package includes domain email address, 24 hour support, mobile website capability, $375 of free advertising and site upgrade support.

To ensure the app and website are able to handle heavy web traffic times we will utilize two service providers. Our main service provider is Xfinity and the secondary provider is Ustream for live video streaming.

Xfinity package- $129.95 a month

· Internet

· 2 business phone lines

· Select Cable TV

· Internet Security

Ustream- live video streaming- $79.95 a month

· Starts from 1TB video storage

· Custom audience size

· HD Broadcasting (up to 1080p)

· Dedicated event support

· Multiple bitrate streaming

· Full or custom branding

· Enterprise content management

Department tools

Management Team

The professional experience of the business founders is outstanding, they have an immense amount of knowledge and skills at their disposal that enabled them to come up with the most informed decisions regarding coming up with the business idea. Each of the founders- has experience in handling the difficulties that are connected with starting a new business in a new environment. Most of them hold their postgraduate degrees in their areas of specialization. The level of expertise that they possess has been very instrumental in ensuring that the business is run in a very effective manner.

The immense experience that the founders have will help the company to succeed in the process of undertaking its operations in the society. There are various management roles that the founders of the company will hold to ensure that the operations of the company are done appropriately (Evans, 2011). One of the founders of the company will be the President of the company and will have the task of overseeing all the duties that are undertaken in the company. Another member will head up the Operations division and will have the task of ensuring that all the operations of the company are adequately functioning.

The head of the Marketing area will ensure that the company adopts some of the best marketing strategies in the market to ensure an increase in the company’s volume of sales. The HR/IT is over seen by one individual the primary focus is to ensure the company and employees are in compliance and following the code of conduct at all times. And the last area of focus and maybe one the most important is Finance the focus of this individual is to ensure the company is not failing financially. The founders of the company will not earn salaries for the services that they conduct in the company despite the fact that they are the founders of the company. The compensation for the services that they offer to the company will be rewarded to them in the form of profit distribution. The profits distributed to the said founders of the organization will not have to be reinvested into the company.

Introduction to the Management Team

Chief Executive Officer - Thomas Warner- has worked in customer service for the last fifteen years. I started my career as a realtor where I learned to build relationships and acquire new business by leveraging a strategic marketing campaign. Here is where I learn to negotiate, facilitate, and adjust tactics to achieve desire outcomes. For the last eight years I have enhanced my leadershipskills by working as a Walgreens Manager, where I oversee the day-to-to da y operations of the business. The day-to-day operation of the business includes inventory management, strategic planning, P&L/ Financial management. I proud myself on strategizing change to streamline operations, control cost, boost profits, and improve staff morale. My educational background started at the University of Illinois where I earned my bachelor degree in communications. After completion of my undergraduate degree I decided to pursue a MBA with a concentration in Project Management from DeVry University’s Keller Graduate School of Management. I am looking forward to enjoying the fruits of labor in March 2016.

Chief Operations Officer- Shannen Berry- has her undergraduate degree in Business Administration with a minor in Business Management from East-West University. She is currently pursuing her MBA with a concentration in Public Administration; where she focuses on government and non-profit organizations. She is set to graduate from DeVry Keller Graduate School of Management on January 24, 2016. Shannen has 2 years of professional experience as a Compliance and Regulatory Coordinator at DeVry University. She contributes to making sure all policies and regulations are being follow and updating these policies on a regular basis. Shannen also has 5-6 years of management experience where she organize a team of employees preform specific duties, meet quotas and develop teamwork skills. Among her work and school experience, she also like to volunteer at different non-profits, community events and served in the Junior Army Mentoring program at her former high school. She will be heading our Operations division at iChef and serve as a day-to-day staff member.

Chief Officer HR/IT - NaShan Williams- has worked in Human Resources for sixteen years. NaShan started out in HR as information clerk logging day to day data entry for the HR department of local bank now known as Chase bank. She moved her way the HR field by working several positons relating to benefits management, employee relations, payroll, on/off boarding, recruitment. NaShan acquired her knowledge of HR before deciding to obtain her undergrad degree. She obtained a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Human Resources Business Management in 2013 from DePaul University. For the last three years NaShan’s primary focus has been building and maintaining program and systems related to Human Resources. This requires the utmost confidentiality as sensitive information is being stored and utilized. NaShan is set to graduate from DeVry Keller Grad School on 1/24/16 with a MBA- concentration in Information Systems. NaShan’s contribution to the executive team displays an extensive amount of knowledge that is related to Human Resources and Technology. She will head up both departments insuring the business and the employees are in compliance with the required mission, vision and strategic model the company and state policies have outlined and aligned as one.

Chief Financial Officer - Joyce Martin- has her Bachelors of Arts in Business Administration with Management emphasis from Governors State University. She is a Graduate Candidate for Keller Graduate School of Management receiving her MBA with a concentration of Accounting. She is also a candidate for the CPA exam with an anticipated completion of spring 2016. Joyce has worked as a Retail Manager for more than 10yrs and has been an Accounting Assistant for more than 3yrs. Joyce has a passion for Accounting and Finances. She has a proven ability to manage multiple assignments efficiently while meeting tight deadline schedules. Demonstrated success in streamlining existing operations, turning around unprofitable functions, and envisioning new concepts and future trends. Joyce contribution to the team displays an extensive knowledge in Accounting, finances and budget management. She will review incoming and outgoing funds and ensure investors will receive 40-60% Return on theirinvestment.

Chief Marketing Officer-

Organization chart

Management Team Gaps

Although as a team the leaders bring an array of knowledge and expertise, the team still weak in a few minor areas would welcome any assistance. There is a need for the team to work constructively and diligently together in the process of realizing the major goals of the company and come up with the best resolution to ensure target goals are being met. The team has to focus on the main issues that will make the operations of the company succeed stipulated laws. This may require sourcing legal counsel as this is an area the team has minimal experience in. Two, the team has to ensure that the employees will practice ethical business practices in the process of ensuring that the company runs its operations more effectively in the society (Pinson, 2008).

Practicing proper business ethics will make the company’s reputation to be outstanding and attract more investors into the company. Three, the proper use of the funds that are readily available for use by the company will attract more investors to the company. The team has to establish a clear way through which the anticipated amount of cash will be used to increase the operations of the company.

Financial Plan

Start-up funding

For financial planning, the start-up funding has to be adequate to meet the costs and reserves that are associated with the process of running the business. The requested capital of the team has to be efficient to help in not only starting the business but also effectively meet the expenses that are associated with the running of the business. The business will solely depend on the requested capital for the first few months before the business picks up to meet the expenses associated with the running of the business. To start, the founders of the company have to raise a total of $100,000 that will be used as the initial capital in the process of running the operations of the company.

The business will require the investment of outside funding as well; the amount requested amount is $200,000 this will be used to meet the expenses of running the business in the initial stages. The business will require a minimum of $300,000 to meet the initial startup and operational cost. Other sources of funds can include either request a loan from the financial institutions or private equity investment. The amount of funding requested will be used effectively to buy the initial materials that are needed to assist the business with a successful launch. The invested funds will also be used to cater for the salaries and wages of the employees of the company. Once funding is acquired, the expenses of running the business will be considered stable until the business picks up and acquires enough financial stability that will enable it to sustain its operations in the economy.

Use of funds

ADD INFO HERE

Sales forecast

The sales forecast, the company intends to make a huge volume of sales in the market that will lead to the recording of profits from its operations. The company deals in the manufacturer of products and each product go at the rate of US $10. The level of production needs to be around 100 items. It amounts to the recording of US$ 1,000 if all the products are sold on a regular basis. However, the cost of production of each product stands at $3. The cost incurred in producing the products will reduce the amount of money made from the sales of the products (Blackwell, 2011). If the company experiences damage in the process of selling the product after they have been produced, they will form part of the collateral damages realized by the firm in the production process.

The cash flow of the company stands at US$ 252,000 from the first year of operation. The consistent increase in the level of the company’s cash flow will lead to the persistent increase in the volume of money recorded by the company from its operations in the market. It implies that the company’s business will continue to expand its operations and even record a huge amount of money in the market. The increased amount of cash flow will make the company succeed in its operations in the economy. The augmented value of the cash flow will equally lead to the growth in the operations of the firm. It will go along manner in the process of supporting the growth of the company.

Cash flow

ADD INFO HERE

Balance sheet

ADD INFO HERE

Income statement

ADD INFO HERE

Break-even analysis

ADD INFO HERE

Valuation after 5 years

ADD INFO HERE

Exit strategy

ADD INFO HERE

References

Blackwell, E. (2011). How to prepare a business plan. London: Kogan Page.

Evans, V. (2011). The Financial times essential escort to writing a business plan: How to win backing to start up or grow your commercial. Harlow, England: Financial Times/Prentice Hall.