Developing a Viable Business Idea: Manufacturing and Sale of ASA Scarf

This article discusses the process of developing a viable business idea for Desklib, focusing on the manufacturing and sale of ASA scarf. It covers market gap, benefits, business model, critical success factors, and feasibility evaluation.

Running Head: COMING UP WITH A BUSINESS IDEA
COMING UP WITH A BUSINESS IDEA
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COMING UP WITH A BUSINESS IDEA
Table of Contents
Executive summary...............................................................................................................................3
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................4
The market gap......................................................................................................................................5
Benefits generated by the idea...............................................................................................................5
The proposed business model................................................................................................................6
The critical success factors....................................................................................................................6
Customer satisfaction........................................................................................................................7
Use of modern production technologies............................................................................................7
Use of internal resources to create competitive advantages...............................................................7
Employee motivation.........................................................................................................................7
Division of labour and specialization.................................................................................................7
Evaluation of feasibility.........................................................................................................................7
Service feasibility..............................................................................................................................7
Target market feasibility....................................................................................................................8
Organizational feasibility...................................................................................................................8
Financial feasibility...........................................................................................................................8
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................8
References...........................................................................................................................................10
Appendix 1..........................................................................................................................................12
An illustration of the proposed business model canvas....................................................................12
Appendix 2: Evaluation of feasibility..................................................................................................13
Part 1: strength of business idea.......................................................................................................13
Part 2: industry-related issues..........................................................................................................13
Part 3: Target market and customer related issues...........................................................................14
Part 4: founder- (or Founders-) related issues..................................................................................14
Part 5: financial issues.....................................................................................................................15
Overall potential..............................................................................................................................15

COMING UP WITH A BUSINESS IDEA
Executive summary
The primary objective of this work is brainstorming to develop a “viable business idea” that
is expected to succeed upon implementation in the market. In the process of developing this
idea, several factors were considered, some of which are the market gap that is to be filled by
the business idea, the benefits that the business idea will generate, the critical success factors
that will see the business maneuver at the time of implementation, and the most
recommendable business model among other factors. After thorough consideration, the
partnership of the French ASA scarf company to introduce the product to other countries like
Australia, China and eventually the world at large was gotten. This high quality product
produced by a small company without the capability of invading the worlds market will be
manufactured in largescale by the proposed business which will later buy the company and
supply the commodity to the worlds market. This idea was selected as it provides an
opportunity for growth and satisfies consumer want that has been left out unsatisfied for quite
some time. Production of high-quality products and good customer relationships are among
the major recommendations.

COMING UP WITH A BUSINESS IDEA
Introduction
While the modern digital technology and virtual connectivity are bringing new trends to the
contemporary business world, some of the major challenges facing businesses are remaining
unsolved. Stiff competition has continued to be one of the most challenging factors
threatening business closure in most of the organizations, whether small or big. For this
reason, therefore, it becomes very vital to brainstorm, as an entrepreneur to bring forth the
best business idea that will succeed when established. This is often made possible by seizing
an opportunity that fills a market gap or identifying a service or commodity in the market that
is not offered as it should be. In coming up with these feasible business ideas, several factors
have to be considered. It is imperative to consider the consumer tastes and preferences as well
as the amount of dispensable consumer income that can be channeled into the consumption of
the proposed commodity. It is also important to research and establish the necessity of the
commodity to be supplied. In this case, it serves well when the commodity in question is a
“must have” for almost all households. Other factors that ought to be considered are the
benefits realized after of the implementation of the proposed business idea, “the critical
success factors” that will drive the business into success upon implementation and most
importantly the business model that will be used for the proposed business. Concerning the
above considerations, partnership and with and largescale manufacture of ASA scarf was
identified as a feasible business idea.
The market gap
According to significant research carried out by (Yew Wong, 2015) on the consumer needs in
ASIA and other parts of the world, it was found that scarfs are among the highly consumed
products related to fashion and design in the cold regions. A similar research that was done

COMING UP WITH A BUSINESS IDEA
by (Bartkowski, 2015) holds that as opposed to a popular view scarfs unlike jumpers and
sweaters are not only used in cold areas. While the report holds that the commodity is widely
used all over the world, it disputes the notion that the commodity is a protective wear against
cold. In many parts of the world, a wide market has been yearning for quality scarfs to no
avail. Research shows that a huge percentage of the scarfs in the world’s market are not
worth whatever they are sold for and that most of them are not of the recommendable quality
(Yam, 2017). Funny enough, there’re exits a small company famous for the sale of ASA
scarfs that are made out of sheep and hare’s wool. The company is regarded as the world’s
leading producer of high quality scarf according to statistic. Even though the company
produces high quality products, it has not yet been able to extend its borders of operation to
other countries. It is therefore, in this regard, that we saw it necessary to partner with the
company to produce the scarfs in largescale and supply the commodity to almost all parts of
the world, if not all.
Benefits generated by the idea
This business idea of manufacture and the sale of ASA scarf with this French company will
bring about a couple of benefits to the entrepreneur, the consumers, and the general public.
The owner of the business will earn income from the business that will help him get better
standards of living. After getting better living standards, the owner of the business will be
able to have an improved social status and get an opportunity of attaining the actualization
state (Wyckham, 2015). Again, the owner will have an opportunity of being branded one of
the most innovative entrepreneurs for inventing up with a viable business idea that will earn
him profit alongside helping to bring about convenience and give the consumer value for
money.
The business will have tapped an opportunity that has existed in the market for quite some
time. As a result, consumers will be able to enjoy a quality products from a trusted brand as

COMING UP WITH A BUSINESS IDEA
opposed to the substandard products they buy from other substandard outlets. Again, the
business will create several employment opportunities. That will enable them to earn income
on their own thereby reducing the ratio of dependency. That consequently reduces the
poverty level and hence helping achieve sustainability. The business’ tax can be used to
improve social amenities and infrastructure like roads, schools, hospitals, among others. By
so doing, the public will have benefited.
The proposed business model
Due to the nature of the organization, the long tail business model is the most appropriate
model for this business and therefore the highly recommended and proposed model. The
main reason for choosing this model is because it will target the customer segment that will
earn the business more income according to (Lin, 2017). It will, therefore, be cheaper and
profitable to provide value propositions to them. In this business, the segmentation of
customers will be carried out from age and level of income. By so doing, it will be easy to
determine the customer segment that earns the business more income and therefore target it
(Katila, 2017). Acquisition of raw material, production and marketing will be the key
activities carried out in this business. The business will require human, physical, financial and
technological resources to start. The appendix gives a business canvas illustrating the other
business model building blocks.
The critical success factors
To ensure that the business prevails upon implementation, a couple of factors will be put into
an account.
Customer satisfaction
Firstly, the business will ensure that customers are served to their satisfaction. Many are
business organizations that are deteriorating and registering large loses due to poor customer
service (Jia, 2016).

COMING UP WITH A BUSINESS IDEA
Use of modern production technologies
Modern production technologies as suggested by (Hong, 2016) will be used to ensure that the
highest quality products are produced. Microbusiness environment will also be wisely used to
create competitive advantages.
Use of internal resources to create competitive advantages
In most of the times, businesses that are in the same industry have the same external
environment and thus wisely using internal resources would result into better competitive
advantages that enable the business to outcompete its rivals (Douglas, 2016).
Employee motivation
The employees will also be motivated by getting awards, good working environments, among
others. A research done by (Cooper, 2016) shows that employees who are highly motivated
have improved performance hence improved productivity.
Division of labour and specialization
The idea of division of labor and specialization will also be utilized to ensure that every
employee does what they are best in. That not only improves productivity but so the quality
of output.
Evaluation of feasibility
Service feasibility
The business will involve the manufacture and sale of charcoal briquettes made from organic
waste products. The product will be a major requirement for consumers as they have for quite
a long time been using wooden charcoal and other sources of fuel that are costly and have
hazardous effects to the environment. This alternative source of fuel will thus save the
consumer a substantial amount of income that can be channelled to financing other projects.
As a result, it is certain that the gadget will get an overwhelming reception in the market as
hinted by (Umble, 2014).

COMING UP WITH A BUSINESS IDEA
Target market feasibility
Now that the idea has not spread in many parts of the globe, it is believed that there will be a
certain market for the commodity. The business will aim at producing high-quality products
that meet the diverse and changing customer needs in the contemporary society. It will also
ensure that the customer relation is up-to-date and therefore there is an expectation that the
product will fetch a wide market when launched according to (Somers, 2016).
Organizational feasibility
The business will have different departments that will carry out their specific functions such
as marketing, public relation, supply chain management, among others. These departments
will be given all the support they deserve to ensure that they flawlessly carry out their duties.
For improved employee performance, modern human resources information management
systems will be used as advocated for by (Nelson, 2014).
Financial feasibility
This business will require as low as 200USD to begin. The entrepreneur will use individual
savings and sell shares to acquire the initial capital. The organization will use ploughed back
profits for business diversification and maintenance of its daily operations a move suggested
by (Muthokoi, 2017). The breakeven point is anticipated to be reached upon working for
thirty days.
Conclusion
This paper has established that it is very imperative to consider whether a business idea fills a
certain market gap before implementation. Unique and original ideas get little or no
competition upon the establishment and also fetch a wide market. Other than originality of
the idea, it is also imperative to consider the legal requirements and the trade policy of the
host country before implementing idea lest it is banned just a few days after establishment.

COMING UP WITH A BUSINESS IDEA
Other key factors to consider are whether the business idea will bring benefits to the
entrepreneur and the general public, the most suitable business model for the proposed
business and the critical success factors during implementation among other key factors.
Since these considerations have been made in coming up with the idea, it is therefore certain
that this idea will maneuver up after being implemented.

COMING UP WITH A BUSINESS IDEA
References
Bartkowski, J. (2015). Religious Organizations, Anti-Poverty Relief and Charitable Choice:
A Feasibility Study of Faith-Based Welfare Reform in Mississippi.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, Endowment for, the Business of Government, 68(8), 50-78.
Cooper, R. (2016). Benchmarking the firm's critical success factors in new product
development. Journal of product innovation management, 4(7), 55-67.
Douglas, E. (2016). The interaction between feasibility and desirability in the formation of
entrepreneurial intentions. Journal of Business Venturing, 6(8), 50-79.
Hong, K. (2016). The critical success factors for ERP implementation: an organizational fit
perspective. Information & Management, 4(8), 46-69.
Jia, F. (2016). Investigating the feasibility of supply chain-centric business models in 3D
chocolate printing. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 3(6), 34-57.
Katila, R. (2017). Energetic and economic feasibility associated with the production,
processing, and conversion of beef fat to a substitute diesel fuel. Biomass and
Bioenergy, 3(6), 67-87.
Lin, Y. (2017). BPMN-based business process model feasibility analysis: a Petri net
approach. International Journal of Production Research, 67(7), 34-46.
Muthokoi, T. (2017). The impact of critical success factors across the stages of enterprise
resource planning implementations. Proceedings of the 34th Annual Hawaii
International Conference on the Business process, 33(6), 56-72.
Nelson, R. (2014). Energetic and economic feasibility associated with the production,
processing, and conversion of beef tallow to a substitute diesel fuel. Biomass and
Bioenergy, 3(88), 66-83.

COMING UP WITH A BUSINESS IDEA
Somers, T. (2016). The impact of critical success factors across the stages of enterprise
resource planning implementations. Proceedings of the 34th Annual Hawaii
International Conference on the Business process, 67(7), 43-61.
Umble, E. (2014). Enterprise resource planning: Implementation procedures and critical
success factors. European journal of operational research, 1(6), 50-60.
Wyckham, R. (2015). Factors related to venture feasibility analysis and business plan
preparation. Journal of Small Business Management, 56(6), 74-82.
Yam, Y. (2017). BPMN-based business process model feasibility analysis: a Petri net
approach. International Journal of Production Research, 4(6), 76-98.
Yew Wong, K. (2015). Critical success factors for implementing knowledge management in
small and medium enterprises. Industrial management & Data Systems, 24(77), 78-
93.

COMING UP WITH A BUSINESS IDEA
Appendix 1
An illustration of the proposed business model canvas
Key Partners Key Activities Value
Propositions
Customer
Segments
Key Resources
Supermarkets,
boutiques and
other cloth
selling stores
Acquisition of
raw materials,
manufacturing,
and marketing
Delivery,
Provision of
discount to
routine
customers and
manufacture of
customized
products upon
order
High-income
earners, low-
income earners,
young, middle-
aged and the
aged
Human
resources,
physical
resources,
financial
resources and
technical
resources
Channels Cost Structure Revenue
Streams
Customer Relationships
Direct sales,
Group
purchasing
organizations
and distributor
sales
Raw materials-
100k
Manufacturing-
200k
Distribution-
100k
Onetime
payments for
goods and
recurring
payment for
value
propositions
24/7 toll-free customer support,
social media platforms, and live
chat programme

COMING UP WITH A BUSINESS IDEA
Appendix 2: Evaluation of feasibility
Part 1: strength of business idea
Low potential (-1) Moderate
potential (0)
High potential
(+1)
1. Extent to which the idea:
 Takes an advantage
of an environmental
trend
 Solves a problem
 Addresses unfilled
gap in the
marketplace
Low Moderate High
2. Timeliness of entry into the
market
Not timely Moderately
timely
Very timely
3. Extent to which the idea
“adds value” for its buyer
or end user
Low Medium High
4. Extend to which the
customer is satisfied by the
competing products that are
already available
Very satisfied Moderately
satisfied
Not very
satisfied or
ambivalent
5. Degree to which the idea
requires customers to
change their basic practices
or behaviours
Changes required Moderate
changes
required
Small to no
changes
required
Part 2: industry-related issues
Low potential (-1) Moderate potential
(0)
High potential
(+1)
Number of competitors Many Few None
Stage in ustry life cycle Maturity phase or
decline phase
Growth phase Emergence
phase
Growth rate of industry Little or no growth moderate growth strong growth
Importance of industry’s
products and/or services to
customers
“ambivalent” “would like to
have”
“must have”
Industry operating margins Low Moderate High
Part 3: Target market and customer related issues
Low potential (-
1)
Moderate
potential (0)
High potential
(+1)

COMING UP WITH A BUSINESS IDEA
1. Identification of target
market for the proposed
new venture
Difficult to
identify
May be able to
identify
None
2. Ability to create barriers to
entry for potential
competitors
Unable to create May or may
not be able to
create
Can create
3. Purchasing power of
customers
Low Moderate High
4. Ease of making customers
aware the new product or
service
Low Moderate High
5. Growth potential or target
market
Low Moderate High
Part 4: founder- (or Founders-) related issues
Low potential
(-1)
Moderate
potential (0)
High potential
(+1)
1. Founder’s or founders’
experience in the industry
No experience Moderate
experience
experienced
2. Founder’s or founders’
skills as they relate to the
proposed new venture’s
product or service
No skills Moderate skills skilled
3. Extent of founder’s or
founders’ professional and
social networks in the
relevant industry
None Modest Extensive
4. Extent to which the
proposed new venture
meets the founder’s or
founders’ personal goals
and aspirations
Weak Modest strong
Likelihood that a team can be put
together to launch and grow the
new venture
Unlikely Moderately
likely
High
Part 5: financial issues
Low potential
(-1)
Moderate potential
(0)
High potential (+1)

COMING UP WITH A BUSINESS IDEA
1. Initial capital
investment
High Moderate Low
2. Number of revenue
driver (ways in which
the company makes
money)
One Two to three More than three
3. Time to break even More than
two years
One to two years Less than one year
4. Financial
performance of
similar business
Weak Modest Strong
5. Ability to fund initial
product (or service)
development and /or
initial start-up
expenses from
personal savings or
via bootstrapping
Low Modest High
Overall potential
Score (-5 to + 5) Overall potential of the
business idea based on each
part
Suggestions of improving
the potential
Part 1:
Strength of business idea
High potential
Moderate potential
Low potential
Making the idea satisfy a
basic want
Part 2:
Industry related issues
High potential
Moderate potential
Low potential
Exploring more competitive
advantages
Part 3:
Target market and customer
High potential
Moderate potential
Low potential
Targeting a more specific
market
Part 4:
Founder – (or founders -)
related issues
High potential
Moderate potential
Low potential
Improving their expertise on
the proposed venture
Part 5:
Financial issues
High potential
Moderate potential
Low potential
Exploring more revenue
streams
Overall assessment High potential
Moderate potential
Low potential
Applying diverse
information and researches
from different scholars