Proof reading a 54 page paper.

YouCanDoIt

Team Creative Samurai

(Ade Adesida, Arturo White, Richard Williams, Ryan Pryor, Tamara Luckey)

Benedictine University

Table of Contents

3Section I – Executive Summary

3 Section II – Mission, Goals and Objectives

3 General Description of Business

4 Mission Statement

4 Goals and Objectives

4 Section III – Background Information

4 Industry Information

5 Business History (if applicable)

5 Section IV – Organizational Matters

5 Business Structure

5 Management Team

5 Personnel

6 Outside Advisors

6 Risk Management

6 Process

7 Section V – Marketing Plan

7 Products/Services

7 Customer Analysis

8 Competitive Analysis

8 Market Potential

9 Pricing

9 Promotional Strategies

9 Advertising

9 Public Relations

10 Personal Sales

10 Section VI – Financial Plan

10 Pre-Startup

10 How much money will it cost to get ready to open

How do you propose to finance this?

11

12 Appendix and Attachments

I. Executive Summary

A. Business Description

The name of our startup company is YouCanDoIt and is a mobility application based on do it yourself customers. The application is on smartphones and other mobility devices to allow users to search for how to repair products or project of home improvement. The search takes them to professional videos. The revenue generation comes from the advertisement from wholesale parts distributors and if needed local service companies that can complete the job when you are in over your head. The benefit is the ability to target advertisement to geographic users when needed. Additionally, the videos are professional quality and not uploaded by the public ensuring accuracy and quality.

B. Opportunity and Strategy

Most online activities are with computers, tablets and the cell phones. In this regard, our team proposes "YouCanDoIt." This app enables everybody to complete tasks using a mobile phone or the computer. This application assists individuals with the marketing and advertisement of the products they are pitching and allows online transactions. The project's primary focus is helping people complete tasks other people traditionally do for them.

The assumption is this application is useful and convenient and compatible with many computerized devices. In essence, since everyone likes to save time and money, this project offers them an economical solution. There are many opportunities, making this project a viable and profitable (Vanston & Technology Futures, Inc, 2010).

The strategy to win the market is emphasizing the innovation, ease of use and relevance to the target market. Methods include listening to customers and hearing what they want or how the existing products fall short. Moreover, asking them what they want assists with the modification and evolution of the products. In this regard, the team applied the strategy by looking at how of a majority of students wish they could save the money which they were paying someone else to do it for them.

The approach uses the ideas of the customers by listening to their conversation regarding applications which should be in the market to help them to carry out some of the duties which they perceive to be complex and thus needs technological help which will help them accomplish this. For instance, regarding marketing, most of the individual see it as time-consuming as well as expensive to travel from one place to another trying to convince the customers whose interests are unclear to participate. The app provides marketing and advertising to deliver the products or offer more information regarding the same or related goods and services. In this regard, this application will be in demand (Lafley & Martin, 2013).

A. Target Market & Projections

To define who the target market would be, Team Samurai needed to consider what type of consumers would benefit from our product such as what age and gender group would Team Samurai target. Are the users single or married and what is their income bracket? What percentage of these groups would have accessibility to smart and mobility devices? Other areas to consider would be who would benefit from our product. However, before Team Samurai figure out who will take advantage of this, Team Samurai need to do some research to find out if other apps do this. If other products do this, Team Samurai need to know how well they do it!

In our research, Team Samurai found that both male and female genders would benefit from our apps. Team Samurai discovered that both sexes have searched "how to" YouTube videos in the past two years. It's been an abundance of married couples as well as homeowners that have searched those videos from researching home improvement videos of how to decorate a guest bedroom, to videos that show you how to change a garbage disposal.

Team Samurai chose to target the following groups since our researched directed us to that market.

- Age range: middle twenties upward to those in their late forties.

- The income bracket ranged from $20,000 to $120,000.

- Female and male smartphone users.

- Homeowners.

Projections:

According to Mogensen, D. (2015), "90% of smartphone users turn to their smart phone for ideas while doing a given task." Search data shows that over 100 million hours of how to videos watched in 2015.

B. Competitive Advantages

Based on the most recent industry market analysis for the Online E-learning, the estimation is the industry will generate 51$ Billion for the year 2015 from a five-year (from 2010) projection of a 7.6% aggregate growth rate for America alone (Pappas 2014). The overall expected industry cumulative for 2015 was 107$ Billion according to Forbes in 2014 (McCue 2014). As for our firm's positions competitively, by understanding our target market of DYI enthusiasts ("Do It Yourself"), and business differentiation via original/unique content, distribution channels of materials, and providing an e-learning platform that caters to the subsets of our target market (ease of use/ intuitive).

Uniquely, our firm has created a product that will revolutionize the eLearning and DYI industry, the marriage of exclusive easy to follow content and curriculum and targeted professional assistance services that are ready to assist/help the consumer if needed, sets us apart. With the success of firms such as Linda.com, who provides online eLearning content (revenues of ~100MM in 2013) and helping hand services such as Angie’s List. Currently, our firm's strength and competitive position is understood via a Porter's five forces analysis and is as follows:

Rivalry (Medium High Risk) –

(Larger Number of Firms) Due to the number of companies and low cost of business (COGs), a rivalry is something of which to be aware. However, due to vertical integration and lateral supply chain movements within the firm by exploiting relationships with communications and technology outlets, differentiation can ensure a stable/ increasing market share.

Threats to Substitutions (Medium Low Risk) –

Price elasticity subject to change, if similar services emerge modify the demand of establishing eLearning firms within the industry. Our firm has an opportunity for building a consumer loyalty pipeline via the supply of end to end services. Our consumers will have the ability to utilize subscribe to content with, without assistance, and have access to speedy local/non-local vendors that meet our quality standards.

Buyer Powers (Medium) –

This force is high due to the following "Buyers possess a credible backward integration threat - can threaten to buy producing firm or rival" (Quick MBA 2016). Due to our company's different provision of having services readily available and the 20% - 55% demand increase in emerging markets for potential revenue and market share expansion (Pappas 2015). While existing markets are still growing in correlation with advances in mediums/ technologies for eLearning content, our firm is in a position to gain significant market share through differentiation of our products and services as compared to our competitors.

Supplier Powers (Low) –

The technologies needed to deliver services to our market segment are low cost, and this presents further opportunity to develop it uniquely to our base consumers at a low cost due in part to "many competitive suppliers - a product is standardized" (Quick MBA 2016).

New Entry Ability & Barriers to Entry (High) –

Regardless of the low barriers to entry and required resources are low, entry is an area of vulnerability and mitigated with the ease of platform use. The service quality provided to our consumers, and the unique content sets us apart from other firms with a similar product or market share interest for our target demographic.

C. Team Structure

The team is five members with diverse backgrounds, experiences and skill sets. The lead on the project brings the technical experience and conceptual design of the product and will manage the technical aspects of the product. The team includes two members who bring IT experience to keep the team on the technical track. Another member brings ten years of project management and people management skills to the team. The remaining members bring business proposal writing experience and provide a balance to the team. This effort is the team's first technical product project.

D. Capital Requirements

The capital required for the initial phase of YouCanDoIt will be to opt for a $1-million-dollar loan from the U.S. SBA. This option will cost a rate of 2.75% over the course of 10 years. Additionally, there is a 3.5% fee put on the loan amount combined into the loan over the term. The loan is secured with capital from the five founders (Ade Adesida, Arturo White, Richard Johnson, Ryan Pryor, Tamara Luckey) The total combined money for the group is $125,000 plus assets. The capital will be used to establish the app developer and hosting services. There will be a marketing budget of $150,000 to build branding and name recognition. There will also be a full summary of operating expenses and revenue generation projections.

II. The Industry and the Company and its Product(s) or Service(s)

A. The industry.

According to Zinevych, (2014), "The mobile app economy was worth $53 billion in 2012, and the forecast for 2016 is that it will grow to $143 billion. The estimated number of mobile app developers is 2.3 million, which means that one developer out of eight is dealing with mobile apps." With the increasing popularity of tablets, more people are purchasing apps.

B. The company and the concept.

Our product launched January 2016. Team Samurai believe in pleasing our customers by servicing one customer at a time. The concept of our app is to allow consumers to search for do-it-yourself projects via by utilizing our app. Users may search for projects as complicated as building a house from scratch to showing you someone how to clean out dryer vents. Users will be allowed to view "professional" videos that will assist those that may require visual instructions. Unlike some "do-it-yourself" sites such as Pinterest and Youtube, our videos will allow our customers to feel more confident knowing they have professional guidance.

If the project still seems too complicated, consumers can submit their projects to our "certified" contractors in the area that will be able to provide estimates on the cost to complete the project. Users can also tag our videos so they can share via social media sites. Like shopping online, consumers will be able to read reviews as well as leave their review. iPhone and Android users will have to go to the "App" store on their smartphone and select our "you can do it" app and download it onto their smart device.

If technical problems arise while using the app, there will be a "help" link loaded into the app where users can select from a list of "frequently asked" questions. Also, there will be a search box where users can also type in their questions to find resolutions. If consumers still have difficulties, there will be an email address where users can send inquiries. Shortly, Team Samurai would like to offer services that will allow users to utilize our contractors to help complete projects with a discount for using our app. Team Samurai is hoping that Team Samurai can keep up with the reasonable demands of the influx of emails that Team Samurai could potentially receive.

C. The products or service.

The functionality of the app will allow users to select the app from the smartphone. The user will have to create an account which requires the user's email address and a password. After creating an account, the user will then enter information about their product (i.e. project type, size, style, etc.). The user then will be allowed to select from various projects that appease the user. The user will then be allowed to view the tutorial of choice. After seeing the video, the user will have the option to rate if the video was helpful or not. If the video Team were not useful, a "suggested video" link would appear that the user may choose to watch. After watching each video, the user will be allowed to share the video with other social sites such as Pinterest and Instagram. They can even archive the video for future use.

At this time, there are quite a few “DIY apps” that will be competition to our start-up venture.

· Houzz Interior Design Ideas (professional picture ideas for renovators)

· Color Smart (matches and suggests paint colors)

· The Home Depot App (Allows consumers to input information to determine the exact amount needed for flooring, insulation, or paint.)

· Woodshop Widget (The apps calculator allows customers to price hardwood)

· iHandy Carpenter (Allows customers to take accurate measurements that have features that converts fractions and trigonometry for roofing, stair building, and other projects)

· Home advisor mobile (Allows consumers to upload pictures of potential products with details so that potential contractors can view the photos and give a quote)

· Eden Garden (Allows users to take pictures of their yard to obtain an array of suggested flowers).

The competitors mentioned above may have an advantage because they've been in business for quite some time. Therefore, Team Samurai will patent our idea so that another developer may not monetize, change or resell our app. Our app is different in comparison to those above because Team Samurai doesn't just give suggestions of what to do. Team Samurai shows our consumers how to do it with guidance from certified professionals. For a small purchasing fee, customers will be able to use this app whenever they feel that they're struggling with home projects.

The funds needed for the app developer and hosting services is $125,000. Team Samurai plan to test our app will a team of test developers to iron out the bugs. Team Samurai is aiming for at least ten weeks to ensure that everything goes well.

D. Entry and growth strategy

YouCanDoIt will be introducing to the DYI market innovative user experience by giving them access to an extensive range of DYI content, in a logical easy to use platform. Distribution channels for the content will be maintained and initiated in through traditional media forms and partnerships with new technology forms. Our pricing model will consist of generating advertising revenue via businesses and sponsors who will serve with their products or services. This model allows our consumers to view content at no added charge unless the customer requires additional services. Based on this strategy along with other variables, YouCanDoIt is projecting /anticipating a 5% revenue growth per year for five years.

This projection is attainable and clear on the basis that this market will generate 100+ billion in 2016 (Pappas 2015). The overall environment of this market and our current position within it will help move forward the innovation and collective advancement of self-help/ DYI target market which has been a booming segment (regarding growth) in recent years (Wisemen 2013). The empowerment of DYI content to the consumer will also lessen the carbon footprint associated with large-scale manufacturing, leading the user to the opportunity to choose customized sustainable materials and easy solutions to their needs.

III. Marketing and Research Analysis

A. Customers

The target market segments are Do-It-Yourself individuals from various backgrounds who prefer to build or repair items themselves rather than paying someone else for the service. The common denominator is the desire to complete the task at his or her convenience not necessarily the function itself. Whether the customer wishes to rebuild an old automobile, repair a home appliance, remodel a room, our product will provide the necessary resources to walk or talk them through the entire project. The goal is to reach non-gender specific individuals between the ages of 24-44 years old with an annual income less than 100,000 dollars.

The major purchasing potential concentrates on technologically advanced countries with economic stability. The critical components for success include the customer's access to consistent and stable internet connectivity and the fiscal resources necessary to participate in Do-It-Yourself projects. The market for the service is significant and diverse, and the internet connection is crucial from a marketing aspect in addition to the delivery of the service. The customer in need of the service will be the independent individual who enjoys a challenge with consideration of budgetary constraints.

B. Market Size and Trends

Per the Venveo 2015 DYI Consumer Marketing Trends report, “52% of DIY Consumers are older Millennials & Younger Generation Xers 24 - 44 years old” (Williams et. al. 2015). The DYI age ranges from 19 – 68, with ages 24-37 making up 33% of all DYI consumers and 50 – 60-year-olds coming 2nd as 25% of the total group. Further information that points to a business opportunity for YouCanDoIt, this market has behaviors that are different from expectation or generalizations they would like just to save money. For starters, "56% of DIYers plan to hire a professional contractor in 2015" (Williams 2013). They also value the quality and the experience of DYI work more than just saving money. Most DYI consumers have large amounts of disposable income because they are in households with increased revenues (Williams et. al. 2015). 25% of this group have 50 – 70,000$ incomes, while 80% range from 51 – 110,000$ per year in combined household income (Williams et. al. 2015).

C. Competition and Competitive Edges

YouTube, Howcast, and MonkeySee are currently the main competitors for the DYI market share space. YouTube, being the largest and free, with a well-known platform consumers know. YouTube, however with its large variety of content, does not serve our target consumer/ niche market due to overwhelming and somewhat non-specific content and often beyond the scope of the needs of our user. Howcast has a general user online experience. However, this one distribution channel for its content limits it regarding other devices that are currently on the rise.

Primarily, the DYI community does 88% of its research and videos online. Even though most is done on desktops and laptops (95%), of the overall DYI group a growing 39% with tablets and 37% smartphones is on the rise. Therefore, not catering to these platforms with user-friendly applications would leave a large segment of the DYI community untapped (100+ billion per year projections). MonkeySee is a well-designed and competitive company. However, content within this platform is geared toward limited project based DYI (that may require contractual assistance). It also provides content for soft skills building (Dining etiquette, Interviewing skill, app downloading, etc…) and overview, but no step by step hands on content. YouCanDoIt plans to provide DYI consumers with detailed, thorough, guiding that will help them purchase the right things for the job and assist them see the project through to the end, even if that means receiving professional help from our advertising partners, that is prompt and excellent quality service.

D. Estimated Market Share and Sales

In the U.S., the home improvement market segment generates around 300 billion dollars in total revenue with an annual growth rate of 5 percent with nearly 70 percent of the customers searching home improvement Websites (Statista, 2016). Our product will consolidate the variety of resources scattered across the internet in one easy to find location. Rather than having ten different apps on your smartphone or device to assist with the remodeling project, one app will connect the consumer to the resources they require (Agrell & Dahl, 2016). The time and money saved from endless internet searches, various app downloading, and repeated trips to the local hardware store will exponentially increase the value of the service. As the popularity of the service increases, in addition to the revenue generated by increased subscriptions or memberships, corporate sponsorships, and ad sales will create a second revenue stream. The initial major customer group is the individual, however leveraging the popular DIY platform into a sale to a major company such as Google the current owner of YouTube or a comparable potential buyer could provide a significant profit for the platform. The potential purchase is a legitimate possibility whether it is to remove a potential competitor or to incorporate it into a product already in service.

The expected market share and sales over the next three years include the following and is projected based on assumed popularity, the convenience of use, and ease of use compared to potential competitor products.

1. To increase advertising revenues by 5% annually.

2. To increase cost per click revenues by 5% annually.

3. To generate new revenue from premium subscription services for institutional and small business needs by the end of year 3.

4. To increase total revenue stream by 20% at the end of year 3

5. To improve profitability by 5% annually.

The home improvement market segment generates around 300 billion dollars in total revenue with an annual growth rate of 5 percent with nearly 70 percent of the customers searching home improvement Websites in the U.S. (Statista, 2016). The explosion of the tech industry, the improvements in tech-based products, and relative ease of access and cost of internet connectivity for the consumer enhances the potential for market growth. Current competitors providing similar services require the user to conduct multiple searches or the use of multiple apps to complete a single project.

Competitor strengths include brand recognition, financial resources provided by corporations such as Google, and offerings across a variety of platforms. However, the size of the competition is also a weakness. By offering a large volume of unrelated material, the serious customer is quickly bogged down in cat videos and other unnecessary distractions while searching for a reference to assist with a particular project. Our service provides resources specific to the Do-It-Yourselfer. The process helps with the momentum and popularity necessary to move from a startup to a legitimate contender in the next three years.

E. Ongoing Market Evaluation

The current assessment process includes reviewing achievements against objectives to include customer usage of embedded links to measure volume and frequency of traffic which Team Samurai hope meets or exceeds 1 million daily. Using a formula similar to the one employed by Facebook, our goal is 1.5 percent CTR which is slightly higher than the current industry standard (Chaffey, 2016). The use of surveys provides candid customer feedback and assists with the adjustment of deliverables to include customer/product interface, ease of use, and the likelihood of referral.

IV. Economics

From an economic sustainability aspect some of the toughest decisions will come from the decision to host the services YouCanDoIt provides by outsourcing or to house them internally. In the early years of YouCanDoIt it will be necessary to have these services hosted by an external partner/vendor. This is in part due to the capital cost for having services held in house, and secondarily based on the continuity or best possible experience for the end user. As growth allows YouCanDoIt will look at the cost to return on housing these services internally versus the outsourced option. This will mean that there will need to be a cost reduction, time savings or ability to react to situations more timely to positively impact the brand, revenues, and operational costs.

Margins

From an internal labor sourcing YouCanDoIt will hire locally from main office locations and offer some flexibility on work hours, and locations. It may not be relevant for employees to be in a single office at the same time. This can cut costs on office size and offer a more appealing offer to employees based on flexibility. YouCanDoIt will use an online secure chat platform in addition to email as a collaborative tool. Email will be reserved for file transfer and official communications. Options will include Spark (Cisco), Lync (Microsoft) and Slack. (Gerber, 2015) YouCanDoIt will also continue to focus staffing on local knowledge for growth markets and with specialized positions such as technical, programing, repair/construction experience, sales, and leadership. Much of the marketing materials will be handled by being outsourced based on being either print material, digital boards and media time

Break Even Analysis

Daily ViewsClicks atPrice PerPrice PerDaysTotal RevenueApp Annual Maint.Fixed OfficePromotionalTotal CostsProfit

Quantity1.5% CTR1000 ViewsClickPer YearTR = (PXQ)Developmentand Upgradesand AdminCosts

- - 0.53$ 0.30$ 350-$ 270,000$ 132,000$ 240,000$ 30,000$ 672,000$ (672,000)$

250,000 3,750 0.53$ 0.30$ 350440,125$ 270,000$ 132,000$ 240,000$ 30,000$ 672,000$ (231,875)$

381,710 5,726 0.53$ 0.30$ 350672,000$ 270,000$ 132,000$ 240,000$ 30,000$ 672,000$ 0$

500,000 7,500 0.53$ 0.30$ 350880,250$ 270,000$ 132,000$ 240,000$ 30,000$ 672,000$ 208,250$

750,000 11,250 0.53$ 0.30$ 3501,320,375$ 270,000$ 132,000$ 240,000$ 30,000$ 672,000$ 648,375$

1,000,000 15,000 0.53$ 0.30$ 3501,760,500$ 270,000$ 132,000$ 240,000$ 30,000$ 672,000$ 1,088,500$

1,250,000 18,750 0.53$ 0.30$ 3502,200,625$ 270,000$ 132,000$ 240,000$ 30,000$ 672,000$ 1,528,625$

1,500,000 22,500 0.53$ 0.30$ 3502,640,750$ 270,000$ 132,000$ 240,000$ 30,000$ 672,000$ 1,968,750$

The above table provides an analysis of estimated costs and revenues associated with development and offering of the YouCanDoIt mobile app. The breakeven point that is the quantity of daily app views expected to result in sufficient revenue to cover associated fixed and variable costs for the business appears to occur when the app realizes 381,710 views per day. The company is targeting at least 1,000,000 daily views and a 1.5% click-through-rate which is expected to result in greater than $1,000,000 in annual profit. App development costs, while appearing widely variable when conducting research, Team Samurai conservatively estimated from survey information of corporate CIO’s and app developers (Formotus, 2016).

The profitability of the YouCanDoIt app critically relies on the number of views that the app receives. Consequently, promotion of the app to increase viewership is warranted. The table below contains a list of promotional ideas for the app with associated costs; the aggregated costs become utilized in the breakeven analysis above for the promotional costs.

Table 2: Promotional Expenses

PromotionCost

iPhone App Store registration99$

Google Android App Store registration25$

Website development with graphics and app access10,000$

National Web Search Engine Optimization (hiring 3rd party - first page search ranking goal)10,000$

Select pay per click marketing on select DIY oriented website*9,876$

*$30,000 nominal annual budget selected

The app itself will initially be given away to average consumers to drive penetration and exposure. Rather, the revenues will be generated based upon the frequency of views of DIY goods and service provider advertisements and videos as well as additional income when consumers click through to DIY vendor websites. The forecast is one million daily views in operating year 1 with a 1.5% click through rate expected. The 1.5% click-through rate, or CTR, is estimated based on those experienced by internet platforms such as Facebook (Chaffey, 2016). The traffic goal of one-million views daily is conservatively optimistic because of well-established platforms, such as Facebook and YouTube, experience more than one billion of daily interactions (YouTube, 2016). The sales forecast table below reflects the year over year goals of growing advertising sales revenue by 5% for the next five years.

Sales Forecast

Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5

Daily Views1,000,000 1,050,000 1,102,500 1,157,625 1,215,506

Days/Year350350350350350

CTR1.50%1.50%1.50%1.50%1.50%

USD/1000 views0.53$ 0.53$ 0.53$ 0.53$ 0.53$

USD/click through0.30$ 0.30$ 0.30$ 0.30$ 0.30$

Revenue1,760,500$ 1,848,525$ 1,940,951$ 2,037,999$ 2,139,899$

Development Cost270,000$ -$ -$ -$ -$

Annual Maint/Upgrades132,000$ 132,000$ 132,000$ 132,000$ 132,000$

Fixed Office/Admin240,000$ 240,000$ 240,000$ 240,000$ 240,000$

Promotion Expenses30,000$ 30,000$ 30,000$ 30,000$ 30,000$

Total Costs672,000$ 402,000$ 402,000$ 402,000$ 402,000$

Total Profit1,088,500$ 1,446,525$ 1,538,951$ 1,635,999$ 1,737,899$

V. Marketing Plan

A. Overall marketing strategy.

To accomplish our financial and nonfinancial goals previously mentioned, Team Samurai need to start our marketing campaign before the application launches. The more exposure and excitement Team Samurai can generate beforehand will help the application have a high launch with maximum downloads. Also, the establishment of a homepage allowing mobile and PC users to download a prelaunch beta version of the application will be done to facilitate the finding of bugs in the application not caught during initial development. Use of various social media outlets will be essential in achieving our long-term financial and non-financial goals.

The YouCanDoIt homepage will provide prelaunch blogs/updates of the application’s key features, purpose and even allow users to download a beta version after registering. Those who successfully register for the beta download will submit a valid email address which is used to follow up with the user to receive critical feedback needed about the experience. Also, a launch kit will be in place to ensure that all download methods are functioning as described and that the download speeds from the server are acceptable. The server speeds will be gauged based on user feedback from the beta program that informs us of whether they used Wi-Fi or a cell phone network. This information will allow us to know if Team Samurai needs to modify the server set up or if a prospective downloader is better off using cellular network versus available wireless to get the app. This effort sets the proper expectation when downloading the application and avoids an adverse experience a user might have blamed on the app vs. available data speeds.

An official YouTube channel, Facebook page, Twitter handle, and SnapChat account will be created to increase YouCanDoIt’s exposure. Different departments will be encouraged to post to the various accounts intending to give the application a face that users can relate to and enhance their loyalty to the implementation and company in case of more growth in the apps market segment under that brand. The marketing program incorporates the four Ps of the marketing mix. A marketing program is a cohesive approach to establishing the marketing plan by clearly defining the strategies for product, price, promotion and placement (Kerin, Hartley, & Rudelius, 2013). The marketing strategy is the strategy by which a marketing goal is to be achieved and will be evaluated to ensure the marketing effort is moving forwarded as discussed in this plan. The procedures involved in the marketing program for YouCanDoIt are as follows:

· Product Strategy: A user-friendly video-based mobile phone application that will allow the consumer to find solutions to everyday problems.

· Price Strategy: Revenues are anticipated from paid for advertising from businesses serving the DIY market. The plan of income will allow consumers to promote their videos at no cost to the consumer.

· Promotion Strategy: Introduce the product through a pre-launch campaign and general promotional strategies through social media and media outlets; an example would be YouTube, Facebook, DIY Channel, etc.

An additional campaign would take place where Team Samurai would have live in-person demonstrations and video kiosks in strategic locations throughout the United States; such as New York, Chicago, Houston, Denver, and Los Angeles. The in-person presentations and booths would be through a partnership with Home Depot, Habitat for Humanity, Autozone, Car Shows and Home and Garden shows. The goal would be to have the individuals sign up with their email address or download the application at the kiosk or demonstration location. YouCanDoIt would offer promotional items such as a hammer, tire pressure gauge, hat or shirt upon signing up from the kiosk or downloading the application during the in-person demonstration.

B. Pricing

Initial annual revenues from the YouCanDoIt app is generated from advertising fees generated from browser views of featured ads and videos on the app itself as well as from DIY product and service providers who receive traffic on their respective Websites from app users who click through. Key revenue based assumptions include an expectation of 1,000,000 views per day and an expected click-through-rate of 1.5% (Chaffey, 2016). Conservative advertising rates per thousand views is $0.53 (Butner, 2013). A similarly conservative pay per click rate for clicked on advertising links are $0.30 (Proximity Marketing). The following narrative in this section uses these key assumptions to provide a breakeven analysis for the business which incorporates forecasts for promotional activities along with sales.

Table 1: Breakeven Analysis

Daily ViewsClicks atPrice PerPrice PerDaysTotal RevenueApp Annual Maint.Fixed OfficePromotionalTotal CostsProfit

Quantity1.5% CTR1000 ViewsClickPer YearTR = (PXQ)Developmentand Upgradesand AdminCosts

- - 0.53$ 0.30$ 350-$ 270,000$ 132,000$ 240,000$ 30,000$ 672,000$ (672,000)$

250,000 3,750 0.53$ 0.30$ 350440,125$ 270,000$ 132,000$ 240,000$ 30,000$ 672,000$ (231,875)$

381,710 5,726 0.53$ 0.30$ 350672,000$ 270,000$ 132,000$ 240,000$ 30,000$ 672,000$ 0$

500,000 7,500 0.53$ 0.30$ 350880,250$ 270,000$ 132,000$ 240,000$ 30,000$ 672,000$ 208,250$

750,000 11,250 0.53$ 0.30$ 3501,320,375$ 270,000$ 132,000$ 240,000$ 30,000$ 672,000$ 648,375$

1,000,000 15,000 0.53$ 0.30$ 3501,760,500$ 270,000$ 132,000$ 240,000$ 30,000$ 672,000$ 1,088,500$

1,250,000 18,750 0.53$ 0.30$ 3502,200,625$ 270,000$ 132,000$ 240,000$ 30,000$ 672,000$ 1,528,625$

1,500,000 22,500 0.53$ 0.30$ 3502,640,750$ 270,000$ 132,000$ 240,000$ 30,000$ 672,000$ 1,968,750$

The above table provides an analysis of estimated costs and revenues associated with development and offering of the YouCanDoIt mobile app. The breakeven point that is the quantity of daily app views expected to result in sufficient revenue to cover associated fixed and variable costs for the business appears to occur when the app realizes 381,710 views per day. The company is targeting at least 1,000,000 daily views and a 1.5% click-through-rate which is expected to result in greater than $1,000,000 in annual profit. App development costs, while appearing widely variable when conducting research, Team Samurai conservatively estimated from survey information of corporate CIO’s and app developers (Formotus, 2016).

The profitability of the YouCanDoIt app critically relies on the number of views that the app receives. Consequently, promotion of the app to increase viewership is warranted. The table below contains a list of promotional ideas for the app with associated costs; the aggregated costs become utilized in the breakeven analysis above for the promotional costs.

Table 2: Promotional Expenses

PromotionCost

iPhone App Store registration99$

Google Android App Store registration25$

Website development with graphics and app access10,000$

National Web Search Engine Optimization (hiring 3rd party - first page search ranking goal)10,000$

Select pay per click marketing on select DIY oriented website*9,876$

*$30,000 nominal annual budget selected

Upon development of the app, it will be registered and made available for both iOS and Android mobile platforms representing less than $200 annual cost (Mackenzie, 2012). A key promotional tool will be the YouCanDoIt website. This site will promote the app while providing access for computer and mobile device users at an estimated cost of $10,000 (Beckett, 2016). Additional online promotional methods will include optimizing linkage to the YouCanDoIt website with major search engines with a goal of being listed on the first page of the search. Also, to search engine optimization, the team will use marketing on select retailer websites which cater to DIY consumers with costs rounding out the total promotional budget of $30,000 (Beckett, 2016).

Finally, the sales component driving revenue bears discussion. The app itself will initially be given away to average consumers to drive penetration and exposure. Rather, the revenues will be generated based upon the frequency of views of DIY goods and service provider advertisements and videos as well as additional income when consumers click through to DIY vendor websites. The forecast is one million daily views in operating year 1 with a 1.5% click through rate expected. The 1.5% click-through rate, or CTR, is estimated based on those experienced by internet platforms such as Facebook (Chaffey, 2016). The traffic goal of one-million views daily is conservatively optimistic because of well-established platforms, such as Facebook and YouTube, experience more than one billion of daily interactions (YouTube, 2016). The sales forecast table below reflects the year over year goals of growing advertising sales revenue by 5% for the next five years.

Table 3: Sales Forecast

Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5

Daily Views1,000,000 1,050,000 1,102,500 1,157,625 1,215,506

Days/Year350350350350350

CTR1.50%1.50%1.50%1.50%1.50%

USD/1000 views0.53$ 0.53$ 0.53$ 0.53$ 0.53$

USD/click through0.30$ 0.30$ 0.30$ 0.30$ 0.30$

Revenue1,760,500$ 1,848,525$ 1,940,951$ 2,037,999$ 2,139,899$

Development Cost270,000$ -$ -$ -$ -$

Annual Maint/Upgrades132,000$ 132,000$ 132,000$ 132,000$ 132,000$

Fixed Office/Admin240,000$ 240,000$ 240,000$ 240,000$ 240,000$

Promotion Expenses30,000$ 30,000$ 30,000$ 30,000$ 30,000$

Total Costs672,000$ 402,000$ 402,000$ 402,000$ 402,000$

Total Profit1,088,500$ 1,446,525$ 1,538,951$ 1,635,999$ 1,737,899$

C. Sales tactics

The sales tactics used will be to gear the advertisement to parts wholesalers, repair services, and large scale home improvement stores. These three areas of target sales markets are due to the need to drive revenue to each category. Parts wholesalers will not need to be geographic in nature since their product offerings use e-commerce method. Team Samurai will target the top 5 parts distributors in the nation. Advertising costs are based on the above financial information. The second group to target for sales is the repair service industry. This focus is done geographically and based on initial test markets. The following test markets will be the venture cities for the first six months and then expand at a rate needed based on population density and desired market propensity: Chicago, Detroit, San Diego, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia. These target advertising customers would be medium to large companies that fit the needed services that are initially offered in our app. The last market Team Samurai is targeting is the home improvement chain. These could be the most lucrative of the groups depending on the string(s) secured. These can drive revenue in some markets, tools, parts, supplies, and replacement appliances. Companies such as LoTeam Samurais, Home Depot, and Menards will be the largest of these.

D. Service and Warranty Policies.

Service and warranty policies are indubitably very crucial for the companies and the customers since they are assured of the quality and durability of their products they purchase. Guarantees act as a security offered to the customers that the goods they are buying are of good quality and will not lead to any serious fault when being used and thus will not affect their activities. Warranty in this regard is described as the legal obligation by which a manufacturer is liable if the product bought from them fails to perform the intended task. This action provides peace of mind the customer that the product will work as perceived.

The company will in this regard be providing services to the products which the customers bought and warranties for such. This service will mean to provide for functionality and the improvement of the productivity so as to enable the client to be competitive as well as the organization also in being competent in the market area. Servicing will involve repairing the product such as the machines if the company deals with such and ensuring that there are schedules of maintenance so that no extra costs are incurred in repairing when it becomes faulty under warranty.

The products purchased by the customers includes the additional services provided by the authorized and qualified personnel. In addition to these, there will also be the provision of free scheduled maintenance on site whenever necessary, so diagnostics are completed in the case of any fault in the product. This service offers prompt response time as well as price, and availability (Rahman & Chattopadhyay, 2015).

Furthermore, there will be free support calls which will assist the customers when it comes to resolving some of the problems they encounter with operating the products which they have bought from the company. To avoid delays which are deemed to be unnecessary, the customers as well ought to have the serial numbers of their products ready when they are calling the company for assistance over the telephone. This information provides proof of ownership as well as the validity and enables additional service programs for the customer. Therefore, clients as well can be asked when need be to run some diagnostic tests so as to report any error codes received from the product which can enable them to offer support.

E. Advertising and promotion

Product advertising together with promotions is one of the necessities which enables the company's brand of goods to be known by the public and thus to attract the potential customers. The company will in this regard be applied numerous way in promoting its products and services. The company will implement methods to increase their abilities to attract as many customers as they can. Social media is one way the company will use to establish sites such as the Facebook, Twitter and Google + which helps the company to promote as well as advertise their services.

Social media is a direct marketing tool to connect the company globally and attract possibility customers to get to know the products of the company. Notably, social networks indubitably connect the world and the company with the potential customers which they can enable them to view the company from a wide perspective which makes the business more appealing to them. This point of view helps the company and the customers in differentiating between the serious buyers and who wish to be part of the company by seeking to improve.

Mail Order Marketing is another strategy which will be used in advertising and promoting the products of the enterprise. When the customers have decided to buy the products from the company, it can be very helpful that they get their information regarding these products customers are interested in so that they can check the specifications and ensure that they purchase the correct products. The company in an attempt to retain such customers and attract more will offer free products for the exchange of the information in which the customers will be more familiar with the company and its products as well as all the policies which are in place.

Moreover, Customer Referral Incentive Program is another strategy which will be used in advertising and promoting the products of the company. Such program will act in encouraging the customers to refer the new clients to the company to buy the products from there. In this regard, there will also be significant discounts as well as cash rewards which are the incentives to be used. In this regard, the customers in this strategy leverage the base for sales forces. Causes and charity as well are used in promoting the products which have been found to be effective since it has been found to give the customers a sense of being part of the company and thus using the companies of the products with a lot of satisfaction (Ruffolo, 2014).

F. Distribution

The distribution strategy the company uses to ensure the customers receive their products in the right place and on time. Some of the channels include the indirect distribution where the goods reach the organization's customers through various channels in between the manufacture to them. Additionally, there is a direct distribution in which the company sends goods directly to the clients or the customer picks up the products at the factories.

In this regard, the strategies of product distribution are contingent upon the level of the penetration in which the company strives to achieve so as to introduce the marketing mix which is the result promotion and price. The strategy of distribution depends on the level of market penetration driving the application of the intensive distribution where the company is having a mass marketing of the product which will also cover as much as the market can.

Selective distribution is when the company has limited outlets where the company is distributing its goods. This distribution enables some customers to get the goods in direct means where the manufacturer provides the goods. Some of the clients in this regard use retailers who may have achieved the goods from the manufacturers or/from the wholesalers themselves. Exclusive distribution by the company where the company has an outlet in each of the major regions enables the customers can be able to get the products direct from them (Othieno & Awange, 2016).

In some of the cases, distributors who may be appointed by the company may as well be designated to be distributing the goods all over the country so that all the customers will have the ability to get the goods of the company when they need it. The strategies of distribution mainly depend on some various factors which the companies might have. The business has multiple products lines with each having their distribution strategy.

VI. Design and Development

A. Development status and tasks.

Team Samurai want to secure our IP rights by ensuring that Team Samurai obtain the licenses as well as clearance for the name of our app so that it does not conflict with any trademarks. Team Samurai have people on our team that already have mobile product experience and mobile QA. To get this project off the ground, Team Samurai need to be versed in application development. Therefore, Team Samurai worked with a designer to sketch out how Team Samurai wants our app to appear. Team Samurai is still in the phase of finalizing the design. Team Samurai reached out to a site called "Dribble" that allows us to show and explore design ideas for the app. This opportunity enables us to receive feedback from experienced developers that will be able to let us know how Team Samurai can work on the design.

Team Samurai is finalizing if Team Samurai wants to charge consumers to purchase the app or will Team Samurai offer our app for free and monetize by running ads on our app. Our research has taught us that Team Samurai needs to consider publishing our app for not only IOS users but Team Samurai also need to need to consider Android users as well. According to Sareen, (2014), “While IOS may be extremely popular in the U.S., Android reigns supreme on a global scale often in much larger margins than in the U.S. So if you intend on publishing your app in multiple countries, consider Android over iOS.”

B. Difficulties and risks.

If you have a whole team working on a project and you need the wireframe as a reference and for communicating with your staff, you might want to wireframe a higher-fidelity and more formal.” (Hotgloo, 2016).Team Samurai is working with "hotgloo" which is a site that will allow us to create a wireframe to enable us to create a prototype for our app. Team Samurai is also in the process of creating a storyboard for our app which will help us to visualize how our consumers will be able to maneuver through the app. One of our partners will sketch out how our servers and API will appear since they're familiar with the process. Team Samurai is going to continually be testing the wireframes and the storyboard for technical difficulties.

Team Samurai is hoping to market our app inexpensively. Therefore, a few months before Team Samurai launches the app; Team Samurai will start a blog, a website as well as Facebook, and Twitter accounts. The website will have an opt-in communications link where people interested in the app can leave their email addresses so that once Team Samurai launches the app, Team Samurai can inform them of updates.

C. Product improvement and new products.

Team Samurai plans to build a site specifically with a list of email addresses for potential customers so they may receive updates, tips or advice about our product. After getting responses from consumers, Team Samurai will tally their responses to our product. Team Samurai wants to offer an incentive for the first few purchasers of our app. Team Samurai will reach out to blog sites informing them of the app. Team Samurai will also use social sites for solicitation and will pitch our idea to the most frequented App stores

D. Costs

The costs associated with the design, as well as development plans, consists of the raw material costs which entail the carriage fees of such materials and any fees related to delivering the materials to the organization. Additionally, the expenses incurred include also the direct labor which are the wages paid to the people who are hired to carry out specific jobs about the productions of intended goods and provision of services which are within the organization's objectives.

The overhead is the incurred costs and includes the major costs which will ensure the operation of the business and developments such as the taxes to the government, the rent to the premises of business transactions and other utilities which are critical in running every day's business operations. Under the overheads also are the salaries to the executive and the other top management personnel with the administrative expenses meant to enable smooth operation of the organization's activities (Lawrence & Klimberg, 2013).

Marketing and sales activities as well needs some funds to be set aside or the personnel which they can use in moving around advertising and selling the organization's products as well as their salaries. There are also other consultation fees which will be paid to the specialists so as to provide the tips which can be used by the business so that they can emerge successfully. There are also costs incurred involving the purchase of equipment used in production.

E. Proprietary issues

The trademark and copyright rights that will be part of the YouCanDoIt brand will be the name and logo as shown in figure 1.1. The competitive advantage is the platform and experience for users on the mobile app. This feature includes the scan from camera feature that allows users to scan barcodes and QR codes to find accurate and relevant videos on completing the task on the intended product. YouCanDoIt will have contract rights with a large national chain home improvement store such as Home Depot or LoTeam Samurais.

Some of the outstanding issues that YouCanDoIt may face with proprietary rights could be with competitors such as YouTube. It will require management in a way that does not offer methods to consumers with the similar proprietary methods or algorithms. YouTube is owned by Google Inc. and wields tremendous resources behind them in the way of legal and proprietary information. To infringe on these would be a costly mistake given the scope of resources are significantly less than that of Google Inc.

Figure 1.1

VII. Manufacturing and Operations Plan

A. Operating cycle

The operating cycle for YouCanDoIt may be slightly different from that of a tangible product with annual type sales and production needs. The estimated operating cycle for YouCanDoIt is based on seasonal weather in markets. Based on the national scope of market of the U.S. there will be more spring and summer volume of traffic and as such the clicks per view for advertising revenue. According to Consumer Affairs “To take advantage of the influx of customers, LoTeam Samurai’s and Home Depot are again observing their “Spring Black Friday” event. During the month of April (through the 11th for LoTeam Samurai's and the 18th for Home Depot), the two stores are brimming with deals." (Young, 2016) CNBC has also reported by Jeff Daniels."

After several quarters of flagging growth in 2015, one forecast suggests home improvement spending will accelerate this year. According to Harvard University's Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity, spending will rise from 4.3 percent in the first quarter to 7.6 percent in the third quarter. By then, the LIRA forecast is for annual spending in nominal terms to exceed levels from the previous peak set in 2006." (Daniels, 2016) With this in mind, Team Samurai will ramp up advertising and server capacity starting March 1 of each fiscal year to keep up with demand. Team Samurai will also increase seasonal technical support and have overflow measures in place to protect the experience for users.

B. Geographical location

For initial launch and test market analysis, the YouCanDoIt product will be launched in the following major cities: Chicago, Detroit, San Diego, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia. After initial market testing, there will be a nationwide launch of the product with a full marketing campaign. As for the long-term strategy, there is no geographic market limit to the product. Being a cloud-based service with mobility as the medium there will be some limitations to underdeveloped countries based on no existing market conditions or infrastructure for the service. Nations such as the UK, India, Russia, China, and Japan will offer a significant long-term growth possibility.

The DIY consumer profile varies because the buyers are from multiple generations, incomes, and geographical regions. The market is expansively ranging from repairing or altering automobiles, homes, electronics, gardens and appliances. The DIY consumer can be a parent that is creating crafts and projects with their children to a middle-aged citizen seeking to build an airplane. For the DIY application, the primary age range for the DIY market is between 24 to 44 years old with 76% of consumers making less than $ 100,000 annually. The accessibility of the internet has allowed 71% of DIY to download materials and watch how-to videos for information or help, and 58% owned a smartphone in 2013 (Google: think insights, 2013).

DIY activity has been described as a man’s world when in fact nearly 50% of DIY consumers are female (Williams, 2013). The DIY market segment for housing projects revealed that the consumers are digitally savvy, and 72% of the users are married where almost half are settled in their first home (Google: think insights, 2013). People are driven to DIY projects because of the challenge, want to personalize the project, and generally out of the satisfaction the experience provides. Of DIY consumers that review related tutorial videos, only 30% do so to save money rather than hire a professional.

There are very few psychographic research studies for the DIY market segment. In one such study titled Consumer Behavior: Concepts and Applications , the DIY group segments are characterized as reluctant, dedicated, discretionary, transitional and active (Loudon & Della Bitta, 1984). The following chart taken from the 1984 study outlines these five DIY groups.

C. Facilities and improvements

YouCanDoIt facilities will be by leased initially as to reduce overhead in the beginning stages (~ 5 years), before acquiring It centers and data farms in strategically placed locations. As YouCanDoIt expansion happens, Total Cost of Ownership and Scalability will be assessed to ensure that quality of consumer experience (Sampera 2015). Services will be outsourced as a means of reducing exposure to un-need/wanted inventor cost and as a way to leverage outsourced partners skills. This opportunity provides the supply and demand mobility to remain competitive in the Do it yourself market.

Moreover, risk of quality and customer service is tightly monitored, due to the relinquished control via utilization of outsourcing. This performance is to be monitored through use of services and quality metrics, where a review committee will establish action initiative and projects to mitigate any current and foreseeable conformance to quality issues.

D. Strategy and Plans

The manufacturing of services process for YouCanDoIt will begin with the production of content utilizing subject matter experts; this production will use the lighting and sound engineering that complements a mood that is ideal for learning. Further, the process will go on to post production where our team will ensure that information touches the core learning styles (Auditory, Visual, and Kensitetic) for all types of consumers. Following this process, content will be fitted and tested for the YouCanDoIt platform and is customizable; allowing users to see content as they wish (Sampera 2015). All services for consumer help with project endeavors they choose are contracted to suppliers that meet our meet legislative quality standards for their particular avocation/or market and meet/exceed our quality agreement for customer service. Operations metrics for cost activities is correlated to quality control/ assurance metrics via score cards that are based on the Six Sigma statistics quality tool and framework (Bass 2007).

This system will require "critical-to-quality" data to be unbiasedly collected and reported for each area monitored. This data is imported into a quality scorecard that will have updated quality targets to compare actual collected contemporaneous. Further, the standard deviation of any metric is to not exceed six sigma (or 6 standard deviations from the target mean). This measure ensures strict quality control and repeatable services. Tracking and trending will have alert limits (when trending of critical to quality metrics move outside of 2 standard deviations), and action limits (when trending of critical to quality parameters move outside four standard deviations) (Bass 2007).

E. Regulatory and legal issues

YouCanDoIt will not have much liability monitoring via laws and licensing to maintain due to the use of partners. However, Team Samurai will have to ensure via our quality service agreement that these companies have proper permits and are in compliance with all laws operating within their service area before allowing services to our consumer base. The first regulations that Team Samurai will ensure to maintain compliance with involves privacy for our users via App usage and information integrity through the national recommendations of the “Online Privacy Protection Act” (Iubenda 2016). For international compliance of application privacy, Team Samurai will review and maintain the "ePrivacy Directive (2002/58/EC, as revised by 2009/136/EC) that sets a particular standard for all parties worldwide that wish to store or access information stored on the devices of users in the European Economic Area" (Iubenda 2016).

VIII. Management Team

A. Organization

The key management roles within the company initially include few (if any) full-time employees in critical positions and will support these positions with some part-time and contract workers when necessary to stand up the company. The ratio will change according to the supply and demand for services. The primary roles include the following:

B. Key Management Personnel

The initial team is five members with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and skill sets. The lead on the project brings the technical experience and manages/coordinates all technical aspects of the product. The team includes two members who bring IT experience and quality assurance experience to keep the team on track. Another member brings ten years of project management and people management skills to the team. The remaining members bring business proposal writing experience and sales management to the endeavor. This project is the team's first technical project.

The operations manager is responsible for providing leadership and technical guidance to other department heads and subordinates. This critical position oversees daily operations to ensure the project remains on schedule and within the budget. This department head will coordinate programs, goal setting, and return on investment comparisons to determine the appropriate track for the project (Monster, 2016).

The marketing manager is responsible for the development, implementation, and execution of marketing plans for the company. This position manages and coordinates research efforts to determine the viability and effectiveness of current and future services or products. The marketing manager works closely with the director of operations to determine budgets and direction to develop proper pricing strategies for the company (Monster, 2016).

The accounting manager develops and implements effective and efficient systems or processes for the collection, analysis, verification and reporting of the company’s financial information. This position provides updated economic feedback and recommendations to maintain the fiscal viability of corporate operations. The accounting manager will forecast future requirements based on previous performance and recommend changes as required (Monster, 2016).

The human resources manager updates job requirements and descriptions within the company as the company grows. This position will recruit and interview potential candidates, conduct exit interviews, and recommend changes as required. The human resources manager will ensure corporate legal compliance through monitoring, assessment and programs implementation (Monster, 2016).

The sales manager implements marketing strategies and assesses trends. This position establishes sales objectives and forecasts sales volume for existing and future services or products. The sales manager will adjust prices according to supply and demand trends, competition, and corporate costs (Monster, 2016).

C. Management Compensation and Ownership

The first benefit to management and ownership is in the form of a percentage of profit. Salaries are established based on contribution and adjusted throughout the lifecycle of the project. An example is the research and development team is more heavily compensated for the time spent developing and implementing the product whereas the compensation is later adjusted during the maintenance phase of the project because less time is required. Marketing may receive a higher salary than sales initially because of time invested early in the project whereas the sales department will get a greater portion of sales generated revenue later in the project. Accounting and human resource salaries will increase incrementally as responsibilities and workload increases.

D. Other Investors

Businesses need investors so that they can finance the business and accomplished by either the company officials or the executive members introducing the new products as well as asking to be funded so as to improve the operations of the business. Investors are crucial to the success of the organization as they can provide the resources which help the organization in ensuring that they function properly and meet their objectives.

Investors can be angel investors who are described as the individuals who have significant financial resources which can be used in investing in business activities especially if the business is a startup. In most cases, an angel investor tends mainly to follow his thoughts which emanate from instincts regarding the type of the firm in which he may wish to invest. Notably, the angel investor as well invests in the business which the entrepreneurs think they are very viable and require a little return after the company has become stable in the industry (Duff & Phelps Corp, 2016).

Peer to peer lending is another investor who is typically an arrangement which is organized through the Websites aimed at bringing the investors into the small business so as for all to contribute together and most importantly to become the owners of the firm. In doing this on the website, a profile has created and the posting of the business plan on such a peer to peer site so that it can attract lenders who bid on investing in the firm. In this regard, they will create negotiation for the rate of investment with the banks and the suppliers of such funds to the business.

E. Employment, other agreements, stock option, and bonus plans

The job opportunities which will be available in the organization will be advertised trough the media which is deemed to be available oral the targeted employees. In this, the interview is conducted, and agreements are carried out so that those who are successful and qualify are recruited to join the organization. Stock option together with bonus plans will be discussed and agreed by all the stakeholders of the business.

IX. Sustainability and Impact

The YoYouCanDoIt business model when evaluating environmental sustainability is centered with global learning initiatives and based on the understanding of our potential growing market segments and their current interest in sustainability. This positioning allows the firm to stay current with the concerns of our market, while global learning initiatives overlap directly with our products and services offerings. When considering our stakeholders and their interest in support of companies that remain at the forefront of issues, Team Samurai move to be considered leader within our industry by partnering with institutions that have a proven record of sustainability and promoting such as the Global Poverty Project, Inc.

The Global Poverty Project, Inc. with its millions of Global Citizens (World Volunteers) last year were responsible for giving/raising $27B dollars, having 7.8M actions taken (petitions and acts that got laws passed and technologies put in place), and have to date affected 737M lives globally (Global Citizens 2016). By connecting with institutions such as these, with their celebrity, political, and industry connections, our firm can maximize and stay at the forefront of environmental and sustainability issues important to our consumers. Educational disparity and access to technology around the globe is near and dear to us here at YouCanDoIt. According to the Global Education Monitoring Report supplied by the World Inequality Database on Education, globally in 35 countries, more than 75% of adolescents and adults have not completed lower secondary education with more being above 50% (UNESCO 2016).

Team Samurai understand that educational empowerment is linked to access to technology and its advancements, which is linked to people's ability to gain skills and work (IMF Research 2016). Team Samurai also strive to help get technology into the hands of those who do not have access. According to Internet Users Stats, an organization that monitors live the number of internet users globally, only 40% of the world's population currently has access to internet connectivity (WWC 2016). Further, our service extensions via sub-contractions and suppliers will mirror our quality practices by ensuring that those that Team Samurai do business when from an end to end and throughout all distribution pipelines.

All subcontractors and suppliers will be introduced to the quality cultural aspects of our business and required to ensure this maintained via a quality service agreement or contract. Our firm will foster customer loyalty and community support by the awareness and ongoing commitment sustainability initiatives in which our company participates. Team Samurai will make sure that our consumer based is aware that their contributions will be helping save lives, educating, and providing technology for those who are without such. Team Samurai will open these opportunities to our consumers to participate or just contribute.

YouCanDoIt is a unique business model with particular aspects not applicable to what Team Samurai produces and provides. As a digital platform for video services and a marketing tool for home improvement, parts wholesalers, and service industries, there is not a great deal of manufactured wasted or resource usage.

There are some areas the YouCanDoIt can be environmentally conscious and make a positive impact. Key areas of focus are the elimination of paper internally and even externally when dealing with customers. This behavior is no longer just about appearing cutting edge and is not only environmentally damaging but inefficient for internal storage, data entry, and retrieval. There are some natural resources that the company will have an impact on, such as energy use, water use (data facilities), cooling and heating impacts, and operational waste. YouCanDoIt will have an internal recycling program for employee use; power saving plans with LED lighting, PC power saving settings, and Smart Power and HVAC systems for office locations. These are all viable solutions considering the entry position of YouCanDoIt versus the cost to retrofit facilities.

Legislation restrictions will not specifically impact YouCanDoIt. YouCanDoIt does not offer copyright restricted distribution of material. There is also no political, or religious material distributed in the business model. These facts allow for much of the censorship legislations to not impact YouCanDoIt. As expansion plans are implemented YouCanDoIt will have the ability to offer different language settings, regional differences (electrical, formats), and common DIY projects.

YouCanDoIt will execute the steps approved in the book True Green @ Work as listed below:

“For the individual employee:

1. Use your coffee mug. Even though you'll need to wash it, you'll reduce energy and waste from using throw-away paper, foam or plastic cups. After 3,000 uses, the mug uses 30 times less solid waste and causes 60 times less air pollution than equivalent drinks in throw-away cups.

2. Reduce paper usage. Paper can take up to 70 percent of office waste. Employees can reduce the amount of paper they use by ensuring documents are formatted to avoid printing extra pages and by printing double-sided.

3. Use your computer’s sleep mode. If your computer is on during meetings and lunch breaks, you’re using unnecessary power. Go to the system preferences on your work computer to set your computer to go into sleep mode after 10 minutes or so of inactivity. Sleep mode uses less than 5 percent of the computer’s full-power mode.

4. Better yet, turn the computer off. Turning the computer off at night will significantly reduce the energy used and pollutants released from your computer. The tale that says leaving your computer on uses less electricity is a myth, according to the authors. A computer left on all day each year will use 1,000 megawatts of electricity and release more than a ton of carbon emissions each year. If you are out during extended times during the day, consider turning your computer off.

5. Keep an indoor plant on your desk. A plant will help filter the air by absorbing pollutants and computer radiation. It will also restore oxygen levels and keep the area cooler. Another benefit? They can help prevent you from catching germs from your co-workers. 

For office managers/executives:

1. Use recycled paper in the office. Recycled paper uses up to 90 percent less water and half the energy needed to make regular paper. Currently, only about 10 percent of the paper used in the country's offices is recycled.

2. Provide excellent kitchen facilities. A kitchen that allows employees to bring food from home helps workers save on meals and reduces solid waste.

3. Invest in real utensils to avoid the trash created by disposable cups, plates and utensils.

4. Create a more casual dress code. Men’s suits can be tough in warmer climates and can create the need to boost air conditioning bills and energy used. Provide a closet where employees can keep more formal clothing.

5. Create flex-time or telecommuting scheduling possibilities. Allowing employees to work at home or drive outside of morning and evening rush hours will save fuel and reduce greenhouse gasses.

6. Send electronic documents to shareholders. Correspondence with shareholders can use a lot of paper. Send electronic documents whenever possible.

7. Eliminate unnecessary lighting. Make sure lights are turned off when employees leave for the day or put them on motion sensors." (McKay, Bonnin, 2008)

From an economic sustainability aspect, some of the toughest decisions will come from the decision to host the services YouCanDoIt provides by outsourcing or to house them internally. In the early years of YouCanDoIt, it will be necessary to have these services hosted by an external partner/vendor. This requirement is due to the capital cost for services held in house and secondarily based on the continuity or best possible experience for the end user. As growth allows, YouCanDoIt will look at the cost to return on housing these services internally versus the outsourced option. This review means there will need to be a cost reduction, time savings or ability to react to situations more timely to positively impact the brand, revenues, and operational costs.

From an internal labor sourcing, YouCanDoIt will hire locally from central office locations and offer some flexibility on work hours, and locations. It may not be relevant for employees to be in a single room at the same time. This philosophy reduces costs on office size and offers a more appealing offer to employees based on flexibility. YouCanDoIt will use an online secure chat platform in addition to email as a collaborative tool. An email will be reserved for file transfer and official communications. Options will include Spark (Cisco), Lync (Microsoft) and Slack. (Gerber, 2015) YouCanDoIt will also continue to focus staffing on local knowledge for growth markets and with specialized positions such as technical, programming, repair/construction experience, sales, and leadership. Much of the marketing materials is outsourced based on being either print material, digital boards and media time.

X. Overall Schedule

TASK NAMESTART DATEEND DATEASSIGNED TODURATION% COMPLETECOMMENTS

Timing of Product9/1/201612/1/201690days30%

Market Planning10/1/201612/31/2016Tamara30 days0%

We plan to use social sites such as FB for our

marketing. We also will use blog sites for

advertising as well

Sales Program12/1/2017Tamara0%We will use a sales app to track our sales

Production5/15/20168/15/2016All members90 days100%COMPLETED

Operations

Incorporation of Venture3/1/20164/15/2016All members3-6 weeks100%COMPLETED

Ensuring free of copy cats

Minimum functionality

Completion of Prototypes3/1/20164/1/2016Ade30 days100%COMPLETED

Obtaining Sales

Reps/Mgmt/production/operations personnel

5/15/20168/15/2016Tamara90 days100%COMPLETED

Obtaining product display at trade shows10/1/201611/1/2016Richard30 days0%Towers, reception counters, work stations, etc.

Signing distributors and dealers8/30/20169/15/2016Arturo2 weeks100%

Signing to the App store as well as outside the app

store

Ordering materials in production quantities1/1/20165/15/2016Ryan4 ½ months100%

Worked with sites such as Dribble and Hotgloo for

designing and wire framing and prototype

Starting operation12/1/2016All members0%Launching

Receipt of first ordersAnticipationWhen launchedAll membersWithin first month0%

Delivery on first saleAnticipationWhen launchedAll membersWithin first month0%

Receiving the first payment on accounts

receivable

AnticipationWhen launchedAll membersWithin first month0%

Completion of design1/1/20165/15/2016Ryan18 weeks100%

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

Pilot Production

Ramp Up

Production

Ramp UP

1/1/16

-

3/1/16

5/15/16

-

6/15/16

8/1/15

-

before: 5 mgmt/OPs/prod.

personnel

-

During: 6 mgmt/Ops/Prod.personnel

-

After: 4

Total: 15

before

: Plant Equip.

During: 6 mgmt/Ops personnel

After: 4 Total:

15

To address slippage, Team Samurai have hired a project manager to keep tasks on target. Often things are unavoidable such as illnesses and delays in shipment. However, Team Samurai is dedicated to using all of our human resources to address these situations. This goal is why Team Samurai hired additional personnel to assist.

XI. Critical Risks, Problems, and Assumptions

There are various risks which are associated with the running and maintaining the business, especially a startup. Such risks include the Regulatory risk and the competitive risk. The products are sometimes deemed to be in danger especially when they are purchased from the locals as they are perceived to be of inferior qualities not subjected to quality standardization test.

In this regard, the products will indubitably be dependent quality as depicted by the company for use. Even the products which will be utilized together with the products will as well be vulnerable to various conditions in which they are stored and used significantly affecting the products and the costs that the company will achieve such products. Regulatory risk is deemed to be huge because if the raw materials are changed, it makes them not suitable for use as it will be subjected to regulatory bodies for checking. f the company will be affected (Toksoz, 2014).

Competitive risk is another risk which will affect the operations of the company since with the presence of the firms offering the same products and services similar to that of the enterprise; then there will be saturation in the surroundings of the company. The various risks associated with the competitive include the likely of providing the same services with lower prices will imply that the customers will no longer be buying from the company and choose to shift to the competitors.Running out of cash before the orders are secured will imply that the corporation will not be able to satisfy the needs of the customers since they will not have more money to procure for more products which will satisfy the customers. The customers may thus resort to seeking for the goods and services they need elsewhere.

Potential price cutting by the competitors will imply that the company will have little or no numbers of customers since logically the customers want the goods at places where they can have them at lower prices. Any potential industry trend will make the company have various impacts affecting it, and thus the company will use a lot of money in ensuring that it settles and correct such patterns to fit the business's operations. The design of the costs which are more than the cost estimates will imply that the firm will use more money than budgeted for which will render the company to be bankrupt all of a sudden.

When the sales projections are not achieved, it depicts that the firm is not efficient enough and ought to improve so as to achieve their set goals. Unmet product development schedule will compromise the quality of the goods produced, and there is a risk of driving the customers away from the company due to the low quality of goods being sold (Toksoz, 2014). Long leads during the procurement of parts and raw material will mean that the company will have a lot of unproductive time when waiting for the raw materials. This delay will make the business inefficient.

Difficulties in getting the bank credit will mean no expansion of the business and even some of the operations will be tough to conduct. If the innovations together with the development costs are larger than the expected, then the company will use the money for other functions indubitably disabling such activities. Running out of cash when the orders pour out to implies the company will not meet the requisite demands of customers causing attrition.

The most risk which is most critical is a competitive risk since the acts of competitors will in one way or another determine the success of the company. Selling at the lowest cost will force the business to do the same which can result in a loss as it is still a new corporation.

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_1537476481.xls

Chart1

Days A/R Outstanding	Days A/R Outstanding	Days A/R Outstanding
Purchase Raw Materials	Purchase Raw Materials	Purchase Raw Materials
Shipping	Shipping	Shipping
Collections	Collections	Collections

Series 1

Column1

Column2

Cash Conversion Cycle

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	Series 1	Column1	Column2
Days A/R Outstanding	4.1
Purchase Raw Materials	60.6
Shipping	50
Collections	44.9

_1537476479.xls

Chart1

Pilot Production	Pilot Production	Pilot Production
0		0
Ramp Up	Ramp Up	Ramp Up
Production	Production	Production

1/1/16 - 3/1/16 5/15/16 -6/15/16 8/1/15 -

before: 5 mgmt/OPs/prod. personnel-During: 6 mgmt/Ops/Prod.personnel-After: 4 Total: 15

before: Plant Equip. During: 6 mgmt/Ops personnel After: 4 Total: 15

Series 1

Series 2

Series 3

Ramp UP

Sheet1

	Series 1	Series 2	Series 3
Pilot Production
	Start of Production		Production
Ramp Up
Production