Fluent Essays

This is the first milestone of your business plan—the choice of businessCreate a 4- to 5-page research paper that includes:An explanation of the initiative, its mission, its vision, its core beliefsThis is the first milestone of your business plan—Aircraft Logistics Consulting companyYou will want to be sure that your business is realistic, doable and something which you are familiar. It cannot be an established business, but should be a concept you can develop over the next five weeks. Each week you will work on sections of your completed business plan and in the last week, you will pull all the previous weeks sections into one document. Create a 4- to 5-page research paper that includes:An explanation of the Aicraft Logistics Consulting Firm, its mission, its vision, its core beliefs and culture, and its social responsibility commitment, if applicable.A comprehensive venture description, including the industry in which it will be participating, the type of organization it will be, the needs to be satisfied by this initiative, the strategic advantage it has, and the legal structure it will take.A justification of the choice of this initiative for your final project. (You can use what you have learned throughout the program.)A description of the research methods used to assess the feasibility of this opportunity (e.g., surveys or statistics), including a succinct strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis, to address industry trends, environmental trends, the target audience, and the competition.I have attached a sample. This is the first milestone of your business plan—the choice of businessCreate a 4- to 5-page research paper that includes:An explanation of the initiative, its mission, its vision, its core beliefs Business Plan Breakdown: The Choice of Business Argosy University Business Plan Breakdown: The Choice of Business Venture Description: Seven Cities Consulting, LLC is a human resources consulting firm that specializes in working with small and mid-sized businesses in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. The area is made up of seven cities, which includes Hampton, Newport News, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Chesapeake, and Virginia Beach. The contribution that small businesses have made to the local area is considerable, and they are a large reason why the tourism industry has grown so considerably over the last 20 years. According to Point of View magazine, Virginia Beach MSA ranked “24th among the ‘75 Best American Cities to Start a Business’. And Entrepreneur magazine ranked Virginia Beach 26th overall in the nation for entrepreneurs, small business growth, economic growth, and risk” (http://www.vbgov.com). These small and mid-sized businesses are essential to the sustainability of the area’s economy, and because of this, Seven Cities Consulting is committed to providing them with services that can contribute to their success. Human Resources specialists provide services such as staffing, payroll, managing employee benefits, maintaining employee engagement, onboarding and training new hires, staying current with employment laws and regulations, and handling employee disputes. Large companies that are heavily staffed typically have a human resources specialist, generalist, or an entire department that provide these and a number of other services to employees. The human resources staff is there to provide support to employees, develop strategies for growth, serve as the liaison between employees and upper management, and are responsible for maintaining legal and ethical compliance. These duties are not unique to large companies however; they often have the financial means and greater necessity for a full time representative than smaller companies do. Smaller companies may not have the financial means to afford a full time human resources staff member, and many times do not have enough employees to require the same level of HR assistance. Without a human resources professional on staff, these responsibilities fall on the owners or managers, which can prevent them from focusing on operations. Seven Cities Consulting offers comprehensive human resources services to small and mid-sized businesses and based on the company’s specific needs, suggests which services would benefit the company the most, along with pricing strategies that fit within its financial parameters. Initiative: The concept for the business was developed by three entrepreneurs, all of whom are local to Virginia Beach, Virginia. Their love for the area in which they grew up, and a desire to keep its local charm intact inspired them to begin this venture. The company’s mission statement is: “To provide small to mid-sized businesses with guidance and services that meet the client’s specific human resources needs to increase operational effectiveness and sustainability”. The vision statement is: To be the human resources provider of choice for small and mid-sized businesses in the Hampton Roads area that are seeking operational, financial, and sustainable efficiency”. Seven Cities Consulting’s beliefs include: Integrity – to always be honest and fair in the quality of the services provided. Efficiency – to only suggest services that increase the client’s operational and financial efficiency. Education – to stay current with industry technology, legal and ethical compliance, company policies, and compensation and benefits. People – to do what is in the best interest of our clients, their employees, and the local communities in which we serve. The company culture is a direct reflection of how the company was formed. The three employees grew up in the Virginia Beach area and met while working for a local resort company in the marketing department. They had similar ideas on how the company they worked for could improve the employee environment, and compared it to past work experiences. They agreed that the majority of growth in the area was a product of the military presence and local entrepreneurs who had a vision for what the resort area could be. Their knowledge of the area, education, and experience in business encouraged them to begin this venture. Jane Doe has a MS in Organizational Leadership and is proficient at helping businesses reorganize and streamline their processes, increase sustainability, and operate more efficiently. Rachel Hayes has a MS in Human Resources Management, is a certified human resources professional with experience with state and federal employment laws, staffing and payroll, as well as employee benefits. James Ketterer has a BS in Marketing, specializing in graphic and web design, and experience with building websites, advertising, and promotion. They are able to collaborate with each other to identify potential problems and create solutions in order to help each organization function more efficiently. The environment is casual, as for the time being, they will be working out of an office in Lindsey’s home. Their interactions are casual and often inspire new and creative ways in which they can improve the effectiveness of the services they provide, as well as the growth of their company. Justification: After two years at my current job, I became frustrated with the way in which corporate ran the operations of the business, and the lack of leadership skills my managers had. I decided to get my Master’s degree so I could position myself better within an organization and have more autonomy at work. The further I got in the program, the more I found myself questioning the decisions my managers were making, and what I would do differently to increase efficiency. All company decisions were made on the corporate level and then communicated down several other levels before finally reaching the employees who had to adhere by the policies. The company operates multiple locations across the nation, but was implementing the same changes in policies and job processes to every location. On the local level, I observed even more dysfunction among the department heads and even with the human resources representative on staff. Classes such as Perspectives in Change Leadership, Understanding & Managing Human Differences, Communication Strategies for Managers, and Foundations of Sustainable Business have taught me about how the workplace environment has changed, and how to lead employees in a way that contributes to the sustainability of the business. One underlying message that was consistent throughout the program was the importance of proper leadership and the effect it has on the success of a company. Every function that the human resources department performs contributes to the employee experience, benefits, attitudes, and compensation, which speaks to the importance of a company having a representative available. As I learned more about the growth of entrepreneurship, I considered the absence of human resources functions within these organizations, but also the cost associated with having one. If entrepreneurs and small businesses are going to grow and succeed, they will either need to perform these functions on their own, or outsource them. Research Methods: When I decided to do my business plan on a consulting company, first I researched the area to see if there were enough small and mid-sized businesses in the area to sustain the business. By researching the SBA websites, local chamber of commerce, and statistics on the region, past, present, and future, I was able to determine as of the 2nd quarter of 2015, Hampton Roads had 38,602 small to mid-sized businesses (249 employees or less), 949 of those opened during the first two quarters of 2015 (http://virginialmi.com). The same area has roughly 15 military bases, accounting for almost have of the economic viability, which left a significant amount of non-military entities with which to focus. Virginia Beach was also named the “second most business-friendly city by CNN Money”, as well as Norfolk, which was “named the fifth best city in America for entrepreneurs by Entrepreneur magazine” (Lascara, 2015, para. 13). The small business industry is expected to grow even more, which is a reason why the choice to operate in the Hampton Roads area is a strength. Other strengths of the project include the choice to keep the business small, which reduces the amount of overhead typically required for other startups, and the diversity of the company’s employees gives them the advantage of expanding the services offered to clients. Weaknesses include the lack of experience the employees have in starting a business, and as a new company, they may have difficulty getting the initial clients they need to build up a strong portfolio of work. There are many opportunities for the company to find new business, as there are only a few companies in the same area that offer similar services within that market segment. The majority of the area consulting companies are focused on providing military consulting services, which limits the direct competition. One threat that the company faces is the potential for the target market to undervalue the services provided by the company and consider them unnecessary. References Agrawal, A. (2016, January 6). The top 5 trends for growing businesses in 2016. Inc. Retrieved from http://www.inc.com/aj-agrawal/the-top-5-trends-for-growing-businesses-in-2016.html Hampton Roads. (2016). Retrieved January 25, 2016, from http://www.hamptonroadschamber.com/page/hampton-roads Lascara, V. (2015, January 30). Instead of whale hunting, support startups, says Hatch founder. Inside Business: The Hampton Roads Business Journal. Retrieved from http://pilotonline.com/inside-business/news/banking-and-finance/instead-of-whale-hunting-support-startups-says-hatch-founder/article_5a62fc01-1ab7-53e6-b1d1-5d75a2c5bc79.html